One of the main reasons for the crash was because third parties started forming after the court ruling. These third parties included companies that didn't have anything to do with video games, like pet food companies, Quaker Oats, etc. Other game companies also formed as well. Because of all the new games, which the majority of were garbage, consumers didn't know what was good or bad. In the end, people didn't know whether they were buying good or bad games, so they stopped spending money on video games. My guess is that people are looking at future releases, and like the PS3 lineup more... Or maybe because of games that came out now, like MGS4... Must be the games though, I don't think hardware matters at all in this issue. Microsoft is trying to appeal to a wider audience. Expanding your market is good for business. I don't see why you're comparing sales of the past to current sales, back when Microsoft wasn't even involved with consoles. It just doesn't make any sense since Nintendo didn't have to compete with Microsoft. Using sales of games for this generation, and last generation, no Mario game has sold more than a Halo game. Unless you're adding them ALL together... According to vgchartz; Halo has sold 6.43M, Halo 2 has sold 8.46M, and Halo 3 has sold 8.46M. Mario Sunshine has sold 6.28M, and Double Dash has sold 6.96M. Mario Kart Wii has sold 7.35M and Mario Galaxy has sold 6.86M. Mario Party 8 and Mario Olympics have bout sold over 5 million. Mario is a good brand for Nintendo, the main games sell very well, and it's not like Microsoft will stop with Halo, since it's a million seller too. Well.. Yeah, graphics don't make games, but they do add to the experience. I think a lot of Wii games look great. D: