[BigJustinW]

Nintendo can't ignore online gaming for long... if they wait after this generation to start backing it hard there could be some serious issues.

I do admit to the fact that online gaming is a gamble... but just like gambling there can be a winner. If online gaming completely flops then M$ and Sony just threw away a lot of money at a lost cause. But... if online gaming becomes huge success MS and Sony will have an online community (more so MS) who will end up warranting a purchase of Ps3/Xbox2 by it simply including the ability to have online gaming.

In Nintendo's cas, backing online gaming is a win/win situation... if online gaming in general flops, then all three companies suffer together... but if online gaming becomes "the next big thing" all the companies get paid together. If a company were to not join the online race they would have to hope that this flops, because stepping in the next generation would prove to be as profitable as the big black and green box.

I dunno about sony online gamers, but I know that with a strong community like Xbox Live no online gamer this generation will cross-over... and once M$ starts charging for the service I doubt that people will want to pay another online gaming bill.

Right now M$ is the smartest of the three companies in online gaming, it would be cool to see Nintendo follow thier example. (but then again, maybe more online gamers prefer Sony's "free" approach)