Will this device end over two decades of Nintendo power?

Although Nintendo's position in the home console market has been contested numerous times over the past few decades, it has always held court over one sector of the video game industry: the humble handheld.

With the Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS, the veteran firm has seen off all challengers and its portable division continues to rake in cash like its going out of fashion.

However, Masato Kato - the chap who wrote Final Fantasy VII, Xenogears and Chrono Trigger - thinks that is all about to come to a rather dramatic end.

After what we can only presume was a trip to his local Apple Store, he gleefully tweeted:

"With the iPad going on sale, the epoch of Nintendo is finished. But with the DS and the Wii, it's been digging its own grave."

He is of course referring to the Apple iPad, which launched worldwide recently and has gone on to shift an impressive two million units in two months.

Much has been made of the iPad's gaming potential, with many developers commenting that it could change the portable gaming landscape forever.

There is a rather glaring flaw in his argument, though - surely "digging its own grave" would suggest that Nintendo has somehow made some kind of error with the Wii and DS formats - last time we checked, they were both doing pretty well, thanks very much.

As far as we're concerned Nintendo's slice of the pie is secure for quite some time yet. Kato - as well as many other so-called "experts" - is missing one vital point: the iPad is not something kids are going to get their clammy hands on, and ultimately it's the kiddies which have made the DS such as massive success.

[source kotaku.com]