Buzzcut has an interesting article which argues that Nintendo isn’t as hopeless in the console wars as the conventional wisdom states.

In this light, it’s odd how few game commentators seem to understand just how profitable Nintendo really is. With a net margin of over 20%, Nintendo is a financial rock star. Just by way of comparison, General Electric, that monster global conglomerate whose executives write the books about corporate leadership that other Fortune 500 execs read, clocks in with a net margin of 11% Nintendo’s business engine is so efficient that even though they sell far less than Sony, they make, bottom line, about as much as all of Sony, Yes, that’s right. Little Nintendo generates about as much cash as giant Sony—electronics, movies, the works.

Of course, the notion that Nintendo as a studio will simply keep on trucking with the status quo is somewhat challenged by the utter strangeness of the rumored plans for their next-gen controller. Go figure.