I posted this in the IGN cafe thread but its more appropriate for this main cafe thread:
Someone made quite an interesting point about the potential relative power of the cafe compared to the PS3/360. In terms of multi-plat games the cafe could offer definitive versions in terms of a consistent 30/60 fps and true hd resolution of 1080p. But most "hardcore" gamers are actually "dudebro" gamers who don't care/can't tell that the shooters they know and love aren't actually hd or are full of the technical glitches typical of this gen. Only tech gamers, people who post on gaf judging consoles based on cpus, gpus, ram etc will be interested or compelled to buy the cafe because of its tech advantage. I suspect dudebros way outnumber tech gamers by a wide margin.
Ultimately (as is always the case) its gonna be the software not the hardware that will determine whether the cafe can draw in the dudebro crowd. But the question is, what about the cafe version of multi-plat games will draw people to buy it over the version for the consoles they already own? Obviously Nintendo 1st party games will always be the draw for a lot of gamers, but all the "dudebro" gamers I know are instinctively allergic to Nintendo games. I know we've had this discussion a hundred times in the various cafe threads but I'm suddenly interested again in how Nintendo will draw in the "hardcore gamer" crowd.
My take is that Nintendo thinks better/equal graphics and a more competent online system will be enough. I suspect Nintendo will continue to focus on their crowd, longtime fans and casuals, and just hope for a better spread of 3rd party games on the side.