Last Friday, Nintendo finally gave a big peek at their next gen platform. The controller shed light on how we'll be interacting with the machine. But even with the controller, the question still remains: what's to expect of the software?

Kotaku buddy Danc from Lost Garden thinks he's got Nintendo's game plan figured out. His post breaks down the company's past moves and general gaming genre trends. Fascinating stuff. Danc is opening up an intriguing dialogue here.

Shouldn't we be studying our history more? Is there anything we can learn from moves companies have already made?

Here's what Danc says:

* Early titles will be essentially technology demos that showcase a specific core mechanic. There will be one or two major titles such as Mario 64 of yore that are highly evolved, but these will be few and far between due to the cost associated with evolving an entirely new genre over the span of a single game.

* Most early titles will sell small numbers, but will end up being decently profitable due to their low cost. The example given of Brain Training on the DS, which was created in a mere 4 months comes to mind. Even though it isn t selling what are typically considered blockbuster numbers, it is an unqualified financial success. During this period a large number of new genre attempts will be successfully vetted.

* Only after a year or so will 2nd generation polished games start to emerge. The cream of the core game mechanics tested in the first generation will be layered with all the traditional trappings of a modern video game.

* One or two major new genres will emerge. These will be highly profitable and Nintendo will attempt to turn some of them into exclusive franchises. Mario Kart and Mario Party are good examples of this from previous generations.

We're at the point now where we've been around the block. We've seen kick-ass next gen consoles introduced in the past. We've seen companies appear and disappear. We've witnessed power change hands. We ain't newbies, but jaded, hardened gamers, and we now know that this industry is a cyclical as the software it produces.

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