All Guns Blazing

So does Monster Hunter on the 3DS matter a lot, then? The short answer is "yes", but there are other factors to consider. It's worth watching TGS closely to see whether Capcom hints at another Monster Hunter update for the PSP, or if - as is likely - they're going to jump to the PS Vita for their next Sony platform version. If it's the latter, Nintendo may have earned themselves an extremely important sales window, as it's highly unlikely that a polished Monster Hunter can be ready in time for the Vita's launch window.

Nintendo's ambition here is clear. Right now, if you walk into an area where young people gather in Japan - the food court of a shopping mall is a good example - you'll see tables full of junior and middle school children all playing DS, and tables of high school and university students playing Monster Hunter on their PSPs. Nintendo wants to end that transition; it wants kids to graduate from Pokemon (one title which does remain curiously absent from the 3DS' release schedule for the moment) to Monster Hunter without ever leaving Nintendo platforms behind.

If it can achieve that - and bear in mind here that it's probably got quite a few months of lead time on any potential Vita version, as well as a price point that's significantly lower than Sony's upcoming hardware - then the 3DS' market position will start to look a lot more solid. Much, of course, depends on Capcom; Sony will no doubt be exerting pressure to keep Monster Hunter fans within the PlayStation brand family, but equally it's hard to imagine that Nintendo would go to the lengths indicated by the "Frankenstick" without some kind of assurance that it's going to be worthwhile.

It's also worth bearing in mind that many publishers have a strong vested interest in seeing the 3DS succeed.

Between Monster Hunter's arrival and the various pledges of major titles from other third-party publishers, it's tempting to wonder if Nintendo has started splashing the cash around its third-party partners, just as rivals in the console business have done over the past decade. There may well be some element of that at work - the warchest being propped open a little to support the 3DS' market position.

However, it's also worth bearing in mind that many publishers have a strong vested interest in seeing the 3DS succeed. For publishers and developers faced with an uncertain future at the mercy of the extremely low price points and unfamiliar business models represented by the rapidly growing iOS model of handheld gaming, the 3DS is a potential lifeline - while for those companies whose focus on RPGs and other niche titles that are too expensive to develop on HD consoles, the 3DS (like the DS before it) represents the potential to reach a broad, modern audience without spending more money that it cost to develop on the PS2.

The 3DS, in other words, might not just be good for Nintendo - it could be good for a whole swathe of the traditional games industry, which presently fears being crushed between the twin giants of low-risk, low-revenue iOS, and high-risk, prohibitively expensive AAA console development. It's no wonder, then, that Nintendo doesn't lack for allies when it seeks to bolster the position of the 3DS - and it simply makes it all the more fascinating that this is no longer a battle to make a console successful, but rather a battle to secure a future for an entire business model.