You read it right, folks: pobody is nerfect.

Critiquing games companies has become something of global pastimes for followers of the gaming industry: every great game is picked to pieces for its minor flaws; every dire game heralds the death of a developer anew. It's our hobby and we love it almost as much as life itself, but we sure do love to give it a beating from time to time. But sometimes we're excessive and we forget the great things that are going on in the industry.

We forget this is perhaps among the most exciting eras of gaming to date as we witness the birth of two new handhelds and three new home consoles, even the technology that we haven't seen yet is criticised on the back of inflammatory and empty rumours, not a week goes by without some minor announcement being scrutinised for poor translations as the fan camps of Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo seek to win another victory in a console war that is already over for this generation. Sony won, by the way.

Too much time is spent deriding the industry and those on the inside; the developers, publishers, PR people and representatives. Too much time is focused on forgetting about the fun we should be having with the games, too much time is being lost in ignoring the fundamentals of games playing and petty name calling. Games are supposed to be fun! Nobody is perfect!

Let's take Nintendo as our first example �a rather obvious example, to be sure, but a good one nonetheless. It seems that for the past ten years, Nintendo has barely done a single thing that is right, from the pitiful lack of third party support on the N64 to the dubious choice of cartridge and proprietary formats for the 64 and the Gamecube. From the Mario-less launch of the Cube to the decision to make everyone's favourite action-RPG into a graphical masterpiece by eschewing the traditions set by its predecessors. Indeed, if you read too closely into the detractors of the company, one could easily believe that we are looking at a company on the verge of bankruptcy or �even worse for some fans, "Doing a SEGA" and becoming a third-party publishing and development house. Oh and let's not forget that to Nintendo, the European market does not exist, and as far as a certain American publication reported, the DS only sold two units on launch day in Japan.

So, things are pretty bleak for Nintendo.

No, they're not.

Reading a little deeper beyond the numerous smears put out by the anti-Nintendo fanatics (and even some of the pro-Nintendo fans) and the negative press surrounding the company� we find that things really aren't all that bad. Profits predictions are down for this year, but they are still set to see growth in year-on-year profits. Compare that with Microsoft, who have for the first time registered a profit with their Xbox division, then think that Nintendo consistently make a profit and the picture looks a little better. If Nintendo were haemorrhaging money like the Xbox division, only then would there be cause for concern. Plus, combined Nintendo console sales in the Japanese market frequently outstrip Xbox sales by almost 50 to 1.

Then there's the classic "new franchise" argument that rears its ugly head every time a great new game featuring Mario or Donkey Kong comes out. According to nay-sayers, Nintendo are doomed every time a new Mario Tennis or new Mushroom Kingdom-themed piece of software hits the shelves. Sony, anyone? The Playstation and Playstation 2 are built on popular franchise sequels; true they get better third-party support than the Gamecube, but Nintendo have actively been working on their relationships with developers and publishers this generation, so much that we are seeing far more releases than the N64 did. The reason that the Gamecube is so often relegated to the back of the stores is because most Nintendo reps are too lazy or too apathetic to really fight for the shelf space they so sorely need. But even this is starting to change as we see more advertisements for the 'Cube on TV and Europe-wide tours of the DS. Rome wasn't built in a day; Nintendo are starting to realise the mistakes they have made in the past and they are beginning to make up for them, the company constantly demands patience from its fans, and very often that patience is well-rewarded.

Now we'll move away from Nintendo and look at another of the industry's oft-criticised players: EA.

My animosity towards the company aside (and I'd like to point out that the whole thing started because of their animosity towards ME) they can come up with some real gems. However, they are invariably criticised for the identikit annual regurgitations of their most popular franchises, often with good reason, but often also out of ignorance. FIFA isn't a terrible game as such; in fact, it's a lot of fun to play. The Tiger Woods series uses a fantastic analogue stick swing mechanism that has truly rejuvenated a genre that was stagnating under the wait of the old "Power Bar" method of aiming and striking. Hours and hours of time are swallowed by PC's and consoles everywhere as people sit in front of the screen watching the lives of their Sims played out in front if them.

Okay, there will be no more Westwood Command and Conquer games and the James Bond franchise is quickly becoming an industry joke. But grudges and grievances aside, EA make games that sell well and that a majority of gamers really quite enjoy playing. The argument that these Casual Gamers don't know any better really doesn't hold a great deal of weight as many of the best and most innovative games still sell well enough alongside these updates to warrant another ground-breaking sequel. The games industry is catering to different tastes, and there can be no blame laid for that.

All this said, it cannot be denied that the games industry needs some big changes if it is to remain at the forefront of growth industries, there are many aspects we would like to see improved, and I do not doubt that we have all informed various companies that these changes need implementing. There are no two ways about it; as Nintendo fans we are the most vocal group of supporters out there.

But let's not forget the good things we've got.

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