Would you look at that, some positive news from camp Nintendo! The Verge:

Nintendo’s financial situation hasn’t improved dramatically, however the growing sales numbers have helped the company break even in terms of operating income and report a net profit of 14.3 billion yen (roughly $130 million) once foreign exchange gains are factored in as well. What’s more, Nintendo forecasts having a profitable year overall with further improvements in sales anticipated as the holiday season ramps up.

The reason is the excellent Mario Kart 8 for Wii U, moving a lot of consoles. This is well deserved, because if you’re into traditional video games, the Wii U is a great choice. I’m not so sure where the (equally excellent, albeit painfully low-res) Nintendo 3DS fits in, despite the new version. Nintendo’s not out of the woods yet, not by a long shot.

Sam Byford, writing for The Verge, on the New Nintendo 3DS:

But let’s be real here: very little about the New 3DS feels new, or even much like a gadget released in late 2014. It’s still made of chunky plastic, the screen is still lower resolution than a standard-definition TV, and the internals are still wildly out of date compared to smartphones from even a few years ago.

It’s just as well, then, that the 3DS’s biggest strength is that it isn’t a smartphone — and that the other changes Nintendo made are all major improvements to the main thing it’s designed to do. Which is play games.

The score’s a respectable 8.2. I’ll probably pick up one of these when they launch in Europe next year (they’re Japan only for the time being), but it’s not a given. The problem isn’t the lack of games – there are plenty of great ones for the 3DS – but the fact that Apple and its App Store developers have utterly destroyed the need, if not the want, for a dedicated handheld games console.

Byford does have a point regarding both the 3DS and the Wii U: If you enjoy, and want to play, traditional video games, and especially those from Nintendo, then these are the games devices to own. That’s the one point where the App Store and its namesakes are sorely lacking. They can’t deliver the traditional games experience, and although there are controllers, they’ve a way to go.