Nintendo's keynote speech at the Game Developer's Conference, given by legendary Nintendo game designer, Shigeru Miyamoto, highlighted the differences between Nintendo games and everybody else's.

Miyamoto said that games today are too violent and that they lack joy and satisfaction. This philosophy on game design was in peril five years ago as gamers moved away from games like "Zelda" and "Mario" and started playing games like "Grand Theft Auto" and "Halo".

Miyamoto admitted that he worried that his style of game design was on its way out. Despite this feeling, he, and Nintendo, soldiered on and made games like "Pikmin," debuted the Nintendo DS and now the Wii.

I'd say that he is vindicated.

More on design philosophy

Personally, I think that violent games have their place in the gaming world, and I enjoy playing them. That doesn't mean that I don't enjoy games like "Pikmin" and "Zelda".

In fact, I'd have to say that the most "satisfying" games I play are survival horror games like "The Rule of Rose" or "Resident Evil".

Nontheless, in the long run, I think that Miyamoto's philosophy will prevail. Afterall, how many "Halos" or "GTAs" can you play before you tire of them?

It is games like "Pikmin" or Sony's just announced, "LittleBigPlanet, that ultimately drive the industry.

For more detail on Miyamoto's keynote speech, check out the San Jose Mercury News.