I'm not saying the Sonic games are great, but that it's proof that Nintendo could still keep their brand characters (Mario and friends, Link, Samus, etc) without a console.

Proof that Sega still knows how to make great games:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qd1tuZs55Ko&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7sb_qlP8Gs