Nintendo is DOOMED! DOOMED! DOOOMED! :p

[AaronChance]

I like Mario, I just haven't like any of the games he's been in lately. Spin off games do nothing for me and the 3D marios are boring as hell for me compared to the 2D ones, which I can still play and enjoy. I'm not saying he should go back to 2D, I'm saying they need to rethink how they create a 3D mario game.

[StriderKyo]

How many other companies in this current day can honestly say that they have put out so many must have games for one machine?

Anybody who's put out two?

[The_Meach]

Outside of Paper Mario 2 and perhaps the Pikmin games, N hasn't done enough to keep me interested in their lineup. As I've gotten older my gaming tastes have changed. I want more...'realistic' (for lack of a better term)...games and Nintendo hasn't been offering enough of that. No problem, they're good at what they do. What they do just doesn't speak to me anymore.

[AaronChance]

Anybody who's put out two?

I was wrong. This forum is anti-Nintendo after all. I must be the one from another dimension.

[Roufuss]

Add Odama to that list.

However, I don't see the point of yet another Mario Party, Mario Golf, Mario Kart (with 2 screens OMG), Mario Tennis, Mario Vs. Donkey Kong, Mario 64x2x128xpi or whatever, Mario Jams That Stylus Up His Ass, or Paper Mario 2. Now we're starting to see more Metroid and Donkey Kong games than necessary. Argh!

By listing such games as Mario vs Donkey Kong, Paper Mario 2, and Mario Golf, I'm gonna assume you haven't played many of these mario spinoffs?

The Mario rpg series has ALWAYS been top quality, and M vs DK is pretty fucking awesome as well. Mario Golf breathes new life into the tired golf formula, and Mario Kart used to be the standard all other kart racers went by.

I say the big N is doing pretty good with it's Mario spinoffs.

[Ex Ranza]

I didn't say I had played them (I haven't most of them, because I'm tired of Mario). I also didn't say I argued the quality of anything, esp. not Paper Mario 2.

But there are too many games with the same old characters in them.You can make a top-quality game and not slap your mascot into it yet again.

[Mamoscott]

Mario Kart used to be the standard all other kart racers went by.

Used to be? The original still is, heathen.

[Joust Williams]

"You can make a top-quality game and not slap your mascot into it yet again."

Yeah, but it's smart to include them. Believe me, if Sony and MS had memorable characters, they'd be all over the place. And it isn't like Mario Golf plays a lick like Super Mario Bros. So what if it uses a familiar character? If that stops someone from playing something, they're missing out, IMO.

[Thief Silver]

I'm not sure I actually believe this, but perhaps Nintendo has created a stereo type (with a few exceptions such as Animal Crossing) that anything not involving characters from the SNES days, sucks. Just a thought I figured I'd throw out here, kind of... well it's possible.

[Ex Ranza]

I see what you're saying, guy-who-used-to-be-Bob-Vila. But I still think it would do them well to create exciting new things for the mass market.

At the office where I work, almost everyone knows about the PS2 and XBox. Last December, my supervisor asked me which XBox games her husband might enjoy for Christmas. She wanted my opinion on Kill.switch and Dead to Rights. But these same people have no idea that Nintendo is still in the console market. As one coworker put it, "I thought Nintendo was extinct".

I realize this is just a small example, but it makes sense that it applies to Joe Public at large.

What I deduce from this is that many people have moved on from Nintendo and their stock characters. A solution, since I'd never expect or hope for Nintendo to make a GTA clone, is to create new franchises that have mass appeal and get people talking about Nintendo again.

Eternal Darkness and I guess Pikmin attempted this and failed. What this means is that either Nintendo was unlucky, or that Nintendo is going to suffer for its 'kiddie' image.

Anyway, my mini-vacation is about to begin, and I must away. After the holiday, I'll check this thread and see how many people are telling me I'm on crack.