I think most people would agree that Mario Party 8 was a dud. It's not that it was a bad game, but the inclusion of the Wii Remote and Nunchuk didn't improve the fun factor of a stale series. Now, two years after the game released, the Wii has really grown into a gaming powerhouse.

New peripherals such as the Balance Board and Wii Zapper have debuted, introducing new and innovative ways to play games on the Wii. Both could easily enhance the mini game selection, and naturally the gameplay. Instead of waggling through each event, you could become part of the game. Imagine the random mini game selection screen lands on a snowboarding duel between Yoshi and Peach. You could quickly hop on your Balance Board, and shred down the slopes. And forget about Link's Crossbow Training, how about using the Wii Zapper as Toad versus Luigi in a western-style shoot 'em up.

Although the Balance Board and Wii Zapper both add unique experiences, Wii MotionPlus would be the bread and butter of the Mario Party series. Revolutionizing motion controls, 1:1 gameplay has already changed tennis and golf titles forever. Imagine what it could do for a first-party mini game collection.

And now that games like Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Mario Kart Wii have tested the Wi-Fi waters, a new Mario Party installment that features a robust online party mode can become a reality. With the inclusion of the barely touched Wii Speak attachment to communicate with friends (and hopefully strangers) Mario Party online would make this quite possibly the most addictive party title ever. That's hardly an exaggeration.

Mario Party 9 has the potential to be a huge game. My hope is that Nintendo is taking their time with it, and saving the game for a rainy day. After all, ditching the franchise in what seems like a perfect environment for the series to prosper would be a grave mistake. I can't think of many other titles that have eight installments, changing little about the experience and gameplay, and each selling extremely well. Adding new modes, new levels, many new control schemes and an in-depth Wi-Fi mode with Wii Speak capabilities is all Nintendo has to do.

So, please do it Nintendo!