They need to announce new IPs fast because soon they will be out of their normal Metroid, Mario, and Zelda games and how many of those have appeared on Nintendo consoles 1 of each (except for Metroid), but I bet they won't because they are making so much money just from doing nothing that they don't need to care about the hardcore anymore.

I think they will continue on the same route, and that they will still be successful, despite shortage of Wiis. Still, I agree with madninja that Nintendo won't try new IPs as they are still doing money.
Hopefully there's more than Super Mario Galaxy and Super Smash Bros. Brawl., because two games won't be enough.

I hope that Nintendo starts to license their engines and middleware to third-parties, so that pretty much all Wii games can start to have at least a minimum level of quality.

I mean I don't see anyone except for Capcom making a ground-up engine for the Wii.

Companies like Epic won't do it.

All other third-parties are using their previous PSP, PS2 and Xbox engines for the Wii.

I'm pretty sure that the much applauded Medal of Honor Heroes 2 from EA is not built from the ground up but made using an existing engine.

Yeah, they really do need some new games. I don't think it's that much about the "hardcore" then it is about good games. New IPs, totally. Here's a few obvious needed/coming ones:

Pikmin Wii
Animal Crossing
Kirby Wii
Mario Tennis
Maybe another Zelda
Earthbound goddammit :<
Some type of Pokemon.
Some good Sonic maybe
More games like No More Heroes
I dunno, 70 megamans?

I think Nintendo has a pretty strong software lineup going into this Christmas, what with the recently released Metroid Prime 3, Super Mario Galaxy, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and Wii Fit. I think the real question is how Nintendo can ramp up production so the system is actually available for people to get just walking into a store.

Seriously, Nintendo needs to head on over to like, 4 or 5 big developers, and break out the chequebook. They need to date a cheque, sign the cheque, and hand it over to the developer and say 'put a number in there, as large as you want, and make some damn games for us!'

Nintendo, you NEED good 3rd party support! As much as you don't think you do, you do. For every Mario Galaxy, you need a No More Heroes, for every Super Smash Bros: Brawl, you need a Medal of Honor: Heroes 2. Without 3rd party support, you're just going to go the same way you did two generations ago. Beef it up, boy-os. You've been doing good, just keep it up.

I am excited for the Wii in ways I have never been excited about the PS3 and 360. I will say that I do love my 360 and it is a solid machine for me, but it doesn't excite me potential wise as much as the Wii does. I just find myself disappointed in it sometimes and find an incredible lack of even decent games. It is sorely lacking in that department. I think Nintendo is responsible for this and they need to change their strategy for the Wii in order to keep the excitement levels up. Wii Sports is great fun, but I am a little jaded that there is nothing in all this time that has taken the potential displayed there and pushed it up another level. Many of the games on Wii make GameCube look stellar in comparison. I want so much for the Wii to make the most of its potential, but it hasn't delivered yet for me. And this is coming from a longtime Nintendo fan.

When a console is selling well, the 3rd Party developers will follow. The problem is we've seen a lot of quick cash ins so far from some publishers (*cough* Ubisoft) because most people were taken completely by surprise by the Wii's success. We'll see better quality games from 3rd parties in the future. What Nintendo needs to do is make sure it doesn't fall into the same trap as Sony did last generation... just because you're ahead now, doesn't mean you can piss all over your customers and have them ask for more.

I have to say... I need some more hardcore games to get hyped about the Nintendo Wii and it's future. I am a Wii owner, so you can toss those "This guy is a fanboy." thoughts out of the nearest window. Right now, I see the Wii as a system that is forgetting about the core gamer to approach new audiences. As a result, a slew of half-assed party games are flooding the market. I loved Twilight Princess because that is a game that is a very in depth experience, but what's after that? Whatever the number is, I betcha I can count it on one hand.

"Earthbound for the Wii would restore my faith in the Wii." Keep holding your breath, Nintendo hates people like us for some reason.

I really really want to see some new IPs now that they have enough money to take some risks and branch out into projects outside the safe zone.

For all of you complaining that Nintendo must release new IP, well, their new IP consists of things like Miis, face training, and Wii Fit. Do you really want more of that?

Nintendo doesn't need things like online gameplay. They have a new audience that's much easier to please, and so long as they make money, they're going to keep doing what they're doing right now. Why spend money hosting online games when you can make $60 a pop selling controllers for multiplayer games ($80 if you include a virtual console controller for everyone, too).

Hell, half the games for the machine don't even use the controller that came with the system. That's pretty sad.

Maybe they'll just save the good stuff for a rainy day. Right now, there's more of the casual market to be milked, and Nintendo isn't going to miss the opportunity.

*JonDarkwood: "I really really want to see some new IPs now that they have enough money to take some risks and branch out into projects outside the safe zone."

Companies making money do not take risks, and Nintendo does not like to take risks in general. The whole reason why the Wii is underpowered was to make sure that if the system totally bombed, the company would still make money.

The Wii is a system built on image and marketing. I don't think Nintendo really expected it to succeed (and I admit that I didn't, either). They used old hardware because they did NOT want to take a risk. They are certainly not going to take any now that they've found their penny-pinching strategy and Fisher-Price avatars are a roaring success.

So long as there's competition, I'm happy. When everyone else tries to copy Nintendo, abandon real gamers, and cash in on the casual market, that's when I'll be totally pissed. I am NOT going to buy interactive screen savers for a PS3, but of course, more of them will come, anyway.

I agree with DanGale, most of the games that have been released by Nintendo since launch were pretty good and are the higher scoring titles on the Wii.
What is driving the hardcore population away from the Wii are Third Party publishers (not developers) who don't want to invest in the console and keep their "let's wait and see" stance and tell developpers "here, take these 5 bucks and try to make me a game as successful as Zelda". I am sure that a lot of developers have great ideas for the Wii but can't find sufficient funding to develop the games. It's probably easier to find 4 million bucks for a subpar 360 game that has high textures and whatnots than it is for the Wii. The funny thing is that they are the guys who cry first when their games sell like ass...

3rd parties are the ones that are endangering the Wii's success...

I love when people bemoan the lack of interesting upcoming titles for the Wii. We have the "true sequel to Super Mario 64" (Reggie's words) and the sequel to the best game on GC in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Not to mention that epic casual game Guitar Hero III is coming to Wii at a discount and Raving Rabbids 2 is coming out soon and it is easy to see that the Wii has a great lineup - with few remaining flaws.

As long as they can produce enough systems (and why should that be difficult) Nintendo has a great opportunity to dominate this holiday season.

This article is crap. I never heard anyone talk about "oooh, it's all downhill from here" when PlayStation was at the top. People want Nintendo to lose SO BADLY. Probably because they spent twice as much as the Wii on the console they have at home.