Looking back I actually have to say I wouldn't even need the 2nd screen nor the 3D, I'd be perfectly happy if they'd still support the GBA and we would get modern franchises on it, within the constraints and limits of 16bit. I'd actually be PERFECTLY happy with that!
And YES I DID love the GB-MICRO! There, I said it!

Agreed!

Fire Emblem, Animal crossing, and pokemon mystery dungeon will make my entire year.

3D main series pokemon? Nintendo can print the money whenever they're ready. Will 2013 be the time of destiny?

Unless other games join Fire Emblem: Awakening and Castlevania: Mirror of Fate for 2013, 2012 would still reign supreme because that year brought Code of Princess, Kid Icarus: Uprising, Resident Evil: Revelations, and many others to count!

In short, 2012 IS the 3DS's prime year... until further notice.

2013 is year of the Snake. Metal Gear Solid Rising

but Snake's not in...oh nevermind

2013 does look really good, especially if there's any truth to that supposed upcoming game announcements. Animal Crossing alone will take up quite a bit of my time.

If the second half of the year has its share of great games, this could be an awesome year for 3DS indeed.

There's already 4 major games being released between Feburary and sometime in the Summer next year that I'm excited for.

I want to know what Zelda style they will go with. Maybe TWEWY 2? Maybe... XD

Ask Game Freak. They're the ones who make the main games, not Nintendo. Fun fact!

Game Freak is published by Nintendo. That means Nintendo can incorporate them into their yearly strategy.

What about a new sonic game?

Publishers don't get to dictate to third party developers what games to make? I'm not sure you understand how that business arrangement works.

That said Game Freak has a strange relationship with Nintendo. I would not be surprised if the two collaborate on early strategy anyway. It seems to me that for all intents and purposes Game Freak behaves like an internal developer.

Luigi's Mansion 2, Castlevania, Animal Crossing, Etrian Odyssey, Devil Survivor: Soul Hackers, Monster Hunter, and...what else, exactly? I mean, yes, 3 of those games actually have me quite excited, I don't see how it's any better than last year? Heck, do we even know what else is coming out right now? Looks more like people are hoping for stuff that hasn't even been announced yet...

A lot of those are coming out before we even reach the second half of the year. Considering Nintendo always has some big games come out Fall-Winter and also near the holidays, there's potentially a few more big games other than the ones we know.

The ones we're aware of are exciting enough at least, so it makes the year seem even brighter when you realize, that's only half of 2013 so far.

While I can see your point...I'm still keeping my expectations really low for next year. This year was a bust. Only 10 games came out that I really cared about across all platforms, and only 2 were for the 3DS. And with the Wii U out now, I can't imagine Nintendo will be putting much support behind the 3DS next year.

@CanisWolfred, this year was actually pretty packed. A lot better than 2011 many would agree.

I also don't see why Nintendo would 'only focus on Wii U and not on 3DS going into next year.' When has that happened, ever? The only thing I see Nintendo focusing less on going into next year is the DS and Wii because they're on their way out. 3DS is relevant, and Nintendo would be foolish to just ignore it, given the fact that its only going into its 2nd year of existing.

I'm definitely optimistic for good games for both the 3DS and Wii U next year.

Most people would say that this year was pretty underwhelming for video games. Just look at most of the comments on most game of the year places. Pretty much every platform just didn't have nearly as many games coming out, except for the 3DS (and even then I really don't see how this year was so great for 3DS. There weren't too many games coming out for it for extended periods of time. Frankly, at face value the Vita had more worthwhile games come out this year). This is especially apparent for Wii where you had literally 3 worthwhile games come out accross the whole year with Xenoblade, The Last Story, and Rythm Heaven: Fever. If one did not like RPG's, then the Wii basically had a year of not doing anything at all outside of a music game in February.

It may have been packed for you, but for people that are buying more than one game a month, it wasn't.

However, I do reflect your optimism for next year. It's looking much better than this year on both fronts. And if we're looking beyond Wii U and 3DS, then the first six months of next year look to be the most eventful in the medium's history.

yeah 2012 was not the best year for gaming, especially compared to how brilliant the last 3 years were. Granted, I suppose I've played so few games that my opinion is mostly worthless but I'm willing to take certain people's word on it. A major reason for this is that like a dozen releases worth looking forward to were delayed until next year. And that's not even including 3DS' increasing problem of not getting cool japanese games.

I found 2011 to be severely lacking in terms of original quality games. Every game I got my hands on was either embarrassingly disappointing or it was barely passable when judged on the fun factor. This applies to every game that wasn't Skyrim, Minecraft, Dark Souls, Kirby's Return to Dream Land and Skyward Sword.

Even Skyward Sword was very disappointing to me, maybe not to others, but to me it was. Arkham City, aside from its amazing voice acting, was a chore to play through. I'm sure I'm overlooking a few games, but that's probably because they're not worth mentioning.

Of course 2012 was a little better. Xenoblade, Journey, Far Cry 3, Assassin's Creed 3, Mass Effect 3, Fez, New Super Mario Bros. U and Nintendo Land were some top notch games to see the light of day. But for eight games to please the gaming community over a course of twelve months isn't enough.

Yes, this is my opinion of it all, but it doesn't take much to please this grumpy Mel Gibson clone. Maybe it's the fact these last few years have been sequel after sequel and I'm sick of playing as Mario, Link, Sheppard and generic FPS/RPG guy.