Mario, zelda and smash bros sell nintendo consoles. Not third party games. Those are still bought and played, but no one buys nintendo's consoles just to play call of duty or madden. They buy them for first party games. Nintendo needs to understand this, because the only way the install base will grow is if those games come out. And if the consumer base is big enough, EA and its ilk will come back and port games to the console. 3D mario, smash bros or zelda should ALWAYS be at launch. At least one of them, preferably two.

All of his comments make complete sense if you look at how EA views the business... He was basically saying "Hey nintendo, quit being creative and innovative, and start making reiterative sequels nonstop for systems that have lots of graphical power instead." Thats what EA does, so apparantly thats what everyone should do. Man EA just makes it harder and harder for me to not hate them every day. Its incredibly tragic that they own Star Wars, Bioware and NFL... But i'll just have to do without those til EA wisens up and starts treating us Wii U owners with the same respect they do with other console owners.

At the same time, he did make a valid point; many nintendo fans are guilty of only buying first party games on Wii U and 3DS. If this trend continues, it wont just be EA that does this... Ubisoft and 2K and others will jump ship too. At the end of the day, games are a business too, and companies arent just gonna put games on Wii U if they arent seeing profits. Thats stupid and we shouldnt expect it. So i guess what i'm saying is this: When a good game comes out for Wii U, BUY IT for Wii U, not PC or whatever. Games like Mass Effect 3, Assassins Creed IV, Watch Dogs, Rayman Legends, Sonic Lost World, etc need to be purchased alongside first party stuff like Mario and Zelda. Otherwise, more third parties will pull an EA.

I have an iphone, but i never use it for games. I make calls, use the internet and take photos with it and stuff but most app games are garbage, and i dont really care for them. If nintendo came out with a phone and put out some miniaturized mario, zelda, pokemon and others, i'd consider it. I'd still much prefer sticking with games on 3DS or Wii U though.

It sounded to me like this is only one game in this exclusive partnership. Not sure if that only includes sonic or if other sega franchises will be included like monkey ball, phantasy star, shenmue, yakuza, etc.

Gamers these days need to be spoonfed everything. Whether its NSMBU's superguide or the straightline paths and arrows pointing where to go next in games like Halo and Tomb Raider, i fear gaming has lost a good amount of its challenge in trying to cater to a generation that wants everything now (make that yesterday).

Anyway, i'm having a blast replaying Super Metroid. I played almost an hour last night. Beat crocomire and got to grappling beam. I can't wait to fight phantoon and ridley again probably tonight!

Everything EA says concerning Wii U is a load of crap. I guarantee frostbite 3 can run easy on Wii U. It can run on 360 and PS3, so it should run easy on Wii U as well. There's something going on behind scenes that EA is pissed about (my guess is they wanted Origin integration on Wii U and nintendo said no at the last moment), and now EA is acting like an insane, jealous ex-girlfriend whose boyfriend broke up with her for another woman. I don't care that much really... I dont really like much of EA's stuff. My issue is that they own BioWare, who make Mass Effect, and now they own Star Wars games. I like Mass Effect and Star Wars, but unfortunately it seems like I'll be avoiding them even on PC until EA gets that stick out of their butt and treats nintendo with the same level of respect it does everyone else. They were already voted worst company... This isnt gonna help them.

Much better VC offering this week than the last couple weeks. Especially on Wii U. I'm really hoping N64, GBA and Genesis games start getting added soon, too. Also awesome would be Gamecube, and maybe even Saturn and Dreamcast support, though i'm starting to doubt we'll ever see any of that. Still, its good to see some quality games on the VC this week! Already downloaded Super Metroid. I may pick up Super Mario Bros 2 as well since its half off

I'm guessing this one is just gonna be about release dates and new info on previously announced games like Mario Golf: World Tour, The Wonderful 101, Wii Fit U, Pikmin 3, etc. I wouldnt expect any new reveals with the upcoming E3 Directs in about 2-3 weeks. Still, i really hope W101 gets a release date and that we see a sweet new trailer for pikmin 3!

The 3DS is my favorite portable system I've ever owned. I don't know about best console ever... I'd have to give that to the SNES. As for what I'd like to see in the coming years for the console... Another Super Mario 3D Land-type game would be awesome, maybe with more power-ups this time around. I'd also really like to see a new entry in the Golden Sun series. Oh, and a 2.5D Metroid game in the style of Super Metroid/Metroid Fusion would be awesome as well.

Given the fact that nintendo develops games based on their hardware capabilities and innovative aspects that they find interesting, i don't see them going multiplatform any time soon. Plus if they put their major first party games on other consoles, it would give people even less reason to buy a Wii U or 3DS. First party games are many people's only reason for buying nintendo hardware. At the current time, it makes more sense to keep first party games exclusive.

I was never going to play this series again after City Folk... It seemed like it was stuck and City Folk had very little to offer in terms of new features compared to the previous games. I barely even played it because i also had Wild World, which while basically the same game, was portable and more convenient to play. New Leaf, though, has got my attention... The mayor feature looks like the addition i've always wanted, and the level of house/town/character customization is deeper than ever before. Animal Crossing is great on handhelds, too, and i love my 3DS, and always have it with me, so i can see myself playing this in small chunks throughout the day while i have downtime.

Super Mario Bros 2 is the one mario game i probably won't download. I don't hate it like some people do, i think it's an okay game... But it doesn't live up to the rest of the series' high standards, and i always felt the gameplay was too slow. I may download it if it ever becomes a club nintendo reward, but i'm not paying a full $5 for it. I really wish they'd put Super Mario Bros 3 out on either Wii U or 3DS. It's my personal favorite 2D Mario game.

@Ricube I wasn't trying to bash wii fit/sports at all. I was just saying that it seems the majority of those who purchase wii fit arent the type to enjoy Zelda and Metroid games, which is true considering the wide gap in sales between the three series on Wii. I think nintendo should definitely continue making Wii Fit games for the people that want it, but i think the core gaming community wants a deeper, more exciting game to really show them why they should be interested in Wii U. Wii Fit may end up moving consoles when it comes to casual gamers, but most of the people who are going to be spending a lot of cash on several games per year are the core gamers that dont care about fitness games. I just think nintendo needs to flex its creative muscles and give us a new IP to show people "Why Wii U.". They really havent come up with a new core gaming type IP since... What was it? Pikmin on Gamecube in 2001? Thats a really long time. I know nintendo likes to reinvent its franchises a lot (Kid Icarus Uprising, Metroid Prime) but it'd be cool to see something fresh.

@Bass_X0 DLC is not the price to pay for better graphics... it is the price we have to pay now that it has become an option for devs since gaming has gone online. I'm not saying online gaming is a bad thing, but that there have been negatives brought alongside the positive aspects of it. If gaming had stayed offline, yet still had the HD level graphics available today, we wouldn't be seeing DLC... but we would still have the same graphical capabilities we have now. So that argument can't be made. The fact remains that most of what is included in DLC could have easily been put in the original game, but it is more profitable for devs to release it for extra costs to gamers. Do I want Street Fighter that has 10 characters, with 6 extra that I have to pay another $15 for on top of the $60 I just paid for the original game? Or do I just want Capcom to give me the full roster of 16 characters for the $60 I paid like they should and used to do before DLC was an issue? I don't mind DLC if it is stuff like alternative costumes for characters or other trivial things... but playable characters, story content, and other important things should be included in the game from the beginning.

And no, I wouldn't mind at all of we exchanged today's graphical power for the 16-bit or 32-bit eras, as long as devs were still making fun games for consoles like they used to, and still do today. One of the games I'm most excited about this year is Shovel Knight, which is modeled after NES-era games, but the gameplay looks incredible. Graphical power has almost zero meaning to me anymore. I just want to play games that are fun. If they have 8-bit graphics, or are incredibly realistic HD graphics, I don't care. Either way that's not excuse to charge gamers extra for content that should've been included in the original game.

I'd love to see nintendo come up with a brand new AAA type IP. They really haven't done anything like that since the early Gamecube years. Sure Wii Sports/Fit sold lots of units, but those werent really the IPs that most gamers were looking for. Those sold to people who, in all likelihood, arent really going to be interested in buying other games like Metroid or Star Fox or Zelda. Nintendo could use something new, innovative and appealing to the gaming community to show at E3 that will really get people excited. Yeah, mario, zelda and smash bros will do that too, but its been awhile since we saw something fresh come from nintendo. I love new Marios and Pikmins as much as anyone, but I wanna see something that hasnt been done before, too. It doesnt have to be a mature title, either, it just has to be really exciting and get people talking about Wii U.

So what? Gamecube and Wii didn't have GTA either and it wasnt the end of the world. Nintendo still made profits. For me personally, i've never liked GTA anyway, so no big deal. I always found the story and gameplay to fall flat, and the only thing i liked was stealing cool cars/helicopters and wrecking them into stuff. Outside of that, i found the missions and stuff frustrating and bland. Oh and its treatment of female characters is pretty degrading as well, and i'm not just talking about the prostitution either. Even the women that arent whores are treated similarly.

I cant wait to play this game. I'm honestly more excited for shovel knight than i am for most of the AAA titles announced so far for this year. Shovel Knight reminds me of everything that made me fall in love with games as a kid, and a feeling that most games today dont come close to giving off. Outside of a few select nintendo franchises, the big name devs seem to have lost that sense of pure, uncensored fun. Too often today all the effort is put into the graphics or story or "experience" of it all. None of those things are bad, but i think it causes devs and gamers alike to lose focus on what games are supposed to be: fun.

New sonic, jet set radio, shenmue, phantasy star and panzer dragoon please! I loved Sega as a kid. Had a Genesis and Dreamcast and loved them. Also wouldnt mind seeing some classic sega franchises see new games via eshop releases like Ristar and ToeJam & Earl.

I've never bought DLC and probably never will. I'm probably too oldschool, but if its not included in the retail version, imo its not necessary and therefore, usually not worth it. DLC, imo, is a way to cheat gamers out of more money by offering something that shouldve been in the game in the first place. I really wish microtransactions, DLC and the like would just go away personally. I miss the old days when the final product was shipped to stores with everything included.

@Jukilum I said we werent getting anything until the end of summer... I was referring to whats officially been announced as well, which isnt much. Game&Wario and Pikmin 3 have official dates before September. Outside of that, we have eshop and VC to last us til who knows when.

Wow. The NA VC is a joke. Would it really be so hard to release more games each week... Or at least games people want instead of throwaway garbage like solomon's key?! Come on, nintendo. You've got the best treasure trove of retro gaming classics, and you're going to slowly drip feed us the scraps on the floor like this?! Where's super mario bros? Or link to the past? Or any of the kirby games japan got recently?! And why dont you have N64 and GBA support yet? At least when the Wii launched not only did it COME with the VC installed, it had great games from the start, with several games dropped each week, and with N64 and Genesis and TurboGrax-16 too. The VC situation is embarrassing, and really there's no excuse for it. It would be ok if Wii U was seeing some game releases at retail i guess. But its not... All we have to hope for from now til late summer is the VC and a few ports of already existing games. So get on with giving us some decent VC support, nintendo, since you're not gonna be giving us anything new to play for a few months.

I dont think its cause they have no games to show... They'll have plenty of those. Mario, Wind Waker, Smash Bros U and 3D, Mario & Luigi 4, Pokemon X/Y, Zelda 3DS, Mario Kart U, Xenoblade 2, FExSMT and Retro's next game for starters. I think Nintendo just thinks its easier for them to do it a way that fits their style, and they know that for the most part, they'll get the same media coverage they'd get at E3 anyway. I still think they should do the show, but i dont mind as much as most people. Given the miscommunication issues and poor showmanship they showed the last 2 years at E3, i think they may be better off with doing things their way.

EA is still pissed about nintendo not using origin as its main network infrastructure, huh? Who cares? EA's approach to gamers has always been heavy on the assholery. I havent bought an EA game for ANY system in years, and probably will continue not to. I love star wars, so i'm pretty pissed that disney chose to give exclusive rights to EA, but i've learned over the last 15 years how to deal with being disappointed in star wars.

I bought my wii u for the same reasons i bought my N64, GCN and Wii:
Mario, Zelda, Metroid, Smash Bros, etc. Third party support is only welcome for me if its something that takes unique advantage of the hardware, which is rarely the case. I owned zero third party games on Wii and still enjoyed it because Mario Galaxy, Skyward Sword, DKCR, Metroid Prime 3, Smash Bros Brawl and Xenoblade were better than any third party game i own on PC and 360. Nintendo hasnt had good third party support since the SNES. They've been doing ok without it for almost 2 decades now. Wii U will be fine once mario, zelda and smash bros hit. Especially once PS4 and 720's ridiculous pricetags are revealed later this year.

I'll get Mario RPG but wont be able to play it til it hits wii u and i can transfer it for $1.50. I had a classic controller, but my cat ate the cord on it, so i cant play it since GCN controllers dont work on Wii U.

I'd like to see gamecube games on the VC at some point. But first i wanna see games on older consoles that werent released on the wii... Like Mega Man X3, Donkey Kong 64, EarthBound, Super Mario World 2, Mario Party, Mario Party 3, Mega Man 6 and 7, Star Wars Rogue Squadron, and more. There are a plethora of N64 games especially that were simply ignored on the Wii VC. I know a lot are Rare games that cant be on the VC since M$ bought them, but there are a few of those that nintendo holds the rights to (DK64) that simply got skipped over.

The GBA games will be cool. Looking forward to using off-TV play for golden sun, minish cap and (hopefully someday) mother 3. I never got to play some GBA games like fire emblem and wario land 4, so i may pick those up too and see what i missed.

I would like to see as many Mega Man games as possible on there, including 7 and X3 since they went MIA on Wii.

Also, i really hope other companies are as enthusiastic about Wii U's VC. Sega, Square-Enix, Konami, Namco, Natsume, etc... I wanna see as many great titles from any retro console as possible.

I want a mario game that is more open world like mario 64 and sunshine. It'd also be cool if it was actually in the mushroom kingdom this time, or maybe even a return to dinosaur land! I liked galaxy and all, but i really wanna see a return to the openness and exploration that mario 64 offered.

If nintendo wants to move wii u units THIS year, the 3D mario has to come out by november. Mario kart and a remake of a 10 year old zelda game will help too, but nothing moves nintendo consoles better than an entry in the core mario series. Except maybe smash bros, but thats still at least a year away.

Lol "i also thought journey was bad." i hate journey. I played it for about an hour and a half, and sat there the whole time asking "is this it?! This is the game i keep reading about that won a ton of awards? Wow. Gamers these days have terrible taste.". Its pretty, but outside of that, theres literally NOTHING to the game.

As for what i'm playing this weekend, i'll be finishing up luigi's mansion 2, and then probably finally get started on paper mario sticker star. I keep putting it off. Oh and i'll probably play a little of the rayman legends app on wii u.

I hope its Metroid or a new IP. I dont really want retro working on something like f-zero. SEGA or Nintendo should do that. Wii U needs a metroid game, or something totally new and exciting to get people excited. Mario and Smash Bros will help, but i think people want to see some fresh ideas aimed at an audience that likes more mature titles. ZombiU tried to do that, but it ended up being a bit too divisive. So thats what i'd like to see... Whatever it is, retro makes good games, so i cant wait to play it.

I will download the free rayman app, but i still wont get the full game. Like i've said, i'm not boycotting it because of delay... I just cant afford to buy it in september due to there being so many games releasing around that time that i'd rather play (pikmin 3, mario & luigi 4, wind waker hd, watch dogs, pokemon x and y, link to the past 2, and likely new mario and mario kart games). My wallet could have afforded it in february, but no way i can buy it in sept. I'll end up getting it in a year or so when its in the bargain bin for $20 like i did with its predecessor.

The announcement also says a mario bros game is coming this year for Wii U. So it sounds like the new 3D mario will be out by christmas as well as mario kart and wind waker hd. If no one else sees whats happening, nintendo's "save wii u" software lineup looks eerily similar to the one they used to resurrect 3DS... A remake of a great zelda game, the launch of a long anticipated virtual console update, and new mario and mario kart games. Pikmin 3 sure doesnt hurt either!

I may be interested in the platformer if i can see some in game footage. Never really cared for horror games though.

Is it weird that i'm more excited for the 3DS game? A metroidvania batman game by some former members of retro? Yes please. Its probably the closest we're going to get to a real 2D metroid followup.

Pokemon X and Y are going to cause a big spike in 3DS sales this holiday. I know several people who buy handhelds only for pokemon games, and who are planning to pick up a copy of X or Y (or both in some cases) with a 3DSXL at launch.

Why super metroid?! We get that in a month on wii u for $.30... If i get it here, i have to pay $1 to upgrade it for wiiu.

I agree with a lot of his points, even the comments at the end about Iwata that seemed to be a vague reference to Nintendo only changing its terrible approach to console marketing if Iwata steps down. I like Iwata as a person, but he is not a good CEO. He's repeated the same mistakes over and over and nothing will change in terms of third party support and unecessary software droughts unless a change is made at the top.

It'd also be sweet if sega saturn and dreamcast games got put on the wii u VC!

New games in these series:
Sonic
Shenmue
Nights into Dreams
Phantasy Star

Virtual Console or new eshop games for:
ToeJam and Earl
Shenmue
Sonic
Ristar

I would have bought rayman in february, but i wont in september. Too many games are coming out this fall. Wind Waker, Pokemon X and Y, Watch Dogs, Assassin's Creed IV, and probably more that hasnt been announced yet like possibly Mario U, Mario Kart U, and more. I wont have the $ to afford all of them, and unfortunately rayman lands pretty low on that list. I'm not mad at ubisoft anymore, but i still wish it had come out in Feb.

Pikmin 3, Wind Waker and 3D Mario for me. I think the next mario is coming sooner than people think. I think it comes holiday 2013. Ninty knows it cant go into the holiday season against PS4 and 720 without a mario game that really shows off what wii u can do. If they dont know that, they've already lost the next gen console race before it starts.

There were 3 games that made me buy my 3DS: super mario 3D land, kid icarus uprising and luigi's mansion 2. Only one of those is on this infographic... NSMB2 and street fighter iv got in though? They are decent games, but 3D Land and Uprising are lightyears better. I understand why SF4 was included though... Its nintendo trying to show that launch wasnt entirely devoid of decent software (just mostly).

I love the 3DS. Its already my favorite portable of all time and its just now turning 2. It has a better software library now than any previous portable's entire lineup in my opinion... And with more great stuff on the way in games like Animal Crossing New Leaf, Pokemon X and Y, Monster Hunter 4, Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D, Fantasy Life, Mario & Luigi Dream Team, and more... I think 3DS will stay strong for years to come. I hope the Wii U can have a similiar turnaround... I'm just upset that Nintendo didnt learn from the mistakes they made on 3DS like they claimed they did.

This is why things like kickstarter exist: so devs interested in creating something unique and cool can test the market to see how much interest there is in their idea.

I really wish this was true. Luigi is one of my all time favorite game characters. I'd love to play as him in super metroid, super mario rpg or ocarina of time!

I cant wait to get this on Wii U.

I dont really care anymore... I doubt any of the games i like (first party ninty games, sonic games, indie games) will use it anyway

Banjo-kazooie remains to this day my all time favorite 3D platformer. I bought nuts and bolts when it came out and hated it. I dont hate it because its not a traditional banjo game... I hated it because it just wasnt fun to me. If the team that made the original got back together and made a spiritual successor for the wii u, it'd be a day one buy for me. Rare is dead... M$ killed it like they do everything else i care about except halo. But rare's former employees should reunite... That company once had just as much talent as nintendo ead does. It'd be great for them to make games together again, especially if they're on nintendo consoles!

Its getting to the point where i'm way more pumped up for indie games than i am for games like bioshock, assassins creed and tomb raider. I think its because indie devs are making the types of games that originally made me love gaming: fun, challenging, creative, and humorous... While AAA devs are becoming more gritty, film-like and overall lacking in innovation. There are some exceptions, but i miss the days when games were games rather than trying to be like movie 'experiences.'

Luigi's Mansion 2 and VC Punch-Out!! For me. I'll also be leveling my sith up in SWTOR in double xp weekend.