Ok, the week of E3 is over. Fanboys are gasping for breath after all the announcements. The booth babes are going back to their normal lives, which involve things that were probably about 10x different then what they were subject to at E3. I think we can all safely say that Nintendo's keynote this year was much better than last year. Mainly because we actually got some game announcements to be excited about.

In our excitement, did we per chance miss out on subliminal messaging from Nintendo? According to this article from GamesRadar, there could be dark days ahead for us Nintendo faithful. So, should we be worried?

According to the GR article, the writer believes the release of Super Mario Galaxy 2 is a sign of Nintendo becoming complacent. Because Nintendo is making a direct sequel to a Mario game. In response, I would ask that the writer review some Nintendo history. Two Mario games saw sequels, Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels and Yoshi's Island. Both sequels are seen as quality releases, and I'm hoping Super Mario Galaxy 2 becomes the "Lost Levels" in terms of upping the difficulty. Miyamoto has claimed that the game will be much harder, so that's a good sign.

After E3, dare I say I'm more excited about the future of Nintendo. During the keynote, we received announcements for New Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Galaxy 2, and Metroid: Other M. Pre-E3, High Voltage announced two games that will be releasing within a year...Gladiator A.D and The Grinder. Oh, and post-E3 we just happened to receive a little concept art; confirming work is being done for a new Legend of Zelda game.

For the sake of argument, I will play a little devil's advocate here. Would I have liked to see a Star Fox game announcement, or Kid Icarus? Sure I would have. It would have been the bee's knees, but it didn't happen. Instead we got an announcement for a sequel to one of the greatest Mario games ever, an announcement for the first four player Mario game, and a Team Ninja developed Metroid game. If you look into Nintendo's past; they've blown away the amount of core titles released with the Nintendo Wii compared to past systems. Let's make a list of first party core titles that Nintendo has released since the Nintendo Wii has been in existence.

Mario Platformers - 1 Release (2 Pending)
Zelda Adventure Titles - 1 Release (1 Pending)
Punch-Out! - 1 Release
Mario Kart - 1 Release
Paper Mario - 1 Release
Super Smash Bros. - 1 Release
Metroid - 1 Release (1 Pending, perhaps 2 if you believe the Metroid Dread rumor)

We're now going into the third year of the Nintendo Wii. Meaning, we're just now reaching the halfway point (if you follow the five year console rule). I honestly can't remember the last time Nintendo released that amount of first party games in such a short period of time. Those numbers come close to the entire offering of the SNES, and I think it might surpass what they released on the Nintendo 64. Just imagine the library that the Nintendo Wii will see when its cycle comes to a close.

Here's some food for thought, would any of it had been possible without the success of the casual market? Think about it. Where is Nintendo getting all the money for releasing so many games? Do you think so many titles would be coming our way if the Nintendo Wii didn't branch out to a new audience? Trust me, when a game like Wii Fit sells close to 20 million copies the amount of resources being utilized in every aspect of the company increases. What I find funny is how so many people feel abandoned by Nintendo.

I mean how dare they branch out to a new market, and dominate the competition. How dare they bring new candidates into the world of video games, and expand the market. Just who do they think they are?

--They've sacrificed my much beloved Mario franchise (well, there's going to be 3 Mario platformers released within three years). Yea well, how about all the Zelda fans (umm there's guranteed to be two Zelda titles before the Wii is done). Hmm, well they've forgotten about some of their lesser known franchises (oh, you mean games like Punch-Out! which hasn't seen a release since the SNES). Well, they still suck and the Natal will blow them out of the water.--

Above, isin the block quote is a paraphrased conversation I had with someone in a gaming forum that I frequent. Everything not in the parentheses was something he said, and then of course everything in the parentheses was my response.

The gaming press just keeps adding fuel to the fire as well. For example, the Games Radar article I linked above. How can anyone honestly sit there and try to tell me they think that Nintendo is giving up on all its long time fans. It's kind of funny in a way, if it weren't so sad.

Oh well, I guess I'll just keep beating my head against the wall and be the minority voice in the gaming press. You know, the few who see through all the hardcore/casual dichotomy **** and realize Nintendo is just as faithful to its fans as they've always been. Who knows, maybe next year if Nintendo announces a Star Fox/Kid Icarus/Super Mario RPG/Super Mario Platformer/Zelda/Metroid/Punch-Out!/Donkey Kong/Wii Fit sequel Track & Field/Sin & Punishment third sequel/Excitebike/Super Metroid remix line up then everyone will shut up. It won't happen, but it is fun to dream isn't it?

Update: Apparently, not all Games Radar editors think alike. Henry Gilbert of GR wrote his own reponse to Hougton's thoughts on E3. Sounds similar to mine; great minds think alike I guess (I promise I didn't copy.. )

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