After reading the title, your response is likely, 'Duh.' But I'm not asking if Nintendo will make more sequels, which is obvious.

What I am asking is if Nintendo will ever make a new franchise as groundbreaking as the Mario, Zelda, or Metroid games (Very high quality wouldn't hurt). I am loath to say this, but I don't count games like Brain Age or Nintendogs because they are 'casual games'. And although they may be great games, they are not what people hold synonymous to Nintendo...Well not yet anyway. So, excluding casual games, will Nintendo ever make a hardcore, single-player game that in ten years will be an established franchise? One that when we, Nintendo fans, are asked what our favorite Nintendo franchises are, we may answer, "Mario, Zelda, Metroid, and [insert potential groundbraking new Nintendo game], of course."

The closest Nintendo got to establishing a great new IP was last Generation with Pikmin. Sure, it was a fantastic game, and it sold very well. But Pimkin has yet to prove it can provide quality gameplay deserving of a 95% average (although that's debateable, and to some a score means zilch).

With its fifth home console, Nintendo has reclaimed its place as the king of video games. They are on an all time high and their games seem to be selling better than ever. But so far, not much has been reveal conserning original games--hardcore, single player games. Sure they have, Disaster: Day of Crysis, and ummm... Project Hammer? That is all we know so far, and I shouldn't even mention that the latter has been canned.

To not ramble on too long, I just once again want to ask if you guys think Nintendo will ever create a game worthy of sharing a spot with Mario, Zelda, and Metroid on their glorious pedastel. Or will they be unable to muster the originality and inspiration to create a game that outdos or equals the greatness of their very first franchises? Will we be lucky enough to see this new franchise coming to Wii? Will consumer embrace it? Why am I asking so many rhetorical questions?

 P.S. I also don't incluse preposterously successful franchises like Mario Kart Or Smash Bros. because they are games derived from other games. Sure, the concepts are original, but the characters aren't. Also, this is my first attempt to make a good thread...hope I made sense XD

Hm Im sure the wii will create a new franchise. Nintendo wiis are going to be nintendos best selling console and there are going to be alot more games for it. You should add starfox to being close to these franchise. Oh and wasnt Project Hammer shelved.Oh do third parties count?If so then there is no doubt there is going to be a new high quality franchise.

No I mean a Nintendo-made game. I really hope Third parties create great original gams, too. However, I'm just asking about Nintendo.

And Starfox has been around since the SNES, so I don't count it. Basically, games like Starfox, Donkey Kong, Kirby, etc. are like the princes and princesses of the Nintendo castle, while Mario, Zelda, Metroid are the Kings and Queens...Of a royal family with multiple kings and queens XD.

Wii Sports has the potential.

The reason there haven't been any huge groundbreaking new releases in my opinion is that Nintendo has been getting raped for the last two generations. I think the answer is yes, they will create great new first party franchises now that Nintendo is back on top.

There's been some rumblings that Nintendo is working on a major RPG. I remember the article about how Iwata was focused on taking Nintendo into the RPG market, and that the purchase of Monolith was part of that plan. That could be something.

I had huge hopes for ASH, but it seemed to not be that great (its only been released in japan)

OH if handhelds count i guess pokemon even though I don't like it that much anymore because of the lack of change it still is one of the most popular nintendo games. 

There are only two projects that I know of that could possibly qualify: The Matsuno x Monlith RPG, and Miyamoto's new IP.

They need to bring back Kid Icarus. There is so much potential for it to be on the same level as Mario or Zelda quality-wise. And with Ninty's success, new franchises are bound to be made even for the hardcore.

You can't just ignore the Wii franchise, it practically beats Mario.

But anyway, I'm sure they've got stuff cooking otherwise.