The real problem that I see is Nintendo's lack of online games, period. As has been pointed out, the only game that has online but doesn't have Wii Speak since the peripheral came out is ExciteBots, and I don't really see an advantage to the peripheral for that game, either.
IMO, NSMBW should have had full online support, including Wii Speak. As somebody who thinks an excellent online mode has contributed to Mario Kart Wii's incredible sales, I think lack of online will hurt NSMBW's overall sales potential.
"The worst part about these reviews is they are [subjective]--and their scores often depend on how drunk you got the media at a Street Fighter event." — Mona Hamilton, Capcom Senior VP of Marketing
*Image indefinitely borrowed from BrainBoxLtd without his consent.
