Malstrom: Why Project Cafe will fail

[Mr Khan]

RolStoppable said:

Mr Khan said:

Which they undoubtedly will. Remember it took until about 18 months for DS to see NSMB. If 3DS doesn't see one by holiday 2012, then we can talk

I can't quite agree with this. NSMB was made at a time when NIntendo had completely abandoned 2D Mario, because they thought it is a thing of the past for the longest time. Today, it's not even a question if 2D Mario can still sell or if it is the most reliable killer application in Nintendo's portfolio. With that knowledge in mind, you would launch every new system with such a game to get it off the ground easily. Then about three years later you release a sequel on the same system for added effect. This really is a no-brainer.

But is it best to hit with your heaviest hitter right off the bat? That's the question. Nintendo's trying a much more passive strategy with 3DS, and it's viability remains to be seen, but the lack of NSMB at launch is not immediately damning nor indicative of their overall plan. NSMBWii was almost perfectly timed to fix Wii's situation in fall of 2009 (though that was probably by accident rather than by design) and Nintendo doubtlessly took notes from that, and have probably taken notes from the fact that an audience is hungrier for software earlier on, hence the attempt to front-load with spinoffs and lesser works.

Plus there's Mario Kart which will definitely be there by this holiday. That should certainly solve some problems