AHHHH!!! TEH INTERWEBZ ATE A LONG POST I MADE!!!!!sigh.
Anyways, here's a recap.
Galaxy = not a rehash. Galaxy also = not better with a Gamecube pad.
1. Gravity, foo! If the gravity doesn't save it from rehash status, only two platformers in history were not rehashes: the very first one, and the first 3D one. Obviously that's not fair.
2. Shaking Wiimote = good. Jumping is the primary action in a platformer, but a poor primary attack in 3D. Guns and targetting systems ignore platformers' twitchy roots. Shaking the remote to attack allows both attacking and jumping to be equally important primary actions within twitchy gameplay because they are performed so differently.
3. Pointer = good. New ways to interact with games are fun, even if secondary. Co-Star is made possible with pointer. Co-op with non-gamers = fun.
Due to these reasons, the public has clearly rejected the idea that Galaxy is a rehash. Wii's success alone cannot fully explain Galaxy's awesome sales.
"[Our former customers] are unable to find software which they WANT to play."
"The way to solve this problem lies in how to communicate what kind of games [they CAN play]."
Satoru Iwata, Nintendo President. Only slightly paraphrased.
