Nintendo and 3rd Party Development: Solving the Problem

[Mensrea]

I like the OP's thinking. I agree that games will mirror those of the first party studios. Now I'm not saying Nintendo should ditch their more light hearted IP's, because those are still great, but I do have a few idea's.

They should promote their 2nd tier IP's more. Fire Emblem is a very "core" franchise. It's difficult, rewarding, deep, and had incredible production values and usually very good stories. With Awakening, Nintendo really did hype it up, and to top it off, the game is arguably the best in the series. So now FE:A is selling much better than expected, and people are generally excited about it. Nintendo did a similar approach with Metroid Prime. Amazing game, with tons of marketing, and hype.

I feel like they brush their second tier franchises to the side, but it has been shown that people want these more core IP's, and will pay for them.

Nintendo should:

Revive F-Zero and give it a heavy marketing push. This isn't just some fan's pipe dream, as I have not played the series. Rather, the time is right, people want it, and Wipeout is now dead so it would launch as the only futuristic racer on the market. If they gave it a good marketing push, it could do well.

New Zelda should have TP-ish graphics. I love Celda more than anything, but the time is right. HD console with the Zelda that many fans have been waiting for since OOT? It would really set a tone for a system. Zelda is a big player in all Nintendo consoles.

Metroid- Prime 4 is the game I want more than anything else. If retro returned to the exploration aspects of the first two, and expanded on the series, it could be amazing. Metroid Prime was a system seller for the Gamecube, and a title that did just what the OP said: Set a tone.

Nintendo has IP's that have a core appeal, they just tend to brush them to the side. That can't be the way it is. I love Mario, and Pikmin, and all their lighthearted affairs, but don't bring that vibe into your core titles.