sort of how nintendo stopped releasing its flagship title for 2 gens and how they lost both gens, the flagship title is of course a 2D mario platformer

There's another console maker that did the same thing, with results considerably more.... dire.

Atari? what Khuutra I must know.

I liked Mario 64 the best then the 2D marios, then the other 3D ones, but... my opinions on games always seem to contradict everyones :P. I might just have bad tastes, :P oh well, I don't have to share.

For SONY, it's happening now...

I've been kind of talking about this on Rol's wall, but I think I'll bring it here (may spark some discussion).

Until New Super Mario Bros. Wii released last year, it had been 18 years since a Nintendo console had gotten a 2D Mario Platformer. However, due to Nintendo's healthy business strategies and wealth of other franchises (even though the most popular of them, 3D Mario titles, didn't even sell half of what the 2D Marios had sold), the company survived through the GameCube era and is now doing more than just surviving... it's the fastest selling console of all time thus far. Now, I'm not saying that 2D Mario was the reason behind Wii's success (it's one of the reasons), but the difference between this generation and the past two generations is that Nintendo is playing by its own rules, rather than the rules of others (namely Sony).

Sony had dominated the past two generations because it made the rules, and Nintendo and Sega were doing their best to follow those rules. 3D was on the way in, and Sony started the trail with innovative 3D titles like Gran Turismo and Crash. Nintendo and Sega did their best to fight for the 3D scraps by inserting their franchises into the 3D realm. Despite 3D Mario's critical acclaim through the years, he's never been as iconic as he had been during the NES and SNES days. As for Sonic, well... he just wasn't the same since Sonic & Knuckles.

Sega wasn't as lucky as Nintendo. They did their best to follow in Sony's footsteps, but they ultimately couldn't handle the bottom of the barrel competition. This was Sony's game... and the PS2 solidified itself as the king. All others (GameCube/Xbox/DreamCast) would fight for the rest. Sonic the Hedgehog 4 is coming out sometime this year (hopefully), 16 years after Sonic & Knuckles... the last of the Console 2D Sonics. It's too little too late for Sega as a hardware company, and I believe that Sega is limiting this game's sales potential by making this a downloadable only title. They have no idea that there's a huge market for this game (and the above average sales of Sonic Mega/Gems collection and Sonic Ultimate Genesis collection tell me there's a big ol' audience waiting for some tried and true Sonic goodness).

And now, it's the Wii that's making the rules... and 360 and PS3 are fighting for the rest. I mean, it's almost like deja vu on how we're seeing 360 and PS3 coming with their own alternatives to what made the Wii king (Just as the N64/Saturn and Xbox/GameCube all tried to come up with their own alternatives on what made the PS1 and PS2 a hit). Although as far as the king of this generation goes, the battle for the marketplace and the mindshare was finished the moment the Wii was released (Just like it was all over once the PS1 and PS2 were released in their respective generations).

I hope you're watching Sega, cause this is something you could learn from.

yes it was a sad day when that company stopped making consoles

I don't like either anyway so would notice no difference.

So many other better games any way...same goes for Mario. Got tired of him. Enjoy Klonoa series much more and other old/new platformer games more.

And that's why Nintendo should go third party.

I've figured it out! I didn't get roled.

The point is, Nintendo's flagship franchise DIDN'T see a release for two generations!

Amirite?

i have Imagined GT because they might not make GT6 lol