While everyone was throwing rose pedals at Nintendo during their redeeming E3 presentation last year for finally making games for the hardcore gamer, I was cautiously optimistic if not a little concerned about where this could put the Wii. Don't get me wrong, I was ecstatic about the lineup (I mean damn, a new DKC, Goldeneye, Kirby??), but at the same time I realized that many of the games I liked would not translate into success. In the back of my mind, I expected a downward slide for Wii sales, as I did not really see that one game that ignited excitment among consumers. You know, the Wii Sports, Wii Fit, NSMB, or Mario Kart for the year. This mega bomb was noticably absent as Nintendo desperately tried to win back the jaded "hardcore" gamer, in which I think they have succeeded, albeit at the expense of sales.

The problem is, when Nintendo shift back to hardcore mode and we get all excited, their sales generally suffer. Because much of what we like is not what the masses like, and vise versa. It is interesting how Nintendo's "success" or "failure" at E3 is almost directly inverted from how they perform in sales. I think most of us here can agree that 2007-2009 were poor E3 showings for Nintendo if not downright disastrous. Particularly 2008, everyone was up in arms about "OMG WII FIT??? TEH END OF GAMING!!!1" Yet look at their sales in those years. Wii's peak was 2008, its supposed disaster "OMG WTF WII FIT!!" year.

Now people are scratching their heads at why Nintendo has begun to slide in 2010 and 2011, despite having a solid library for the hardcore. Well that is precisely the REASON sales are sliding. In other words, we can't really have it both ways. We either get to see success for Nintendo, or we see an ample supply of hardcore games. Obviously most people would chose the latter, because after all if Nintendo sees success, what's in it for us? They throw out stuff like Wii Fit, and the masses get excited, but there is little to show for the core gamers.

If we look at 2010, many people here would say they're very satisfied. But these games could not move consoles. We had Mario Galaxy 2, Endless Ocean 2, Sin and Punishment, Monster Hunter Tri, Red Steel 2, Epic Mickey, Goldeneye, DKC, Kirby's Epic Yarn, Metroid Other M, etc. This is a great lineup for me, but so was the Gamecube lineup, and we know how that console performed. Wii Party was a mediocre game and a poor attempt to keep the expanded audience satisfied.

So Nintendo is left to try and keep the scale balanced so to speak. If they appeal too much to the hardcore end, they tend to lose sales. If they appeal to the mases, there is the backlash from the hardcore and they risk losing some of their oldest and most deticated fans. So what do they do?

For my money, the obvious solution to keep the scale balanced is to embrace more of the "bridge" games, and fill the lineup with many more of those. Games such as NSMB, Donkey Kong Country, Mario Kart, Wii Play (who here did not enjoy the tanks game?), even Smash Bros. Brawl.

What do these games have in common? They share qualities of arcade games. Social games with much replayability. Fast paced, pure gameplay, multiplayer emphasis, easy to learn, difficult to master. Games that the average consumer can get into with ease, but is complex enough and enough content for the core gamer to appreciate. These are the qualities of games that best define Nintendo, and it is THESE are the types of games Nintendo needs to focus on if they wish for the Wii to stay relevant.

2010 was noticeably absent of bridge games like these, aside from DKC, and it is why they have begun to slide. Despite having quality titles, it was littered with anti-arcade games. That is, complex controls, cutscenes, requiring more patience, limited single player experience, after which the consumer would sell it back. The games represented HD style games, but with poor graphics. This type of thing doesn't sell with the Wii user. Arcade style games (bridge games) are what Nintendo does best, it is what the Wii user wants, and it is what Nintendo needs in 2011.

I think the saving grace of the Wii is going to be Wii Relax and the Vitality Sensor. My thinking is that it will be released this year and it will be a very strong hardware seller.

Nintendo became successful because they made games that MATTERED to people:

• Brain Age became successful because people wanted to improve their brain power.
• Wii Fit and Wii Sports were a hit because people wanted to exercise while playing games.
• Wii Relax has the potential to be successful because it can help lower anxiety and stress.

I think this combined with the arcade-style bridge games is the only true way to boost sales again.

I have to respectfully disagree with you, as a hardcore gamer I was quite satisfied with nintendo last year and the sales of those games you listed arent not bad sales, most of those games sold a million units. It is true that they went for the core gamer and there wasnt a megahit but that doesnt mean they should only go for arcade-like titles just to make huge profits. I think they should make games for both audences but try to keep them separated that way they can still make huge profits and keep the core audience happy.

Majority of early bets are on PS3 and it was impossible for 3rd parties to turn back.

They then throw limited budget to make a few quick Wii titles to cash in and throw that profit into continueing the PS3 games. Some devs/publishers even outright said it.

On top of that, MS moneyhat a lot of them for a lot of games.

In the end, the Wii is lacking 3rd parties support. And that's the end of the story.

No, they were just unwilling, or at least unwilling to ALSO support the Wii AND the other systems, due to a bunch of major misconceptions.

I would say the Wii did reasonably well in 2010 considering it launched in late 2006.  It's just that the Wii's 2010 sales aren't all that impressive when compared to last years PS3/360 sales (which are doing fantastic considering then they released) and the Wii's literally awesome sales from 2008

I don't care anymore. The Wii's been mostly dead for a long time, and im more interested in the 3DS now.

No, it wasn't the focus on core games that hindered the Wii sales this year, it was the oversaturation of the casual market by the IPhone, and less so, Kinect.

How someone can be so wrong in such a short period of time is beyond me. Yeah, those 85 million sales are just me hallucinating. Yeah, the iphone, which isn't even a handheld games console, hindered a home console's sales. And let's not even go into the Kinect debate.

And btw, yeah I agree, they should focus more on arcade like games, say 2D mario, mario kart, LoZ 1&2, not this new crap like Metroid other M. but it seems their focus is leaning more towards the latter.

I don't consider surviving, solely off the back of bridge/casual titles, alive, but you know definitions, etc. The casual market derives its interests off things like Wii Sports, the rubiks cube and hulahoops, to argue that IPhones aren't part of that market is ludicrous. Lets not forget Nintendo have said consistently THEY are competing with ALL other entertainment.