But 3D Mario games obviously don't borrow most of their ideas from past games and bank on nostalgia, right? Always these double standards, even after Super Mario 3D Land just came out and desperately tried to be like Super Mario Bros.

NSMB brought Donkey Kong Country back. That alone is worth more than 3D Mario did in the last decade. It's just unfortunate that a lot of companies thought that NSMB is just a game that banks on nostalgia, so they didn't update their new games appropriately. Super Mario Bros. evolved while games like Mega Man 9 and 10 remained stuck in the past.

EDIT: Saw your other post. This isn't about one series that needs to go. Co-existence is very much possible. However, the current priorities are wrong. Super Mario Bros. must get AAA treatment and release first on every Nintendo system, because it is verifiably much more important than 3D Mario ever was and will be.

SMH.  Where to start...

"I don’t see 3d Land selling 3DS systems, inspiring more games like it, or filling up Nintendo’s coffers with money. What will it take to drop the sick, sick 3d obsession?"

Well, 3DS sales did actually rise with Mario 3D Land, although that was also on the heels of a price drop, and right around the holiday season, so its hard to attribute that success to one title.  Super Mario 3D Land's first 10 weeks saw more sales than NSMBDS.  The game is selling quite well, and I'm sure it has made Nintendo a hefty profity.  As for inspiring games like it... Ummm lol?  The game came out around half a year ago.  I'm not saying there is a surge of yet to be announced Mario 3D Land knock offs, but with development cycles the way they are, the earliest we would see such a thing is E3 this year. 

But instead of pointing out ridiculous quotes, let's examine the deeper themes.

First off, the whole technology aspect apparently went over the author's head.  The decline in 2-D games happened, not surprisingly, when 3D capable systems came out.  Naturally, the market typically craves the new and unique.  Did games like Donkey Kong Country, Castlevania, Mega Man and Contra disappear because of Mario 64?  No, they disappeared because new technology made 3D gaming possible.  Likewise, Mario 64 didn't singlehandedly spawn 3D platformers.  The growth of the genre was a result of the technology that made it possible, although naturally many developers took cues from Mario 64.  Video killed the radio star.  To ignore this massive change in technology and place the blame for decline in 2-D gaming solely on 3-D Mario's shoulders is a laughable oversimplification.

It's unconfirmed, but a couple of developers (SNK/Capcom for instance) have talked about Sony's dislike for 2-D gaming.  The legend goes that Sony often would not approve 2-D games because they wanted the PS1/2 to be seen as modern 3D systems.  Regardless of whether or not this is true, it would be silly to ignore Sony's rise to prominence in the gaming market as a factor in the decline of 2-D gaming.

Suddenly 2-D gaming is on the rise again!  And this is 100% because of New Super Mario Bros Wii!  Right..?  Well, uhhhhh... not really.

To be honest, there aren't very many successful 2-D retail games hitting consoles.  We have Little Big Planet, which sold very well despite coming out a year before NSMBWii.  We have Donkey Kong Country Returns.  We have Kirby, who had a 2-D game in development since the end of the Gamecube era.  And we have... uhhhh... wait, where exactly are all these amazing 2D games that have been coming out?

Oh there they are! They're on XBLA and the PSN!  Hmmmm... is the surge of 2-D just because Nintendo made a Mario game that sold very well... or could this have something to do with the fact that there is now a new method of distrubution where smaller, more cheaply developed games can be released at a lesser cost?

Considering that New Super Mario Bros Wii came out in November of 09, and Mega Man 9 came out in September of 08, I'm going to take a shot in the dark and say that New Super Mario Bros Wii had very little to do with Mega Man 9's creation.  So, let me answer your question...

"Without NSMB, do you think you would have seen the new Mega Man games?"

Why yes Mr. Malstrom.  Yes, I think we would have seen the new Mega Man games without NSMBWii.  I lol at you.

Now, you might look to me and say "No, he was talking about NSMB for the DS (Btw good job distinguishing between the two different NSMB games in your article)! That's the game that started all of this!!!"

Well, if we're taking the handheld market into account then...

Between the time of Yoshi's Island and NSMB DS we had 4 2D Mega Man games.  5 if you want to count Mega Man and Bass.  6 if you want to count powered up.  We also saw not one, not two, but three 2D Sonic games.  Kirby saw 2 original handheld 2-D adventures along with a remake.  We had 2 2-D Castlevania games, and even 2 2-D Metroids.  I have to assume we're not talking about the handheld market, although the author makes reference to Mario 3D Land, so maybe he's just had his head stuck in a hole for a while.

In conclusion, I don't think there is a shred of merit in that whole article.  Perhaps with a bit more research or evidence a decent point could have been made, but that's not the case.

Some choice quotes:

Let me introduce to you my villain. It is neither a he or she but an it. My arch nemesis, the Anti-Malstrom, who only wishes harm and destruction on gaming. The Anti-Malstrom somehow got hold of Doc Brown’s time machine/deLorean. It goes back to the year 1985, removes Super Mario Brothers from the Space Time continuum, and then travels back to the present.

(...)

The call for 2d Mario is not a call for a specific game. It is also a call for a foundational stone so a market exists so these other games can get made.

(...)

This is why I want a New Legend of Zelda. Not only do I want it for the game New Legend of Zelda could be, I want it because of the other Zelda-esque games it will spawn due to the market it makes.

It is not just that Nintendo makes 3d Mario and their finances decline while making 2d Mario and their finances increase. Gaming, as a medium, grows with 2d Mario. Gaming, as a medium, declines with 3d Mario.

Miyamoto appears in this post to say, “But if we combine 2d Mario and 3d Mario, we can compromise and everyone wins.”

Read the full blog post here.

The point is that Super Mario Bros. spawns other awesome games while 3D Mario spawns virtually nothing.