The best-selling 3DS game in the West released this year is Kid Icarus: Uprising. Not a Mario game. Not a timed exclusive. Next in America is Resident Evil, a 3rd-party title. Soon, Kingdom Hearts 3D will join those two.

So far this year, Nintendo has released only a single Mario game in the West, and it hasn't sold very well. What's keeping the 3DS "above subpar" is mostly strong third-party support. The console would continue selling "above subpar" for the rest of the year without Mario games; instead, it will sell like hotcakes.

As of NoA, I am aware of only one first-party 3DS game that isn't being localized this year: Fire Emblem. It's coming next year, so hold your horses. NoA doesn't decide what games get localized, anyway; NoJ does.

You know exactly what I am talking about. It is clear as day that Kid Icarus will not be responsible for selling 3DS this year. That responsibiltiy lies on NSMB2. By timed exclusive, there are games in Japan like Monster Hunter 3G and the aforementioned Fire Emblem that are available in Japan, but nowhere else. The West needs a major game to release in the same fashion, but that game is Mario again in 2 weeks.

MK7 and SM3DLand released late 2011

You chose your words poorly. NSMB2 cannot have been responsible for the sales of the 3DS for the first 7 months of this year. For the 5 months forming the tail-end of the year, NSMB2 will be responsible for much, MUCH more than "above subpar" sales, as you said. Thus, at no point this year will NSMB2 be responsible for "above subpar" sales.

Your other points about Nintendo "bringing nothing else of value" to the West were contested in my previous post. Monster Hunter 3G is a Capcom game and Nintendo is in no way responsible for its localization. The "timed exclusivity" of games like Theatrhythm and Kingdom Hearts are likewise entirely the fault of the third parties responsible for publishing them (in this case, Squre-Enix) and, again, not Nintendo.

Are you kidding me? xD

Vita needs a price cut now!

It's not that's it a bad thing to use the touch panel; but wouldn't you rather just play it on PS3?

Fair enough, but a lot of people out there (A LOT) have limited resources and aren't willing to buy two versions of the same game so they can play one at home and one on the road. Since the Vita is marketed towards PS3 owners, they are choosing the console version and passing on the Vita all together - that's my conclusion drawn from the Vita's lack of sales.

At least until there is a price cut (see also the original DS selling 10k more than the Vita YTD).

I will copy and paste an older post I made:

It doesn't need a price cut to stay relevant if it gets software. A GTA and GT could help out a lot, AC and COD won't do wonders, but they'll give it a boost. The next Uncharted and obviously a Monster Hunter will also do well, but that's pretty far out. Any new IP could be a surpise hit, there are plenty of Sony's first party studios working on Vita games. Oh and Bioshock will release next year. It seems set for the next year and half, it's sales across that time period will make publishers decide whether or not to publish another Vita title. And if major publishers decide not to, a price cut will be needed. But I guess by the end of 2013 they'll be cutting the price no matter what.

Pezus said
"What are you trying to say? FIFA is a great series, the best sport series around. It's not like it's bad that that's the game that uses it the best way. It's not an irrelevant feature. Tell me how it is irrelevant and the 3D in 3DS is not when you can disable it.."

about FIFA, its indeed a highly popular series...i will leave it there
but if a fairly casual game that uses the rear touch panel just for shooting the ball and in fact ,in most reviews i read say that it feels akward and causes accidental firing off of the ball, is the best game out there using the rear touch panel....
this is what they concluded on the controls deparment in the FIFAsoccer blog
"Thankfully, you are able to turn the touch controls off and continue to use the traditional method with your choice of assisted, semi-assisted or manual control options."

the 3D in the 3DS is for the core fanbase and the graphic whores, the casual gamers might feel afraid of it since its not eye friendly from the first time you use it, actually that was a smart move from Nintendo...

The rear touch adds options for developers and it's another way to make up for the lack of L2/R2. It's used really well in Escape Plan for example, and I'm betting it'll be fantastic in LBP. It takes some getting used to, but your hands adjust to the system, it isn't an issue.

im saying its irrelevant by now, the system is still young and in the future we could see devs using the touch panel in a significant way, every added features are always welcome....still it hasnt been used in a relevant way...well i dont know about Escape plan, but thats just one game, and a couple of games dont justify the inclusion of that feature imo....still soon, well see..
Pezus
i really dont see how a rear touch pad could be more appealing than the glasses free 3D to anyone...