@outlawaurn - i know my reputation.  kenology's question was fair.

@kenology - i wasn't trying to spin anything here.  it was just something that came to mind as i remembered it had a subscription fee with it in japan and i was attempting to add to the discussion.

@bold. That's basically my first point. Without innovation the series gets fatigued.

@italics. Rol would be right. As such, the series could continue with 0 innovation and just new levels and people would still buy it. The question isn't that, but rather, would it sell as much as NSMB when it first came out on DS? I don't think so. The DS title had innovation and appeal that a recurrent entry in a series would certainly fail to deliver. So I agree with you, and at the same time part of me thinks you're taking it too far. The game will sell regardless, just not as well as NSMB. U is a different story.

The follow-up question is, can the series sustain non-innovation sales-wise? I would say yes, but the sales curve would stabilize at a much lower level than the peaks of NSMB DS. Mind you, much lower is relative to NSMB DS. For all other standards it would sell gangbusters regardless, it just won't be as much of a massive phenomenon.

@the last point. Playing the same old games just isn't as fun as having new levels to play in, even if it's in essence the same game. The same old game could be fun to replay, for sure, but I certainly wouldn't buy the same old game.

On the point of New Super Mario Bros. 2 and taken from the offical thread:

GAME was kind enough to post this on Facebook explaining all the differences New Super Mario Bros. 2 brings.

Just a short run-down of what they said:

-SMB 3/World Throwback

Koopalings, colored platform blocks from Mario Bros 3, Racoon Mario and more, all evidence that Nintendo is drawing significant inspiration from SMB3 and World! Remember Reznor the triceratops mini boss in Super Mario World? Well it's back in NSMB 2 and even comes complete with the same boss music found in Super Mario World - which made us grin so hard it hurt.

-Mushroom Houses with a difference

Throughout the world maps you will find a few varieties of Mushroom House, ready to help Mario power up for his adventures (some of which you will have to pay star coins to open up use). There are now certain mushroom houses that contain THREE different items but you can collect them ALL! Only a small detail but it adds a hidden level of strategy. Do you take the mini Mario mushroom and hope that the next level you play requires it's use? Or do you take the Racoon Mario and put the Fire Flower as your reserve item? Again, only minor but a nice addition!

-Motion in the shell ocean

Nintendo - We want to give the designer who added this little detail in a little pat on the back. It's simple and easily missable but it adds to the visual package. Now, when you stamp on a Koopa and kick its shell away it will leave a colourful trail behind it which kind of reminds us of the Tron Lightcycles! It's a small detail, but it makes us happy inside.

-New enemies

Without spoiling things TOO much, we came across several new enemies as we, ran, swam and flew through the levels. Some of the cooler one we saw were brand new 'Dry' enemies in the fortress levels, not only is it a brilliant geeky addition but it also adds a new element of challenge which Mario fans are always salivating for!

-Maps and levels

This was interesting when we saw it. We came across one map screen that went from being themed around a beach world before turning into a forest world, which we don't recall being done before. Will we see other world themes being meshed together later in them game? We can't wait to find out! Also noticable was how much Nintendo have tried to inject new level themes and environment tilesets into the game, we came across levels based around Aztec-esque totem poles, platforms made up of textures unseen in Mario games previously and it adds to freshening up the Mario experience.

-New world themes (this appears late in the game, don't want to spoil what this)

https://www.facebook.com/notes/game/geeking-out-with-new-super-mario-bros-2/10151154949376000

If that doesn't work, then here's another link:

http://gdinews.com/2012/08/new-super-mario-bros-2-so-whats-new/

I'm mad no one noticed this reference from one of VGC's most epic threads.

DMeisterJ was tiresome with that catchphrase :D

@bold. Don't be too hasty, Activision has a history of destroying its franchises with shortly separated releases. As for counter example, you have the whole plethora of EA sports games to pal-up with COD.

@complaining. Whether they complain or not doesn't interest me at this point, we're really talking about sales you and I so let's not bother with that matter right now, at least with me.

CoD games are released yearly
Mario games not, at least not Mario 2D or 3D plataformers

Fair enough, but the EA sports brand has been running since the dawn of gaming (I'm exaggerating but you know what I mean).

Do you think that COD will peak? When it does, do you think it will decline as of that point and then stabilize or do you think it will stabilize?

Mind you I agree that there are few releases like that which are as consistent (recall the graph we talked about when the new tools were given).

Anyways now we're getting off topic. Point is, NSMB2 is selling gangbusters, but odds are even with DD included the series is declining due to reduced interest caused by lack of innovation.

End of. ;)

"should" in terms of what?

Pezus
they are not upgrades, but changes in the mechanics and concept keeping the classic 2D plataformer base
CoD changes the theme and upgrades the grafix a bit and VOILÁ