After seeing NSMB2's Japan sales and how they are tracking significantly behind NSMB's Japan sales. I feel that this might explain NSMB2's potentially worrisome sales.

http://seanmalstrom.wordpress.com/2012/06/23/the-new-2d-mario-games-are-suffering-the-smb2j-problem/

"Once upon a time, Super Mario Brothers 2 came out in Japan. The game is essentially a rom hack of Super Mario Brothers 1. Some new things were added like the whirlwinds. But it uses the same exact game engine and the same graphics and sound effects. "

" Aside from the fatal flaw of the lack of accessibility caused by the difficulty, Super Mario Brothers 2 Japanese was a flawed product because it was little more than re-using the same game engine. "

" Stagnant is the word to describe Super Mario Brothers 2 Japanese. The game adds new mechanics but nothing to the Mario universe. The engine is re-used and makes the game feel stale. This complaint about Super Mario Brothers 2 Japanese does apply to the new 2d Mario games. "

" I don’t think Nintendo understands why we buy 2d Mario. They probably just think it is about the ‘gameplay mechanics’. Let me ask Nintendo a question: if you guys were blind to the 2d Mario demand for decades, what makes you think you understand what is all going on behind the scenes today? "

Keep in minds that SMBJ2 sold 2.65 million units in Japan while SMB 1 sold 6.81 million units (According to VGC for both numbers).

You can find the full article on the link (even though I quoted most of it). :P

NSMB2 just had a massive week in US.......

SMB2J was really, really hard, for one.

A different factor to look at, however, could be Nintendo's mis-promotion of the coin gimmick. I was a little bothered by the premise of the game up until the point i started playing, when i realized that the coin counter is pretty much just a coin counter, and aside from the effects of the Gold Flower or Gold Rings, the game doesn't have a dramatically higher number of coins than other Mario games

We'll have to see what NSMBU does to properly assess what's going on here, though (and even that will be skewed by NSMBU being a launch title)

That's good to hear but I was mostly referring to Japan's numbers (Since SMB2J never came to North America as a standalone title)

However, the legs will be the most important factor for NSMB2's sales, but let see how NSMB2 fares in the U.S. and Europe.

@bolded I think that is also another factor in NSMB2's sales.

But I agree with you, we'll need to see what NSMBU brings to the table. And so far, almost everything about it looks solid. :)

Pointless article. It may not sell as many copies as the first but it's also still massive when it comes to sells. So the question is, how much does Nintendo profit from this? A LOT is all we know.

Score: Nintendo: 1 Dramatic Fan: 0

Maybe he's exaggerating, but for once I completely agree with Malstorm, Nintendo shoud try harder add something new to world of 2D mario. New Super Mario Bros 2 and New Super Mario Bros U just look like rehashes.

There's a lot of variants to that rule, but I agree... they needed to change more to avoid all the flack the game is getting.

But some things to consider (all for japan, but can be applied cautiously to other regions too)

1 - First: 3DS is not the DS or the Wii, nor it's going to be. They were disruptors, 3DS isn't
2 - The DS and Wii games were, respectively, the first new 2D Mario in 15 years and the first console 2D Mario in almost 20.
3 - NSMB Wii was the star of 2009's Wii christmas - not an august release. 2009 was THE year for Wii, I think
4 - There were 2 million more DSs and 3 million more Wiis when NSMB and NSMBWii released than 3DSs
5 - Competition from other games is this time is MUCH bigger. Seriously, third party support from both 2006 DS and 2009 Wii was redonkulously bad. Now take a look at 3DS games.

What is the record of SMB as a pack-in for the NES and Famicom?

The original "sold" nearly 30M in NA, compared to 5M for 2 and 9M for 3.

Plus, is anyone taking digital sales into account -- or legs?

Mike from Morgantown

Wait... Isn't this Rols job?!

But anyways... I Kinda have to agree really. I haven't got the feeling that NSMB2 really expandes the Marioverse like the other entries have done... And I hope NSMBU will bring something more than just some online social experience.