Let me supplement the "2D Mario vs 3D Mario as system sellers" debate with this:

2D Mario games sell on the strength of their legs. 3D Mario games are much more front-loaded. So 2D Mario doesn't push a lot of systems all at once, but it becomes one of those games -- you know, when people say "when it has X games I'll buy it." 3D Mario, on the other hand, makes people say "it only has 1/2 X games, but FFFFFFFFFFFFFF I NEED IT."

Nonsense.

I think you underestimate the amount of people who buy 2 systems each gen. Even if the ps4 hardware excites me more, I will pick up a Wii U 1st because it wil probably recieve a hefty price cut this fall.

If I´m not mistaken, it did push a lot of Wiis when NSMB Wii was released.The NPD for December 2009 showed the Wii had sold about 4 million, so I take it NSMB Wii was the main game responsible for those monster numbers ,which was a record.

Of course, that was a special case, it was the first 2D Mario on a home console in 15 years (or more, if you don´t consider Yoshi´s Island a "true" Mario game)..plus it helped the system was cheap.

But now, I wonder how powerful the series really is...I know it´s got the best attach rate out of all the Wii U games so far, but with Nintendo having released two NSMB games so close to each other, and each one being so similar, sharing so many of the same assets (like some of the same music), I wonder if there´s some fatigue.

If they do release another 2D Mario, I seriously hope it´s a completely new game, detached from the 'NSMB' theme,,,like the NES games were, each one completely different from one another.

Yes yes we get it Nintendo ain't doing so well with 3rd party right now BUT did they really need 3rd party to make the billions they made off Wii? I'm not saying that third parties aren't essential but we have to wait for Nintendo's first party titles to show 3rd parties what can be done on the Wii U. Nintendo has always had to do this. Everybody is doubting Wii U and we haven't seen not one system seller yet. NSMBU is just NSMBW1.5. Notice how poorly those type of games sold on Wii in the first place. Nobody usually buys a Nintendo for a FPS other than Metroid Prime. Nintendo's fanbase is solid and loyal. They know what they want. And if third parties don't like Wii U yet then so be it. It will only be a matter of time before Wii U takes off this year.

Final Fantasy PS4 exclusive HAHAHA  what a really dumb decision

This is nuts. People are so focused on negative news, it's that very thing that will make the Wii U fail. Also, everyone seems to expect mobile sales or something in the millions right away. Just you wait, first party games come out, a price drop a few years later, and bam everyone will want one, have one, and any third party game company who wants to make some money will have their games on the system. Those next gen heavy hitters will be big competition but it will be cheaper to make games for the Wii U.

Also, just wait until the ps4 launches. No way in hell are the sales going to be out of this world. Just watch as everyone finally confirms that the gaming industry is just in fact in a decline, and be prepared for a shock. Because the PS4 and Nextbox will not sell that much initially. But, when the price drops and they have lots of awesome games, it will. Holding such high expectations might be a little disappointing in the end.

That's not to say those systems won't be amazing, it's just people won't buy them until they're cheap. The sales will most likely reflect the Wii Us to be honest. Which brings me back to my original point. It's the negative news surrounding the Wii U that's hurting it. It spreads like a virus. So in that case, I would say the next gen systems are winning already. And if they have a great advertising campaign planned, then they're a sure win.

I just can't fathom why the big N hasn't been aggressive with their advertising...Peace out.

Yeah in near enough agreement here. A handful of games will not sell a console - we saw this with the GC. A games console is now expected to have multiplatforms as well as being a multimedia hub.

Very good point OP! WiiU will almost certainly lack the library to even remotely compete with PS4/X720. Let me complete your list :

Tales of Xillia (PS3 exclusive)

Lightning Returns

Killer is Dead

Atelier Escha (PS3 exclusive)

Drakengard 3 (PS3 esclusive)

Yaiba Ninja Gaiden Z

That's about what I can think of by now, but I'm sure there'll be hell more until the summer

I don't see how anyone could deny that Nintendo has the best hardware selling software.

Actually, it is trolling when you're doing it to invoke a reaction, like what you're doing here.