The "core" games? Or the "casual" ones? I'm inclined to believe you misinterpreted what I said.

Yes, they are making the same games they always have (Mario, Zelda, etc) but I guess when you look at the way the Wii is selling, compared to the "Gamecube days", it's evident that those titles aren't what's making the Wii sell over 300k a week (otherwise you'd have to assume that the GCN would've sold like that).

And yes, they can't control how many 3rd party core games come to their system, but whenever the discussion of "poor core game sales" come up, it's always about 3rd party ones because we know Nintendo's expected games sell gangbusters. But, I mean, and like a I said before, something like MadWorld sells 70k first week, but Carnival Games sells 2 million, that's got to have some kind of influence over the direction Nintendo takes with their own 1st party games. You think Wii Music came out of nowhere?

And unless these 3rd party "core" exclusives are completely free to them (as opposed to say Sony's or M$'s approach to 3rd party exclusivity), I don't think it's a steady stream of income for them when the sales of core games are pretty low

Several points:

Nintendo's core games (Mario/Zelda/Metroid/etc.) are selling better on the Wii than they did on the Gamecube, despite having several years less time, and despite the games still selling at full price. The core audience has expanded dramatically on the Wii.

Second, look to see what Carnival Games' first week sales were. It's only 50,000. Don't mistake me, I'm not saying Madworld will ever match that, but you're going to need much stronger evidence than that to support your point.

Third, Wii Music was in creation before the Wii was released. It did not come out of nowhere, but it is not a response to the sales of Carnival Games or any similar software. Moreover, that remark demonstrates your ignorance of gaming history: Nintendo has always dabbled in similar software, even during the SNES era. Do you remember Mario Paint? Are you going to claim it was made in response to the stellar sales of Carmen Sandiego, or are you saying Nintendo "abandoned the hardcore" fifteen years back?

Finally, I don't understand your last paragraph. Please explain what exactly you mean. It can't be that the Wii doesn't sell core third-party software, as sales of titles like Resident Evil, Guitar Hero/Rock Band, Sonic, and many more imply otherwise, so I'm curious to understand what precisely you meant.

1. Super Mario Galaxy

2. SSBB

3. Metroid Prime 3

4. Zack & Wiki

5. No More Heroes

6. De Blob

7. Super Paper Mario

8. RE : Umbrella Chronicles

9. Madworld

10. Fire Emblem : Radiant Dawn

11. House of the Dead : Overkill

There; I gave you more games than you can count with both hands. Go buy them.