@ OP: I think you make some valid points.  The Wii series is pretty tied into the innovation of motion control, and probably won't carry from console to console in the same way that, say, Starfox or F-Zero has.

That said, one thing I don't think Nintendo's ever lacking in is imagination.  Even if we can't immediately see how they can build on the momentum of their newly created IPs in upcoming gens, I wouldn't bet against Nintendo.  I mean, think about it: looking at the original Donkey Kong, could you imagine that the main character would eventually translate into things like Galaxy, Brawl & Kart?

Besides all of that, I'm not sure that Nintendo is hungering for many new IPs at the moment--they're having a hard time just satisfying the fans of all of their older ones!  But if they are, I see that several people have listed things like Endless Ocean, etc., which may not be dominating the charts at the moment... but who knows where they'll eventually lead?  If Nintendo sees enough reason to give those kinds of games sequels, there must be a burgeoning fanbase for them somewhere.

lol yes 3rd party games are Microsofts and Sony's IPs lol.


The matter of the truth is they still have a shitload up there sleeve of franchises.

Punch Out has just resurfaced.

There is still stuff like pilot wings, kid icurus, star fox. Sure these are not the megatons that zelda and mario are but they still have a following.

It's just... really, really hard to ignore those sales, Million. Here, look at this:

http://vgchartz.com/games/index.php?&results=50&name=&console=PS3&keyword=&publisher=300&genre=&order=Sales&boxart=Both&showdeleted=&region=All&alphasort=

Wii Fit has sold more than the top 8 games Sony has released this generation combined. Many of those titles have been bundled with the PS3 (GT5:P, Motorstorm, Resistance, Heavenly Sword), while Wii Fit never has. In addition, Wii Fit is currently the lowest selling of the three Wii ____ blockbusters.

It would be one thing if these games had just sold well. But selling historically well? Better than any game ever released for the PS1 or PS2? Nintendo will find a way to keep these franchises going. If the only thing stopping it is that it happens to have the word "Wii" in the title, it's not a particularly high hurdle to overcome when you're talking about a game that trounces the sales of anything Sony or Microsoft have ever made. Nintendo will make it work.

Hell, I would like to see Nintendo reinvigorate OLD IP's.

Kid Icarus
Ice Climbers
Donkey Kong (how about a 2D platformer)
Star Tropics
Mach Rider

DO WANT!

This may be a politically incorrect opinion, but if Nintendo is going to make another "bright colors + mascot" IP ... I'd just rather they stuck with Mario, Donkey Kong, Kirby, Star Fox, etc. (hell, most of that list is overdue for a new game anyway).

I'd rather have Super Mario Galaxy 2 or a new Star Fox rather than Cocominimon, or some wacky new franchise, to be honest. Pikmin was OK, but if that's the type of new IP they would make, I'd take a pass. 

Now if they want to create a brand new edgier IP in a genre like the action game genre or a new kind of FPS that doesn't use the Metroid IP and has an actual budget behind it ... *that* I would be interested in.

I see it a little differently ... Nintendo (as a company) should be focusing on creating new IPs when there is a good reason to do so.

What I mean by this is that if they're creating a game in a genre or style that is not well suited to an existing IP (Pikmin and Wii Sports are good examples) then it makes sense to create a new IP; at the same time, if you're just going to make an arcade hockey game it probably makes more sense to make Mario Hockey because of how closely related it is to other Mario sports games.

Now, I'm a big supporter of the idea that Nintendo should bother developing "Mature" or "Edgier" games in house (in general) unless it is in a genre which few third party developers are producing games at the moment. In my opinion it makes far more sense for Nintendo to be looking for partnerships with independant developers who can successfully develop these kinds of games, and for them to fund the development and act in a supervisory role, than it does for Nintendo to develop these games themself.

nintendo doesn't need any new ones. They have established titles that are guaranteed money in the bank. Release a game with anyone from Brawl and it's almost guaranteed a million seller. Use link or mario-- 5m +

I think they should just take a big fat wad of $$$, get a great team, make a really fantastic edgy new IP that is much more fast paced than Metroid (too slow), market the hell out of it, and groom it as one of their top IPs. 

Just one franchise, they should have one franchise that is a little edgier and actually has sales appeal (sorry Metroid). GoldenEye on the N64 was perfect. 

Someone didn't see the Metroid: Other M trailer. Nintendo has enough franchises, and they're constantly making new ones, it's just that new ones aren't usually immediate successes so you don't notice them.

I like Metroid, but honestly Nintendo has banked way too much on that franchise. It never really was a big seller, even on the SNES. It's more of a niche kind of a franchise. 

I'm sure Team Ninja will inject some more action into the series, but to turn it into a real mass market friendly franchise I think would involved Team Ninja pushing it so far that it might piss the Metroid fanboys off. 

Nintendo needs to find something in vein of GoldenEye ... that was perfect. If you could add something like THAT (or something in the vein of God of War or Gears of War) to Metroid + Zelda ... now you're cooking.