Ah, good to hear constructive feedback on the matter. I just really hope Nintendo is able to salvage Donkey Kong and Starfox personally. The DS starfox was a good first step in the right direction but a far cry from any notable Starfox glory and no real indication it will get better.

Hopefully with the Wii's success Nintendo will be able to rangle some more talent to their cause to better maintain their first party titles.

It is true though Nintendo is not alone in this "stagnation", Rare was suffering long before being sold off to Microsoft and now have only lost more and more talent. Square is suffering a long time outside of the FF franchise and in recent times their hemoraging of talent is starting to show in the FF series as well. Sega is floundering but manages to pop their head up above the water every now and again with a good title. Atari... might as well not exist. Konami has always been in an odd state of pseudo-mediocrity and creative turmoil despite their big name franchises, not that you would never know by how little they actually bother to bring over to the Western market anyway. And Bungie, well god only knows if they can do anything other than Halo. Silicon Knights, maybe if Dyack wasn't so hot headed and they didn't bank on one game every five years they could make something more of themselves than just a victim of circumstance and poor planning, if they'd just stuck with Nintendo, they'd been made.

On the flip side.

Atlus went from virtual no-name indy developer status to big time developer nearly over night with the DS. Namco since its merging with Bandai has grown and done well and Capcom perhaps did their best ever this last generation. Ubisoft is growing to a more noteworthy position in the field of players (Yay France!) and EA is gobling up talented developers upon small developer expanding its Walmart-like grip across the land (Fuck EA, fuck em'). Thankfully it's these companies (EA, who cares) who have pledged near total support to the Wii and DS. A rebirth of the Nintendo dream team I hope, except this time without the whole pissing on developers and corporate huberus.

Who knows maybe eventually Konami will see the light and come back to Nintendo's side, Square-Enix... Well... We'll take Enix but Sony can keep Square.

Can Nintendo save their franchises. That is a very good question but only a few of the franchises you've mentioned actually need saving. let me explain just which franchises need saving and which ones really don't.

------------------------------------------------Franchises not in need of saving--------------------------------------------------

Metroid - You talk about Metroid needing saving because it isn't nearly as successful as the NES or SNES days. Well none of Nintendo's franchises are as strong as they were in the NES/SNES days. The MetroidPrime series has been a massive hit considering it was on the poorest selling console of the last generation. The many games on GBA/GCN/DS/Wii show the franchise is still very healthy turning a profit and keeping its established user base in tact. I see no reason for panic, infact I think the Metroid series is a true comeback story a series that all but dissapeared an entire generation suddenly makes a comeback as one of Nintendo's main players.

Legend Of Zelda is also not in any danger. You mention WindWaker but if I recall Nintendo's official numbers were around 3-million copies. Now I'll admit thats far weaker then the 7+ million OOT brought in but the N64 had a much larger user base. Already proving itself LOZ:TP has already broken the 4-million mark with only 10-million Wii owners. The franchise appears just as strong if not stronger then ever, with another 4-years left in the Wii's lifespan LOZ:TP could prove more successful in the long run then even the likes of OOT. LOZ is stronger now then ever and in no need of saving.

MarioKart another franchise that has only suffered resonable losses. The franchise still breaks the 3-million mark much like Zelda has.  MarioKart is Mario and the franchise hasn't really suffered at all since its conception on the SNES. Much like Mario's other spin-off franchises like MarioParty and MarioTennis I don't see Mario in any way shape or form needing assistance. Yes Mario is not doing as good as he did in the NES/SNES days but as I pointed out other then Zelda not many franchises are actually beating their NES/SNES counterparts.

-------------------------------------------------What Franchises Geniunly need saving------------------------------------------

Donkey Kong is perhaps the biggest SOS for Nintendo. After RareWare was taken over by Microsoft Nintendo decided to take the franchise in a new and suicidal direction.  Nintendo apparently was unable to learn or unwilling to admit it went wrong as it rushed a Bongo based side scroller to market. Donkey Kong Jungle Beat while a decent sidescroller suffered the Bongoitus. Nobody liked the Bongos and that carried to DK:JB who bombed so bad only selling 32,000 copies in its openning month to the horror of Nintendo's higher ups. But despite its horrible sales Nintendo went on to continue the madness developing Barrel Blast for the Wii and creating an arcade series following up JungleBeat which in turn were midly successful in Japan. Today Nintendo has a dying franchise on its hands, one in need of searious help. Nintendo needs to bring us something familiar a classical Donkey Kong game, no more gimicky drum based gameplay they need to rejuvinate the game series to when it was successful. Whether it be a DK64 sequal or a DKC4 on WiiWare, Nintendo needs to bring back the old Kong and be rid of the embarrasment known as Bongo's.

StarFox is a franchise that actually manages to sell decently. StarFox:Assualt suffered only minor losses when put alongside its N64 counterpart sales wise. Now I fully agree that Adventures blew and I think many agree with me. However Assualt was a compromise giving gamers the best of both worlds (N64/Adventure). I think Nintendo needs to bring the franchise back internal develope it internally under the observation of Miyamoto and make it online multiplayer. Its a decent series and sure the foot missions were tiring and annoying if done right it could turn out pretty good. StarFox isn't in much need of saving but it could use some help.

Kirby is another franchise in decent need of assistance. On the GameCube Kirby was almost a no show with a racing spin off as its only appearance. With a game already announced for Nintendo Wii you'd think you could sigh with relief but no release date has been given and very little has been heard or seen from Nintendo since E3 2006. The franchise needs a good new Wii game to keep it in the clear it could use a pick me up. 

---------------------------------------------Franchises that need to be maintained and built----------------------------------

Pikmin is a series of vast potential with both versions becomign fairly successful on the GameCube one of the few triumph stories to come from the GameCubes lifespan. The series has grown with a diehard cult following but with still no appearance of Pikmin3 on Nintendo's charts it begs the question will Nintendo maintain the new franchise or forget it ever happened. As Animal Crossing has spawned a handheld sequal and is no doubt already on its way for Wii we all await the release of Pikmin3!

EarthBound is a franchise that has been extremely successful in Japan. But it has a cult following in North America as well. That being said the creator has stated he will not be making another EarthBound game that being said Nintendo could remake the to titles that never made it to North America. Not to mention Nintendo owns the franchise and its rights enabling it to make some sequals. Nintendo should port the two titles to Virtual Console or WiiWare making the franchise successful here in North America yet again.

Pilot Wings a franchise that hasn't been seen or heard of since the N64. A Factor5 developed title was supposed to make an appearance on the GameCube but was cancelled. A new Pilot Wings is needed quickly before the franchise begins to dissapear. The series has always been resonably successful and could really use saving right about now. However unlike Donkey Kong or StarFox the franchise hasn't deteriorated its simply dissapeared which is a major differance when it comes to needing saving. It just needs to reappear  before the user base forgets it ever existed.

 -----------------------------------------------Franchises in need of Revival---------------------------------------------

Killer Instinct is a franchise I didn't even know Nintendo owned. However in a recent Rare interview it became apparent that Nintendo owns the Killer Instinct franchise. Now that Rare is gone the series has sat unused since the N64. However Nintendo could and should revive the franchise as competitors have titles from that genre that are very succesful. In all honesty this is a franchise in need of a ravival but just like Pilot Wings the franchise isn't actually in need of saving rather just a revival. 

Ice Climbers is a franchise that reappeared thanks to SmashBros:Melee the franchise hasn't been heard or seen since the NES days. However with the Wiimote and pretty much a blank slate Nintendo could bring the franchise back in a big way as a 3D platformer using the Wiimote for controlling the pick axe and such the game could really catch on. This franchise could use a revival  and could really benefit Nintendo.

----------------------------------------------Franchises in need of maintanance or fixing--------------------------- 

Giest is yet another title that started off a not so successful franchise. With N-Space developing a new Wii game you never know if the franchise will be developed further or ditched. The franchise showed a little promise the game was decently fun but pretty glitchy if Nintendo poured more money into it and brought it inside internally they could turn it into pure gold. The title would give Nintendo an internally developed shooter which they really need right now.

-----------------------------------------------Spinoffs that could use revival or saving------------------------------------

Pokemon Snap is perhaps one of the most desired spin offs of the last few generations. Uniquely their aren't many photography games and the origional was very very successful. The spin-off series could really use saving, with the Wiimote gameplay could be improved upon so much with the photo channel and so many other options like competing pictures online and stuff the Wii would be the perfect home for a new version. I mean thereare now over 300 Pokemon that could be used Nintendo is sitting on gold.

Mario RPG, some may count it out because Paper Mario has been very succesful in replacing it. However many gamers imagine a world with a 3 Dimensional Mario RPG. Paper Mario continues to be very succesful but a return to the RPG series perhaps by Square would really benefit Nintendo. Of course however Paper Mario continues to do a great job and shouldn't be replaced so i don't know.

DiddyKong/DonkeyKong Racing - the franchise began with Diddy Kong Racing on the N64. However after Microsoft took over RareWare Donkey Kong Racing was cancelled after being delayed a few times. In Nintendo's most recent attempt to create a true new Donkey Kong based racing game brought Barrel Blast Nintendo failed in its attempt to create a decent Donkey Kong title.

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So theirs my outlook. Nintendo's hardware is doing very well but your absolutely right Nintendo is allowing their franchises to slip. No real gains have been made in any of Nintendo's franchises other then Legend Of Zelda. While I think you exagerated just how in trouble some of the key franchises are. I agree that Nintendo has done a horrible job maintaining Donkey Kong.

If Nintendo doesn't clean up its act with Donkey Kong other franchises could follow. To be honest when Nintendo said they could single handedly support the Wii without the support of third parties and announced massive additions to the Japanese internal studios. This is embarrassing with more developement power then ever before we are seeing less games then ever. Nintendo's E3 2007 press conferance was horrible with barely anything new coming from their dozens of internal studios.

 As one of the leading publishers Nintendo has failed to maintain its established user bases in most of its successful franchises. Many of the franchises remain strong but their established user bases are being replaced by casual gamers who won't be their if and when Nintendo screws up. Casual gamers are temporary while the hardcore are forever. Loose the support of the hardcore and the franchises will tumble along with the hardware as Sony is realizing right now. You can't rely on third parties or casual gamers to support you once you've lost your instilled user base.

 So its my greatest wish that Nintendo gets its act together in regards to Donkey Kong and a few other franchises. However for the most part Nintendo is doing a great job maintaining LOZ, Metroid and Mario. Nintendo is not actually loosing by any means, in the short term they are enjoying alot of success. Nintendo's decent support of their super powers (Pokemon, Zelda , Mario) is more then enough to keep them afloat I just feel their neglecting their other franchises which could really need some help right now! (DonkeyKong,StarFox)

Personally, I don't see why everyone seems to be clamoring for a resurrection of the DK franchise. Even DK64 met with a mixed response at its time of release, and since then all of the games have featured a gimmick of some kind. The reason? Donkey Kong is a boring character and by himself brings virtually nothing to a game. Why do you think Rare decided to add all of the additional "Kong family" characters? DK Jungle Beat was actually quite a good game, but again was based solely around a gimmick. Honestly, with so many great franchises in the Nintendo stable, it's no great loss to have DK relegated to these types of games. He's no longer a star player, and likely never will be again.

On the Kirby side of things, that series seems to be geared exclusively toward handhelds since the N64 days (and the lackluster GC game) and has done quite well there. Canvas Curse was a superb game and Squeak Squad sold surprisingly well. The series started out on handhelds, and as the character's popularity remains very strong in Japan, it makes perfect sense to continue the series on their most popular system, the DS. The style of Kirby games lends itself better to a smaller-scale experience than a full console-style release anyway, and the games do not necessarily suffer for it.

I think a major reason for gamers to want a return of DK is sentimental. Sort of like how even adults return to the franchises of their childhoods. I mean Mario sells to adults but strictly to the established user base. Fact is when you grow up with something you tend to stick with it, I've been a Coke person my whole life , I've been a Sony hater all my life, I've always loved Mario and Donkey Kong since the day I first played them on my moms Atari2600.

Fact is I grew up on Donkey Kong and love the franchise. You are right RareWare did take an otherwise dead end product and make it something. Without the Kongs and RareWare Donkey Kong would have remained like Pac-Man a puzzle game that never actually improved. However the Country series much like Marios early games and Donkey Kong 64 much like Mario64 were amazing games. The franchise has as much potential as any of Nintendo's other classical franchises. However unlike Mario Nintendo took Donkey Kong in a more innovative direction. Instead of naturally evolving the franchise they took it in a radically new direction inturn destroying it.

A true return of the Kongs in a 3D enviroment bringing us Mario(sunshine/64) style platforming a big free roaming Jungle and all the classical enemies would be an unpresedented hit. All Donkey Kong fans want is for the franchise to return to where it should have gone. For Nintendo to revive the franchise with a true DK64/DKC sequal on the Wii like they gave Zelda and Mario. Nintendo put so much effort into SunShine and into WW/TP years of development and huge experianced teams. While for JungleBeat Nintendo gave a rookie studio less then a year to create an origional innovative Donkey Kong title. The title was rushed and shabily done with Nintendo not giving nearly the needed resources for it to be the quality hit fans expected.

Nintendo set it up to fail, DK was one of Nintendo's most successful franchises it helped build Nintendo. I mean if it wasn't for Donkey Kong Nintendo wouldnt exist if it wasn't for the hit of the origional arcade game Nintendo would never have had the North American success it needed.

Long story short DK deserves respect and a real effort on behalf of Nintendo who has proven to have the development abilities of a God. I mean if Nintendo can revive and re-establish long dead franchises like Metroid and maintain franchises like LOZ and Mario then theirs no doubt in my mind that they could do the same for Donkey kong. I mean the user base didn't just leave cause they were bored it dissapeared slowly over years and years of neglect!

Well the fact that a lot of the GC titles you mentioned failed to improve on their N64 predecessors just lends weight to the argument that more polygons and fancier physics does not a better game make. In fact it's funny that the most celebrated part of Sunshine was the retro sections which were devoid of any of the bells and whistles the rest of the game sported.

Look at MP3, I think it was definately easier for Retro to significantly improve on parts of the game due to the new interface than it would have been if they had instead had more horse power. DS's interface is also the reason Phantom Hourglass stands out from the crowd, awesome game by the way, had it used traditional controls I don't think it would be doing nearly as well!

There is a Kirby Wii that's suppose to feature 4-players co-op and have been commented to be similar to Kirby Superstar, so that's probably worth looking into. Although it's been a long time since there's any more information on it... But hey, it is Nintendo we are talking about.

Sure Donkey Kong is one of Nintendo's oldest franchises, but what did he do in those games? He stood at the top of the level and beat his chest. Kind of a paper-thin character to be the star of a video game. DK64 could have featured any characters and been much the same game; it has often been described as just a bigger Banjo-Kazooie. Games like Donkey Kong '94 were a more traditional use of the franchise, and the Mario vs. Donkey Kong games are probably the most accurate extension of the original games (and are quite good themselves). This is why I don't think there is any real point to producing a 3D platformer starring Donkey Kong: he's not a hero. He's a villain. He stands at the top of a stage, holding Pauline captive and taunting Mario. To shoehorn him into a platforming game to which he brings no real hook or interest is pointless. It might as well be called "Generic 3D Platformer Starring Donkey Kong".