I decided to begin producing some thought provoking threads about the next generation. Which is set to start in 2011 (According to the five year life cycle system).

Something really got me wondering, which franchise will kick off the next Wii? Typically Mario and Zelda have been Nintendo's head honcho's kicking off every new generation since NES. But I realized something MarioGalaxy2 and the new Zelda title both are scheduled to be released next fall for the Wii. So if Mario and Link both have new games being released in 2010 fiscal year which franchise will head up the Wii2's launch? If neither Mario or Link head up Nintendo's next platform this will be a first in Nintendo history. Which franchise could succesfully launch with the

Wii2?

Mario is almost always Nintendo's choice for launch franchise. But with NewSuperMarioBros coming this fall and MarioGalaxy2 coming out next fall. What are the chances that a new Mario game will be ready for fall 2011 or 2012 as some expect? Could we see a new MarioKart head up the next Wii or maybe another spin off like Nintendo did with Luigi's Mansion and GameCube. Mario as a franchise is one of Nintendo's strongest with life time sales of over 227 million units!

Legend of Zelda is the first franchise to take over a launch, usually Mario's forte Nintendo chose to launch Twighlight Princess as the launch title for the Wii. In total Legend of Zelda has pushed more then 57 million copies amking it one of Nintendo's strongest franchises. But a new Zelda is launching for the Wii in fall 2010, is a new Zelda for fall 2011 or 2012 even feasable?

Pokemon is Nintendo's second biggest franchise with software sales of over 193 million units. Nintendo hasn't released a mainstream Pokemon game on home platforms since 2006's release of Pokemon Battle Revolution a launch title for the Nintendo Wii in Japan. Pokemon Battle Revolution was a bare bones battling game with no real single player plot line and very little bonus features. Since its release Genious Sonority has been silent. A new Pokemon game for the launch of the next Wii is more then plausable!

Donkey Kong is one of Nintendo's most successful franchises with sales of over 49 million software units. In 2005 Nintendo's President Satoru Iwata announced a new Donkey Kong game for the Wii. This title never saw the light of day but could it be in the works for Nintendo's next platform? Could Donkey Kong lead the march for Nintendo's next platform?

Super Smash Brothers has been a huge Nintendo franchise since the Nintendo 64. Since then the SmashBros franchise has pushed millions upon millions of copies. Many expected SmashBros:Brawl to be one of the Wii's launch titles and many were upset when it wasn't. Nintendo has the chance to make all those people happy by launching SmashBros as one of the next Wii's launch titles!

The newest Nintendo franchise is Nintendo's Wii franchise. The Wii franchise includes heavy hitters like WiiSports, WiiMusic , WiiFit, WiiPlay etc...etc... If you tally all of their sales together you have a very big user base. We all know that Nintendo launched the Wii with WiiSports their is a very good chance that the next Wii will also come bundled with one of Nintendo's Wii titles!

Nintendo launched the Touch Generations line of games with Brain Age and Nintendogs on the Nintendo DS. However many Touch Generations games have come to the Nintendo Wii as well. These brain training , puzzle and simulator titles have combined sold almost as much as Donkey Kong. Could one of Nintendo's Touch Generation titles head up the next Wii. Maybe Nintendogs Wii2.

Metroid , a franchise loved in the west. We got Metroid Prime 1-3 and Metroid Prime Other M. However the release of Metroid Other M in 2010 likely makes Metroid and unlikely candidate. Metroid also has lower life time sales with a total of alittle over 14-million units being sold since its beginning on the NES.

Animal Crossing is another one of Nintendo's newer franchises which has a total of over 7 million units shipped. Animal Crossing has never launched alongside any of Nintendo's platforms but their is a start for everything. With new characters an array of new items and some new features Animal Crossing could make a great next generation launch title!

StarFox is one of Nintendo's core franchises, however StarFox has not garnered the most amazing sales with its lifetime sales under 5 million units. However Nintendo hasn't released a home StarFox title since StarFox:Assualt graced the GameCube last generation. StarFox sees the strongest sales here in North America and could make a good launch title ofr the Wii2.

Kirby one of Nintendo's other underperforming franchises hasn't seen a home console release since the GameCube. Just so were clear the GameCube release wasn't exactly a typical Kirby game rather a spin off. Many have been waiting all generation to see Kirby released on the Wii but so far no title has actually launched. Could we see Kirby availible at launch of the next Wii?

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So which title or titles do you expect to launch the next Wii?

Which title or titles would you prefer launch with the next Wii?

And lastly which launch line-up do you predict would have the largest hardware shoving power?

Donkey Kong should be it because it would be beautiful and show off both the graphical power, and controls, of the next system. It would also completely destroy the HD credibility of Ratchet/Clank and Banjo Kazooie, even if it was only half as good as Galaxy.

Let's take a look at past Nintendo launch titles (not counting NES, there were too many):

SNES:

Super Mario World (Bundled)
F-Zero
Pilotwings

N64:

Mario 64
Pilotwings 64

GCN:

Wave Race: Blue Storm
Luigi's Mansion

Wii:

Wii Sports (Bundled)
Zelda: Twilight Princess
Wii Play/Excite Truck (depending on your location)
WarioWare: Smooth Moves


As you can see, Nintendo don't release many titles at launch. I'm sure they'll bundle a game with the system if they have a system seller at launch like Wii Sports. Basically though they will probably debut a new franchise, have a sequel to a core game and also a sequel to a casual game ready for launch.

- New Franchise
- Donkey Kong Country 4
- Wii Fit 2

Something along those lines.

My kirby feelings really want kirby for launch...
But to be reasonable a 2.5dimensional Donkey Kong platform will be the most killer and will boost Wii sales by alot... That would be cool :D

well i think that the Wii's successor will be released in 2013 (before that still seems to soon IMO).

that means there would still be plenty of time to create a Super Mario game for the launch.

i would not be surprised to see Mario Kart there also. plenty of time for that game to be made.

with the success of Wii sports, i'd expect a similar title being bundled. something that shows off the system's hook and appeals to the mass audience.

I really don't expect the next Nintendo system until 2012 at the absolute earliest. I believe this generation will last longer than the previous ones.

the next zelda

If Nintendo do have a Mario game at launch, I'd expect it to be 2D and not 3D as 2D Mario has a greater appeal and also be quicker and cheaper to make.

Mario Kart wouldn't come until the second wave of software as it always has. I also don't think Zelda would be there at launch, even if Zelda Wii is the last Zelda on the Wii.

Difficult to know...

- A New Wii Sports
- Mario Kart "HD"
- Wave Race
- Zelda
and perhaps Kid Icarus !