Nintendo of Japan hasn't been stingy with the bundles, even third party ones. They've had a Monster Hunter 3 one, and Tales of Graces and Samurai Warriors are both getting them.

It's NoA that should get their heads in the game in this department.

I think Nintendo is missing a huge opportunity to promote their "hardcore" franchises to the masses. Think about the sales Super Mario Galaxy 2 would have if it were bundled with the Wii from November 2007 forward? The same could go for Twilight Princess. An official Nintendo bundle for $200 including Wii Sports and Super Mario Galaxy could make Mario the biggest game on the planet again. SMG is not selling in huge numbers anymore, so it only makes sense to promote the next iteration in a fashion like this. The same could go for Zelda or Metroid. Say, 6 months prior to release of a "core" Nintendo game, Nintendo has a limited-time bundle with the previous game included, along with Wii Sports. I personally think it's genius. This could potentially get the game into the hands of a million+ gamers who had never thought of buying a Mario/Zelda/Metroid/Star Fox/Punch Out!/etc. game before. What better advertisement is there than giving out a product for free?

Different times, we're in a recession now and will soon be entering a serious depression.

Nintendo is still in solid leadership, you're really just seeing the media trying to cash in on a decline that was almost impossible to avoid, the PS2 also stabilized after reaching certain mass, and there was no recession nor was the console as reliable. I'd say they're doing okay considering the odds.

Wii Sports is still doing the job it was supposed to do. No other game would be better as an introduction to the system.

Bundling in Australia is pretty crazy right now, you practically can't buy a Wii without also getting New Super Mario Bros. Wii and Mario Kart Wii plus a bunch of other games like Rabbids Go Home, NFS: Nitro and F1 2009 I've seen bundled also.

I think Wii is now bundled with Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort in the UK for £169. Previously it was £179 for Wii with just Wii Sports Resort. So now you get an extra game and a Wii Motion Plus for free and a £10 discount of the Wii. Have seen this bundle at Asda, Tesco and Currys so I assume it is a universal bundle. Very sweet deal.

I'm not getting the point of "increasing the visibility of 3rd party titles", since the titles the publishers wants to have better visibility, are being advertised. Secondly, i don't think Nintendo is interested in bundling games that don't have the potential. GST with M+ was really a no-brainer and it benefited both parties.

they bundled nsmb.Wii here in Australia along with wii sports

I definitely think third party bundles are the way to go. Would do wonders to help promote visibility of a lot of these titles.

@Student: Admit it, you made your post just to annoy me.

Every Wii is bundled heavily in Australia, the most recent deal I saw was Wii + Wii Sports + New Super Mario Bros + Carnival Games + Sonic: Black Knight + some Tennis game = $388, AUS Dollar. I havn't seen a Wii that doesn't come bundled with like 4 games.