It's been in plain sight the whole time!  And I finally discovered how Nintendo is trying to regain that hardcore base that left them the past several years. 
 
Nostalgia!  That's it!  Pure, unadulterated nostalgia! 
 
Have you noticed that some of Nintendo's more notable releases the past year or two have something in common?  Yeah yeah yeah, casual minigames, fitness games, and overpriced peripherals... let's get that out of the way, but let's look at Dr. Mario Online RX on WiiWare, Punch-Out!!, Excitebike World Rally, and New Super Mario Bros. Wii. 
 

• Dr.Mario Online RX is an updated version of the classic NES game Dr.Mario.
• Punch-Out!! is an updated version of the classic NES game Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! (Punch-Out!! Featuring Mr. Dream.)
• Excitebike World Rally is an updated version of the classic NES game Excitebike.
• New Super Mario Bros. Wii is an updated version of every 2D Mario game ever made.

 
Okay, enough wishful thinking.  I think we can agree that the general consensus is that Nintendo has essentially abandoned their hardcore past in favor of the blue ocean of casual games because that's where the money is and Miyamoto is an old, old man who will make games based on mundane activities he's interested in like toenail clipping or stamp collecting... or maybe toenail collecting?  Yeck!  But Nintendo has been betting on attracting some of their old base with the most familiar of games with a Wii twist.  For example, Excitebike World Rally on WiiWare.  Excitebike World Rally is Excitebike, the NES version of Excitebike, but in a slightly fancier package, some waggle, and a track editor that is eerily identical to the track editor we all know.  Why remake a game from 1985 that adds virtually nothing new except for better graphics?  It's for people like myself who remember how great Excitebike was at the time and Nintendo is totally trying to capitalize on our memories of that era.  In a way that's cheating.  Actually, that's cheating in every way!  This is great for those who remember Excitebike with fondness, but most people won't get it because it's an 80's game with a current gen gloss.  Might be fun, but too simple for some. 
 
I have a feeling that if these games succeed, Nintendo is going to keep up with this trend and just give their old, dormant franchises a current-gen makeover.  That is not to say it's a terrible strategy or a bad thing for gamers because people who grew up with Nintendo will be happy and younger gamers who never touched an 8-bit machine will get a similar experience.  The problem is that the gaming population has dramatically changed over the years and many gamers (you might be one of them) can't be swooned at just the mere sight of a new 2D Mario game or an outdated track editor.  Today's hardcore gamers want new and innovative experiences, lots of depth, and the occasional bloodbath.  Nintendo doesn't really need to mess around with gratuitous violence, but other than Zelda or Metroid, depth is hard to find.  And innovation has become almost casual exclusive on the Nintendo side.  None of the games I mentioned are extremely deep or innovative and that's where Nintendo ultimately fails in attracting the hardcore with old franchises.  If Punch-Out!! was released with twice as many fighters, some additional moves, and additional multiplayer modes, Punch-Out!! can be major draw.  But from my experience with the game, it sticks to the formula almost to a tee except for Title Defense Mode and some cosmetic changes. 
 
Same thing goes Dr. Mario which is basically a carbon copy of the NES puzzler.  The only game that can be described as being truly new and unique is New Super Mario Bros. Wii, but some critics still find the game uninspiring and too similar to previous 2D Mario games.  Some people are hard to please. 
 
Nintendo can win some gamers back with their back catalog of games, but they need to be dramatically different and bring something new to the table.  Simple remakes will not suffice.  However, nostalgia can only go so far and will not be a successful strategy on its own because there's a large group of gamers that started gaming much, much later and have no connection to any of Nintendo's classic games.  For Nintendo to bring back the core, they need to focus on new IPs and games with more depth like Zelda or Metroid.  They can mix nostalgia in there, but a balanced portfolio is normally a winning strategy.  Something for everyone... something Nintendo gets and is trying hard to make work, but not entirely succeeding. 
 
Personally, I say bring on the nostalgia... but no remakes.  If you're going to bring back Stunt Race FX or Wrecking Crew, do it right and make a sequel.

    
Note: I will summarize this blog in the final paragraph since I seem to have typed in circles and made the same points multiple times. 
 
Nintendo, you've done it again.  You evil, manipulative bastards! 
 
In case you've been wondering, I've been playing a good deal of New Super Mario Bros. Wii and surprise, it's very much a Mario game.  But this is no ordinary Mario game... seriously, it's not your typical Mario game.  If this were 1991, I'd say that yes, this is your standard Mario fare with classic 2D Goomba stomping, Koopa shell hurling, and shroom eating.  But in this modern world of 3D, Mario needed to adapt to the latest technology and add another axis to the coin grabbing and pipe traveling.  He kept the 2D goodness on the handhelds, but people like me need that big screen experience with their platforming.  It took Nintendo 18 years (14 years if you wanna count Yoshi's Island) to bring the classic 2D platforming that many of us grew up on, and I wouldn't want it any other way. 
 
But the reception has been mixed... well, as mixed as a Mario game will ever get.  New Super Mario Bros. Wii reviews have ranged from perfection to whoopie another Mario rehash.  I'm not about to bash the naysayers who were hoping for something completely mindblowing and dramatically different, but those fuckers are missing the point! 
 
So much for keeping it clean and civil. 
 
I'm certain that New Super Mario Bros. Wii was not made to rewrite the entire 2D Mario experience, but to tweak it to fit today's gaming palates while not alienating the Mario fanbase who just eat this shit up.  What Nintendo was trying to do was to repackage our childhoods and create new childhood memories using a tired and true formula.  And in that sense, New Super Mario Bros. Wii is a guaranteed 5 star game.  It's a greatest hits nostalgia-fest with lots of Super Mario Bros. 3 and many bits of Super Mario World and more recent Mario games, but with a Wii twist.  You know who Nintendo is trying to attract when they decided to bring back the Koopa Kids.  They are going after people like me, the 20-something gamers who remember the hours, days, and weeks flying through the Mushroom Kingdom with your Power Glove in hand.  And throw in the promise of 4-player co-op and you've got the ultimate Mario adventure.  Well less co-op and more clusterfuck, but either way it's amazing. 
 
But there's another demographic Nintendo is hoping to attract, a demographic that we used to be in back in 1985 when we first laid eyes on a gray box that mesmerized us for hours.  Yes, this game is also for the kids.  I think Nintendo is trying to recapture the magic of 1985 with a game that a 7 year old kid can play, finish, finish again, and love.  You might be saying that trying to make a game for amateurs and vets mean something has to give such as the difficulty, but I've found many of the later levels pretty challenging and I can blast through the older Mario games in mere minutes with minimal loss of life.  Those that found it too easy are either freaks of nature or didn't even attempt to grab the elusive Star Coins (and it is always Star... Coins.)  As for the kids, they're very persistent and will keep trying until they get the job done.  If they were like me, they'd try every trick in the book to complete a level, no matter how hard and how insanely frustrating it can get. 
 
So to those who were looking for a hard as balls Mario game with 99 unique suits and 20 worlds full of dozens of groundbreaking levels, go elsewhere or start collecting those coins now.  For those looking for a Mario game, New Super Mario Bros. Wii is totally it.  This game is for me, people like me (the best kind of people are like me), and the youth of the world who are just discovering video games. 

Oh right, the multiplayer!  Almost forgot about the multiplayer and all the complaints.  I know it's the main selling point of New Super Mario Bros. Wii and a 4 player co-op run can be frantic and dependent on your friends not acting like dicks, Ryan Davis.  Still, this is a first for a series that has been primarily single player oriented and should be celebrated and not criticized just yet.  Even the lack of online should be forgiven since we're talking about Nintendo here.  They pride themselves on forcing players to actually be in the same goddamn room when in a multiplayer match, heaven forbid we have to drive to a friend's house and hang out with them for a few hours.  And if you insist on not going through with the 4 player chaos which is suitable for Coin Battle, the 2 player experience is damn close to perfect for a co-op campaign.  The Mario/Luigi brother combo might be the ideal way to play 2D Mario games. 
 
And now my final thought. 
 
Looking back at this blog, I see that I'm rambling and repeating the same point over and over again.  So let me summarize my thoughts plus add a few more I didn't care to mention above. 
 

• Times have changed.
• New Super Mario Bros. Wii is awesome despite the few critics.
• People need to stop bitching about the lack of new ideas... it tweaks the formula enough to make it different in spots.
• People need to stop bitching about the old, rehashed ideas... nostalgia is bliss.
• The first console 2D Mario game in 18 years... they don't need to innovate and be mindblowing, it just needs to exist.
• Fucking Koopa Kids!
• It's only easy if you don't fully explore all the worlds and levels... or if you're a freak of nature.
• I find the difficulty pretty high in spots, but not impossible enough for new gamers, as it should be.
• It's for everyone and should be for everyone, not just for hardcore gamers despite what some of the people wants us to believe.
• Multiplayer is fine the way it is.  Try 2 player co-op, it works very well.

In honor of the official ban on YouTube spam here at Giant Bomb, here's some YouTube spam. 
  

There's a very good chance you won't see me around this Sunday as the biggest game of the year (that is not Modern Warfare 2) is finally released.  Yes, New Super Mario Bros. Wii is coming very soon and I will be stomping Goombas from the time I get home to probably late at night.  Why?  I've been waiting over 15 years for this game to be made and I'm not waiting any longer!  I've always preferred the 2D Marios over the 3D counterparts for nostalgic reasons and even though I totally loved Super Mario Galaxy, New Super Mario Bros. Wii is the Mario game that will define the Wii in my book. 
 
All I need is 3 more people to join me in the madness. 
 
Oh, and I'll be getting Rabbids Go Home on Sunday as well.  I'm in that platforming state of mind this week. 
 
Maybe I'll talk about them next week... my blogs have been on the weak side this week.

I guess out of the 2009 releases I've played, I'm gonna have to give it to LIT.  It just didn't do it for me... pretty mediocre. 
 
That's probably the only bad game I played this year.  I've maintained a good track record this year sticking with quality titles.