This isn't something that needs to change, per se, but rather something that just needs to continue. We're just barely over two years into the Wii's life cycle and we've already been given installments in the following Nintendo franchises: Mario, Zelda, Metroid, Wario, WarioWare, Mario Kart, Smash Bros, Mario Party, Mario Strikers, Mario Baseball, Dr. Mario, Fire Emblem, Animal Crossing and Paper Mario. 2009 looks promising, with a long-awaited follow-up to the Punch-Out! series and a persistent rumor of Kid Icarus hanging in there. Though there's plenty of room for the third-party love that the other guys thrive on, the Big N's development teams have been very good to us.
In other words, now we're spoiled and expect the trend to continue. Perhaps this is unreasonable: Nintendo had to come out of the gate swinging, so we may be on the verge of a lull. But with all the money that the Japanese giant has been raking in, Nintendo would do well to bring in some more talent and pump out another installment or two from its bread and butter IP catalog. An update on that apparently-cancelled Kirby Wii title? The 3D remake of StarTropics that I've been dreaming about since I was 10? Or maybe Nintendo could make a lot of people happy and just give the US some Earthbound already.
