The industry is constantly changing and tweaking it's franchises to keep them oven-fresh.  So what's Nintendo's excuse?  Round 1 of the Wii is nothing more than Gamecube games with a Wii-mote?  I don't really care, but I do care about them making the same games!  They've got their big three - Mario, Metroid & Zelda.  But these titles have remained unchanged for over a decade. 

Metroid Prime was a breath of fresh air, and the sequel was the usual "more of the same".  But again?!  You might be able to get away with one followup sequel to run on the same engine, but two?  Three?  Metroid Prime 3 looks like the same game again with the Wii-mote.  Now that may guarantee a good game, in fact it does, but again?  Come on.  We've already played it. 

The most recent Zelda: Twilight Princess, seventh in the series, is nothing more than Ocarina of Time part 4.  Just like Windwaker was Ocarina of Time pt. 3, and Majora's Mask was pt. 2.  How about making a new game?  How about adding some vocals?  Oh don't get me started on that. 

Anyway, Super Mario is the same deal.  Super Mario Bros. 1, 2, 3, World & Mario 64 are all very distinctly different games.  But this next one, Mario Galaxy, is just Super Mario 64 part 3.  Mario 64 game out 11 years ago!!!  They keep making the same games again.   At least they're great games, but the same games nonetheless. 

I'm not going to say that Nintendo doesn't take risks.  Giving Mario a water backpack and having cartoon Link sail around for half a game were both gigantic risks.  But if that's all thats different, you haven't really done anything new.  Making Metroid a First-Person was another big risk that worked great.  But they took that risk for a reason.  The franchise needed a reboot.  And now, all three do again. 

Please tell me that the future of the Wii is not set in stone.  We don't need another five year term of the same games.  We love them, we the support them, but Nintendo for God sake get with it!  Wii are tired of them! 

Resident Evil was the latest franchise to get up from the count.  After the initial masterpiece Resident Evil 2 in 1997, they milked the series for a couple of great companions: Code Veronica & RE3.  But then they just played by the books and churned out Resident Evil 0 and some spin-offs to make the series go stail.  But then something magical happened and Capcom rejuvinated the series with Resident Evil 4 which broke a lot of tradition, yet kept the good stuff of the series.  In other words, the series evolved.  The way Metroid Prime did from it's predecessors, and Mario 64 and Ocarina did way back in the late '90s. 

Nintendo, you need to pull a Capcom on your puppies.  All three franchise players need a revamp next time out.  And while that won't be in this year's installments, here's hoping to the Wii providing the next step in the Mario, Metroid, Zelda evolutions.