I've been seeing a lot of Wii bashing going on around this site and on other sites as well. So here's my general take on Nintendo's current State of the Union...for lack of a better term.

Okay, the Wii does have some issues when it comes to the online features (which is something I generally don't give two wits about one way or the other), but the software is actually there if one takes the time to look. I mean, people whine and complain about there not being any core games on the Wii, but guess what? There IS core games on the system, and being the idiots that most so called "hardcore" gamers are, they're plain ignoring them like they don't exist. I mean, you have games like Call of Duty: World At War (which almost everyone can agree is a good title), Dead Space: Extraction (another good one), No More Heroes, and Madworld just to name a few. They're there so there's no excuse to not take a look at them.

Another thing. Unnecessary franchise recycling. I've been waiting long and hard for another Star Fox game or another F-Zero, Eternal Darkness or others that you mentioned (by the way, Skies or Arcadia is Sega's game so that's ultimately their decision if a sequel is to be made or not). There's only so many Mario games we can possibly take. Most of the extra peripherals were unnecessary, but I guess that couldn't be helped seeing as how Nintendo is slow to learn things.

As for third party software, here's the main issue I have with that. Third party developers have this great technology that they can use, and they have no idea how to use it. I know the system is aimed at the casual market (which in my opinion is the strongest market going today), but for the so-called "core" gamers they could at least try a little harder, and that's something I don't think they're willing to do. The third party developers are clearly out to make money, meaning they can put out something very poor and stupid and still be able to make a profit off of it in some way. There are a few that do occasionally try (Electronic Arts did for Dead Space Extraction and Medal of Honor Heroes 2), and we as gamers should at least give them credit for doing so. But the good ones are like I said few and far in-between, and third party developers need to try harder when it comes to their software.

Now what does Nintendo need to do as a first party developer? Stop relying on Mario and Zelda to drive the Wii. Seriously. Mario and Zelda games are good and all, but they can only go so far. Nintendo has other properties that they can exploit for the system and they need to dig deeper into their archive. Use the Wii to breathe new life into your other properties and give Mario a vacation because God knows he needs one right about now.

One last thing. I've been seeing a lot of people on here say that Nintendo needs to bring back Rare. Let me say this. NO THEY DON'T! Here's why I say that. What exactly has Rare been doing lately? Answer me that? I mean, Rare has been going downhill since Star Fox Adventures, which is actually, when you think about it, when they started going downhill. One of the reasons Nintendo gave up Rare was because Rare wanted more control over the development and release of the games they were doing, which as we all know doesn't fly with Nintendo (and we all know why, too). Since Rare's been with Microsoft, they've been given that freedom, and look what we got as the consolation prize: Grabbed By the Ghoulies, Conker: Live and Reloded, and other games that were either horrible or no one gives a rats behind about them. Seriously, the company has gotten so bad that even the founders wanted out of it, which is really sorry. They say that they wanted to leave to pursue other opportunities, but I honestly think they hated where the company is and where it was going. In my opinion, Rare is nothing but a dead asset to both Nintendo and Microsoft. They have no clear idea what to do with themselves and as long as Microsoft is in charge, the inmates are virtually running the asylum.

So that's my take on the issue. Take it as you will.