Go to your local Gamestop and check out the Wii section. Disappointed yet? For every No More Heroes, there’s dozens of games meant for kids, half of which have Miley Cyrus on the cover. It’s a good idea, as Nintendo has succeeded in making a video game system that appeals to a broad audience, but to ensure their survival (and for people to take them seriously like they glory days of the NES and SNES) they need to win over the hardcore gamers.

Thankfully, it seems like they’ve realized this, considering this quote from (link: http://www.nintendoeverything.com/?p=6404) from Cammie Dunaway Nintendo of America’s VP of Sales & Marketing, in which she says that some of Nintendo’s 2009 output will certainly appeal to this crowd. First she mentions The Conduit, a futuristic first-person shooter — the sort of game with obvious appeal if you’ve ever played X-Box. Then there’s Mad World, an incredibly violent game by Sega rendered exclusively in black, white, and red (watch the trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFNJfDGSZp0). For the old-school Nintendo fans, there’s a new Punch-Out!, too. Most exciting for me from the quote is the prospect of bringing Sin & Punishment 2 to the US, considering my disappointment when the first one (for the N64) never came out here.

In addition to quality staples like Mario and Zelda, these kinds of games are the key to the Nintendo Wii’s success. A look at EGM’s coverage of the Tokyo Game Show reveals even more promise, with follow-ups to Nintendo DS games like Trace Memory and Lost Magic being made for the Wii and interesting stuff like a spacefaring game called Cosmic Walker and the Norse Mythology-inspired Dynamic Slash. Now we must pray that this stuff comes to the US, particularly the fighting game (how many of those does the Wii have again?) Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, in which the old Capcom favorites take on anime characters like the bird-inspired superheroes of Gatchaman/G-Force/Battle of the Planets/Eagle Riders. It’s a long shot, but I’ll hold out hope.

We must also pray that all of this will lead up to a proper Final Fantasy on the Wii.

 Written for thewiitards.com by Danny Djeljosevic