I have to say that I'm surprised…. not necessarily in a good way either. Call me old fashioned but I want, perhaps more than anything, a 2D Mario game with a fantastic art direction. Remember how Miyamoto made sure Yoshi's Island didn't look like Donkey Kong Country? Why can't he pitch in here? I'm not even asking for it to be hand-drawn! Make it 3D, but at least make it interesting. Super Mario 3D Land had, in my opinion, a great art direction. Every stage was distinct and wasn't just the rehashed grass/desert/ice/etc. themes that we find in the NSMB games. If you need to, gain some inspiration from other 3D sidescrollers like Donkey Kong Country Returns. I've always believed that Nintendo could learn a lot from WITHIN! Look at what their small studio in Texas is doing with "lesser" franchises and apply that to what is essentially the most important thing you have.
Also, I would be totally cool with NST doing Pikmin. Isn't Masamichi Abe (I… may have gotten his first name wrong) working there now anyway? I would be so excited if NST became a bigger force within the company. I've always rooted for them, even when they've disappointed (and boy have they disappointed). Not only would I be cool with it, but I'm half expecting it too. It all makes since if EAD 4 is indeed working on two Mario sidescrollers. I don't believe, and never will believe, that the NSMB games cost too much money to make or require too many employees but it's still quite the undertaking to have two games in development at once, no matter how similar they may be. There's no doubt that they're not making Pikmin 3… slightly disappointing but expected. Not a very lucrative franchise and one that can be given to, hate to say it, a developer that hasn't made a whole lot of hits.
Regarding the Wii Sports and Wii Play games being handled by NDCube… I would definitely like this. Give those games to a developer who has more than proven themselves. EAD is better off working on other franchises anyway. Wii U Play will almost certainly be by NDCube, Wii Sports possibly, but Wii Fit I reckon will stay within EAD (EDIT: looks like you said this as well in the OT… it looks like we're on the same page!). Not only would Wii Fit be too much of an undertaking, especially when you consider they may be working on a 3DS Mario Party or Mii Party game, but it just doesn't seem to fit with what they've developed before. It's also one of those games that I've always imagined to have a sort of unique Nintendo quality to it that would be hard to replicate by another developer. Wii Sports DIDN'T have this… Wii Play DIDN'T have this either. Wii Sports Resort did have this which is why I'm skeptical if they would give that franchise to them. There was something great about WSR that made it my favorite Wii game of 2009. In my mind it's actually leagues ahead of NSMBW, which I know a LOT of people, especially on GAF, love.
P.S. I still haven't ordered my laptop, which is why I'm not doing much updating. I'm using someone else's but it's devoid of all of my research I've accumulated. The laptop itself is also very cheap and not very appealing to write on. I should make my order once the new Ivy Bridge CPUs are released.
