Apathy, because there's not really any compelling story line or character development... only some sort of new gameplay mechanic. Sure, Nintendo will always stand by their "Gameplay is King" mindset, and they have always proven to have put PLENTY of thought/innovation into this aspect. (I absolutely loved the faux-physics in Galaxy, and the giant Mario power-up in NSMB was incredibly fun.) But will these new little additional spices to the same old recipes really keep me coming back? Obviously they haven't. But obviously, they have for a lot of people, so I'm not saying this isn't working. It just isn't working for me, where I feel a bit overwhelmed with a been-there, seen-that mindset with every new trailer/preview for every "new" Mario game. This basically ties right into my "franchise fatigue"... and I don't think I'm being unfairly biased against Mario games... I only barely touched Assassin's Creed: Revelations before petering out and losing all enthusiasm for the new (new!) story. Guitar Hero? Haven't played since World Tour/RB2. And (funny, how this was just published today... but) apparently, I'm not the only one who thinks Mario is getting tired.

Lacking online interactivity should barely go without mention. Until (apparently) the coming of the 3DS/WiiU, Nintendo has been stubbornly in the dark ages as far as admitting the internet exists, and that it can (even!) provide benefit to games/gamers. I gave Nintendo the benefit of the doubt, and stuck with the Wii & DS for much of this (last) console generation. But with all the ridiculous hoops I had to go through just to play games with my friends (and not just "internet friends", dear Nintendo, but my family too!!), ended up just not wanting to deal with the "online" portion of the so-called "online-enabled" games I had. Connecting with my friends on the 360 and PS3 was UNBELIEVABLY easy (as it should've been) and even though we wouldn't/don't usually play games together, we can at least connect easily... seeing if someone's online or not, and seeing what they're up to if they are, etc. That online community may not be anywhere close to the main reason we play games, but it sure as heck pulled me away from the Wii, where I felt isolated and alone, playing games... by myself... with no one to even potentially witness/notice I was doing such. This sense of community has been a big development in the 360/PS3/Wii generation, and Nintendo really missed out on it. Will they be able to catch up in the online sphere with all the WiiU's online features. I doubt it, but it's a step in the right direction.

That said, we played a bit of SSBB and NSMBWii the other day... and while I did feel a bit of nostalgia run through my veins playing NSMBWii (and nice to expose a younger generation to iconic video gaming), it was definitely overshadowed by a bit of boredom and same-ness. It's Mario. He's still jumping through very well-crafted (but very similar) levels, with a few new power-ups to play with. It doesn't feel fresh. No excitement for me. There's the trademark Nintendo cute-sy-ness... which feels almost sterile it's so ubiquitous. And maybe this was just me (maybe it's ALL just me!) but the controls felt very awkwardly sluggish, leading to quite a bit of frustrating moments trying to avoid death or even do a simple stomp on enemies. Basically... my enthusiasm to play future Mario games has tanked.

Anyways... I've absolutely ranted/rambled enough negativity here.

As some of you may recall, Street Fighter II was the primary catalyst that got me into video games. I was a young, impressionable kid in 5th grade (I think?) when I first played it, and I'd been hooked solidly to the franchise ever since. Of course, it's a fighting game, so it would be hard to draw many comparisons to a Mario game simply from being in a completely different genre. But Capcom really deserves credit for their work on the series... they've certainly done their share of experimentation, trying many different, sometimes controversial things in their line of Street Fighter games. Throughout it all, they've been very receptive to fan feedback, and have used all this input to improve every new game/iteration. Of course, people continue to make fun of the series for all these iteration prefixes/suffixes... all the super-/ultra-/-turbo/-hyper fighting/-arcade edition/-HD remix/etc... but I think it just goes to show that they're always refining, always trying to make their best even better. That said, I'm still enjoying the series, still playing the latest in the series (Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition), and still looking forward to the next iteration (Ultra) next year... all without suffering anywhere near the amount of "same-y-same-ness" I experience with Mario games. To be honest, I actually think I've had more fun (and possibly even more hours spent playing) with the current generation of Street Fighter games than I have back when I first dove into the franchise!! I may not be the same kid that was playing Street Fighter II until the wee hours of the morning at every sleepover, but the energy sure as heck feels the same when my SF buddies get together for a game night!! (most recent one being the 4th of July, earlier this month)