Mario, Zelda, Kirby. We've grown up with Nintendos franchises, but are they past their sell-by date? It's Roundtable time...

Are Nintendo sticking with worn-out fanchises too much, do they need to come up with new ones?

Ash: Well it's always good to have old classics you know about and it's always fun to explore a bit of their character or history you didn't know about. We all enjoy playing new versions of Mario and Zelda, mainly because we know if Shigeru is behind them they can't be bad.

But on the other it's always good to get new characters as long as they're enjoyable characters, not just the usual dog with some added ability that is a so-so character. The characters make the game as much as the other elements.

Vince: So that's a definite maybe then Ash.

Franklin: Well I wouldn't say the old franchises are worn out. Let's take the main two as examples, Mario and Zelda, they've been around since the 80's. In all that time Mario has only had 6 main games (not counting spinoffs or GB games) and Zelda has only had 6 aswell, (counting Wind Waker, but not GB games). There's still plenty of life left in these franchices that could change (and have in the past) so much over the years.

To me sequels of Nintendo games (especially the Mario and Zelda) never feel like sequels cuase they always bring something new to the series, weather that be through gameplay or an amazing new story or a combination of both. However that's not to say I don't want to see new characters, I'd love to see some new ones and hopefully they'll one day reach the greatness of past Nintendo games. Maybe we'll see something new at E3 dare I say?

Ash: As always Vince, it's called examining both sides of the argument. Giving the pros and the cons.

Link: The first question is does Nintendo have any worn-out franchises. In my opinion it doesn't. Mario, though perhaps "kiddie", always has fresh gameplay and is the platformer that all platformers look up to. Mario Kart has a charm that just can't be beat, and Zelda...well Zelda is just Zelda. Whenever Nintendo releases a game from one of its major franchises you know it will be good. Even seemingly dead franchises are making re-appearances and are astounding gamers. Just look a Metroid Prime and F-Zero. It seems to me that Nintendo is keeping just the right franchises and isn't over doing them.

Freddy: They stick with them just as much as other companies stick with their franchises. Great games, or games that the public are stupid enough to lap up time and time again, always make for sequels and prequels. Thankfully, all of Nintendo's franchises slot firmly into the former category, and that's the reason why Mario, Zelda, Wario, F-Zero, Metroid and newer franchises such as Pikmin, 1080 and Animal Crossing will rightfully get sequels, prequels and new installments.

Gualtiero: I think Nintendo's original franchises are what makes them so great. Where would they be without the likes of Mario, Zelda, Donkey Kong etc.? Nintendo should never drop their classic game titles, or they'd end up without half of their fans.

On the other hand, they should introduce new franchises, like they've already been doing. Pikming and Animal Crossing were very innovative and we already know there's going to be sequels. Nintendo has rarely failed when introducing a new type of game, so they should keep on experimenting.

Conor: I think that their franchises is part of what makes Nintendo so great. I have grown up with Mario, Zelda and Donkey Kong. As weird as this may sound, they're like old freinds. I would be outraged if they just stopped telling the story of Link's adventures, or we never had another Mario to look forward to.

But of course, there's more to gaming than sequels. If Nintendo just plastered to Mario name onto every mediocre game to came along it would be sacrilege. It's important too to keep coming up with new franchises like Pikmin, as well as applying their genius to one-off gems.

Unless Nintendo dive into the murky depths of averageness our beloved franchises will never get worn out. But I do think time should be spent on new ones as well.

Tim: I think it is all about balance. Nintendo needs to expand the established franchises. The ones they have got running are awesome and I would not want them to quit on those. Could you ever imagine knowing there will not be coming a new Mario or Zelda? That would kill Nintendo and its fans! I think those games will keep popping up for the next few decades.

The other side of the coin is that they need to come up with new ones to keep the company fresh and attractive for male and female, young and old. So far Nintendo is quite succesfull in coming up with new things. We have seen Pikmin which seems to gets its own series of games. And there are some more original titles released by Nintendo itself lately (AC and ED). I think E3 holds even some more suprises for us. New franches and old. So like I said, it is all about the balance.