The last few years have been interesting for Nintendo. The Wii has been a way bigger success than anyone thought it would be, but it has fallen on hard times in the last little while. After dominating the handheld market with the DS, Nintendo saw the 3DS struggle to gain its footing in an increasingly competitive portable space.

The main issue, as usual with Nintendo, seems to be a lack of interest from third-party publishers to bring their AAA content to Nintendo consoles. Nintendo claims that is a thing of the past. However, their own content could use a refresh as well. With the Wii U set to launch worldwide in 2012, here are five suggestions for Nintendo to reinvigorate the Mushroom Kingdom.

1. Return to traditional Mario sports games

On the Wii, there was really only two brand-new, traditional Mario sports games: Mario Strikers Charged and Mario Super Sluggers. Instead, we got Wii Sports, Wii Sports Resort, Mario Sports Mix and the Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games compilations. At their best, those games were fun distractions that, outside of Wii Sports, didn't last long. At their worst, they were barely discernable from the bevy of mini-game compilations available for the Wii. Mario Power Tennis was also released, but it was a GameCube port with motion controls slapped on top.

The lack of a traditional Wii exclusive Mario tennis or golf game, especially with the motion controls on the system, has been a puzzling decision. They've dabbled in other sports like basketball and hockey previously, so they definitely have a base to work with. Mario sports games are typically rated as some of the best games on Nintendo systems, and they do sell well.

2. Switch up the standard roles

It's amazing to think that there's a whole generation of gamers who have no idea that Mario was a villain once upon a time. Locking up DK in the NES game, Donkey Kong Jr. was the last time we've seen any hint of an evil Mario. I'm not suggesting that Mario should have a full-on Hollywood Hogan turn, but it'd be interesting to see him have a bit of an edge to him.

In addition to this, why haven't we seen a game where we can control Bowser other than Super Paper Mario or Mario sports games? Seems like every other major character in the Mushroom Kingdom has received the single player treatment except King Koopa.

3. Crossover games

Ask any gamer who grew up playing the SEGA Genesis and the SNES what they wanted more than anything in those days, and most will tell you they wanted Sonic and Mario together in a game. Here in 2011, gaming's two most iconic mascots have appeared in several games together, but it still feels empty. Super Smash Bros. and the Olympics games are fine, but gamers still want to see the formal rivals in a traditional adventure. The possibilities don't end there, as Nintendo has access to tons of characters that could be used together. The challenge would be to find plausible ways to mesh characters and worlds. It'd be difficult, but the fans would love it, and Nintendo would make a ton of money from a series of crossover games. Mario and Sonic rescuing Peach from Bowser and Dr. Robotnik? Yes, please.

4. Voice-overs

A point of contention for years has been the lack of voice-over in not only Mario games, but many games on Nintendo platforms. Reviews have certainly been mixed when it comes to Sonic's foray into voice acting, leading many to suggest that it could ruin Mario games going forward. There were many reasons why Sonic has had a sharp downturn in quality, and while the voice acting hasn't helped, it isn't the main reason behind the struggles of the series. Mario's games will not suffer the same fate, and we have seen some voice acting, albeit limited, in the past from Nintendo. 

Interestingly, a recently released promo video for the 3DS has over five minutes of voice acting from Mario pitchman Charles Martinet, by far the most we've ever heard from Mario in his 30-year career. Was Nintendo testing the waters by releasing this video? Only they know for sure.

5. Game anthologies, with DLC

Nintendo's biggest asset is their library of games, and they know it. They've repackaged and resold more than their fair share of games on both home and handheld consoles. As successful as they've been while doing this, people have been critical of the process. Gamers have claimed Nintendo is lazy for doing it, but can you blame them? Nintendo quickly sold over a million copies of the recently re-released Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and they posted good sales for Star Fox 64 on the 3DS. So, what's the answer? How can Nintendo satisfy the wants of both casual and hardcore gamers, while still making money? Game anthologies with a new commitment to DLC. 

Yes, I know Nintendo of America's president and COO Reggie Fils-Aime said recently that they weren't going to charge for extra content without reason, but think about it like this: The recently released Mario Kart 7 for the 3DS was, as the title suggests, the seventh game in franchise history. A brand new HD Mario Kart Anthology on the Wii U, with every course and character dating back to 1992 would be a must-buy. Nintendo could make new or classic tracks and characters available via DLC at their leisure, and not feel guilty about charging for the additional content. When you consider that Nintendo never releases more than one Mario Kart game per system anyway, this seems like a no-brainer. This could also obviously carry over to other game franchises as well.

As I said, these are just suggestions for Nintendo going forward. What do you think? Let us know your ideas in the comments section below.

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