After one of its worst years since the early ’80s, Nintendo is finishing strong these last couple of months by releasing really good games that are rewarded with strong sales.

The company released the marvelous Zelda: Skyward Sword this month, followed by a strong Mario outing for 3DS. Up next: Mario Kart 7, which is also garnering very positive reviews early on.

What’s more, Nintendo president Reggie Fils-Aime is eating humble pie. ”We had to go back and reduce the price of 3DS and we certainly don’t want to go through that when we launch Wii U,” he told Reuters this week.

I penned a story for CNN last month on why most people didn’t finish video games. The basic rule of thumb, according to developers, is that “90% of players who start your game will never see the end of it unless they watch it on YouTube.” The numbers aren’t as bleak when isolated to die-hard gamers, but combining all players, only 10% finish their games. So I ask you:

What’s the cause of Nintendo’s current slump? It has nothing to do with hardware, says Kotaku—since 2009, the company has simply stopped making killer-games:

Nintendo’s quandary isn’t how to turn the 3DS into the next DS or as an answer to the iPhone or whatever hardware comparison seems fun to make. Their quandary is where their next Wii Fit is, where the successor to Wii Sports and New Super Mario Bros DS is. Culturally phenomenal games aren’t easy to predict: see Pokémon , see Tetris, see Grand Theft Auto III. But out on the horizon, would you bet on Luigi’s Mansion 2, Kid Icarus: Uprising or even the current top game in Japan, Nintendo’s Rhythm Heaven on the Wii to be the next 20 million seller?

Agreed. Once Nintendo decides to start taking risks again and starts releasing must-have, system-seller games, prosperity will return to Mushroom Kingdom.

Unofficial Game Boy week continues on Infendo!

Amid the final Wii drought and lack of deep 3DS games at the moment, I’ve been having a blast revisiting the Game Boy Advance’s library, most of which I assume many of us never played, particularly the latter years as both DS and Wii were already in full swing. That said, here are some high-scoring games you may have missed, and can pick up cheap on the second-hand market:  (more…)