It's been a while, but a major all-star first-party Nintendo game for hardcore players has arrived in North America in the form of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption.  At last, a Nintendo game that doesn't stress training our brains or working on our faces or raising puppies or practicing yoga.  This one's for the die-hard Nintendo fans from the days of yore, and not a single mini-game or party mode is to be found within.  What say you about this, Nintendo?

Metroid Prime 3 has a revolutionary control style that makes it easy for anyone to immediately jump into the action," says George Harrison, Nintendo of America's senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications. "Now, an entirely new audience can experience this amazing first-person adventure.

Ah, so the company is pitching this one towards the inexperienced casual gaming crowd.  Stephen Munn at Aeropause has picked up on this as well, theorizing that since Metroid Prime and its sequel didn't do ultra-phenomenal sales on the GameCube, the company is trying to draw a larger audience for this latest iteration in the franchise.  Yep, I can see that.  On the other hand, no way would I expect Nintendo to shy away from hyping Metroid Prime 3 to the casuals.  Of course the company will try to draw as many people as it can to the game.  Moreover, this could be Nintendo's attempt at turning some of their newfound casual gaming fans into a more traditional customer.  The casual gamers took the bait by swinging at tennis balls, and now it's time to hook them with a little Samus Aran goodness.  Come for the party games, stay for the Space Pirates.