Releasing two 2D Mario platformers within a few months of each other always seemed dubious to me. Especially since 3D Land is such a recent memory as well. With three Mario platformers potentially being released within the span of 12 months, consumer's appreciation of these games, in terms of the worth that they place on them, will inevitably decline (this being distinct from the quality of the games themselves). Nintendo's best bet at avoiding this depreciation would have been to have the two upcoming Mario games connect up to each other in some fashion, as this would give an appearance of value added. Without any link up I personally feel the games are less appealing. I'm sure they'll both still be great platformers, but it's a shame that after all these years of promise (GBA & Gamecube, DS & Wii), Nintendo still hasn't provided a convincing argument for handheld and home console communication.