I noticed an interesting dichotomy at the recent EA Showcase event, where Electronic Arts filled a San Francisco nightclub with their biggest upcoming games. Now, I can't talk about most of them quite yet, but I can describe geography. EA set up all the A-list titles on the main floor in huge banks of padded chairs and HDTVs. Lesser games set up shop in a cushy side room or booth.

Upstairs, squeezed against a wall, sat one unit running The Fancy Pants Adventures. No chair.

Run, Gingerbread Man! Run!

Sure, the dollar expectations for a downloadable Xbox Live or PlayStation Network platformer like Mr. Fancy Pants aren't on the same level as, say, a Dead Space 2 or a Bulletstorm. Nevertheless, it's a handsome 2D side-scroller recalling the happier, brightly colored classics of yore with a touch of floaty N+ leaps and bounds. The thing is this: If I'd caught it at a Nintendo Showcase, Fancy Pants would've occupied a place of honor on the main floor, in anticipation of a full retail release.

That made me wonder what kind of role good ol’ 2D has in the industry now...assuming it has one at all.

These days, first-person shooters are the money genre, but I grew up lasering commies in Contra, hacking up lizard men as Rastan, helping Super Mario Bros. rescue princesses, and kicking an unholy amount of ass with the original Ninja Gaiden. Running to the right comprised the lion’s share of video-game activity -- and publishers' revenues -- back then. Some, like Super Metroid, are still gaming’s equivalent of required reading. Nintendo made its bones on this genre, and when upstart Sega made a bid for Mario’s crown, they fielded a faster, hipper, side-scrolling hedgehog.

Then, between 1995 and 2000, virtually every major franchise jumped from 2D to 3D. Side-scrollers became passé. For all the universal praise, Super Metroid (released in mid-1994) didn't do so well commercially.

Now side-scrollers are back and big again...as $15 downloads.

Who wouldn't buy this?

That seems to be the new comfort zone...unless you’re Nintendo, because they’re still dpending heavily on this genre. Kirby’s Epic Yarn and Donkey Kong Country Returns are centerpiece retail releases this year, as was Metroid: Other M. But Samus Aran’s latest shooter highlights a big component of the dichotomy. I got excited when Nintendo announced a new Metroid game developed by Team Ninja, they guys who translated Ninja Gaiden so well into 3D. When I later heard Other M would be a 2D side-scroller, my interest deflated. I wanted to play it, but I wasn’t willing to buy it.

I balked at paying the full $50 for a 2D Metroid game, possibly the franchise’s best venue, specifically because it was 2D. Right or wrong, a lot of people apparently agreed. Other M only sold about 530,000 units worldwide.

What’s wrong? Nintendo's overdependence on the genre aside, these are not bad games. They don’t offer a fully destructible, open world, 3D environment, but they’re challenging and entertaining. And just because they’re played flat doesn’t mean they’re lacking depth. Shadow Complex pinned good writing to evolved Super Metroid gameplay. Arthouse doom-a-thon Limbo proved out as a late summer highlight. Super Meat Boy and Comic Jumper added a little deranged behavior to the keep the momentum going.

But whether you like Sonic the Hedgehog 4, touted as a return to the 2D glory days, depends greatly on whether you enjoy the gooey nostalgia or resent its colossal backstep into the '90s.

Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaake iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiittttt stooooooooooooooppppp!!!!!

Were they not on the short side, a lot of these games would arguably be worth the full $50 or $60 price tag. We’re just not paying it. Frankly, I can see why. Good luck claiming Trine should cost the same as Call of Duty: Black Ops when the difference in technology is so apparent. The heyday of the 2D side-scroller as a killer app was nearly two decades ago. Games -- and gamers -- have moved on.

Sorta. The only line to play a game at the EA Showcase queued up for The Fancy Pants Adventures.

Maybe it's the comfort-food qualities of a good side-scroller talking, but I'm glad they've found that $15 niche. Hell, they practically own it now. They’ve been rebranded “arcade games” and even been given serious promotional boosts. And while the prestige has downscaled, the overall quality’s increased. Smaller games give smaller developers a crack at the gold medal, forcing smarter design choices focused on perhaps a purer form of gameplay. You can't hide a mistake In 2D. I suspect that ingrains good habits.

So yes, the scale has changed, but 2D side-scollers are still fun, and they’re still important. And I like that.