Technically, we could say he ripped off Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's "The Little Prince", which had the same idea but was published back in 1943.
Also, the storybook in Mario Galaxy reminded me very much of St. Exupéry's illustrations, so much so that I see it as a homage to the book (and it's worth paying homage to).
"I mean, c'mon, Viva Pinata, a game with massive marketing, didn't sell worth a damn to the "sophisticated" 360 audience, despite near-universal praise--is that a sign that 360 owners are a bunch of casual ignoramuses that can't get their heads around a 'gardening' sim? Of course not. So let's please stop trying to micro-analyze one game out of hundreds and using it as the poster child for why good, non-1st party, games can't sell on Wii. (Everyone frequenting this site knows this is nonsense, and yet some of you just can't let it go because it's the only scab you have left to pick at after all your other "Wii will phail1!!1" straw men arguments have been put to the torch.)" - exindguy on Boom Blocks
