There is one thing no one seems to have touched on with the sports games. Every year there are new players, therefore new football, soccer, basketball and hockey games. With Mario, there only needs to be one of each sports game per generation/system. Same players. The focus is on fun, not realistic, gameplay.
These games can sell over the life of a system, they never get dated. They can sell for years, ensuring good numbers. Even the resale market is highly lucrative for these games. Old Madden games sell for $3 where Mario Golf GC STILL sells used for over $30
Besides a few hardcores getting tired of an abundance of Mario, everyone wins. Developer, Nintendo, retailer, distributor, consumer (is almost always assured a very fun game), consumer again (gets a higher trade in value), game reseller. The only person who actually loses in this process is the buyer from the reseller, who has to pay a premium price. But they know they are getting a good game.
This also helps clueless parents at holidays avoid shovelware, Mario usually stands as a seal of high quality fun.
Wii Code 3456 7941 4060 2924
