What the article said about Mario:
"Super Mario Party Kart Smash Bros. Brawl: Since the Mario character was introduced in Donkey Kong in the 1980s, he's appeared in more than 100 video games - which is about 75 too many. When Nintendo's starts a non-Mario, non-Zelda, non-Star Fox series - such as Animal Crossing and the excellent Pikmin - the results are usually excellent, but too often the company falls back to its safety zone of another Mario game, whether he's the focus or just making a cameo appearance. We wouldn't ask Disney to euthanize Mickey Mouse, and Mario doesn't need to disappear either. But with the groundbreaking creative possibilities of Nintendo Wii and the Nintendo DS, how about just one Mario appearance per year and more energy spent on new characters?"
I just want to smack this article writer over the head. Mario is a FRANCHISE, not a genre or series. Nintendo drop him in every other game they make because he's one of the most recognizable mascots in the world. Saying that Nintendo needs to stop branding games with the Mario moniker is like telling McDonald's, Inc. that Ronald & co. are, "like, really played out, man."
"'Casual games' are something the 'Game Industry' invented to explain away the Wii success instead of actually listening or looking at what Nintendo did. There is no 'casual strategy' from Nintendo. 'Accessible strategy', yes, but ‘casual gamers’ is just the 'Game Industry''s polite way of saying what they feel: 'retarded gamers'."
-Sean Malstrom
