It's amusing, but the second major entry into a genre will always be called a "rip-off". Then, after awhile, no one cares, except maybe the angry, die-hard fans of the original, who are only hurting themselves and looking petty while doing it.
Rip-offs, clones, whatever, none of that matters in the long run at all. If something better comes along, it will replace the original, if both games do what they do well, then they both have a good shot at longevity. I mean, really, is there anyone who refuses to play Street Fighter because they're upset that it's a rip-off of Karate Champ?
Don't try to convince any of the disgruntled and indignant that All-Stars isn't a rip-off; instead, just tilt your head and say, "if it's fun, who cares? :D". Of course, many of them will decide that it's not fun BECAUSE they're upset about its origins, so whatever.
Also, that was a really good interview, and I found the sports analogy very interesting. In sports, 90% of what you're doing is working to get into position to score, which sounds like what they're doing with the Supers thing. You have work, work, work to get a shot at scoring, but then you still have to connect. Kind of like football, where you have to work your way down the field, but then you still have to get into the end zone for it to matter.
