@Jay-  Why not?  Darksiders was able to take the Zelda formula and make it something unique and different.  Bioshock was able to make a unique take on the FPS genre.  Sonic made platforming games while breaking off from the Mario formula.  Bayonetta followed the Devil May Cry formula but added more than enough to stand up on its own (yes I know the developer was the same).  Okami was another take on the Zelda formula with tons of originality, Power Stone was a wholly original 4 player brawler, and so on so forth.

In every single genre we have examples of a developer taking the basic formula and putting their own spin on things.  So why would this be an exception?  Nobody ever criticized Little Big Planet for being a Mario clone, did they?

Are you seriously trying to complain that Nintendo is creating the third entry in an original franchise like Pikmin in about ten years?

But anyway, this is a strawman argument, and I'm not going to respond to it.  If you'd like to debate about Nintendo's overall IP development, you could make another topic for that, and I'll be glad to discuss it there.  But, this topic is about PASBR, and my comments were about PASBR, so lets focus on that.

@Chark-  Copyright infringement is a very tricky thing.  Just because something isn't actionable doesn't mean its not a rip off.  And what mascot brawlers were similar to Smash Bros? We're not complaining that Sony is making a mascot brawler.  The complaint is that Sony made a game that is incredibly similar to Smash Bros and blatantly takes ideas.

I like Parappa's level 2 super, but it basically makes his level 3 super pointless, since you can get at least 3 kills easily with his level 2, but only 3 with his level 3.

I don't think so.  The skateboard really doesn't have the range Kratos has and it's not really all that fast plus I'm pretty sure it lasts less time.  I think when players learn to dodge better this super will be 2-3 kills max.

Not to mention Kratos' overall range is way better than Parappa and his attacks have massive hitboxes.  Parappa's range is limited and his quickness doesn't really make up for it.  Plus I don't think his AP generating moves are all that practical in a 4 player battle.  Might be more useful in 1v1.

I'm not really sure what you're saying here.

As for LittleBigPlanet, I've never heard anyone call that a Mario clone. The only similarity LBP has with Mario is the fact that it's a 2D platformer.

My point was that PABR and SSB similarities only appear to be skin deep. They look the same, sure, and they share the same genre (platforming fighter). But other than that, I don't see enough similarities to warrant calling it a clone. 

I think people are calling this game a clone because only Nintendo has been successful in such an obscure genre like platforming fighters. If this was any other genre with lots of different games, then people wouldn't call it a clone. But genres like platforming fighters are pretty much synonymous Nintendo, so if another game tries to tackle that genre, then it's considered a clone.

It is tough not to not have Nintendo be able to claim dibs on it.  Sony could of greenlighted a lot of approaches to a fighting game using their characters.  What they did was greenlighted a game that comes off a lot like Smash Bros.  I am sure the suits and beancounters that look at sales had decided on this.

And I do say there are a number of different approaches Sony could of took with it.  They could, for example, followed the Powerstone model.  There really hasn't been much decent recently that did that, and it would of added something.  As of now, it looks like, because it likely fits into the business logic behind greenlighting it, that it is now spun as Sony's answer to Smash Bros.

THANK YOU! I'm glad someone pointed this out. These haters are hypocrites. 

Wow.

1. Sales don't make the game. If we all only bought games that had high pre-orders, then we would never buy new IP.

2. No one is telling anyone to buy it for the DLC. But if your favorite character didn't make it into the game, he might later. It's just something to consider.

3. No, it's not doing well. Like you said, pre-orders are low. But PS3 exclusives have long sexy legs. You would know that if you've been on Vgchartz as long as me.

4.  Japan pre-orders are irrelevant. This is a game aimed at western gamers.

5. Copy with a new engine? Nope. This game was made from scratch. That Wii in the background? It's no secret that Smash Bros is the main inspiration for this game. This is old news. SuperBot even admitted it on Day 1 of the announcement of this game.

6. 3D 4-player would never work. It just wouldn't be as fun. Can you imagine keeping track of 4 players in a local 4 player match? Like I said before, this game is obviously inspired by Smash Bros. The 2D background works much better than 3D for fighting games.(Even Mortal Kombat went back to 2D)

The Outfoxies. The fact that it is a mascot brawler isn't that important, just because you put Mario in a game doesn't make it original. It's been years and years since Nintendo made that game, Sony should be safe to make something similar now. Just because Nintendo made a brawler with mascots doesn't mean no one else can, they have their own mascots. They didn't need to wait this long, they could have made one back on the PS1, they had plenty of characters with relevance then. Would people have been this upset if they did back then?