If Nintendo did things in a way that made it look like every other shooter on the market, I think it would be passed over even more easily. I've heard plenty of people praising the game for being something different in the crowded shooter market, and while this doesn't appeal to everyone, it doesn't need to. This game doesn't need to sell millions on the first day (although, saying "it will be lucky to sell thousands" is pretty ridiculous), and if it ends up selling badly, I don't think that is the fault of the character design.

The key with a new IP like this is first of all creating a great game, and second of all, marketing the game well. Obviously character design is important, but it isn't going to be the main factor when it comes to sales. Just look at de Blob, which is aestetically similar to this game (with much worse character design)...the first one sold almost 1million copies on Wii alone, and the sequel sold abour 550K total, both very good sales numbers for a game of that style. This game has the benefits of being First Party, and having a (seemingly) robust multiplayer mode. There isn't really much strength to your argument that this game will fail because of its character design.

Finally, long term goals are also important to look at. This not being a Mario game introduces more diversity into the Wii U's library and allows it to do more things in its gameplay (I don't think a Mario game would be able to incorporate the Squid mechanic as natuarally). This game also allows Nintendo more opportunies to expand the franchise, if the first game is a hit, instead of putting all of their eggs in the same basket (the Basket of Mario).

They can always add Mario family as a DLC or something just like Bayonetta did.
I preffer Splatoon this way. It's a very straight forward experience game, arcade 400%, without items, really short rounds, etc.
I can't see the Mario universe fitting on this new game.

This thread just goes to show you Nintendo can't win.

New fun IP, and here someone is asking whether it was a good idea or not to involve mario.  

What??????

The game already have the Nintendo seal on it, no need of putting another Nintendo franchises icons there to acomplish that.

This is why hardcore gamerz don't like Nintendo!!

Smart, because Nintendo needs to show what they can do without Mario.

I never said it needed to look "like every shooter on the market." I said that it looks stupid. I'm not saying that it isn't a good game. I'm saying it looks stupid. I never said that it has to be a Mario game, I said that it has to not look stupid.

I'm assuming you don't mean that literally.  If you do, I am going to bet against you.

Well I meant hundreds of thousands, but that's not as clean. I don't "bet" online. It's childish and doesn't accomplish anything but make one person feel falsely inferior and one person feel falsely superior.

That makes more sense.  The point of the bet wouldn't be a sense of superiority or inferiority, but to show the confidence I would have in a prediction.  Whoever gets it isn't automatically superior, given that it's about an unknown.