Mario game releases aren't excessive, says Nintendo rep

Nintendo of America senior director of corporate communications Charlie Scibetta has defended Nintendo's frequent Mario game releases, saying that they are in line with fan demand.
http://cdn.medialib.computerandvideo...303882_320.jpgNintendo raised eyebrows late last year when it release two 2D Mario platformers - New Super Mario Bros. 2 and New Super Mario Bros. U - within three months of each others.
At the E3 expo earlier this month Nintendo had another new Mario game on show, Super Mario 3D World, alongside numerous other Mario-themed games including Mario Kart 8 and Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games.
"We think we're putting out the right number of Mario games based on what fans are asking for, based on what our own developers' creative visions are," Scibetta told Shack News when quizzed on the risk of diluting the brand.
"The key to that is as long as there's innovation is occurring within the gameplay, as long as there's new features, then marrying the characters and the IPs that people love is the right call from our standpoint," he said.
Scibetta went on to contest that the innovations in each Mario release - such as the transparent warp pipes in Super Mario 3D World, he exampled - are as substantial as creating new IPs, but are simply branded with familiar franchises.
"If we didn't put Mario on it, then it would just seem like a new IP," said Scibetta.
"Because there's those new gameplay dynamics like that, we think there's the innovation there that will keep people interested and keep the Mario brand fresh.
"You could call all the games that we're making here new IP in the sense that they're new gameplay experiences. They just happen to also have the IP that people associate with.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...-nintendo-rep/