Honestly, as much as I still love my old Mario games, I don't have much interest in the new stuff. Maybe the art style has worn on me, but I just don't see a new Mario game any more and go "Holy shit, I gotta get that!" I'm not saying it needs to be modern or edgy like the original post's pictures, but what if Nintendo handed off one of their major licenses to a creative studio (worked for Metroid Prime, and I don't consider Team Ninja to be "creative"), while trying to make a new franchise to place along with Zelda/Mario/Whatevs? It could be interesting. It may not work, but at least they'd take a chance at creating something cool using something we've all become familiar with.

Syd Lexia wrote:

Everyone loves Zelda. Nintendo has put out at least one Zelda product almost every year over the last 20 years.

I have to admit, I recently bought a Gamecube for no other reason than I wanted to play Wind Waker and RE4. Both of them are now among my favorites, as is Prime. When Nintendo is willing to do something fresh, it tends to result in some great stuff like Paper Mario, Waker, or Prime. When they don't, I just don't find myself interested in their latest re-hash of the games that felt fresh and original when they took a chance.