What was Nintendo's golden decade?

[Koopaul]

You got to remember how Nintendo designs games. Characters and IPs is one of the LAST things they think about when designing new games. When it comes to characters they don't really give a shit. To them, IP is merely the paint over an original idea. Miyamoto himself admitted that developers come up with new gameplay ideas and then later decide if they want to implement a certain franchise around it or make a new one entirely.

When they make games they usually start off as tech demos or experiments. Pikmin actually started out as tech demo featuring 128 Marios! It was later they decide to use this idea to make a new franchise.

Pokemon Snap actually started out as a game called "Jack and the Beanstalk" but they decide to change it to Pokemon because that was huge at the time. Nintendo has been doing this forever!
Even Super Mario Kart was going to be original characters too until they decided to stick Mario characters there. This is nothing new.

As for Mario series, I always believe each console has only one TRUE new Mario game that progresses the series. See these "New" Super Mario games are not a part of the next-in-line Mario games.

It was:

1. Super Mario Bros. / Super Mario Bros. 2
2. Super Mario Bros. 3
3. Super Mario World
4. Super Mario 64
5. Super Mario Sunshine
6. Super Mario Galaxy / Super Mario Galaxy 2
7. (Mario for the Wii U)

We have yet to see the truly new Mario game for the Wii U, but Yoshiaki Koizumi says it is coming. The REAL Mario game for the Wii U will amaze you, trust me.

Sometimes I feel you guys wouldn't be so critical if they didn't make all these NSMB games.