Nintendo says it's not releasing too many Mario games

Despite the frequent release of new Mario titles, Nintendo does not believe it is diluting the power of the esteemed platforming brand.

Speaking with Shacknews, Nintendo senior director of corporate communications Charlie Scibetta said so long as each new entry is innovative, the Mario brand will not lose its freshness.

"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 said. "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."

Some have questioned why Nintendo does not more frequently create all-new franchises instead of sequels to existing ones. Scibetta said Nintendo is doing this, in a way, based on the new gameplay concepts each game brings to the table.

"You could call all the games that we're making here new IP in the sense that they're new gameplay experiences," he said. "They just happen to also have the IP that people associate with."

Nintendo director of product marketing Bill Trinen said in April that Nintendo continues to return to existing franchises because in many cases, once a compelling new idea is conceived, it makes sense to pair that with an established character--like Mario or Zelda--so that the game can appeal to a wide range of people.

The latest core Mario title--Super Mario 3D World--comes to Wii U this December.