Mario plumbs his next generation of fans

Nintendo needs to calm down. They’re calling the upcoming nerdrush media blitz for Super Mario Galaxy an attempt to “bring Mario back to the masses.” But is there really a need for that? The little guy’s been in over 100 games now, and I don’t see Sonic the Hedgehog or Bonk the Caveman throwing their coffin lids open to challenge his iconic status in pop culture. You’d think they were pulling an obscure Sophocles play out of mothballs, the way they’re downplaying the already considerable popularity of their product.