Yeah that's what I was saying, that my argument wasn't that it was a bad business decision, just that it (and smiliar tie-ins) does not appeal to me (for reasons stated above).

That's perfectly reasonable.

I love the tie ins myself, and enjoyed the hell out of Link in SC2. I still used Mitsurugi most of the time, but Link was definitely my second favorite. Always been a huge zelda fan, and he fit the game well and added some wrinkles by having projectile attacks with the bow, bomb and boomerang.

Mario=Quality

Nintendo doesn't put it's flagship character on crap and people know it. I can't think of any "Mario" game product that was universally believed by everybody to be crap - except the movie of course.

It's been said, but I'll pile on...

When Nintendo puts Mario in the title of a game (Golf, Tennis, Kart, etc.), I (as a casual gamer/consumer) consider it an absolute guarantee that the game is a high quality and fun game. No more shopping/researching required. It is a seal of approval from a company whos seal I trust based on a long history of consistency.

There are plenty of good competing titles on the consoles, but this is especially true on the GBA. In the past few weeks, I've purchased both Mario Tennis and Golf for my son's GBA, and both are very good games.