IGN spoke today with Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto about Mario's future since Zelda took such a defining change.
"We're always challenging ourselves to create something new, so hopefully you'll see a new kind of Mario in about a year or two.
Maybe next E3 we'll be able to share something.
It's kind of difficult with Mario because some of the more important conventions of Mario are based on the approachability and accessibility of those games," Miyamoto said, noting that having new people join Nintendo has allowed them to look "at the conventions with fresh eyes."