8. Naff Spin-Offs
Granted, this pair are very easy targets to attack, but really, what the Hell are Sega and Nintendo doing to their most beloved mascots, Sonic and Mario? We hadn't come
close to tiring of their platforming escapades yet, but apparently as these guys begin to age, developers lose faith in the old tricks and decide that they need to be gimmicked out. Hence why we have Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games among countless other dire spin-offs, which ironically devalue the icons just as they attempt to re-fashion their status as relevant. We'll stare at Sonic and Mario racing around an Olympic track and think, "Poor guys, having to sell out to make a buck", even though we're pretty sure that their platforming titles still do pretty well; just take a look at Sonic the Hedgehog IV, or, well, every Mario platformer ever released...