Really, what does that say about Sony and Microsoft (who do the same things, but worse)? At least Nintendo has a fair amount of exclusives to make. Sony has a handful, and Microsoft has Halo and Gears of War.

Ages ago I decided to drop the General from my online persona, now most of my accounts on various other forums and on xbox are Nooobus with a varying amount of o's, but if I can I prefer to have three o's. I was going to drop the General here too, but I'm far too famous for that and it's kinda nostalgic.

They have a basic formula, but leave themselves a lot of flexibility within it. Take Wind Waker, it still maintains the core features of the universe, in requiring players to collect a number of pearls/stones, revive the power of the blade of evil's bane (the master sword), find courage, and face off against Ganon, but it does so in a very unique environment, with many differing gameplay elements. It is more than a reskinning, and WW in particular perfectly shows the strength of the Zelda design philosophy of allowing gameplay to take precedence over a story, or tradition.