Existing IPs shackling Nintendo's creativity?

IGN have posted an interview with Super Mario Galaxy director Yoshiaki Koizumi. It focuses on the development of the game and even details Shigeru Miyamoto's influence. There was one exchange that struck me in particular:

IGN: So are these concept the natural evolution of the Super Mario franchise then?

Yoshiaki Koizumi: One of the best things about being able to develop a Mario game, is that the very concept of a Mario game is free and open. There are not that many fixed ideas.

Now there are no doubts that Nintendo has some of the most popular and cherished IPs in the gaming industry, but are those same IPs inhibiting Nintendo's creativity? As Yoshiaki Koizumi states, Mario's platform games are different as they have no basic requirement other than him being able to jump. Other Nintendo franchises seem to have a much more complex set of requirements that are set in stone before development even commences.

freedom

Take Zelda for instance. The license comes with so much baggage that it appears that even modest changes result in a backlash. Two examples of this are the use of cel shading in The Wind Waker and touch screen controls in Phantom Hourglass. Both of which were very successful in what they set out to achieve, but divisive nonetheless.

What this comes down to is that in order for Nintendo to operate at their creative peak, new IPs will have to be developed. Ones where fans have no pre-conceived notions about what should and shouldn't be in the game, and also much more importantly where Nintendo can start afresh too. It will mean the difference between making great games, and dictating the future of gaming.

So while Eiji Aonuma is pondering how best to make Zelda fit the Wii, maybe he should ask himself a different and more fundamental question; what can the Wii do for the RPG genre?