The "crux" of the matter is that Nintendo has basically paved the way for video games, Mario going from 2d platformer to 2d rpg is innovative, the controls were different, different story, different looks, Varied environments, EVERYTHING WAS DIFFERENT FROM A TRADITIONAL MARIO GAME except the original cast of characters! And just remember that mario didn't have any competitors, there was no competition for 2d platformers, yes there was other 2d rpgs but they couldn't even compare to Superstar Saga, at best they were Final Fantasy clones.
Now let's look at COD hmm? Made later than mario, still looked worse than other games of it's era (though this is entirely my opinion, I compared it to mass effect released 2007, a whole 2 years before COD). Then there's the fact that barely anything changes in the games, you shoot people. They even stole ideas from their competitors (Battlefield Series) when they ran out of ideas, Vehicles in MW2 is an example of that.
Please learn to argue, provide valid points instead of straw man arguements. You haven't given a single valid point or reasoning this entire time, just mocking me for what I can only assume to be Fanboy Rage.