>>44231817It's not a fair comparison.
How many selectable characters with different actions do you have in a Zelda or a Mario?
How many people can play Zelda Mario? and over the Internet?
Well there you have the answer.
Pokemon is a Proto MMORPG, with a very important social component
The rest of the games are more personal and solo experiences, like reading a story or a novel. Once you finish Mario or Zelda, besides gathering collectibles, you keep them in a drawer.
Pokemon has infinite replayability. There are people who play Pokemon X/Y officially, a 2013 game online, tell me how many massively multiplayer Wii U Mario or Zelda players are playing today? (few, very few)