Is R.O.B. officially part of the Mario gang?

So now that everyone's favorite Robotic Operating Buddy is a driver in Mario Kart DS, does anyone think we'll see him in future Mario titles?  Do you want him in future Mario titles?

I hope so... I love R.O.B. and I'd love to see him stick his adorable robotic head into the next Mario Party or Kart or Sports.  He's a helluva lot cooler than Daisy, Waluigi or Bowser Jr., that's for sure, and since I doubt Nintendo will make R.O.B. 2.0 for the Wii, I want him to live on in gaming somehow.  I'm very curious as to what kind of roles the little robot will have in the future (in Mario and non-Mario games). 

On the flip side though, I can see how some would see him as not "really" a Mario character.  He started as a peripheral for the NES, he's made cameos in F-Zero GX and the box art of Viewtiful Joe.  Anybody not want to see him in more Mario games? 

He's dumb. Partly it's fan service (his recent appearances), but more than anything else I think its Nintendo's embarassing habit to take every charcter in their games and act like they meant it went they came up with them (do you think Princess Daisy was meant to end up where she is now?). If they want to make the Power Glove or DK Bongos a character in the future, then full speed ahead.

He's dumb. Partly it's fan service (his recent appearances), but more than anything else I think its Nintendo's embarassing habit to take every charcter in their games and act like they meant it went they came up with them (do you think Princess Daisy was meant to end up where she is now?). If they want to make the Power Glove or DK Bongos a character in the future, then full speed ahead.

Power Glove's Mattel... :D

Anyway, I wouldn't consider him any more of a Mario character than, say, Pac-Man...

(no I don't consider Pac-Man to be a Mario character)

He should appear in more Nintendo games in general. [Edit] I'd kill to see a newer version of him made for the Wii.

~Don't swear. Yes, using that word that way is swearing. ~Sapph

Nah, ROB's dead and won't come back, he just a fill in for more important characters character.

By no means. Just a bleh character as a filler for the twelvth so we can't have anyone really good and say, "Why do we need a heavier character than Bowser? Why not a GOOD character that DESERVES to be a recurring Mario character, like Fawful or somebody?" Well, too much of a good thing... R.O.B. as a Mario Kart DS racer is better than, say... Bowser Jr...

If there's any justice in the world, he will disappear into obscurity again, free from our minds, especially since his appearance in Mario Kart DS ruled out the inclusion of Diddy Kong, which totally sucks.

Not to mention he lacks personality.

Meh, I hate Rob the Robot. He's pathetic as a character, and was pathetic as a toy too.

I own a ROB. Sort of. His head broke off when he fell at work and now his neck is limp. And so I took him for nothing.

My mother bought two ROBs off Ebay after we saw them in the museum section of the Nintendo World store. I can't get either of them to work.

You can't make anything from the NES era work anymore these days, people should have realized by now.

Uh, what! That isn't correct.

ROB is an awsome blast from the past! I look forward to future appearances of this dude (if any). Of course with arms like his (or it), he'd most be likely considered an invention of E. Gadd's. 

Except he isn't. He was invented by Professor Hector.

I don't think he is quite yet. Maybe if ROB appears in one of the main Mario games (not what TMK considers to be spin-offs), then I would say yes.