Mario's place in the hypothetical Nintendo shared universe
Most Nintendo series have it easy. Zelda, Kid Icarus, and Fire Emblem in the past. Metroid, Star Fox, and F-ZERO in the future and on different planets, MOTHER 3 probably being as far into the future as you can go... Pokémon, EarthBound, Punch-Out!!, Game & Watch, and StarTropics in the present on different locales of the world, Animal Crossing taking place on an island where kids are sent to camps to serve as stock body parts for a decaying rat monster. Kirby could be anytime, on Popstar. Starfy in the sky and sea.
Until now I have been unable to figure a spot for Mario, which was annoying because I do like the concept of shared universes and Mario is Nintendo's biggest thing. His world is so unique. It doesn't feel like another time period besides the present, it doesn't feel like it should be on another planet besides Earth, and yet it clashes with the idea that anything real or in the more realistic games is happening on the same plane, past present or future. So my idea for it is, it's still a video game no matter where you're seeing it from. With points, levels, powerups, bosses, minibosses, secret levels, time limits and all, it embraces the cliches of video games that most have abandoned, and yet television talks about as though all games still have them.
I've been watching ChalkZone lately and I think that makes a good comparison. Mario's world is like that. It's not real or fake. It follows its own rules and is incredibly meta about it. Everything in it exists, but it's made-up. Mario can visit the other Nintendo characters' worlds and they can visit his, but not by normal means.
I still think Paper Mario (except possibly Sticker Star) is an alternate reality to Super Mario, so I guess Paper could be like a reboot to Super. Still a game, but neither is accessible to the other.