Gamespot on Zelda
Yeah, its true that sometimes people don't pay attention to original, non-established IP. It is soooo hard to get people to pay attention to stuff that ain't Master Chief, Zelda, Madden, etc.
Of course, some people overreact and will say that games like Final Fantasy or Mario or Halo or Metal Gear are crap because of the supposed unoriginality. I try not to fall into that trap. A good game is a good game, be it a bizarro new premise or Ridge Racer 37.5. Plus so many brilliant concepts fall short in crucial, basic areas: Contact for the DS is a great example. Get the small things right if you are going out on a limb!!!
BioWare, however, deserves ENORMOUS props for very cleverly building a fanbase that follows the company, not the games per se. If you can do this, you can more easily introduce original gameplay concepts and IP. I also applaud their clever use of licensed IP to build themselves up before going into their own material.
Instead of lamenting how hard it is to do new IP, they used the licensing advantage brilliantly, building up the company with hit CRPGS based on Dungeons and Dragons, then landing the uber franchise (Star Wars), then having the courage to discard that license to Obsidian.
At that point, they had enough company specific fanbase and rep (not to mention a marketing war chest) to try a new IP, Jade Empire, and they scored a hit. Now they'll almost certainly have another success with Mass Effect. They are becoming the Square Enix of North America.
A great example to follow, to be sure.
-Rob