User blog comment:Exotoro/So Much Smash News/@comment-25395573-20140815145325/@comment-1414871-20140816005744

so to basically restate:


 * Donkey Kong and Wario are pretty much separated enough from the Mario series that they can be considered their own series in their own right. Aside from kart racing and sports, they have not made mainline appearances in a long, long time.
 * Yoshi is less harder to get away with. Most of his moves are based off shit he does in Yoshi Island, with very little trace of the Mario franchise. He most likely gets his own series logo that way, however it's also probably so that the mario franchise doesn't have that many reps at first glance.

CHARACTERS THAT HAVE THE MAINLINE MARIO SERIES LOGO:
 * Mario
 * Luigi
 * Peach
 * Bowser
 * Rosalina (who has appeared in the latest mainline games!)

CHARACTERS THAT DON'T:
 * Wario (Most of his moves are based off Warioware; he hasn't had mainline presence in forever.)
 * Donkey Kong (No mainline presence in forever, moves based around Donkey Kong Country.)
 * Diddy Kong (ONLY APPEARS IN THE DONKEY KONG COUNTRY SERIES. IF THAT CEASED TO EXIST, SO WOULD HE)
 * Yoshi (Moves based off Yoshi's Island and pretty much only Yoshi's Island. Has recent mainline presence though.)