Well, ignoring the initial creepiness this seems like a good idea to me to be honest. The whole hero worship, "larger than life" treatment celebrities get doesn't usually turn out very well because a rock star is still just a person. He has a bad day, he throws a tantrum, his wife dumps him, he gets old or has throat problems, and he can only do so damn much in a single day. Make the celebrity fictional, no such problems. They can just continue on being whatever the public wants, wherever and whenever they want them. No mental breakdowns, no impossible work schedules, no drug abuse, no alienated children constantly getting harassed, just entertainment. Really, this isn't all that new. Is Mario anything other than a virtual celebrity? More importantly, could an actual person pull off the kind of career he has? I don't think so.