Why Mario should retire

The stuff of gaming legend.
The thing is, Mario is a true icon of gaming. He's forever going to be associated with all that's good about our favourite consoles of yesteryear. His Jumpman beginnings in Donkey Kong and the arrival of Luigi for Mario Bros make him more old-school than the Tucker years on Grange Hill.

[chanmasta]

I understand what this guy is talking about but it's way too early for Mario's retirement!

[Jellzy]

Like you i also understand what he's getting at, but Mario will always be the face of Nintendo, and aslong as Nintendo's around Mario will be right there with them.

Same applies to Sonic, and Sega.

Both Sony and Microsoft dont really have any 'Mascots' which for them is a good thing, as they dont need to rehash the same tried and tested games from generation to generation as Nintendo does with Mario.

Actually... Sony's closest im my eyes would be Crash, although some could argue the duo's of Jak & Daxter, and Ratchet & Clank. But then theres Sly also. I think ill keep to them not having one...

[Rich1631]

^Uh, Master Chief = Microsoft's mascot.

[Jellzy]

Although the Master Chief is an iconic character for Microsoft, such as Snake and Kratos etc are for Sony, thats exactly what they are Icons.

When we talk about Mario, Sonic and (for me) Crash etc, as Iconic as they also are, they are Mascots for there given brand. I use Mascot in the sense that they represent there brand, but they stick with us throughout our gaming history, and also appeal to a broader generation in particular kids ie. Sackboy be next for Sony, especially as the game is going appeal to the younger generation (Not that it wont for this, or older).

The Master Chief, Snake, Kratos etc don't really fall under the category of Mascot IMO. But i see why others would see otherwise.

[CaptainHowdy]

When he came out he was middle age, 20years later he's still at it....time to cash in social security

[LeonSKennedy4Life]

Sony technically has:

Sweet Tooth
Kratos
Snake

Those are the main ones I can think of. I wish Dante was still with Sony...mainly because 360 fans bought DMC4 and didn't like it because it involved emotion...and they're not used to that.

[kevnb]

DMC4 has a horrible story... the gameplay is outdated as well. I mean it is still a pretty fun game, but don't go making such stupid comments. How does Sony own snake? Snake has appeared on xbox, pc, Gamecube and Wii. Sonys characters are, everyone from Twisted Metal, Kratos, Ratchet & Clank, Jak & Dexter, Nathan Hale, and there are others but these are the big ones for now.

[SpaZaA]

I agree those characters are Sony reps, but mascots?, nope. Ratchet and Clank and Crash are more akin to mascots, however didn't reach the appeal to make people immediately think "Playstation".

All of those can be put aside however for one thing. That is Sackboy.
Sony wants Sackboy as their mascot, they are levering him to be their mascot and it's very possible he will be.

I see a mascot as appealing to the entire audience, young, old, male, and female. Snake, Kratos etc don't have broad appeal (no pun intended). Sackboy already appeals to the entire audience and this is before the game has even come out. Sony wants LBP to be it's flagship franchise. I think Sony has it's mascot and one that can compete with Mario.

Master Cheif is a great rep as well, but like Kratos, Snake and the likes, he's not a "mascot" in my opinion.

[Jellzy]

lol SpaZaA, i just replied the exact same thing a few comments up, but yeah i agree with you.

Characters such as the Master Chief, Snake, Kratos etc. are iconic, but don't spread across all generations.

Put it like this.. You ask almost any1 in your family who Snake, Kratos, and the Master Chief are, you'll most likely get scratching heads all around the room, unless ofcourse they have played the games, or you have told them. Do the same with Mario, and Sonic and you'll at least get some sort of answer.

That to me is what makes them the Mascots of there respective Brand.

Hence why Microsoft don't have one, and Sony's closest is Crash Bandicoot (even though he's useless nowadays), with the soon to be Sackboy making his global entrance.

[SpaZaA]

Holy crap man, that is an insanely similar mindset we have.
freaky.

Cheers man. Do you think Sackboy might actually have the staying power and mass appeal for Sony?

On the topic of Mario, he will never retire unless Nintendo does. But I do feel Nintendo needs to have a few more IPs. Whoring out Mario to any and every game good or bad is not a good idea. Keep the gems for Mario, give tho games you aren't sure will be amazing to Kirby or something lol.

[Jellzy]

lol tell me about it, the long lost bro i never had!!

Anyway.. Yeah i feel that Sony is gearing up LBP to be a massively appealing as possible so that they can shift hardware aswell as software and reel in those elusive casual gamers, that seem too have shifted from the PS2 to the PS3.

If all this goes to plan then i feel that we'll be seeing alot of Sackboy for years to come.

He's not exactly the easiest character to whore out (Points @ Mario) either due to the fact he in many ways represents open ended user content that LBP is set to deliver.

In terms of the Nintendo i think there saving grace in terms of the growing amounts of poor quality software will eventually be ignored when the likes of Pikmin 2 etc are finally released. But ofcourse new IP's would also do them wonders, as they have realied far too heavily on the like's of Mario to get them through there sales. Yes it may have worked this time, but were left playing the same games that were popular on the SNES, N64, and Gamecube on with better visuals and better controls. Its almost inevitable that Nintendo will release a new Mario Kart, Mario (adventure game), Smash Bro's etc. How about surprising us for once?

p.s. Poor Kirby :D

[kevnb]

nintendo cant let him.

[mvpguy22]

If you are looking at that article, scroll all the way down to the bottom...Copyrighted by Microsoft. Wonder why they would write this...

[kevnb]

i would too if I was a console maker.

[sack_boi]

Mario's bigger than any console exclusive

[badz149]

but I don't think he should retire...EVER! uummm...at least during the time Ninty is still exists! he's an icon for Ninty and for gaming in general! I'll never buy any Mario myself but I know lots and lots of people love him and will continue to buy more marios!

[Prismo_Fillusion]

Why Mario should not retire: he's a money machine.

[ape007]

no he shouldn't

mario galaxy to was one of the greatest games of all time

games without mario is like cars without tires

but they should stop overuse him in other games,party,baseball,strikers etc..

[Reibooi]

They should do something like what they are doing with Godzilla. Retire Mario for like 10-15 years. That means no party games or sports games with Mario in it. Honestly if Nintendo wanted to they could do this as they have a hefty back catalog of characters.

[Monteblanco]

One thing is Nintendo avoid Mario over exposition in the media. Another thing is to retire the most recognisable character in the industry that has an image compared to Mickey Mouse. The first idea is an example of good management, the later a statement of sheer stupidity.

[KarateExplosion]

No. I dont think he should retire. I think they should progress the story a lil bit. Maybe a next gen of mario characters. Give mario a son or something to save instead of the princess and midway have mario get taken and people play as the son to see if people like playing as him ya know.... A trial run.. Let him go on some adventures. At least release like a NDS Rpg of it happening like super mario rpg. I think it could be done. That way we can avoid Mario appearing in a game every 4 months.

[Smacktard]

All Mario games are consistently good, and don't really rehash. I wasn't a fan of Galaxy (I just didn't find it fun), but it was a good game, and I realize how others could LOVE it. I don't think Mario should retire.

[jaredjarboe5789]

Yeeahhh... Mario isn't retirement material. Most of his games are still pretty good. (Mario Strikers, Mario Kart, and the core titles like Galaxy and 64.) I've seen people compare him to Sonic when it comes to a "retirement" issue (Where do game characters go when they retire? I haven't seen Bonk in a long time) but honestly, at least Mario has GOOD games in his modern library. Until they make a game starring Luigi that has him use guns instead of his more "Nintendo-ish" weapons.

As for this whole "Sony Mascot" thing. Sackboy is the closest thing at this point. Odd thing is, Sony has had several candidates for this position in each generation and most of them seem to disappear in the next. Crash went on to become shovelware, as did Spyro. We haven't seen Jak or Sly Cooper (yet)... Luckily they still have Kratos and Ratchet from last gen sticking around.

tl;dr- Mario not retirement material at the moment, Sony mascot is uncertain.

[Iceman100]

Why wouldn't mascot retired then nintendo wouldn't be nintendo. Have sony retire first :)

[wiizy]

this must be from a sore loser that owns a playstation or xbox360.. mario should never retire.. not everyone enjoys playing a bunch of me too first person shooters.. mario games are what videogames are about immersive experience and fun.....crybabys, wii is on top to stay

[Durffen]

I just think it's funny that people think Mario should retire, but they are pumped about the next Final Fantasy game.

No offense, but why should Mario retire and not Final Fantasy? Don't throw rocks in a glass house.

[lewis]

mario cant retire because then nintendo would have to get a new mascot.

[Firstkn1ghT]

Microsoft has the best mascot ever and that is Conker. Bring the lil f*cker back!

[big shadow]

mario should never die

[N4g_null]

Mario is dead how can he retire? He never lived? They make new fanggled versions and the 2d version crushes all like the other did not exist.

It's like he is saying that mario should stop because the N64 version should be remember for how incredible it was? It was boring and a hide and seek fess compared to the 2d versions. New super mario bros proves this. Mario was made for platforming and that's that. Galaxy was the closest return to that form yet we could use more level design that is linear even if it is 3d. The whole roaming thing ruined mario like many 3d games.

Maybe MS and SONY should change their names also.

[pain777pas]

Make Mario games Nintendo till you go out of business. What a stupid article. Some of the best games ever made are from this series. Its like a genius came up with Mario. Ridiculous. Plus I want my kids to play these types of games when I get older. Think about that before you write this type of BS moron.

[picoso36]

I mean that with deep respect. Super Mario Galaxy should be declared the last hurrah - a high note departure... I own a Wii - just to see what everyone's hot and bothered about and frankly I am underwhelmed. Nintendo took a huge risk when they abandoned the conventional controller - a risk that paid off HUGE. Time to let Mario go too. The Wii, the Wiimote, Nintendo deserve a fresh game franchise that's just as revolutionary.