This uy doesnt even know what mario game were one specific platforms(SPM on the DS) let alone the Mustachioe plumber hero.

So the reason why Mario should retire, is that M$ can't compete it. That was clear right from the beginning.

So, there were few claims, that doesn't follow logic, such as where the next generation of gaming remembers Mario. If Mario would "retire", it would be remembered just as the author described, since it would be used as a sidecharacter in a number of games afterwards.
Mickey Mouse is a Disney mascot, but in case the author didn't know, Mickey Mouse is still actively used. The reason why it's not anymore their "top character" in movies, is because Mickey Mouse didn't change as much as it should have when time passed, or wasn't changed enough. We've come a long way from Steamboat Willie, now that Mickey isn't anymore the top character, it's best remembered from Mickey Mouse Club, Hey, that's where Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Justin Timberlake came into public for the first time. Talk about dignity...

The reason why Mario still is so iconic character is, that Mario is still used in so many different type of games and Mario have changed during the years. The moment it stops, its position as an icon ends.

Mario will live forever, I think maybe Sonic should retire.

is he saying mario should go out on top?

Stupidest thing I have ever heard.... he is a MAKE believe charater, not an athlete.

Microsoft thinks that Mario should retire?

Surprising.

So let's see here -- last year Mario was the star in the second highest rated game of all time: Super Mario Galaxy. And Microsoft released a game mediocre by all measures: Halo 3. And Microsoft thinks Mario should retire? Maybe it would make more sense for Master Chief to retire.

Halo 3 is just another boring-as-hell FPS game, not even up to the standards of Quake from 1996. At least Quake had Team Fortress and Threewave and 32/64 player battles.  Halo 3 seems to struggle with 8 players and has nothing exciting beyond vanilla FPS games.  And Halo 3 gets a worse framerate than people would regularly get with GLQuake.

Mario is a brand. Anyone can get any 'Mario' game whatever it is and know that the game will be : Good and Fun without being complicated, difficult maybe but not complicated.

Use a new character and you lose that association. This guy is an idiot.

That'd be like retiring Sonic. Sonic stands for games that are... well...ah, nevermind.

Keep in mind that Mario games are either "first of their kind" or "best of their kind".  Look at Mario 3, Super Mario World, Mario 64 (first of its kind, arguably the best of its kind until Galaxy), Super Mario Galaxy, etc. 

If Microsoft could actually release even one "Best of kind" game, maybe they could talk then.  But they'll just continue to churn out copies of better games from years gone past and trust that enough gamers will have never played those games.

Unfortunately, the seat where this person sits removes all crediability from him on this topic. In other words, it would be as if someone from Nintendo Power said Master Chief (or Rachet for PS3 fans) should retire.

Mario is still at the top of his game. He has not slipped. This is not Sonic or Crash or even Donkey Kong we are talking about.

Plus, given all that Mario has done for gaming, he should be allowed to walk away on his own terms. I am sure if Nintendo released him, he would have contracts from others awaiting him.

Mike from Morgantown

God dammit can you highlight the main sections of this article!? I dont wanna read the whole thing just the main points you always just throw long as articles on here.

OT:Is M$ what do you expect.