The History of Mario Bros

Remember the distant 1983? Precisely 30 years ago, the Nintendo developers launched the first game of the Mario Bros series. The arcade game was created by Shigeru Miyamoto – the person that is often called “the father of modern video gaming.” Miyamoto became a part of the Nintendo team in 1977 and is best known for developments like Donkey Kong, Star Fox and the Legend of Zelda.

The Early Years

Mario was a big success and today, the game has been recognized as the best-selling franchise of all times.

Originally, Mario died after jumping from a big height. Miyamoto suggested that the character be given the ability to jump around, regardless of the height. The multiple floors inspired the game creators to give Mario the ability to fight with his enemies from below. The turtle enemy was developed because of this Mario ability, since it could only be attacked from below.

Initially, Mario was supposed to be a carpenter but the character’s thick mustache and overalls made Miyamoto think that he would be more believable as a plumber. The game settings feature giant pipes, which is also connected to Mario’s profession.

The game has a second character – Luigi, Mario’s brother. Luigi was created for the game’s multiplayer mode.

Mario Bros Success

Mario Bros received lukewarm reception in Japan but as the years passed, the game became more successful. More than 1.63 million copies of Mario Bros have been sold there till present day.

In America, the game suffered from the 1983 video game crash. The crash was a recession on the US gaming market that continued for a period of two years. The revenue of the gaming industry declined by nearly 97 percent as a result of market saturation and the availability of numerous low-quality developments.

By 1986, the popularity of Mario picked up in the US. As time passed, new versions of the game were released for different consoles. New editions started appearing on a regular basis and in 1995, the first 3D Mario Bros game was released on the market.

Mario since the 2000s

Various games feature solely Mario’s character. In November 2007, Nintendo launched Super Mario Galaxy – a 3D gaming platform for Wii. A lot of buzz was created before the game’s release and Super Mario Galaxy became the eighth best selling Wii game with worldwide sales totaling 11.72 million copies.

New Super Mario Bros Wii was launched in 2009. This development for Wii was the first since the original to feature simultaneous multiplayer mode. The new characteristic, however, was that the 2009 game allowed for up to four players to enjoy the game simultaneously. Just like its predecessors, this game was a huge commercial success across the globe.

Mario Today

The legacy of Super Mario remains strong even today. Mario is Nintendo’s mascot and he can confidently be named one of the most popular video game characters.

Since its launch, the game has sold more than 210 million copies across the globe. Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog were some of the first characters to enter the Walk of Game in 2005. It is interesting to point out that US children find Mario more recognizable than popular cartoon characters like Mickey Mouse.

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