History of Mario celebrates 25th anniversary with retrospective videos

Mario and Peach forever 25th anniversary wallpaper
Mario is 25 years old today and first stomped his way onto the gaming scene in Super Mario Bros. way back on September 13th of 1985 (only one year after I was born). He is older than most people reading this blog!

25 years later, the plumber is known worldwide, is more recognizable to kids than Mickey Mouse (according to a Q Score survey from the 90s. I’m sure it still holds true today), he has racked up sales of over 40.24 million copies of his debut title (Super Mario Bros. for NES) ALONE, which was only just recently passed by Wii Sports, he has sold over 240 million copies of videogames if you add up every game featuring Mario, and he has appeared in over 200 titles since his creation!

Now that is one EPIC plumber!

Mario has also outlived a whole range of copycat characters and mascots that have tried to challenge him to the throne (from Sonic to Crash Bandicoot to Banjo to Sackboy), but none have succeeded and remained so popular to this day.

Not only has he taken jobs ranging from Carpenter (as the original “Jumpman” in Donkey Kong for arcades before his name was officially changed to “Mario” after Nintendo landlord Mario Segale), to racer, to RPG adventurer to athlete in soccer, basketball, golf, Olympics and tennis, he’s even been a doctor! But while that is cool and all, very few characters in the entire gaming industry can be credited with spawning entire new genres. From perfecting the side-scroller in Super Mario Bros. to pushing the boundaries of 3D platforming with Super Mario 64; no character except Mario could’ve made the “Cart Racer” into a genre like he did with the original Super Mario Kart. The “cart-racer” is now a fun staple of videogaming. Whenever you think the cart racer has seen it’s last mascot-driven race, a game like ModNation Racers comes out and makes the Cart Racer relevant again. So the genre isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. And it’s all thanks to Mario.

To celebrate the iconic past of Nintendo’s gaming goliath, check out Nintendo’s fun retrospective video for a trip down memory lane!

Mario as a loveable character is truly ever enduring and he is more popular than ever in 2010 with skyrocketing sales of recent titles.

  • New Super Mario Bros. DS has sold over 22.49 million copies! Making it the second best-selling DS game.
  • New Super Mario Bros. Wii has sold over 15.8 million copies!
  • Mario Kart Wii has sold over 22 million copies! (22.55 million as of May 2010)
  • Super Mario Galaxy has sold over 8.84 million copies!
  • Super Mario Galaxy 2 has sold over 4.09 million copies!
  • Not only has Mario blown his competitors away with commercial success rivaled only by the likes of Pokemon, but Mario has also impressed with his games receiving nearly universal critical acclaim. Almost all his titles gain high marks and high reviews and have won several rewards. They also continue to be nearly revolutionary and incredibly evolutionary in nearly every way. From four-player single-screen co-op in New Super Mario Bros. to Super Paper Mario‘s mix of 2D and 3D to the anti-gravity and spherical worlds of Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2; All prove that the plumber’s still got it. Even 25 years after he first revitalized the industry.

    What do you think Mario’s next core game will look like? And beyond that, what is your favorite Mario game of all time? My picks definitely go to Super Mario RPG and Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga alongside Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story. I also highly rank Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Galaxy on my personal all-time favorites list.

    In this Nintendo UK video, everyone talks about what they love so much about Mario.

    And here’s an interesting article on 25 Mario Facts to celebrate his anniversary.

    These videos offers a more in-depth “Icons” retrospective from G4 on the History of Mario.

    This fanmade video gives a slideshow of nearly every single game Mario has ever appeared in!

    Youtube user Zanapplez even made an interactive game to celebrate Mario’s 25th!

    Finally, these amazing featurette called “Mario’s Moves” look at all the iconic moves of Mario in the Super Smash Bros. series and shows where they originated. Consider it a history of what makes Mario . . . MARIO!

    As far as in-house content goes, don’t forget to check out our long history of reviews of retro Mario titles as well as current Mario hits. We’ve reviewed over 18 Mario games! And plenty more that feature the great mustachioed one.

    Here’s our long list of Mario game reviews:

    1. Mario Kart Wii review (Wii)
    2. Mario Party 8 review (Wii)
    3. Mario Power Tennis: New Play Control! review (Wii)
    4. Mario Strikers Charged Football review (Wii)
    5. Super Mario Galaxy review (Wii)
    6. Super Paper Mario review (Wii)
    7. Mario Kart DS review (DS)
    8. Mario Party DS review (DS)
    9. Yoshi’s Island DS review (DS)
    10. Mario Kart: Double Dash review (GameCube)
    11. Super Mario 64 review (N64, Wii Virtual Console)
    12. Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars review (SNES, Wii Virtual Console)
    13. Super Mario Bros. 1 review (NES, Wii Virtual Console)
    14. Super Mario Bros. 2 review (NES, Wii Virtual Console)
    15. Super Mario Bros. 3 review (NES, Wii Virtual Console)
    16. Mario Kart Super Circuit review (Game Boy Advance)
    17. Super Mario Land 1 review (Game Boy)
    18. Super Mario Land 2: Six Golden Coins review (Game Boy)

    Mario fans will also be interested to check out these reviews:

    * Game & Watch Gallery review (Game Boy)
    * WarioWare Twisted review (Game Boy Advance)
    * Nintendo World Cup review (NES)
    * Donkey Kong Country review (SNES, Wii Virtual Console)
    * Super Smash Bros. 1 (N64, Wii Virtual Console)
    * Super Smash Bros. Melee review (GameCube)
    * Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat with bongo drums review (GameCube)
    * Animal Crossing review (GameCube)
    * WarioWare D.I.Y. review (DS)
    * WarioWare: Touched! review
    * Wario: Master of Disguise review (DS)
    * Tetris DS review (DS)
    * Donkey Kong: Jungle Climber review (DS)
    * WarioWare: Smooth Moves review (Wii)
    * Punch-Out Wii review
    * Pikmin: New Play Control review (Wii)
    * Donkey Kong: Barrel Blast review (Wii)
    * Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat – New Play Control review (Wii)