MARIO: NINTENDO’S LEGENDARY ICON

Mario (aka Super Mario) stands as the best-known and best-loved character in video game history. Mario first appeared as “Jumpman” in the original Donkey Kong arcade game from 1981, and he has gone on to huge success on every Nintendo home console and hand-held system. Mario games alone have sold more than 193 million worldwide. Through April 2007, Mario has appeared in at least 89 video games.

More importantly, Mario resonates on an emotional level with people all around the world. For many adults, he represents the simplicity of their youth, a time when rescuing a princess and defeating an ornery ape were the biggest concerns in their lives. For others, Mario led the resurgence of video games after the collapse of the industry in the early 1980s. But for everyone, Mario stands for fun, daring and mischievousness. He is one of the most recognizable, iconic characters in the world.

Mario’s Timeline

• 1981: Mario is created by the legendary video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto and appears in his first game, the arcade game Donkey Kong, in which he is known simply as “Jumpman.”

• 1982: For the arcade release of Donkey Kong Jr., the Jumpman character is renamed “Mario” because of his resemblance to the owner of Nintendo of America’s first warehouse, Mario Segali.

• 1983: The arcade game Mario Bros. becomes the first game to feature Mario as a title character and also marks the first appearance of Mario’s brother, Luigi.

• 1983: Mario becomes a TV star by appearing as a circus trainer in the CBS cartoon series Saturday Supercade, which runs through 1985.

• 1985: Mario stars in Super Mario Bros. on Nintendo’s first U.S. home video game console, the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). The world is introduced to the Mushroom Kingdom, the setting for many future Mario adventures.

• 1989: Mario becomes one of the first video game characters to appear in a motion picture. He debuts on the silver screen in The Wizard, which gives eager players their first glimpse of Super Mario Bros. 3.

• 1989: Super Mario Bros. 3 for the NES launches and goes on to sell more than 17.3 million games worldwide, making it the most successful individually sold video game of all time, a record that still stands.

• 1989: Mario jumps into every kid’s hand with the launch of Super Mario Land for Nintendo’s original Game Boy.

• 1991: Mario appears with Yoshi for the first time in Super Mario World for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES).

• 1992: Mario and his pals hit the racetrack in the frantic and fun-filled Super Mario Kart for the SNES.

• 1993: Mario’s adventures inspire a major motion picture: Super Mario Bros. - The Movie. The film stars Bob Hoskins as Mario, John Leguizamo as Luigi and Dennis Hopper as King Koopa.

• 1995: The Super NES game Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island features Mario as a baby - and he still saves the princess!

• 1996: Mario becomes the first video game character to have complete movement in a 360-degree, 3-D home video game environment in Super Mario 64 for Nintendo 64.

• 2001: The top-selling Super Mario® Advance marks Mario’s debut on the new Game Boy Advance hand-held system.

• 2001: Mario’s first appears on the Nintendo GameCube in Luigi’s Mansion. Mario’s little brother and sidekick, Luigi, has to rescue Mario when he is held captive by ghosts in a haunted mansion.

• 2005: The Walk of Game in San Francisco honors both Mario and Shigeru Miyamoto as two of its first inductees.

• 2006: The tables are turned on Mario when longtime kidnap victim Princess Peach has to rescue him in Super Princess Peach for Nintendo DS.

• 2006: Mario’s 25 years of popularity continue, as New Super Mario Bros. for Nintendo DS emerges as one of the top-selling games in the United States for the year, with nearly 2 million units sold.

• 2007: The first Mario game for Nintendo’s Wii system is Super Paper Mario, a remarkable game that shifts Mario between 2-D and 3-D environments. Other hot Wii games on the way that feature Mario include Super Mario Galaxy and Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

• 2007: Mario will appear with Sonic the Hedgehog for the first time in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games.