Nintendo’s Mario celebrates his 25th birthday


13 Sep 2010

Nintendo is celebrating a landmark birthday for its iconic mascot Mario.

“Stimulated by advancements in technologies, we have always enjoyed creating the Super Mario Bros. games,” said Mario’s creator, Shigeru Miyamoto.

“The series has always taken advantage of the latest technological advancements and is the fruit of creativity of many of my hard-working friends working closely as a team.”

The video game icon actually first debuted in 1981 in Donkey Kong, however, he was only referred to as “Jumpman.” His first appearance as Mario was seen in Super Mario Bros, released on 13 September 13 1985.

He became a phenomenal success worldwide, with his legacy spanning more than five generations of consoles, along with numerous TV shows, a movie and a huge variety of merchandise.

He also became the first video game character to be immortalised in the Hollywood Wax Museum.

The Guinness World Records 2010 Gamer’s Edition gave him 10 awards, including ‘most prolific video game character’ and ‘best-selling video-game series of all time’.

To date, there have been more than 240 million Mario games sold worldwide.

Nintendo is celebrating the event in numerous ways. The company is holding a competition asking fans to submit videos showing how much they love Mario. The winner will receive a special Wii console bundle.

They will also be airing TV advertisements with celebrities paying tribute to the heroic plumber.