The creation of Super Mario Bros. was a huge success and brought video games back to life, and paved the way for many other games even now. But why is Mario still the face of Nintendo, after all these years? Nintendo has other big titles now, like Zelda and Pokemon, that have surpassed the Mario series. So what is it that keeps Mario as the mascot for this now famous company?
It could be a series of things. Maybe we just love the simplicity of Mario, an Italian plumber who’s life is pretty consistent- having the same adventure of saving the princess and all. Or maybe it’s deeper, maybe Nintendo has forced him to be the face of their company as some sort of quality control symbol. Jeff Ryan writes in his book,“Super Mario: How Nintendo Conquered America” about how Nintendo forced Mario into his stardom. In the 1980’s, Mario featured in 12 NES games, even if he wasn’t in the main plot.
So maybe the face we all know and love is actually being kept so popular on purpose; if Nintendo puts Mario somewhere, it’s probably more like their stamp of approval. Or maybe not also!! Maybe we do just all love the happy, never giving up Italian.
Maario 