Happy MAR10 day! To those not in the know, this is an unofficial day celebrating everyone's favourite Italian plumber, Mario (though Nintendo has acknowledged it on occasion). It started because March 10th kinda forms into Mario. Of course, that's not how you read a calendar, but I won't be a butt about it. We're here to have fun, so let's get to it!
1. Mario’s First Appearance Wasn’t in a Mario Game
These days, Mario is known for his platforming games where he fights his way across a kingdom to save Princess Peach. However, his first outing was in the arcades, as part of the Donkey Kong series. Here, he's a guy known as Jumpman with a hammer trying to save his girlfriend, Pauline, from an angry gorilla. He does this by going up platforms and avoiding obstacles that come his way.
Donkey Kong is an arcade classic that most people already know about, so this isn't particularly new information. Still, it's fun to think gaming's most popular character started in a game that doesn't bare his name. And the big gorilla went on to have his very own series (or was that his grandson?).
2. The First Mario Bros. Game Isn't the NES One
Sticking with the arcade, the very first Mario Bros. game isn't a side-scroller either. This one is about the titular Mario Bros. defeating turtles (later known as Koopas) and other critters. This is also Luigi's first appearance in the series, as the second player for the game.
This game is probably why Mario's first console outing had the word "Super" in the name, to differentiate it from the Arcade game. It's quite ironic, seeing how a lot of SNES games would have the word "Super" in the title to denote they're on that console.
3. Super Mario Bors. 2 Is Different in the Japan the Rest of the World
This one's a well known fact, but it's still worth mentioning. While Japan got a proper sequel to Super Mario Bros. 2, Nintendo of America thought the game was both too similar to the original and too difficult for the American market. So what did Nintendo do? They re-skinned one of their older game into a new Super Mario Bros. 2.
Based on the Japanese-exclusive Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic, this new version of Super Mario Bros. 2 had a completely different art-style and gameplay, and added Princess Peach (then Toadstool) and Toad as playable characters. The enemies from the game later became staples of the Mario franchise, and some gameplay elements would return in future instalments, like Luigi being able to jump higher than Mario, or Peach being able to float.
4. Mario’s Parents Hate Him
No, I'm not talking about the Illumination movie, and yes, I'm exaggerating with this statement. Have you noticed how the games are called "Mario Bros."? That means the last name of the brothers is Mario, which would mean that the plumber's full name is Mario Mario.
That's not just me speculating, that's his actual real name. It first came up in the live action Mario movie from the 90s, where someone asks the brothers "How many Marios are between the two of you?", and Mario says "Three. Mario Mario and Luigi Mario.". The movie's not canon, but Shigeru Miyamoto confirmed this fact in 2015. If any parents out there are reading this, don't name your kids the same thing as your last name, they will be made fun of.
5. Bowser’s Name Has Great Significance Outside the Games
This one's a weird set of coincidences. First off, there's Bowser, a.k.a. King Koopa, the main villain of the Mario series. Then there's Doug Bowser, the current president of Nintendo of America, who got the position in 2019, following the retirement of Reggie Fils-Aimé. Aww, that's cute, the current boss of a branch of the company shares the name with a very prominent character.
And then there's Gary Bowser, a programmer who owns Nintendo 14 million dollars because he contributed to the Switch hacking scene. What are the odds?! To summarize, Bowser owns a lot of money to a company that owns Bowser and is partially led by Bowser. And they're all different Bowsers.
6. Mario Is A Lot Closer to Us Than Nintendo's Founding
Welcome to another instalment of Nintendo Is Stupid Old! The company was initially founded in 1889, and spent most of its lifetime selling playing cards and other toys before breaking into the video game market. They saw the start of a new millennium, Walt Disney's birth the invention of the airplane, WWI, the founding of the Disney company, WWII, and a good chunk of the Cold War, all before Donkey Kong was even a prototype.
There are about 82 years between DK's release and Nintendo's founding, and about 54 between the former and now. Mario won't be closer to Nintendo's founding until 2053.
7. There Are More Mario Spin-Offs Than Pokemon Generations
No, no, that doesn't quite do it justice. There are currently 9 Pokemon generations, while there are at least twice as many Mario spin-offs. Let's make a list, shall we?
- Mario Kart
- Paper Mario
- Mario and Luigi
- Mario vs Donkey Kong
- Mario Party
- Mario Strikers
- Mario Tennis
- Mario Golf
- Super Mario Stadium
- Mario vs. Sonic at the Olympics (RIP)
- Dr. Mario
- Mario Picross
- Luigi's Mansion
- Donkey Kong Country (yes, it counts)
- Yoshi's games
- Warioland
- Wario Ware
- Mario Maker
And that's not counting games with a single entry, like Mario RPG (sans the remake) or Princess Peach Showtime. It's also not counting the mainline 2D and 3D Mario games. This plumber has a LOT of hobbies.
8. Mario’s Most Successful Endeavour Isn’t in the Mainline Titles
The list above has Mario Kart in the first position, and it's for a good reason. Don't get me wrong, the mainline 2D and 3D games sell very well. But Mario Kart is a completely different beast, with the series overall selling over 189 million units, and MK8 Deluxe being selling 67.35 million as of December 2024.
To put things into perspective, the Super Mario franchise has over 430 million units sold worldwide as of 2023, according to Wikipedia. Mario Kart alone accounts for 44% of the entire franchise's sale. The second best selling Mario game of all time, the original Super Mario Bros., barely passes 40 million, not even two thirds of 8 Deluxe's sales. I should open a karting business.
9. Mario Is the Only Franchise to Officially Make It to PC
Nintendo has a lot of franchises under its belt (some deader than others), but Mario is the only one to be officially published on PC. Aside from Donkey Kong, which was apparently ported everywhere back in the day, Mario had a lot of MS-DOS educational games, like Mario Teaches Typing, Mario is Missing, and Mario's Time Machine. As far as I know, no other Nintendo franchise has made it to PC in any sort of manner, so this is a neat little achievement.
10. My First Exposure to Mario Was on PC
We're ending this list with a bit of a personal note. Eastern Europe, early 2000s. It's been a little over a decade since the fall of the USSR, and a lot of countries were just getting a taste of the latest technology from the west. However, not a lot of people knew how to set up computers, so those who did put in a few... treats.
I don't know how it was in other countries, but in Romania every computer I came across had Super Mario Bros. (or rather some emulated version) installed on it. My home computer had it, my friend's PC had it, even our classroom computer had it (as well as Wolfenstein 3D and DOOM, but that's less relevant). Mario has been a part of my gaming life since I was a wee lad, and it's on a platform Nintendo would most assuredly not want it on.
What do you think of our little list? Do you have any other fun Mario facts? Let us know in the comments below!
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