25 years ago today, Super Mario Bros. was released in Japan: The game would go on to sell more than 40 million copies over its lifespan and launch in earnest the career of the iconic plumber, whose games would sell more than 222 million copies worldwide and inspire several a movie, several TV series, and countless pop culture homages. So: Happy birthday, Mario. (And on second thought, maybe we should forget about that movie.)
While Mario preexisted Super Mario Bros., appearing in Donkey Kong and the little-remembered Mario Bros. arcade game, Nintendo is marking today as his birthday, having made the commemorative 25th anniversary logo above. And it makes sense: The NES Mario games, starting with the first one, marked most gamers’ first experiences with the Mario series and to this day remain the favorites of many.
Below, a Mario supermontage covering Super Mario Bros 1, 2, and 3, Super Mario World, Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, New Super Mario Bros. DS, Super Mario Galaxy, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, and Super Mario Galaxy 2: (We kept waiting for the Virtual Boy game; no luck.)
