40 years of Mario, the most popular plumber

The video game was published four decades ago. Super Mario Bros. and that players share games and adventures with the well-known character.

The plumber's origin

The well-known character first appeared in the arcade machine video game Donkey Kong in 1981The player avatar at that time was known as Jumpman, and it wasn't until 1985 that it gained more prominence and the name Mario. The game Super Mario Bros. The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is considered the official birth of the plumber when counting years.

The evolution of the character

In his early days, Mario was a conglomeration of pixels, but He was already sporting the mossy mustache and the capIt is worth noting that in his early designs, the colors of the shirt and the frog were reversed. The leap into three dimensions The Nintendo 64 console already established a design that, broadly speaking, has remained unchanged to this day. The current representation of the character is highly polished and includes many details, but It maintains the essence and charisma that have made it iconic.

A story full of titles

Over 200 games have been published during these 40 years set in the universe of Super Mario Bros. Until 2025, the video game franchise has sold more than 950 million units worldwideand is currently the best-selling of all time. Here we've compiled the most relevant titles belonging to its quintessential genre: the platforms.

The father of the icon

Mario's creator is Shigeru Miyamoto (1952), a Japanese video game designer. His legacy is so important that he is often considered the father of modern video gamesAs a curious fact, to create the universes of his games he draws inspiration from his childhood adventures in a rural environment near the city of Kyoto.

He started working at Nintendo in 1977, back when it was still a toy company, and his first video game was the aforementioned Donkey Kong (1981). Since then, he has created other franchises of the company, such as the well-known The Legend of Zelda, Pikmin either Star FoxBesides mentoring other projects, such as Metroid either Pokémon.

Beyond the console

The franchise of the Super Mario Bros. It has grown so much that it has transcended the world of video games. In fact, it is the second most valuable franchise in the sector, only behind... Pokémon.

• Television series
• Comics
• Anime
• Amusement parks

Within some Universal Studios parks, such as Japan, you can visit Super Nintendo World and enjoy attractions themed around the video game.

• Music
• Events
• Movies

Many people will remember the Super Mario Bros. movie (2023), but Mario first appeared on the big screen with live actors in Super Mario Bros. (1993). A new movie has recently been confirmed for April 2026.

Infographic on the ARA Domingo paper