The story of Super Mario
1981–1985 · From Jumpman to Super Mario Bros.
Mario first appeared in the arcade game Donkey Kong (1981) as Jumpman, a carpenter Shigeru Miyamoto designed to climb girders and jump barrels. Mario Bros. (1983) made him a plumber and gave him a brother, Luigi, and Super Mario Bros. (1985) on the Nintendo Entertainment System sent the pair through the Mushroom Kingdom to rescue Princess Peach from Bowser. It is still the game many people picture when they think of a video game.
1988–2000 · New worlds, new jobs
Super Mario Bros. 3 (1988) and Super Mario World (1990) refined the side-scrolling formula, and Super Mario 64 (1996) showed the whole industry how an analogue stick and a free camera could make a 3D world feel natural. Mario took up other jobs along the way: Super Mario Kart (1992) started what became the best-selling racing series of all time, and Mario Party, Mario Golf, Mario Tennis and Paper Mario each grew into a series of its own.
2017–2025 · The Switch years
On Nintendo Switch the series has been at its most varied. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (2017) became the console's best-selling game, Super Mario Odyssey (2017) sent Mario around the world with Cappy, a hat with a mind of its own, and Super Mario Bros. Wonder (2023) brought the 2D games back with Wonder Flowers that turn a level inside out. Mario Kart World (2025) launched Nintendo Switch 2 with one connected world to race across. Counting every spin-off, Mario is the best-selling video game franchise in history, with more than 800 million games sold.