From crazy Mario speedrun record to US$1.6 million cartridge, Nintendo’s mascot in numbers
One of video gaming’s most beloved characters, Mario is a phenomenon that has spread across the world. Here are some intriguing numbers
Nintendo’s chirpy Italian mascot Mario has run and jumped his way to four decades of global stardom, broadening the appeal of the video game industry as one of its most beloved characters.
40 million cartridges
The original Super Mario Bros cartridge game was released in 1985 for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) console in the United States and elsewhere, and in Japan on the Famicom console.
It sold 40.2 million copies worldwide, including 6.8 million in Japan – one for every 18 members of the country’s population at the time.
“Until that point, Famicom users were almost all children. But Super Mario Bros even featured in mainstream weekly magazines alongside celebrity gossip,” says Hideki Yasuda, an analyst at the Japanese securities company Toyo Securities.
“That shows the title’s impact – it significantly widened the age range” of video game consumers, he added.
