In another 100 years, there will be countless more video gaming icons. There will thousands of innovative ideas, some of which will change the way we game, others which will fall on deaf ears. There will be new consoles, controls and ways of interacting with our hardware. Nothing that happens will ever be able to hold a candle to what Mario has done for the video gaming industry. The Italian plumber first made his gaming debut as Jump Man in the 1981 classic Donkey Kong, going by his own name in the 1982 update, Donkey Kong Junior. When Nintendo released their first home console, the NES it was Mario in the flagship game, Super Mario Bros. that helped sell the console, and the rest is history. Innovation is what Mario is all about, ranging from Party Games (Mario Party), Racing games (Mario Kart was the first comic based racing games, is arguably the most famous driving video game in the world) 3D gaming (Mario 64) or co-op gaming (Super Mario Galaxy), Mario has been at the forefront of everything new. Games such as Super Smash Bro. and Mario and Sonic at the Olympic games may have only featured him as a playable option, but by including him on the box, Nintendo knew they were sure of success. Even when the cute character started to die out in the early 2000s, it was Mario again who helped launch the Wii as a family console, and the familiar face of the early 90s was back again, allowing multiple generations to play together in an easy to access, non-threatening environment. Outside of his own games, the influence Mario has had is huge. Sonic would never have come about if not for Mario (as Sega tried to play catch up) and there are numerous other games, both mainstream and indie that took heavily from aspects of Marios gameplay. Whether it was collecting an invincibility power up or collecting items in order to gain an extra life, Mario was at the forefront of game mechanic development through the 80s, and it's a testament to how well he plays that there have been few fundamental changes since his inception. Even within popular culture, Mario is instantly recognisable. His trademark colours and big moustache make him a popular fancy dress costume. His theme music is a well selling ringtone. His sticker collections (which were granted little more than expensive gaming manuals) reached the height of popularity. The film, although critically panned, was the first of its kind, a movie based on a gaming character (something which paved the way for the Tomb Raider franchise). The Mario franchise is the biggest selling gaming franchise of all time, and while all characters on this list thoroughly deserve their place, there is only one true gaming icon. He is Mario. Did You Know? In the 1990s, A survey of American Children found Mario to be a more recognisable character than Mickey Mouse.
Football mad, gaming enthusiast, wrestling purist. I am fortunate enough to work full time in the world of football, and am Senior Editor for the football video gaming site, Soccer Gaming. Love a debate!
