Mario

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the Nintendo character. For the namesake franchise featuring
him, see Mario (franchise) and Super Mario. For other uses, see Mario (given name)
and Mario (disambiguation).
Mario
Mario character
3D render of a cartoon plumber with a mustache, a large round nose, a red cap with
the letter M, a red shirt, blue overalls, and brown shoes.
Mario, as depicted in New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe
First appearance
Donkey Kong
July 9, 1981
Created by Shigeru Miyamoto
Designed by
Shigeru Miyamoto
Yōichi Kotabe
Shigefumi Hino
Portrayed by
Lou Albano (The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!)
Bob Hoskins (Super Mario Bros.)
Voiced by Charles Martinet (1991–present)[1]
Others:
In-universe information
Alias Jumpman[18]
Species Human
Gender Male
Occupation Plumber[19]
Family Luigi (brother)
Significant other Princess Peach[18][20]
Pauline (ex-girlfriend)[21]
Origin Mushroom Kingdom
Nationality Italian (games)[22]
Italian-American (films)
Mario[e] is a character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto.
He is the title character of the video game franchise of the same name and the
mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario has appeared in over 200
video games since his creation. He is an Italian plumber residing in the fictional
Mushroom Kingdom, whose adventures generally center on rescuing Princess Peach from
the villain Bowser. Mario has access to a variety of power-ups that give him
different abilities. Mario's brother is Luigi.

Mario first appeared as the player character of Donkey Kong (1981), a platform
game. Miyamoto wanted to use Popeye as the protagonist, but when he could not
achieve the licensing rights, he created Mario instead. Miyamoto expected the
character to be unpopular and planned to use him for cameo appearances; originally
called "Mr. Video", he was renamed to Mario after Mario Segale. Mario's clothing
and characteristics were themed after the setting of Donkey Kong. He then began to
star in the Super Mario series of platform games, beginning with the critically
acclaimed Super Mario Bros. in 1985. Since 1991, Mario has been voiced by Charles
Martinet.

After Super Mario Bros., Mario began to branch off to different genres. These
include puzzle games such as Dr. Mario, role-playing games such as Paper Mario and
Mario & Luigi, and sports games such as Mario Kart and Mario Tennis. He has
appeared in other Nintendo properties, such as in the Super Smash Bros. series of
crossover fighting games. Mario has also appeared in various animations, including
three series produced by DIC Entertainment (voiced by Lou Albano and later Walker
Boone), and was portrayed by Bob Hoskins in the 1993 Super Mario Bros. film. He was
voiced by Chris Pratt in the The Super Mario Bros. Movie.

Mario is near-unanimously considered to be the most famous character in the video

game industry and an established pop culture icon. Mario's likeness has appeared in
a variety of merchandise, such as clothing and collectible items, and people and
places have been nicknamed after him. He has also inspired a considerable amount of
unofficial media. With more than 750 million units sold worldwide, the overall
Mario franchise is the bestselling video game franchise of all time.[23][24]