If you haven’t played a Mario game yet, it’s difficult to ascertain how you pulled that off. It is funny that Mario has become almost synonymous with gaming given that donkey kong and Mario weren’t the first games and there were so many changes over the years for these series to drop off in quality which it hasn’t.
From a character standpoint, Mario, who is easily one of the most famous game characters of all time shares a lot in common with Mickey Mouse who is easily the most famous cartoon character of all time. Mario has changed so many times over the years but his design stays relatively untouched. There was that one time where he got a tribal tattoo and fans were totally onboard with it.
From the 8-bit era all the way up to Mario Odyssey, he always had his cap and mustache and most of the times, he has also got those overalls, the brown shoes and white gloves. Tough competition from games such as Call of Duty, Minecraft, PUBG, etc. have had no effect on the popularity of Mario.
Here are some reasons why Super Mario is so popular. Let’s get started!
- QUALITY OVER QUANTITY: Nintendo has been pretty careful about the quality of Mario. Each Mario game is developed after extensive research. The best part is that the new titles portray Mario like the older ones and his powers and capabilities are hardly touched. No doubt there are various iterations of the game but in essence, all the games are about collecting gold coins, battling with obstacles, and saving the princess.
- MARIO IS ALWAYS AROUND: Between each successive Super Mario game title, Nintendo always tries to surprise the fans with games related to Mario like Mario Kart and Mario Party. Mario toys and Mario themed candies have become ubiquitous all around the world. Also, Nintendo doesn’t indulge in any aggressive marketing of these items.
- GOOD RECEPTION IN THE BEGINNING: Mario was called the Jumpman in the beginning. Donkey Kong and Mario were competing for neck-to-neck for the top spot. People wanted to see more of Mario and soon Nintendo came with Super Mario Bros 1, 2, and 3 which became really popular among the fans.
- SUPER MARIO IS A GOOD GUY: Nintendo portrayed Mario as a good guy that never steals, never does drug or alcohol abuse, and loves his brother Luigino matter what.
- NEW ADVENTURES: Each Super Mario title brings with itself some crazy new levels which the players enjoy a lot. These levels challenge his normalcy while keeping the players invested in the game.
