The world's favorite plumber turns 40: This is how Mario Bros. revolutionized the industry.

On September 13, 1985, the video game 'Super Mario Bros.' was released in Japan for the Famicom console, which would reach America on October 18 and Europe in 1986. The success of the mustachioed plumber was enormous and continues 40 years later, with new adventures and a blockbuster film that will have a sequel in 2026.

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Following the success of 'Super Mario Bros. Movie' (2023), the sequel 'Super Mario Galaxy, Movie' will hit theaters in April 2026, Nintendo announced on Friday. The Japanese company will also release 'Super Mario Glaxy' and 'Super Mario Galaxy 2' for Switch on October 2, with improvements and new content, while 'Mario Tennis Forever' will arrive on Switch 2 on February 12, 2026, and 'Super Mario Bros. Wonder' will be available in spring.

A character whose first appearance was actually in 1981 in the video game 'Donkey Kong', one of the most popular in arcades at that time.

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Origin

But it was with his first solo game that Mariomania exploded, first in Japan and very quickly spread worldwide. So much so that Mario became a pop culture icon, not just in the world of video games.

And it was a difficult time for the video game industry, but the colorful settings, innovative underground and underwater levels, and fun characters that accompanied Mario won over users and led Nintendo to sell more than 40 million units of the first game.

A game developed by Shigeru Miyamoto, who conceived it while looking out a train window and imagining himself jumping outside. This gave rise to Jumpman, who appeared in 'Donkey Kong'. He was a carpenter and wore red overalls and a blue T-shirt, colors that would be reversed for the final Mario.

With over 1 billion copies sold , the original Super Mario Bros. series remains the most successful, with 446 million, although the most popular game, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, is Mario Kart 8 Deluxe for the Switch, with 67.3 million copies.

Always faithful to his trademarks—mustache, red cap and T-shirt, and blue overalls—over the years he has surrounded himself with a large and inseparable group of friends, starting with his brother Luigi.

The Mushroom Kingdom is inhabited by characters such as Princess Peach and Toad, Princess Daisy, the dinosaur Yoshi and Toadette, as well as enemies such as Bowser and Wario, and the mischievous Boo.

Throughout the more than one hundred games he has starred in, Mario has been present on all Nintendo consoles and has been transformed with power-ups, such as the winged cap that allowed him to fly, the super bell that turned him into a cat that could climb walls, or the elephant bell, which transformed him into a powerful elephant.

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Derived sagas

Of the different sagas derived from the original - from Yoshi's Island to Wario Land or Luigi's Mansion - the most successful has undoubtedly been Mario Kart.

The crazy car racing game was released in 1992 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). It revolutionized racing games, adding skill as one of the essential elements of competition, along with speed. But far from resting on its laurels, Nintendo has continued working on new developments of the game over these past 40 years.

In 1996, he jumped into three dimensions with 'Super Mario 64' ; in 2002, in 'Super Mario Sunshine', he introduced an innovative feature that allowed the pressure of the water pump he carries to be regulated using the controller's triggers; and in 2006, the character arrived on the Wii with freedom of movement based on a system of gravity spheres.

Five years ago, it launched a battle royale game for up to 35 players and a kart racing peripheral using augmented reality, in addition to re-releasing some of the original games adapted for Switch.

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Mario at the movies

And Mario's popularity increased even further with his latest film appearance. A film, "Super Mario Bros.: The Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach!" was made in 1986, and an animated television series, "The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!", aired between 1989 and 1990, in addition to a live-action film, "Super Mario Bros.," starring Bob Hoskins as the plumber.

But the biggest hit was 'The Super Mario Bros. Movie,' which in 2023 was the second-highest-grossing film of the year worldwide, with $1.36 billion in revenue, surpassed only by 'Barbie' ($1.447 billion). A figure that could be surpassed by the new sequel announced today.

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EFE