Mario Day 2021: 13 Mind-Blowing Facts About The Famous Nintendo Character
03/10/21 AT 7:58 AM
It s Mario Day! First introduced by Nintendo in 1981, the mustached video game character has since become one of the most iconic figures in pop culture.
As of 2018, the Mario franchise has grossed over $30 billion and has sold more than 620 million copies of games worldwide, beating Pokémon as the best-selling video game franchise of all time, IGN reported.
In celebration of one of the most recognizable characters of our childhood, here are 13 facts about Mario and his games that you might not have known.
Jumpman, who?
Mario wasn t always called Mario. During the early stages of his development, the Nintendo character was originally called Jumpman. Creator Shigeru Miyamoto also considered giving him the name Mr. Video before eventually naming him Mario reportedly after Mario Segale, the landlord of a U.S. warehouse rented by Nintendo, according to BBC.
Mario Day 2021: Every Sale and Event Announced for the Special Day
On 3/9/21 at 11:55 AM EST
Nintendo is celebrating this year s Mario Day with a slew of sales on games featuring the red-clad plumber as well as events and updates featuring the character in various games.
For those unaware, March 10 is Mario Day get it, Mar10 looks like Mario and each year Nintendo gives fans a chance to play the latest and greatest Mario games on the Nintendo Switch.
To continue the 35th-anniversary celebration of Mario, Nintendo is cutting prices of Mario games, and one Luigi game, by 35 percent from now until March 14 at 2:59 a.m. ET.