Every Day Is Special: March 10

March 10 – Mario Day

Posted on March 10, 2016

“MAR.10” looks a lot like the name “MARIO,” right?

That is the reason that today is the gamer holiday celebrating the most famous video game character ever created!

Mario didn't start off a star.

First of all, Mario's creator (Shigeru Miyamoto, working for Nintendo) wanted his video game to feature Popeye the Sailor Man – but he was unable to get a license to do so. So he created Mario, calling him Mr. Video (at first unable to jump) and later Jumpman (as you can imagine, now able to jump!). This character first appeared in Donkey Kong in 1981.

Shigeru Miyamoto

Since Donkey Kong was located on a construction site, Jumpman was a carpenter. In Donkey Kong Junior, the carpenter was renamed Mario. However, in his next appearance in a video game, much of which was located underground, Miyamoto made Mario a plumber. And not just any old plumber – a mustachioed Italian American New Yorker plumber!

Mario, sometimes with his brother Luigi, has now appeared in more than 200 video games. The Mario franchise is the best-selling video game franchise of all time, with more than 210 games sold and Mario branch-offs in comics, TV shows, films, and of course licensed merchandise!

To celebrate Mario Day, don your fake mustache, order some pizza, and get your old Nintendo set out to play some flashback games. Or throw an elaborate Super Mario Bros party!