Video games appeared in the late 1940s, but they did not become commercially viable until the 1970s, and the video game industry began to flourish in the 1980s. During these decades, games quickly evolved from simple blockers to elaborate side-scrolling titles. Although many companies played an important role in the early history of video games, none were as important as Nintendo.
Nintendo entered the arcade scene in the 70s with Wild shooterand the success of these arcade titles eventually allowed them to enter the burgeoning console market. At the time, the industry was in free fall after the video game crash of 1983, and it looked like games might disappear altogether. Nintendo got things back on track and saved the game with the release of the first installment of its biggest franchise of all time: Super Mario Bros..
Nintendo transformed a forgotten character into the leader of a franchise
While Mario debuted in 1981 Donkey Konghe didn’t start out as the character gamers know and love today. Nintendo originally planned to create a game based on Popeyebut when they found it difficult to recreate the classic comic book characters, they created their own characters instead. Bluto was replaced by Donkey Kong, and in place of Popeye, they created a character named Jumpman.
When the game was introduced overseas, Nintendo thought the name Jumpman was too similar to Pac-Man and gave Donkey KongThe hero has a new name. Nintendo president at the time, Minoru Arakawa, decided to name the character after Nintendo of America owner Mario Segale. After the title became a huge success, Nintendo decided to create more Mario titles.
The first new Mario the game was a sequel called Donkey Kong Jr.a game in which Donkey Kong’s son must save his father from a now evil Mario. However, the franchise really started with Mario Bros.an arcade game that introduced the basic platforming mechanics of the series, starring Mario’s brother Luigi. Even though the game wasn’t as big as Donkey Kong, Nintendo knew it had something special, and it wasn’t long before the brothers embarked on a new adventure.
Super Mario Bros. made the NES a success
When the Nintendo Family Computer debuted in Japan in 1983, it was released alongside ports of the company’s arcade titles. Although it sold well at first, Nintendo knew it needed something special to make the console stand out from the competition. Development on Super Mario Bros. started in 1984 and Nintendo aimed to have the game ready for the next year’s holiday season.
Developers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka drew on their experience creating other Nintendo titles, like Excitebike And If Fu Master, and aimed to build on the mechanics of these titles. Even though the game was designed to be challenging, Miyamoto wanted to make sure it was easy for players to learn the game’s mechanics. Players were naturally introduced to the mushroom bonus at the start of the game, and they were given an easy enemy to defeat: Goombas.
Super Mario Bros. was released in Japan in September 1985 and arrived in North America a month later, just in time for the launch of the NES. It became one of Nintendo’s biggest launch games ever and made the console a must-play console. In the first few months, the game sold three million copies, and it has only grown over the years. Today, the title has sold over 58 copies, making it one of the best-selling games of all time.
Super Mario Bros. marked a new era for platform games
Super Mario Bros. was hugely successful from the start, and while it wasn’t the first platform game, it helped define what a platform game should and could be. Gone are the days of slow arcade platformers with finicky controls. After Super Mario Bros.players wanted smooth platforming mechanics and competitors did their best to deliver. Many franchises, including Sonic the Hedgehogmight not exist without Marioand the game has continued to serve as a model for the genre over the past 40 years.
Nintendo continued to develop the franchise and titles like Super Mario Bros. 3 took the series to new heights. Mario became Nintendo’s unofficial mascot and his success allowed Nintendo to create other classic franchises, like The Legend of Zelda And Metroid. Super Mario Bros. is arguably the most important game of all time, and while its success may have temporarily sidelined Donkey Kong, it remains Nintendo’s biggest franchise today.