40 years of Super Mario Bros: AFP charts the rise of a worldwide icon

An icon of pop culture, the video game Super Mario Bros. celebrates its 40th anniversary on September 13, 2025. AFP has been preparing this for several weeks with various text, photo, and video reports, both in Japan and in other countries. Who would have thought that a chubby, mustachioed, hyperactive plumber wearing a red cap would become a planetary star for every generation?

After first bursting onto the scene in 1981 as the character “Jumpman” in Nintendo's game "Donkey Kong," he was later renamed Mario in 1983 for his very first arcade adventure: Mario Bros. 

But it was the release of Super Mario Bros. in 1985 on the Super Famicom—the Japanese version of Nintendo's NES console—that catapulted the character to global superstardom.

Created by Shigeru Miyamoto, the father of Zelda and Donkey Kong, Super Mario Bros was one of the world’s first video games to allow the player to move horizontally through an evolving landscape. With more than 40 million copies sold, its success was so great that it held the record for the best-selling video game for several years.

AFP’s Tokyo bureau is preparing several stories to showcase the impact of Super Mario Bros. on Japanese society.

Mario, the star character of the Nintendo brand, has played a key role in the success of its consoles. The Japanese manufacturer has once again banked on the cap-wearing plumber for the launch of its new console, the Switch 2, by making Mario Kart World, the latest installment in the very popular Mario Kart series, its flagship title.

Surrounded by other characters, whether friends or foes, Mario has evolved over the years to appear in a wide variety of game genres, ranging from traditional platformers to fighting, sports, and racing games.

The globally popular character enjoys immense fame in Japan. So much so that former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe arrived at the closing ceremony of the 2016 Rio Olympics dressed as Mario.

Emmanuel Pionnier, Tokyo bureau Chief, explains how the coverage leading up to the anniversary is being handled.

As an event like these approaches, the first task is to compile various ideas from everyone in the Tokyo bureau, as well as across the international network, since this game enjoys a global reputation. The editorial leadership then draws up a sort of “wishlist”.

"In Tokyo, we are fortunate to have journalists brimming with ideas, and the list can grow quickly. Sometimes, it's necessary to rein in this enthusiasm. For this Mario anniversary, brainstorming began as early as April, with plenty of discussions, especially since some members of the team are big video game fans."

At the same time as ideas are being thrown about, the bureau draws up a timeline leading backwards to D-Day, which will be tweaked in the days leading up to the event. The general goal is to roll out all Mario-related content gradually in the days leading up to September 13.

Once the ideas get the green light, journalists begin organizing their stories. In Japan, more than elsewhere, requesting interviews takes time—it often involves multiple emails, some of which are basically pleasantries or comments on the day's weather, and often requires one or two initial meetings simply to "get to know each other" before the actual interview. There is also a logistical side to this (travel, accommodation, etc.).

The final phase is obviously content production, using testimonies, photos, or footage collected during various reports, editing these materials, and finally publishing them. Coordinating between different languages, photo, and video teams is crucial to ensure everyone is ready to publish at the same time.

How do the Japanese view Mario?

Super Mario Bros is one of the oldest famous video games in history. The Japanese generally find the world of this character endearing. Interestingly, Mario became instantly popular worldwide. Additionally, Mario is not a Japanese character; he's an Italian plumber. Nintendo excels at creating lovable characters with rich worlds around them. The Japanese passion for Mario can be seen by the success of the Switch 2 pre-orders. It's no coincidence that the game "Mario Kart World" was included for the launch of the new console.

The Mario universe is filled with diverse characters, so everyone has their favorite. At the beginning, there was only Mario. Later, his brother Luigi and the dinosaur Yoshi were introduced. Over time, players were able to control other characters as well. The graphics universe and the design of the levels also greatly contributed to the game's success in Japan. The music also played a significant role in Mario's success.

In Japan, Shigeru Miyamoto, Mario's creator, is still very active. He enjoys discussing the world he created. Finally, the Japanese were seduced by Nintendo's marketing around this game and character. It’s impossible to discuss Mario's success without mentioning the merchandising. Everywhere in shops, whether in Tokyo or major cities, there are mountains of Mario-related products. Nintendo excels in this area with plushie toys, clothes, goodies, figurines, lamps, etc. There are also mangas, a movie, and even a highly successful amusement park.

In the streets of Tokyo, there’s even a tourist attraction where people can dress up as Mario Bros characters and drive karts around the city.