Shigeru Miyamoto's Mario character debuted in 1981 in the original Donkey Kong arcade game, his name wasn't Mario back then, it was 'Jumpman'. A couple of years later, the name 'Mario' was born in the first Mario Bros. in 1983. Another 2 years later, Super Mario Bros. introduced the Mario platform in 1985, which revolutionized 8-bit gaming.
Mario has already been on a plethora of newer adventures like Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario 64 that most people would think that the game character is definitely a man in his 40s. However, Mario creator, Shigeru Miyamoto, said that our mushroom-loving character is only 24 or 25 years old. He said this in a 2005 Nintendo interview that has resurfaced recently due to the Mario fad over Super Mario Run.
As Miyamoto speaks, most about Mario is not clearly defined, therefore he is free to change and evolve through each one of his succeeding games. The only detail that won't change would be his age, as reported by Game Spot.
"I think it was fortuitous that we didn't put any restrictions on Mario as a character," he said. "Normally when you create a character and present him to the world, all the details get filed in: what's his favourite colour? what kind of food does he like to eat? But aside from the fact that he's about 24-25 years old, we didn't define anything else."
Why did we think that he was way older?
This is most probably because of Bob Hoskins' portrayal of Mario in Super Mario Bros. The Movie in 1993. Back then, the actor was in his fifties playing the role of a character supposedly in his mid twenties. Kodus to this actor by the way for holding back his age and effectively doing it. Check out this video:
Mario has also appeared as an infant in various instances, for instance: Yoshi's Island, also on the Mario Kart series, and not to mention a bunch of Mario sports games.
Mario's next exciting adventure would be set at Super Mario Run, this will be his official debut on iOS devices. The game will be set as an endless runner, though it has levels with definitive ends. Mario can be controlled by tapping on the screen, no more buttons this time, depending how and when you tap will produce different actions. It will be rolled out in the App Store this Deceber however, Android users will have to wait a little longer as it has been announced to follow but no definite date yet. Below is a commentary on this news from Game Spot.
