Mario Day, which is celebrated on March 10th, is a joyful day for gamers everywhere. Over the last four decades, the video game character of Mario has become synonymous with video games, and that is why it has a full day dedicated to it.
Mario is one of the most iconic game characters of all time. Its popularity is worldwide and unmatchable. Looking at the exceptional popularity of the game, Nintendo Co., which owns the franchise, decided in 2016 to mark March 10 as Mario Day.
The date March 10 was especially chosen because if you abbreviate March to “Mar” and add “1” and “0” after it, it becomes Mario.
How did it all start?
Mario was first launched in 1981 in the ‘Donkey Kong’ video game. The character was an instant hit, and Nintendo decided to launch a separate game. In 1983, a separate game for Mario was introduced as ‘Mario Bros.’.
By 2024, overall there were more than 200 video games that have Mario characters, but out of these, 24 have main Super Mario games. All of these games came with new characters that interacted with the main character Mario and enhanced its popularity over the decades.
Why is Mario Day observed?
There are very few games that have kept the audience’s attention for over four decades. Mario has achieved that cult status that others can only dream of.
Mario has not only kept itself alive but also thrived in the cutthroat competition. It is because of this unmatched popularity that the game has its own whole day to celebrate.
Mario Day: Why is it significant for gamers?
Let’s dive into the details of how Mario Day promotes the Mario franchise and how popular this video game is. The Mario franchise is not only popular; it has also made Nintendo super rich over time. The estimated sales of Mario video games grossed over 900 million units by the end of 2024.
Nintendo owns both the top two video game franchises. The top one is Pokémon, which grossed over $150 billion by the end of 2023, making it the all-time highest-grossing video game franchise in the world. Then comes the Mario franchise, which grossed over $55 billion by the end of 2023.
Call of Duty, which was made by the American company Activision, is a distant third with $30 billion in gross sales. There are two dozen video games that have over $10 billion in worldwide sales, but Pokémon and Mario are by far the most successful ones. Perhaps the other franchises may take decades to even come close to these two in terms of popularity and profit-generating capacity.
Leading Mario games unit sales by 2024
- Super Mario (498 million unit sales)
- Mario Kart (166.4 million unit sales)
- Mario Party (69 million unit sales)
- Mario Sports (64 million unit sales)
- Mario RPGs (28 million unit sales)
- Luigi’s Mansion (22 million unit sales)
- Mario Puzzle Games (13.4 million unit sales)
Over the years, 2D animation industry has been revived, especially when it comes to the use of 2D animation in the video game industry. The Canadian video game industry is also growing fast and competing well despite a small population compared to its main rivals, like the United States, Japan, China, etc.
Conclusion
The global video game industry has been thriving for quite some time. New companies are trying their luck in this multi-billion dollar industry while the old ones are further consolidating their grip.
The Mario franchise is one of the most successful stories of the global video game industry. It has been a cash cow for Nintendo, and it is still generating millions in profit for the company.
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The college has also been a Toon Boom Harmony Centre of Excellence since 2015 because of its excellent training and up-to-date curriculum.
Edison College offers a one-year intensive 2D Character Animation Diploma Program designed to prepare students for the job market by giving them practical tools through which they can immediately start their careers.
Students with this 2d animation course will learn practical skills along with the theory part so that the students do not face any problems while entering the animation field.
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If you have questions or concerns, you can contact us today to learn more about this program.
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Pictures were taken from Nintendo official website on Mario Day
