
As of March 2022, the entire Mario franchise has sold over 776.80 units worldwide, making it the best-selling video game franchise of all time. The main games consist of Mario trying to rescue Princess Peach from the villain Bowser and saving the Mushroom Kingdom.Īs of March 2022, the Super Mario series has sold over 396.80 million copies worldwide and grossed more than $22 billion in estimated sales revenue. (1985) on the Nintendo Entertainment System. The main core series, Super Mario, began with the platformer game Super Mario Bros. The franchise consists of several sub-series in different genres, including racing, sports, role playing, puzzle, party, and even has games starring Mario side characters like Luigi and Captain Toad. The first game in the Mario franchise, however, was the arcade game Mario Bros. Mario originates from the arcade game Donkey Kong (1981), where he tries to rescue Pauline from the villain Donkey Kong. The titular protagonist, Mario, is arguably the most recognizable video game character of all time, rivaled only by Pac-Man, Sonic, and Pikachu. “If you had told me at that point that somebody was going to buy a sealed one for $1.5 million in 25 years’ time, I don’t know what I would have done,” he said.Mario is a platform franchise created by Nintendo. Kohler said he remembered spending part of his first paycheck on Super Mario 64 when it was released. “That was what kind of blew me away about that sale,” he said. He said that collectors could find copies of Super Mario 64 - not in mint condition but with the original box - for much less. “He’s just so recognizable and really resonates with a wide audience of people.”Ĭhris Kohler, a video game historian and the editorial director of Digital Eclipse, a video game studio that makes collections of classic games, said in an interview on Monday that he would have expected an older video game to contend for the sales record. “He’s like the Mickey Mouse of video games,” Ms.

The game spawned an enduring theme song and multiple variations, including Super Mario 64, in which Mario faces an array of obstacles and adversaries as he tries to rescue the kidnapped Princess Peach from the villain Bowser. In the original game, Mario must save the peace-loving Mushroom People from the Koopa, a tribe of turtles known for their black magic.
