Shigeru Miyamoto, creator of Mario, recently celebrated his 61st birthday, and with each birthday he celebrates, his resolve to soon retire becomes more serious. 

“For me to not be thinking about retirement would be strange,” he said.

For a while, Miyamoto has been prepping younger staff members to stand up and take more active roles in every section of the game-making process. He has also been pushing the junior producers to make their own executive decisions.

The push for a younger staff base originates from Miyamoto joining Nintendo as its first artist at age 25. Two years later, he produced his first arcade game.

The plumber in the red cap and jumpsuit was first exposed to the world when Miyamoto was 29. Mario made his debut in the arcade game Donkey Kong, where he appeared as a carpenter under the name Jumpman. He retained that name and occupation until the first actual Mario game, Super Mario Bros., came out on the NES (Nintendo Entertainment System, or the original Nintendo).

The success of these games sent Nintendo soaring into mass game production, and Mario had gained a massive following.

After a few other Mario games were released also on the NES, a new Nintendo system drastically improved the game’s graphics quality.

In addition to the improved graphic, the 2D platforming of the first Mario games was blown away by the upgrade to 3D in Super Mario 64.

The only thing to come close to this dramatic transformation was the release of Super Mario Sunshine on the GameCube.

In Miyamoto’s latest project, the Wii U, he has released two Mario games, another reissue of Super Mario Bros. and the new Super Mario 3D World.

Super Mario 3D World is supposed to be a nostalgic game. It brings back many elements of the first games. While it uses 3D platform, many players have stated that the actual motion feels more like the original 2D platforms.

The classic characters are all present, and it also has the famous Super Mario Bros. flagpoles and timers. Super Mario 3D World has already won 15 awards and been nominated for many more.

Now comes what many gamers consider the end of Mario. Mario games are too closely tied to Miyamoto’s name. Many gamers believe that even if more Mario games were to be produced after his retirement, they could hardly live up to the Mario title.
One thing is certain – even when Mario ends, the games will long be cherished.