Super Mario Bros. is one of history’s most iconic video game franchises. The original game was developed by Nintendo and released in 1985. Since then, it has become a cultural phenomenon that has influenced pop culture, inspired countless video games, and introduced millions of people to the joys of gaming. Let’s take a deep dive into the history of Super Mario Bros., exploring its origins, development, and impact on the gaming industry and popular culture.
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Brett Weiss, author of the SNES Omnibus books, is back! This time around he’s focusing on the home video game console that put Nintendo on the map: the NES. Just like the SNES Omnibus series, the NES Omnibus is split into two books, so the appropriate attention is given to the myriad of games released for the most iconic and influential video game system of all time.
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Gamers like myself love to debate what should be included on lists of the greatest video games of all time. Various media publications capitalize on this by creating lists, mainly to get people to click through and engage. But sometimes a slideshow on a website or a YouTube video isn’t sufficient. Sometimes you want to take a deep dive into a top-100 video game list, immersing yourself in the experience in a more satisfying way. Moreover, many of these lists completely ignore anything from before 1985, which is when the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) rocked the world with its accessibility and plethora of great games. For these reasons and more Brett Weiss’ The 100 Greatest Console Video Games: 1977-1987 is a book you should read.
The past 10 years have been some of the greatest in the history of Nintendo, which is pretty incredible considered what the company has accomplished throughout its existence. The Big N kicked off the decade in 2010 with one of its greatest games of all time: Super Mario Galaxy 2. The following year, in 2011, it launched the Nintendo 3DS, and in 2012 the world was introduced to the Wii U. 2013 saw the Nintendo 2DS, followed by the wildly popular Amiibo that debuted in 2014. In 2015 we got the New Nintendo 3DS XL, and Pokemon Go took over the world in 2016. The NES Classic was also released in 2016, demonstrating how much demand there was for retro content and kick-starting a wave of additional mini-consoles in the future. If I had to pick one year from the decade as Nintendo’s greatest, it would be 2017. This year saw the launch of the Nintendo Switch, which has sold more than 40 million hardware units and more than 250 million software units (as of September 2019). The Nintendo Switch was home to major game releases in 2017, including The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and Splatoon 2. In addition to all of this, Nintendo released the Super Nintendo Classic the same year. This mini-console, like its predecessor, went on to sell millions of units and took the world by storm. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Kirby Star Allies, and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, among other games, came to the Nintendo Switch in 2018. And this year, 2019, brought us Yoshi’s Crafted World, Luigi’s Mansion 3, Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair, Pokemon Sword and Shield, and more. This is also the year that the Nintendo Switch Lite and Ring Fit Adventure made their debut.
Today, Nintendo celebrates a huge milestone. For the first time ever, its most iconic video game character, Mario, makes his debut on a device not produced by Nintendo. Super Mario Run, a fully-featured platformer starring everyone’s favorite plummer, is now available in Apple’s App Store for iPhone and iPad.
DK Publishing, the company that has created countless terrific pop culture books that I’ve reviewed, has just released Playing With Power: Nintendo NES Classics. This beautiful hardback book celebrates the history of the most iconic and influential video game system of all time, as well as the games that defined it. It’s a great companion piece to the newly released, yet hard-to-find, NES Classic Edition. Below is my full video review. Enjoy!
I’ve been playing video games my entire life. I have fond memories of blowing dust out of NES cartridges and spending countless hours trying to beat Resident Evil 3 on my Playstation. Lately, with work and school, it’s been hard to play games other than the casual ones on my phone and tablet. To get back into serious gaming, I just bought one of the newly announced Alienware laptops this week: Alienware 14.
The new Alienware laptops are beautiful and powerful, and I’m very excited to get mine in July. Keep an open eye out for my video review of Alienware 14 later this summer.
