First of all, I have to clarify something: This topic is regarding Mario's anniversary, not the Super Mario Bros. anniversary. I feel I need to clarify this so nobody misunderstands.
For most other franchises, it's easier to pinpoint their anniversary since the character debuts in the same game as them, so for example, Kirby debuts in Kirby Dream Land, so to celebrate Kirby is to also celebrate his original game. The same could be said for Legend of Zelda, Mega Man, and even Sonic. Mario is a special case since his celebration is from a game that debuts later than his character.
Concerning anniversaries, Mario's will always be based on Super Mario Bros.', which meant that it was celebrated at important benchmarks, back in 2005 and 2010, and now 2015. If you know about Mario, you would know that this is actually not the first game he starred in, as Donkey Kong was the first game he starred in, meaning that Mario's true anniversary took place based on the year 1981. It's understandable that the anniversary is based on the game since it's called the "Super Mario Bros. anniversary" after all, but wouldn't it be appropriate to celebrate this hero's anniversary based on his original debut?
One might argue that Donkey Kong (game) is not as popular as Super Mario Bros., but the thing is, Donkey Kong is also influential in that it create a pop-cultural icon and saved Nintendo from the financial disaster that is Radar Scope, so it meant something to the company. Perhaps one reason is due to the name of the game "Donkey Kong", which contains a title that doesn't have "Mario" in it. Even then, the elements found in said game are still referenced today in some way such as the hero's signature jumping ability, so the influence is still there, such as Mario's appearance. From another angle, Donkey Kong as a title meant that the game is more associated with the ape rather than the carpenter (or plumber as he is now), similar to how it is easy to disregard Wario's Woods as a Toad game even though Toad is the hero. Probably because the title sells the game, and thus, the titular character is strongly associated with the game rather than the playable character. Another possibility is that Mario wasn't called Mario, but still, Mario never looked different from the past (and even then, his key characteristics are the same as they were then, if comparing the official art betwene then and now).
Still, there is one game that held the Mario moniker before then, and it's the oft-overlooked arcade game Mario Bros., released in 1983. The game may not be as influential as Donkey Kong, but it's still a good game at that time, and contains elements that will be used in Super Mario Bros., such as Luigi (as a second player). Thing is, sometimes when Mario Bros. is mentioned, some people thought it's Super Mario Bros., such as the Iwata Asks interview on Wii U's controller when they played Mario Bros. to test Wii U's prototype controller (Ibuki: Yes. But after last year's E3, we heard it was difficult to use. We played the NES version of Mario Bros. game on the Wii U GamePad and realized we couldn't do it very well.). Certain retellings might have thought "Super" was there all along, so it would seem that Mario Bros. was overlooked as well. It didn't have any anniversary for it either, although it's more understandable compared to Donkey Kong since that game wasn't as popular or influential.
Funny thing is, the Year of Luigi coincides with Mario Bros.' 30th anniversary, which was when Luigi was introduced. I did mention that there is a relation, but I came to the conclusion that it's just a coincidence because Nintendo's developers never mentioned Luigi's anniversary when they developed all those games putting Luigi in the spotlight (Luigi's Mansion, New Super Luigi U and Mario & Luigi: Dream Team). Not only that, there were no signs of a Mario Bros. re-release so far, though Luigi Bros. in Super Mario 3D World is as close as you can get. Rather, Year of Luigi is a result of a coincidence between game developers planning to release games starring Luigi on that year. Still, his anniversary is acknowledged. To make it clear: Mario Bros. (the game) anniversary is celebrated through Luigi, even as just a coincidence.
When looking for stuff that commemorate Mario's 30th Anniversary, the only one that is of a grand scale is the Mario's 30th Anniversary Medley, composed by fans. Other than that, there are some fans who acknowledged Mario's first game such as fanart. I suppose Super Mario 3D Land is some consolation to that, but it would be nice if the head company acknowledged Mario's first game as his starting point too.
Recently, Super Mario Maker was announced as a Super Mario Bros. 30th Anniversary. Note the wording: "Super Mario Bros.". Even then, some sites cited it as Mario's (not Super Mario Bros.) 30th Anniversary, and applying this logic meant that Luigi is older than Mario since Mario Bros. is sometimes mentioned as Luigi's 30th anniversary, which is plainly not true.
My question to all of you is simple: Why is it that as a character, Mario's official anniversaries don't use 1981 (or 1983) as a starting year? (If there was an official anniversary using 1981/1983 as benchmark years, I am all ears)
Sorry if this is long, but this is something I am bugged with, so I would love to hear opinions on.
Thanks for reading. I appreciate it.
(Fun fact: This draft was first made in 2011/2012, but I didn't post it until now because I wasn't familiar with others so I wasn't sure how others reacted to this topic)
For most other franchises, it's easier to pinpoint their anniversary since the character debuts in the same game as them, so for example, Kirby debuts in Kirby Dream Land, so to celebrate Kirby is to also celebrate his original game. The same could be said for Legend of Zelda, Mega Man, and even Sonic. Mario is a special case since his celebration is from a game that debuts later than his character.
Concerning anniversaries, Mario's will always be based on Super Mario Bros.', which meant that it was celebrated at important benchmarks, back in 2005 and 2010, and now 2015. If you know about Mario, you would know that this is actually not the first game he starred in, as Donkey Kong was the first game he starred in, meaning that Mario's true anniversary took place based on the year 1981. It's understandable that the anniversary is based on the game since it's called the "Super Mario Bros. anniversary" after all, but wouldn't it be appropriate to celebrate this hero's anniversary based on his original debut?
One might argue that Donkey Kong (game) is not as popular as Super Mario Bros., but the thing is, Donkey Kong is also influential in that it create a pop-cultural icon and saved Nintendo from the financial disaster that is Radar Scope, so it meant something to the company. Perhaps one reason is due to the name of the game "Donkey Kong", which contains a title that doesn't have "Mario" in it. Even then, the elements found in said game are still referenced today in some way such as the hero's signature jumping ability, so the influence is still there, such as Mario's appearance. From another angle, Donkey Kong as a title meant that the game is more associated with the ape rather than the carpenter (or plumber as he is now), similar to how it is easy to disregard Wario's Woods as a Toad game even though Toad is the hero. Probably because the title sells the game, and thus, the titular character is strongly associated with the game rather than the playable character. Another possibility is that Mario wasn't called Mario, but still, Mario never looked different from the past (and even then, his key characteristics are the same as they were then, if comparing the official art betwene then and now).
Still, there is one game that held the Mario moniker before then, and it's the oft-overlooked arcade game Mario Bros., released in 1983. The game may not be as influential as Donkey Kong, but it's still a good game at that time, and contains elements that will be used in Super Mario Bros., such as Luigi (as a second player). Thing is, sometimes when Mario Bros. is mentioned, some people thought it's Super Mario Bros., such as the Iwata Asks interview on Wii U's controller when they played Mario Bros. to test Wii U's prototype controller (Ibuki: Yes. But after last year's E3, we heard it was difficult to use. We played the NES version of Mario Bros. game on the Wii U GamePad and realized we couldn't do it very well.). Certain retellings might have thought "Super" was there all along, so it would seem that Mario Bros. was overlooked as well. It didn't have any anniversary for it either, although it's more understandable compared to Donkey Kong since that game wasn't as popular or influential.
Funny thing is, the Year of Luigi coincides with Mario Bros.' 30th anniversary, which was when Luigi was introduced. I did mention that there is a relation, but I came to the conclusion that it's just a coincidence because Nintendo's developers never mentioned Luigi's anniversary when they developed all those games putting Luigi in the spotlight (Luigi's Mansion, New Super Luigi U and Mario & Luigi: Dream Team). Not only that, there were no signs of a Mario Bros. re-release so far, though Luigi Bros. in Super Mario 3D World is as close as you can get. Rather, Year of Luigi is a result of a coincidence between game developers planning to release games starring Luigi on that year. Still, his anniversary is acknowledged. To make it clear: Mario Bros. (the game) anniversary is celebrated through Luigi, even as just a coincidence.
When looking for stuff that commemorate Mario's 30th Anniversary, the only one that is of a grand scale is the Mario's 30th Anniversary Medley, composed by fans. Other than that, there are some fans who acknowledged Mario's first game such as fanart. I suppose Super Mario 3D Land is some consolation to that, but it would be nice if the head company acknowledged Mario's first game as his starting point too.
Recently, Super Mario Maker was announced as a Super Mario Bros. 30th Anniversary. Note the wording: "Super Mario Bros.". Even then, some sites cited it as Mario's (not Super Mario Bros.) 30th Anniversary, and applying this logic meant that Luigi is older than Mario since Mario Bros. is sometimes mentioned as Luigi's 30th anniversary, which is plainly not true.
My question to all of you is simple: Why is it that as a character, Mario's official anniversaries don't use 1981 (or 1983) as a starting year? (If there was an official anniversary using 1981/1983 as benchmark years, I am all ears)
Sorry if this is long, but this is something I am bugged with, so I would love to hear opinions on.
Thanks for reading. I appreciate it.
(Fun fact: This draft was first made in 2011/2012, but I didn't post it until now because I wasn't familiar with others so I wasn't sure how others reacted to this topic)
