mapasu

Solid Snake

I never got to play SMB till like 1991, I was 4 or 5. Started my passion for video games. Oddly enough... I never got to own a game system till like 1996. And it was cuz my neighbors sons were moving out, was a Sega Genesis. I actually never got to really play it all the way to the end till the GC era.

slop101

Well, I first played as Mario longer ago than 30 years, since he was the guy in Donkey Kong, but yeah, I played Super Mario Bros. (both the 2 player one with the single screen & pipes ('83), and the one we all know today pretty much the first time they debuted in the arcades (also '83), before the NES, again, longer than 30 years ago - so I don't know where they pulled this 30 years from, but Mario, in all his 2-D gaming forms, has been around longer than that.

Sonny Corinthos

My all time favorite video game series! I was so hooked on Super Mario Bros back in 1985, it wasn't even funny. I still play it from time to time even today.

kstublen

I think technically the one you're talking about with the single screen and pipes is just called "Mario Bros." and the one they're celebrating the 30th Anniversary of is the more well-known Super Mario Bros. which was released in Japan on September 13, 1985 for Famicom which was 30 years ago yesterday. I'm not aware of Super Mario Bros. ever having been released to arcades prior to the Famicom/NES release.

So to answer your question, I believe the 30 years is coming from the date of Super Mario Bros. being released on Famicom in Japan.

slop101

It was, and I played it, '84, just about a year or two before the NES came out. I remember wanting the NES because I wouldn't have to sink quarters into it like I did with the arcade machine.

So, basically, this "30 year" for Mario is bullshit, and is actually 30 years for the debut of the NES.

Michael Corvin

Yeah, I was gonna call BS but didn't want to be that guy.

If we're going by 30 years then they are ignoring the original Mario Bros. game as well.

kstublen

Pretty cool, thanks for sharing. I stand by the "30 Years" being for the home release of Super Mario Bros. on September 13, 1985 for Famicom though. In that way it makes sense because there's a huge difference between going to the arcade and sinking in quarters and playing in the comfort of your own home.

fumanstan

I didn't play until a few years later, but I still remember my parents hooking up the NES to the old TV and getting Super Mario Bros/Duck Hunt with it. I've cooled on Mario a bit recently, but i'll always have fond memories.

fujishig

Should've just made it the 30th anniversary of R.O.B. the robot... hey look, an amiibo!

starman9000

It looks like most everywhere else lists the arcade version as coming out in 86. You need to go grundle on some wiki-sites.

fujishig

Yeah, lots of sites, including:
http://www.arcade-museum.com/game_de...?game_id=10371

which has the flyer used to advertise the game to arcade makers. Seems like that site researches it's stuff pretty well.

slop101

There's no way the arcade game came out after the NES - maybe after Famicom in Japan, but definitely before NES in the US.

PatD

Those were the days! I remember getting the Super Mario Bros/Duck Hunt/World Class Track meet NES cartridge when I got my first NES.

fujishig

arstechnica article on 30 memorable facts about Super Mario Bros:

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2015/0...er-mario-bros/

Fact 27:
This links to this gamasutra article:
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/featur...rove_when_.php

which has this quote:
And in the comments, the first discussion is also a debate about whether the arcade version came out in 1984 or 1986...

mhg83

My first exposure to Mario was the SMB 3 that I got with the NES for X-Mas.

Never heard of the arcade version till recently. Has Nintendo ever ported it to the Virtual Console?

mapasu

I remember playing Super Mario Bros. In the arcades back in 86, but it was after I got my NES with a ROB before the Summer of 86. I originally had 3 games, one for the ROB unit, Duck Hunt, and Mario Bros. I never had Super Mario Bros., but I would borrow it from friends who got the NES with Super Mario Bros. included.