Mario

Mario (Japanese: マリオ, Hepburn: Mario, [ma.ɽi.o]) (English /ˈmɑːrioʊ/; Italian: [ˈmaːrjo]) is a fictional character in the Mario video game franchise, created by Nintendo's Japanese video game designer, Shigeru Miyamoto. Serving as the company's mascot and the eponymous protagonist of the series, Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creation. Depicted as a short, pudgy, Italian plumber who resides in the Mushroom Kingdom, his adventures generally center upon rescuing Princess Peach from the Koopa villain Bowser. His younger brother is Luigi.

The Mario franchise is the best-selling video game franchise of all time. Over 210 million units of the overall Mario series of games have been sold. Outside of the Super Mario platform series, other Mario genres include the Mario Kart racing series, sports games such as the Mario Tennis and Mario Golf series, role-playing games such as Super Mario RPG and Paper Mario, and educational games such as Mario Is Missing! and Mario's Time Machine. The franchise has branched into several mediums, including television shows, film, comics and licensed merchandise. Since 1995, Mario has been voiced by Charles Martinet.

Mario Party

Mario Party (Japanese: マリオパーティ, Hepburn: Mario Pāti) is a party video game series featuring Mario franchise characters in which four human- or computer-controlled characters compete in a board game interspersed with minigames. The series was developed by Hudson Soft and published by Nintendo; the arcade version was developed by Capcom. The series is known for its party game elements, including the often-unpredictable multiplayer modes that allow play with up to four (and sometimes eight) human players.

After the development of Mario Party 8, several of Hudson Soft's key designers left to work for Nintendo subsidiary Nd Cube, developers of Wii Party. Starting in 2012 with Mario Party 9, Nd Cube has taken over development of the series from Hudson Soft. The latest title in the series, Mario Party 10 was released worldwide in March 2015 on Wii U.

The series currently holds the record for the longest-running minigame series. As of December 2014, Nintendo reported cumulative worldwide sales of 39.6 million game copies in the Mario Party franchise.

Mario Kart

Mario Kart (マリオカート, Mario Kāto) is a series of go-kart-style racing video games developed and published by Nintendo as spin-offs from its trademark Super Mario series. The first in the series, Super Mario Kart, was launched in 1992 on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System to critical and commercial success.

There have been five Mario Kart games released for home consoles, three portable games, and three Namco co-developed arcade games, for a total of eleven. The latest title in the series, Mario Kart 8, was released on Wii U in May 2014. The series has sold over 100 million copies worldwide to date.

History

The first title in the Mario Kart series is Super Mario Kart and was released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1992. The development of the first game was overseen by Shigeru Miyamoto, the Japanese video game designer who helped create the original Super Mario Bros., as well as many other successful games for Nintendo. Darran Jones of NowGamer suggests that the original success of Super Mario Kart was the result of including characters previously seen in Mario Bros. games, while also being a new type of racing game.

Mario Kart 8

Mario Kart 8 (Japanese: マリオカート8, Hepburn: Mario Kāto Eito) is a 2014 kart racing game and the eighth major installment in the Mario Kart series, developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii U video game console. First announced at E3 2013, the game was released worldwide in late May 2014.

Like other games in the series, in Mario Kart 8, players control characters from the Mario franchise and participate in kart racing on various race tracks, using items to hinder opponents or gain advantages. While incorporating game mechanics originally featured in earlier Mario Kart games, Mario Kart 8 introduces anti-gravity sections that allow players to drive on walls or ceilings. The game features multiple single-player and multiplayer game modes. The game incorporates Miiverse functionality and online multiplayer supported via Nintendo Network.

Mario Kart 8 was a critical and commercial success upon its release, currently holding aggregate critical scores of 88.52% and 88% on GameRankings and Metacritic, respectively. It is the fastest selling Wii U game as of June 30, 2014, with 1.2 million copies sold within the first four days of its release, and 2.82 million copies during its first month. It is the best-selling Wii U game with 7.24 million copies sold. The game has continued to receive post-release patches and downloadable content, including additional characters, vehicles, and tracks, and support for Nintendo's Amiibo line of figurines.

Super Smash Bros.

Super Smash Bros., known in Japan as Dairantō Smash Brothers (Japanese: 大乱闘スマッシュブラザーズ, Hepburn: Dairantō Sumasshu Burazāzu, lit. "Great Melee Smash Brothers"), is a series of crossover fighting games published by Nintendo, that primarily featuring characters from franchises established on its systems. All five games have been directed by Masahiro Sakurai.

The gameplay objective differs from that of traditional fighters by aiming to knock opponents out of the stage instead of depleting life bars. The original Super Smash Bros., released in 1999 for the Nintendo 64, had a small budget and was originally a Japan-only release, but its domestic success led to a worldwide release. The series achieved even greater success with the release of Super Smash Bros. Melee, which was released in 2001 for the GameCube and became the best-selling game on that system. A third installment, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, was released in 2008 for the Wii. Although HAL Laboratory has been the developer of the first two titles, the third game was developed through the collaboration of several companies. The fourth and fifth installments,Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, were released in 2014 for the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, respectively. The 3DS installment was the first series title to be released on a handheld platform.