Nintendo Celebrates Super Mario's 40th Anniversary With Nostalgic Commercial
Mario is a symbol not just of Nintendo, but of video games themselves. As long as gaming has been mainstream, Mario has been at the forefront of that movement.
Nintendo has been celebrating the iconic mascot's 40th anniversary since September 2025, and they decided to release an awesome new nostalgic ad that takes fans on a journey of four decades with the plumber in the red shirt and blue overalls.
The commercial starts in 1985 with the legendary Super Mario Bros. The montage then takes an 11-year leap into 1996 with the series' turn from 2D to 3D with Super Mario 64. Another decade passes as we arrive in 2006 with New Super Mario Bros. for the Nintendo DS. Modern classics from recently are last on the list with Super Mario Odyssey, Super Mario Maker 2, and Super Mario Galaxy.
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It's interesting to see which games Nintendo deemed an essential part of the series' history in the commercial. It seems the company was trying to go for a summary of when the franchise took a monumental turn each time in its lore.
Overall, it makes fans who are starving for a new game starring Mario even hungrier for the announcement. The past is worth holding onto, but the Switch 2 is in desperate need of its first gigantic title. Super Mario and The Legend of Zelda are the two big kahunas in this industry. The console will really come alive when one of those two gets its first major game release.
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Nintendo has done a decent job of making Mario's 40th birthday worthwhile. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie has been a worldwide hit. The film has made over $800 million worldwide as of this writing. Mario is still resonating with new generations of kids and adults. The character connects people of different types from all over the globe. He's relatable, fun, nostalgic, and modern all at once.
The past should always be appreciated, and that's what this commercial does. Let's just hope the next advertisement for Mario is his Switch 2 game.
This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Apr 27, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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This story was originally published April 27, 2026 at 2:17 PM.