The Italian Roots of Mario, Nintendo’s Illustrious Protagonist

What is the reason for Mario’s Italian origin?

The most obvious reason for Mario’s Italian nationality is that his creator, Shigeru Miyamoto, decided it to be so. However, there are other reasons behind this choice, which shed light on the influences of one of the most inventive personalities in Nintendo’s history and how he turned constraints into valuable ideas.

Miyamoto admitted that he has always been passionate about Western culture and enjoyed foreign comics. Later, as a game designer, he used these influences to solve a practical problem when creating Donkey Kong in 1981. Due to the hardware constraints of the time, it was not possible to create a highly detailed character. Miyamoto thus used the large noses of Western comics to shape the face of Jumpman, the hero of this game.

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From Jumpman to Mario

Jumpman was initially a carpenter without any specific nationality. However, when the character was chosen to be the protagonist of his own game, Miyamoto decided to turn him into a plumber and give him an Italian background. He imagined the character living in New York and chose the name Mario in honor of Mario Segale, the owner of the building where Nintendo’s US office was located. Thus, one of the greatest icons in the world of video games was born.

Mario’s voice was added later, in 1992, when Nintendo decided to have the character dubbed. American actor Charles Martinet was chosen to bring Mario to life with the Italian accent we know today.