Power-Up History

Nintendo hardware, 1983–today · a short history

One Jumpman a Generation

Almost every console Nintendo has ever built shipped with its own Mario game. Here is that story — told in seven machines, seven games, and one very durable plumber.

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Where the plumber was born

Mario — originally just "Jumpman" — jumped out of the 1981 arcade cabinet Donkey Kong and into the first home consoles in the mid-1980s. From then on, every Nintendo home system paired a hardware marvel with a brand-new flagship platformer, and the pair sold like… well, like Mario games.

Below is the full home-console line, oldest to newest, with the flagship Mario game that defined each machine.

  1. 1983

    Console 1

    Family Computer / NES

    The Famicom launched in Japan in 1983; two years later the NES arrived in North America with Super Mario Bros. packed in. It is credited with reviving the home-console market in the aftermath of the video game industry crash.

    Flagship game: Super Mario Bros. (1985)

  2. 1990

    Console 2

    Super Nintendo

    The 16-bit SNES launched in 1990 and shipped with Super Mario World, a bigger, more colourful Mario built for its new sound and sprite hardware. It also hosted Mario paint and Yoshi's Island.

    Flagship game: Super Mario World (1990)

  3. 1996

    Console 3

    Nintendo 64

    Super Mario 64 took the plumber off a side-scrolling line and let him run in 3D. Its analogue-stick camera and free-roaming levels became the template for every 3D platformer since.

    Flagship game: Super Mario 64 (1996)

  4. 2001

    Console 4

    GameCube

    The GameCube sold far fewer units than its rivals, but it still got a signature Mario adventure: Super Mario Sunshine (2002), set on a tropical island with a water-jet backpack. The console also carried the acclaimed Mario Kart: Double Dash.

    Flagship game: Super Mario Sunshine (2002)

  5. 2006

    Console 5

    Wii

    The Wii's motion-sensing controller made gaming household-wide, and Super Mario Galaxy (2007) turned Mario's battles into orbiting planetoids. A follow-up, Galaxy 2, landed in 2010.

    Flagship game: Super Mario Galaxy (2007)

  6. 2012

    Console 6

    Wii U

    A commercial stumble for Nintendo — but it still shipped Super Mario 3D World (2013), a co-op playground with a game-pad gimmick. The console's resurrection happened in handheld form, as the seed of the Switch.

    Flagship game: Super Mario 3D World (2013)

  7. 2017

    Console 7

    Nintendo Switch

    The hybrid home-and-handheld Switch launched with Super Mario Odyssey (2017), in which Mario's cap became a possession mechanic. Six years later, Super Mario Bros. Wonder (2023) revived the 2D side-scroller for a new generation. It has become the best-selling home console in Nintendo's history.

    Flagship game: Super Mario Odyssey (2017)

And the pockets never missed out either. The 1989 Game Boy launched with Super Mario Land; the Game Boy Advance, DS and 3DS each carried their own portables and spin collections. But the story above runs shoulder to shoulder with the family of TV consoles.

The line is unbroken for forty years — every console generation gets its Mario moment. NES, SNES, 64, Cube, Wii, Wii U, Switch: seven machines, each asking the same question — what can a plumber do now?

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