????在電子游戲界，幾乎無人不識《超級瑪麗》主人公“馬里奧”。甚至可以說多虧有了他，電游才成為今日的流行文化。

????1985年，當《超級瑪麗》發行上市時，電子游戲正一片潦倒。行業收入從1983年的32億美元下降到1億美元，跌幅近97%。不久之前還是美國歷史上增長最快的公司——游戲機廠商雅達利（Atari）那會兒已申請了破產。商場街機游戲也過了全盛期。

????但1985年9月13日，這款以一個精力十足的水管工為主角的游戲橫空出世，瞬間引起了人們的興趣，任天堂的紅白機也成為熱賣品。直到本周末《超級瑪麗》在日本舉行上市30周年慶，它始終占據著“史上最受追捧、最暢銷游戲之一”的稱號。

????據任天堂公司的數據顯示，迄今為止，《超級瑪麗》游戲已賣出超過4,000萬套。（2009年新推出的《新超級瑪麗U》銷量也突破了1,000萬套）。

????它是入選“世界電子游戲名人堂”的6款游戲之一。正是這款游戲讓全世界認識了宮本茂，他之后繼續創造出了許多任天堂的經典游戲，包括《星際火狐》和《塞爾達傳說》等。

????投資公司Arcadia Investment Corp總經理約翰·泰勒表示：“到目前為止，《超級瑪麗》是史上最大的電子游戲資產。正是從它開始，全球游戲市場才不斷擴大。”

????《超級瑪麗》并非是第一款以馬里奧為主角的游戲。嚴格意義上說，他最早誕生于1981年的街機游戲《大金剛》（Donkey Kong）。但當時，他的名字叫“跳躍人”——其標志性動作初步成形。是《超級瑪麗》給了他一個身份，讓他成為了電游明星。今時今日，據任天堂統計，馬里奧已在200多款游戲中出現過。

????宮本茂說，當時設計這款游戲是用于鼓勵探索。它外包裝上沒有操作說明或指導，但大多數新玩家很快便能上手，不論他們是否有玩過電子游戲。而隨著玩家探索越多，他們會發現更多驚喜。（想想看在30年前這些探索是多么異想天開：你跳到空中用頭頂磚塊，就可以獲得金幣，或者吃到讓你體型變大一倍的蘑菇。）

????而《超級瑪麗》尤其令人印象深刻的是，它如何屹立30年經久不衰。這款游戲為未來多款以馬里奧為主題的游戲定下了基調。

????泰勒表示：“馬里奧帶來了一種富有想象力的、歡快的游戲方式，在過去三十年間，這種方式并沒有太大變化。可以說，它的基本設計與《大富翁》類似。它依然是那樣沒變——但人們卻愿意玩了再玩。有人喜歡其中的小驚喜。有人喜歡其詭異的音樂。也有人喜歡整個游戲體驗。”

????隨著《超級瑪麗》迎來盛大的周年慶，任天堂正再次動用這款游戲助其在競爭激烈的節日市場吸引玩家。9月11日，任天堂發布了Wii U版游戲《超級瑪麗制造》（Super Mario Maker），這款游戲允許玩家們自行設計《超級瑪麗》游戲關卡（以及《超級瑪麗3》、《超級瑪麗世界》和《新超級瑪麗U》），可以自己玩，也可以分享給朋友。

????它預計將是任天堂今年最為重要的一款游戲。

????宮本茂在忙什么？他正在負責《星際火狐0》的開發，這款游戲也將在節日期間發布。雖然他表示《超級瑪麗》依舊是令他最驕傲的一款游戲，自己確實計劃參加其周年慶，不過，可能不會高調亮相。

????今年早些時候，他笑著對《財富》雜志說：“我真的不想再胖了。馬里奧生日那天，我恐怕不會去吃蛋糕。”（財富中文網）

????譯者：劉進龍/汪皓

????Mario is more than the most recognizable character in the video game world. He’s arguably the reason the industry is the pop culture force it is today.

????When Super Mario Bros. hit shelves, video games were in dire straits. Revenues were down nearly 97%—from $3.2 billion in 1983 to $100 million in 1985. Atari, which not long before had been the fastest growing company in U.S. history at the time, had filed for bankruptcy. And mall arcades were moving past their heyday.

????But the emergence of the game featuring the spunky plumber on Sept. 13, 1985 captured people’s interest—and Nintendo’s NES became a hot seller. And as Super Mario Bros. celebrates the 30th anniversary of its Japanese release this weekend, the game remains entrenched as one of the most heralded—and best selling—titles of all time.

????Life to date, Super Mario Bros. has sold more than 40 million units, according to Nintendo NTDOY 1.40% . (And 2009’s new take on the game—New Super Mario Bros. U—has sold more than 10 million.)

????It’s one of six inductees in the World Video Game Hall of Fame, And it’s the game that truly introduced the world to Shigeru Miyamoto, who has gone on to create several more of Nintendo’s most iconic franchises, including Star Fox and The Legend of Zelda.

????“Mario is, by far, the single largest video game property ever,” says John Taylor, managing director at Arcadia Investment Corp. “It’s where you start in scaling the size of the market globally for games.”

????Super Mario Bros. wasn’t the first game to feature Mario. He technically was born in 1981 in the Donkey Kong arcade game. But at the time, he was only known as “Jump Man”—and his iconic moves were rudimentary. It was Super Mario Bros. that gave him an identity and made him an icon. To date, the character has appeared in over 200 games, according to Nintendo.

????Miyamoto says the game was designed to let encourage exploration. It shipped with no instructions or tutorial, but it’s a title most new players quickly understand, regardless of their history with video games. And the more players explore, the more surprises they’ll find. (Think, for instance, how counterlogical it was 30 years ago to jump in the air and knock your head against a brick, only to be rewarded with a coin or mushroom that made you double in size.)

????What’s especially impressive about Super Mario Bros., though, is how it has endured over the past 30 years. This is the game that set the tone for many future Mario titles.

????“Mario introduced a style of imaginative and delightful gameplay, which really hasn’t changed all that much in the three decades it has been out there,” says Taylor. “You could argue that the basic design is like the basic design for Monopoly. It doesn’t change—and yet people keep playing and playing. There’s something about the little surprises. There’s something about the quirky music. There’s something about the overall experience.”

????As Super Mario Bros. hits this momentous anniversary, Nintendo is once again calling on the game to help it out in a very crowded holiday market. On Sept. 11, the company will release Super Mario Maker for Wii U—a title that lets fans try their hand at creating levels in Super Mario Bros. (along with Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, and New Super Mario Bros. U.), then play them themselves and share with friends.

????It’s expected to be the biggest game of the year for Nintendo.

????As for Miyamoto? He’s head down overseeing development of Star Fox Zero, another holiday release. And while he says he does plan to observe the anniversary of Super Mario Bros., which he says remains the game he’s most proud of, he’ll do so in a low key fashion.

????“I really don’t want to get any fatter, so I probably won’t have any cake that day,” he told Fortune with a laugh earlier this year.