Last September, Mario turned 40.
To mark the occasion, fans snapped up limited-edition merchandise from the franchise at Nintendo’s storefronts around the world. In Kyoto, tickets to the Nintendo Museum bore the likeness of the 8-bit plumber, and in New York City, a 15½-meter-tall balloon of the red-capped character floated through the streets as part of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
For the start of his anniversary year, Nintendo’s poster boy was the undisputed belle of the ball. However, 2026 holds more milestones than a 1990s memory card could have possibly stored.
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