As Nintendo celebrates 40 years of the Super Mario Bros. series, a couple of iconic developers want to see the popular plumber make it to his 100th anniversary. Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto and Super Mario World director Takashi Tezuka discussed how the Nintendo mascot can live on for decades and decades to come in a recent book.
VGC reported on and transcribed a new Nintendo Museum book focusing on Mario’s 40th anniversary. In it, Miyamoto and Tezuka–alongside other developers–are asked about the plumber remaining a cultural icon in 2085. “One might think it would be a miracle if Mario was still here after 100 years, since we make things while not knowing when our players may get bored with them,” Tezuka said.
Tezuka, who also directed Super Mario Bros. 3 and produced Super Mario Bros. Wonder, noted how “different times bring different kinds of fun.” The developer pointed out that what Mario is capable of doing in games today has changed a lot since the NES era.