The Evolution of Mario

Mario's first big splash into people's homes came in very crude form, digitally speaking, as a Donkey Kong game cartridge for the venerable Atari 2600. From that primordial ooze, the ColecoVision game console emerged in 1982, with graphics that closely mirrored those in the arcade game - and Donkey Kong was the free game that came with the console. The Atari 5200 followed suit a year later, offering all four levels of play found in the arcade (although there were still some differences).

Cutting Across All Lines

By the time Mario got his own quarter-a-play machine, every household had purchased a home gaming system, and the industry was well on its way to putting video arcades out of business. Nintendo made sure that Mario made the transition in a big way. No longer a protagonist in a game about a giant monkey, Mario got top billing, and sales of Mario games swamped Nintendo's coffers. As the company was propelled forward by its profits, Mario kept evolving, and so did the entire video game platform.

With competition from Playstation and Xbox, Nintendo brought out the Wii, and the aim of gaming was largely retrained toward the adult market. While Playstation and Xbox are purveyors of age-restricted games, there are few things that can entertain a party better than the Wii version of Mario Kart. The tracks are spectacular, the characters are brilliant, the action is intense, and nobody gets busted for drunk driving. Mario and Nintendo never cease to amaze when it comes to providing fun for the entire family, both before and after the kids are put to bed.