Super Mario
- Downloads：6667
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-06-09 09:53:07
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Jeff Ryan
- ISBN：1591845637
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
The first princess Mario saved was Nintendo itself。
In 1981， Nintendo of America was a one-year-old business already on the brink of failure。 Its president， Mino Arakawa， was stuck with two thousand unsold arcade cabinets for a dud of a game （Radar Scope）。 So he hatched a plan。
Back in Japan， a boyish， shaggy-haired staff artist named Shigeru Miyamoto designed a new game for the unsold cabinets featuring an angry gorilla and a small jumping man。 Donkey Kong brought in $180 million in its first year alone and launched the career of a short， chubby plumber named Mario。
Since then， Mario has starred in over two hundred games， generating profits in the billions。 He is more recognizable than Mickey Mouse， yet he’s little more than a mustache in bib overalls。 How did a mere smear of pixels gain such huge popularity？
Super Mario tells the story behind the Nintendo games millions of us grew up with， explaining how a Japanese trading card company rose to dominate the fiercely competitive video-game industry。
In 1981， Nintendo of America was a one-year-old business already on the brink of failure。 Its president， Mino Arakawa， was stuck with two thousand unsold arcade cabinets for a dud of a game （Radar Scope）。 So he hatched a plan。
Back in Japan， a boyish， shaggy-haired staff artist named Shigeru Miyamoto designed a new game for the unsold cabinets featuring an angry gorilla and a small jumping man。 Donkey Kong brought in $180 million in its first year alone and launched the career of a short， chubby plumber named Mario。
Since then， Mario has starred in over two hundred games， generating profits in the billions。 He is more recognizable than Mickey Mouse， yet he’s little more than a mustache in bib overalls。 How did a mere smear of pixels gain such huge popularity？
Super Mario tells the story behind the Nintendo games millions of us grew up with， explaining how a Japanese trading card company rose to dominate the fiercely competitive video-game industry。
Reviews
Andrew Sushoreba
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This book was very good。 I am a mario nerd and this book expanded my knowledge a lot。
Jessica Perez
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A fun trip down memory lane， if nothing else。 It's a bit dated now （it's an interesting real-for-the-time look at the Wii and DS， which were late-childhood systems for me） but it does the job for the 80s-90s。 I know there are some factual inaccuracies， but by and large most of it is accurate and clearly explained。 Some technical knowledge （bit size， etc） is helpful but not required to read。 I like the audiobook， too， for what it's worth！ A fun trip down memory lane， if nothing else。 It's a bit dated now （it's an interesting real-for-the-time look at the Wii and DS， which were late-childhood systems for me） but it does the job for the 80s-90s。 I know there are some factual inaccuracies， but by and large most of it is accurate and clearly explained。 Some technical knowledge （bit size， etc） is helpful but not required to read。 I like the audiobook， too， for what it's worth！ 。。。more
Kirk
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Good history on Nintendo; the book goes up to the releases of the Wii and 3DS。
BaylissAndMommy
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Mom and I listened to this in the car。 I really， REALLY liked it。 （read in 1st grade， age 7）
Jessi Collier Wakefield
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I love a 7 year old who LOVES Mario and Nintendo。 So we listened to this together on a long car trip。 He knew SO much about the subject already， and time and again I would glance back and see him light up when games were mentioned and discovered new things。 As an adult who grew up on these games， I thoroughly enjoyed the timeline of games and platforms mentioned remembering when they happened。 This book was greatly enjoyed by both kid and Mom。 And Ray Porter's narration was SO good。 He brings hu I love a 7 year old who LOVES Mario and Nintendo。 So we listened to this together on a long car trip。 He knew SO much about the subject already， and time and again I would glance back and see him light up when games were mentioned and discovered new things。 As an adult who grew up on these games， I thoroughly enjoyed the timeline of games and platforms mentioned remembering when they happened。 This book was greatly enjoyed by both kid and Mom。 And Ray Porter's narration was SO good。 He brings humor to his reading that not all narrators can do。 。。。more
Sebastian Maldonado
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Good book， a little hard to follow from time to time， but I enjoy it， very detailed and with strong opinions about some subjects。
A Westerhaus
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I super enjoyed this nostalgic and informative book on the history of Nintendo and my favorite Italian plumber！ I recently finished Shoe Dog， and much like that book， this tells all the foibles and successes of a major company that I take for granted！ I especially liked this book， since this Christmas， Dave bought me a classic NES and the family has really loved playing these epic old school games - especially Super Mario Bros 2 & 3！！！ I would recommend this to anyone who grew up with a classic I super enjoyed this nostalgic and informative book on the history of Nintendo and my favorite Italian plumber！ I recently finished Shoe Dog， and much like that book， this tells all the foibles and successes of a major company that I take for granted！ I especially liked this book， since this Christmas， Dave bought me a classic NES and the family has really loved playing these epic old school games - especially Super Mario Bros 2 & 3！！！ I would recommend this to anyone who grew up with a classic NES！ 。。。more
Rose Smith
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It was interesting and something I wouldn’t normally read。 I enjoyed it。
Adam Eastman
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It’s Super！！ Ha ha！！
Gregp
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8 out of 10
Nicholas
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It's fine。 Already a bit dated （the closing section of the book envisioning how Satoru Iwata would continue to guide Nintendo for many years was difficult to listen to， knowing about his passing only a couple years later）， and much of the material has been covered better in other places。 Despite its focus on Sega instead of Nintendo， Console Wars is a much more interesting， exciting， and better paced look at the earlier period of Nintendo's history。 It's fine。 Already a bit dated （the closing section of the book envisioning how Satoru Iwata would continue to guide Nintendo for many years was difficult to listen to， knowing about his passing only a couple years later）， and much of the material has been covered better in other places。 Despite its focus on Sega instead of Nintendo， Console Wars is a much more interesting， exciting， and better paced look at the earlier period of Nintendo's history。 。。。more
Heather
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This is a fantastic book; it reminds me of the Netflix Show 'The Toys That Made Us' without the interviews and being on TV but just as engaging。 Really really， super satisfying to listen to。 This is a fantastic book; it reminds me of the Netflix Show 'The Toys That Made Us' without the interviews and being on TV but just as engaging。 Really really， super satisfying to listen to。 。。。more
Rj
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Quick read about the history of Nintendo with a little bit on video games。 Fairly basic but accessible and mostly accurate。
Dominique
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The history was great and really interesting， having lived through it。 From the start up phases to the maturing and pivoting， the story reads as an fascinating business saga with law suits and juggling difficult sets of audiences without alienating parents。 The end prediction has sadly not happened but Mario still persists。
Stephanie
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This was a fun read especially if you are a Nintendo fan。 It was interesting learning more about their beginnings and the ideas for their games and consoles。 Nintendo definitely was a big part of my childhood growing up in the （late 80s-90s） so this book was quite nostalgic for me。 If you want a quick read with fun Nintendo facts and stories give Super Mario: How Nintendo Conquered America a try or listen to the audiobook like I did because it was narrated so well。 Now I’m curious， what’s your f This was a fun read especially if you are a Nintendo fan。 It was interesting learning more about their beginnings and the ideas for their games and consoles。 Nintendo definitely was a big part of my childhood growing up in the （late 80s-90s） so this book was quite nostalgic for me。 If you want a quick read with fun Nintendo facts and stories give Super Mario: How Nintendo Conquered America a try or listen to the audiobook like I did because it was narrated so well。 Now I’m curious， what’s your favorite Nintendo console/game？ 。。。more
Aaron
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After reading Steve Jobs I wanted to learn the history of my favorite childhood pastime， playing Mario and Zelda on NES。 The book kept me reading due to nostalgia and interest， but I don’t think this was super well researched and could have been better。 Only of interest to kids of the 80s who played a lot of Nintendo games。
David Blaylock
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That Mario really gets around。
Joe
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I must say， reading this kept me wanting to play my Switch。 More specifically， play some Mario。 As much as I enjoyed this book， I was disappointed when reading some Amazon reviews that fact checked Jeff Ryan。 I didn't really notice any issues so it didn't bother me。 I was bothered by the odd comparisons and metaphors constantly thrown around。 I found a lot of them unneccessary。 Also， I hope Jeff has looked online recently。 A Supee Mario theme park exists in Japan and will likely come to the stat I must say， reading this kept me wanting to play my Switch。 More specifically， play some Mario。 As much as I enjoyed this book， I was disappointed when reading some Amazon reviews that fact checked Jeff Ryan。 I didn't really notice any issues so it didn't bother me。 I was bothered by the odd comparisons and metaphors constantly thrown around。 I found a lot of them unneccessary。 Also， I hope Jeff has looked online recently。 A Supee Mario theme park exists in Japan and will likely come to the states within the next 5 years。 Last， I think Jeff needs to either release an updated version or a second book。 After the Wii U， the Nintendo Switch had a huge impact on gaming。 I never thought I'd see or even think seeing anything like that。 Once again， Nintendo brought gaming to another level by staying true to its originality。 Let's see how the PS5 and XBox Series X hold up。 Plus the Switch came out 4 years ago！！ （Review written on 3/18/21）It's only a matter of time before a Switch 2 comes out or a whole other console。 Only time will tell。。。 。。。more
Cristóbal Sepúlveda Cobo
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8/10
Cameron
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this book is amazing。 I love this book it is so informative about nintendo。
Chelsea Gouin
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This was a really easy， quick read。 Just as the title suggests， it covers the birth of Mario and how Nintendo developed the character into the powerhouse mascot it is today。 Some of the narration was jumbled， jumping points that had no seeming flow within the chapter's subject。 It was， of course， biased to Nintendo and I think painted an unfair and uneven look at competitors such as Atari and Sega。 And despite it's length， there were chunks that felt long-winded。 Overall， I really enjoyed this b This was a really easy， quick read。 Just as the title suggests， it covers the birth of Mario and how Nintendo developed the character into the powerhouse mascot it is today。 Some of the narration was jumbled， jumping points that had no seeming flow within the chapter's subject。 It was， of course， biased to Nintendo and I think painted an unfair and uneven look at competitors such as Atari and Sega。 And despite it's length， there were chunks that felt long-winded。 Overall， I really enjoyed this book though and loved seeing the humble beginnings of the most popular video game franchises。 I do recommend for any Nintendo or video game fans out to check this one out。 。。。more
Jake McAllister
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For anyone wanting to know the history of Mario， this book is a must read。 Ryan’s ability to mix history， gaming， and humor into one basic plumber’s story makes this book a page turner until the final boss！
Rob
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Another book in the new shelf of "Corporate History" that I've been reading。 It all started with "Storming the Magic Kingdom" about Disney in the 1980s， this lead to "DisneyWar" about Disney in 1990s and 2000s， to "The Men who would be King" about Dreamworks and （in part） their rivalry with Disney and forays into Videogames and other mediums。 That lead to "Console Wars" about the Rivalry of Sega and Nintendo （from a Sega perspective） and now we are here "Super Mario" a book that chronicles the h Another book in the new shelf of "Corporate History" that I've been reading。 It all started with "Storming the Magic Kingdom" about Disney in the 1980s， this lead to "DisneyWar" about Disney in 1990s and 2000s， to "The Men who would be King" about Dreamworks and （in part） their rivalry with Disney and forays into Videogames and other mediums。 That lead to "Console Wars" about the Rivalry of Sega and Nintendo （from a Sega perspective） and now we are here "Super Mario" a book that chronicles the history of Nintendo from the 1980s to 2010。 I will start by saying that I think I enjoyed "Console Wars" more。 If you are looking for a definitive history on Video Games in the 1990s， then that is your book。 This book is still entertaining and informative however。 It feels like a good companion to the "Console Wars" because that series mainly focused on Sega while this one is， obviously， more focused on Nintendo。 I will say that this was a great book to read and my only complaint， other than it's disappointing comparison to the superior "Console Wars"， is that it tries to make some predictions in the final chapter that seem laughable in hindsight。 I will admit there are few nonfiction books that can truly last the test of time， however this book is not one of them when it comes to it's predicting that Facebook is going to seriously compete with Nintendo in 2015， or that Apple is a viable competitor as well。 Ryan also argues that there is an ongoing war between video games that traditionally have a protagonist and are for the hardcore gamers， and video games where casual gamers are virtually put into the action via motion controls。 I don't agree with this dichotomy at ALL， and I think he puts too much stock in the Wii and Motion Controls， most of which Nintendo would virtually abandon in 5 years after this book was published。 But again， this is the folly of trying to predict the future in a book that is ten years old。 I think it would have been better if he had just left it at introducing the Wii and hadn't tried to predict what the next generation of gaming would be。 In the end， this is a good second read after "Console Wars"。 I definitely recommend those two books as a "one-two punch" for those interested in reading about the video game industry and how it has grown and evolve。 Who knows where the next corporate history book will take me， but I am excited to see if there are any other interesting nonfiction histories I can piggy back onto next！ 。。。more
Stephen Chase
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 The best book about Mario Mario！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！
Tim Darley
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In terms of a biography of a business， this was enjoyable for me。 The book covers a relatively long time frame of the quickly developing video game industry which requires it to move quickly。 The pace was able to keep from dragging at times， which is a difficult challenge for a book with this much detail， but also led to times where I was trying to keep up。 Coming in to this read， I had a general awareness of the evolution of video games and had enjoyed them in my youth， but not enough that I wa In terms of a biography of a business， this was enjoyable for me。 The book covers a relatively long time frame of the quickly developing video game industry which requires it to move quickly。 The pace was able to keep from dragging at times， which is a difficult challenge for a book with this much detail， but also led to times where I was trying to keep up。 Coming in to this read， I had a general awareness of the evolution of video games and had enjoyed them in my youth， but not enough that I wasn't fascinated by the details of the evolution presented throughout the story。 I suspect someone coming in with less working knowledge would struggle to track the story and someone with more in depth knowledge would probably be left wanting more detail。 For me， it was in the sweet spot between the two。 。。。more
Дима
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dnma
Kim
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A bit too techy in parts--I didn't understand all the jargon。 But it was informative and interesting。 A bit too techy in parts--I didn't understand all the jargon。 But it was informative and interesting。 。。。more
Andrew Hoffman
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If you are a mario superfan then this is a must read。 Casual fan or a fan of business， it is an interesting read。
Daniel
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This was an interesting take on the history of Nintendo。 It goes up to the Wii years。 The only issue I have is I've heard or seen most of this history already。Even though it's information you probably already know it's still worth a read if you're interested in video game history at all。I listened to the audio book， as always Ray Porter is a great narrator。 This was an interesting take on the history of Nintendo。 It goes up to the Wii years。 The only issue I have is I've heard or seen most of this history already。Even though it's information you probably already know it's still worth a read if you're interested in video game history at all。I listened to the audio book， as always Ray Porter is a great narrator。 。。。more
Dario Joseph Verrelli
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Although an enjoyable read for the behind-the-scenes nostalgia， I found the book repeating itself despite a forward moving story。 Still a fun read but I do wonder if it could have condensed itself a little for the sake of brevity。
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Super Mario
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Super Mario&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Super Mario&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0