Nintendo Skips Over Some Heavy-Hitters In Its Super Mario 40th Anniversary Ad
Nintendo has released an advertisement titled “It’s You, Mario” as part of the company’s ongoing 40th anniversary celebrations for the Super Mario franchise. The promotional video traces the iconic plumber’s gaming history, beginning with the original Famicom and Super Mario Bros. and concluding with the Switch 2 and Super Mario Galaxy.
However, the advertisement has drawn criticism from fans and observers for the notable absence of several major titles in the Mario catalog. Missing from the retrospective are games such as Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario 3D World. These omissions represent entire console generations of Mario games, leaving gaps in the franchise’s documented history within the ad.
The article notes that while the exclusion of Super Mario 3D World—a Wii U title—might be understandable given the console’s relative obscurity, the omission of other foundational titles seems harder to justify. Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World are considered among the most influential and beloved entries in the series, with World being a defining game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The suggestion is that the advertisement could have easily been extended by approximately 30 seconds to accommodate more games while still maintaining good pacing and presentation.
The missing games span crucial hardware generations including the NES, SNES, GameCube, and Wii U, creating a somewhat disjointed historical narrative. The selective curation raises questions about Nintendo’s editorial choices for the milestone celebration and has sparked discussion among fans about which titles deserve recognition in comprehensive franchise retrospectives.