„Like rolling up snow for a snowman.” Shigeru Miyamoto shares the secret of Super Mario's immortality

An industry legend compared Mario to a snowman—or rather to building one—to explain the sources of the Nintendo mascot's success.

Related:Everything announced during today's Nintendo Direct

You might be a fan of Nintendo or not, but I think we can all agree that Mario is one of the most iconic characters in gaming history. For over 40 years, the red "plumber" has appeared in a vast number of titles, and references to him can be found in countless works.

So, it's no surprise that in the Nintendo Museum Official Book (released for the 40th anniversary of Super Mario Bros.), Mario's father, Shigeru Miyamoto, designer Takashi Tezuka, composer Koji Kondo, and programmer Toshiko Nakago all agreed that Nintendo's mascot will still be around for its 100th birthday (via Games Radar).

100 years of Mario

Tezuka admits that at first glance, this might seem like an ambitious goal. The video game industry is still pretty young, not even close to being a hundred years old, and just in the 21st century, we've seen tons of game series come and go. However, the programmer always thinks about how to maintain Mario's "freshness." He pointed out that "different times bring different kinds of fun," and as time goes on, Mario could and will be able to do even more.

Miyamoto echoed this sentiment, assuring that Nintendo's goal is not only to leverage new digital technology advancements (if they are "interesting") but also to ensure that Mario stays "interactive and digital." He referred to the brand's expansion into other media, including movies.

A Japanese creator compared it to building a snowman, saying that "rolling a snowball" is like expanding and growing the fun you get from playing Mario. Meanwhile, Kondo hopes to continue composing music for the series for many years to come.

This "evolution" doesn't apply only to "Mario." Ken Watanabe, a former Nintendo programmer, recently pointed out that the company doesn't need to make new brands to offer new forms of gameplay. This was apparent with Donkey Kong Bananza—a title that theoretically belongs to one of the oldest ongoing game series, yet it is quite distinct from what the latest or even all prior installments provided.

Mario Tennis Fever

February 12, 2026

Want It!

• Overview

• Nintendo
• games trivia
• Shigeru Miyamoto
• Mario (franchise)