Mario fans baffled after realising he wasn't originally supposed to be a plumber

10 July 2023 , 16:03

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Mario was quite a different character altogether when he made his first appearance

As arguably the most famous plumber in the world, many fans simply couldn't imagine Mario, and of course his brother Luigi, following a different career path.

It would appear however that creator Shigeru Miyamoto initially had quite a different profession in mind for the now widely beloved mustachioed character, and it may take some gamers by surprise.

Mario made his very first appearance in the iconic 1981 arcade game Donkey Kong. At this point, he had not yet been named, but he had been given his very first job - as a carpenter.

Miyamoto had been keen to give Mario - then known only as 'Jumpman' - a real-world profession to make him more relatable. His carpentry role also made a lot of sense narrative-wise, given that the action of Donkey Kong plays out across various construction site settings.

Mario was originally employed as a carpenter

When it came to the launch of Mario Brothers in 1983 however, Miyamoto decided to take Mario in a direction that better suited the underground gameplay, with its many interconnecting pipes.

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During a 2010 interview with USA Today, Miyamoto revealed: "[...] A lot of the game was played underground so we made him fit that setting and, we decided he could be a plumber. The scenario dictates his role.

"Now with Mario, I think with Mario Brothers, we had a setting of course that was underground, so I just decided Mario is a plumber."

The underground setting of Mario Brothers inspired Mario's best known profession (Unknown)

This new career direction also influenced Mario's overall character design, with Miyamoto adding his now recognizable plumber's dungarees, and of course, his name.

NPR reports that Mario was in fact named after Mario Segale, the landlord of a business park where members of the Nintendo team worked back in the 1970s.

It was at this point that Miyamoto also decided to give Mario a moustache, and to portray him as a New Yorker with Italian heritage.

Reflecting on this decision, Miyamoto added: "Let's put him in New York and he can be Italian. There really is no other deep thought other than that."

Of course, as loyal fans will no doubt know, Mario has had several jobs over his four-decade-long run, on top of the eventful plumbing career he's best known for.

As per the official Nintendo website, Mario's impressive CV lists a wide range of roles, including doctor, racer, martial artist, professional baseball player, soccer player, and basketball player.

Julia Banim