Super Mario Bros.

List Price: N/A
Our Price: $699.99
Availability: N/A
Manufacturer: Nintendo

Currently OUT OF STOCK

Average Customer Rating:

Binding: Video Game
Brand: Nintendo
EAN: 0045496630140
ESRB Age Rating: Everyone
Feature: Two buttons control all the action
Label: Nintendo
Manufacturer: Nintendo
Platform: Nintendo NES
Publisher: Nintendo
Studio: Nintendo

Features
Two buttons control all the action A classic that introduced many players to video games Earn power-ups and shoot fireballs at your enemies Eight levels of Koopa-stomping fun

Related Items
Super Mario Bros. 3 Super Mario Bros. 2 Nintendo NES System - Video Game Console Legend of Zelda Super Mario World

Editorial Reviews:

Spotlight customer reviews:

Customer Rating:

Summary: A classic and best selling video game of all time
Comment: If this game being the best selling video game of all time doesn't say a lot I don't know what does. The game is extremely well known around the world so I feel I need not say much more except, Classic!!

Customer Rating:

Summary: Super Mario Bros.
Comment: i never recieved the game from this seller and it has been over a month already. the other five games i pechased at the same time from other seller all arrived within two days of each other, but this game still has nt been recieved. i recommend not purchasing from this seller. i only rated one star because i had to.

Customer Rating:

Summary: The roots of modern gaming.
Comment: What more can be said that hasn't yet been said about the original Super Mario Bros.? One of the first major releases for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), this game is one of the best experiences the video game world can offer. Let's take a look at how great a game about an Italian plumber can be.

The gameplay is simple, as are most other games developed by Shigeru Miyamoto (the man behind Nintendo's greatest games.) There is absolutely no learning curve - A jumps, B shoots fireballs (or hold B to run quickly) and the D-pad moves Mario or Luigi across the levels (obviously.) But the levels give the game its intricacy and difficulty. Each level will provide fair challenge, especially the later levels. The game has its fair share of secret areas and power-ups to find.

The game has a high replayability factor. Even after beating the game, you will find yourself running through each level all over again. Each time you play, the game is as fresh and enjoyable as it was when it first graced TV screens in 1985.

If you own or plan on owning a NES, this game is a must buy. This classic brought video gaming to what it is today and still remains as one of the greatest games for our time, and for all time.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Absolute classic
Comment: The first Mario game for the NES pretty much redefined video games: it essentially was the first platform sidescroller ever and paved the way for future games such as Sonic the Hedgehog and the Commander Keen series for PC. While good for a beginning gamer, it also is an extreme challenge to beat even for seasoned gamers such as myself, giving it tons of replay value . I really wish the game allowed you to continue from the last world you were on before you lost all your lives (as Super Mario Bros. 3 does, and Super Mario Bros. 2 does for several continues), but it's a minor complaint. It would just save me plenty of hair since I pretty much rip it all out in frustration when I die from the Hammer Bros. or Lakitu in World 8. Alas. In short, a classic and highly recommended for all gamers.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Biggest selling video game of all time (over 40 million copies); The game that singlehandedly saved the videogaming industry
Comment: The game that singlehandedly saved the videogaming industry

Arguably the single most important videogame in history, SUPER MARIO BROTHERS, along with the Nintendo Entertainment System (hereafter referred to as the NES) singlehandedly resurrected the video game industry after the historic crash of 1983-1984. Rather than reviewing the game itself, which has been done many times, I think many people may find the history how of this revolutionary title came to the videogame industry's rescue very interesting; I know I do. I draw much of this information from various websites, one very good one in particular; unfortunately, I can't really plug them due to Amazon's policies. Email me if you want the websites.

By 1983, the gaming industry, in existence for a mere twelve years, had risen to an astonishing 3.2 billion dollar industry. Atari spearheaded the industry, which introduced its first console in 1977 (Atari Video Computer System), and since had grown to hold two thirds of the entire market. However, in 1984 all this would end with a thunderous crash. This concise overview will show you the history of the home consol crash and how SUPER MARIO BROTHERS came to the rescue.

In 1976, Warner Communications bought Atari for $28 million from the company's founder, Nolan Bushnell. Over the next two years, Atari, suffering major production problems and Bushnell's bizarre management, lost Warner millions. Bushnell and Warner's CEO fought, and in 1978 Bushnell was forced to leave. Warner totally revamped the working style, and in 1979-1980, produced twelve new titles. However, Atari was still dragging down Warner's stock. Struggling to gain the market share, Atari made the smartest move they possible could have; in 1980, they began licensing arcade games, the first being SPACE INVADERS. Over the next two years, Atari overtook the market, bringing in over half of Warner's overall profits.

However, very significant problems would totally destroy the infant industry. In 1981, Atari released PAC MAN on the VCS, and, because it was such a huge arcade hit, quickly became a bestseller. Unfortunately, the quality was very low. This was a major blow to the company's image, with fans and critics alike extremely disappointed.

Another major stumble was one of video games' most infamous games, ET. Warner bought the rights from Spielberg for twenty one million dollars. Atari, expecting the game to be as big a hit as the movie, which was the highest grossing film at that point, purportedly made more ET cartridges than there were consoles themselves. ET proved to be a huge flop, nearly breaking Atari.

By 1983, Atari was in serious trouble. Suing Activision (which was disgruntled Atari employees who broke off and formed their own company) and Imagic, the two leading third party developers, Atari tried to gain control over its software catalogue. Atari lost the suits. Third party developers began popping up overnight, and the industry becomes saturated with very low-quality products. (One of the most controversial is CUSTER'S REVENGE by Mystique, where the goal is to rape a Native American woman while avoiding being shot by arrows.) The third-party developers went bankrupt; these cartridges were heavily discounted, and the major companies couldn't compete. Another factor is the home computer market, that was just starting to come alive in 1984. With an increasing amount of computer games and low prices, people started buying these over the consoles.

All these factors lead to the crash of 1984. In 1983 alone, Atari lost $356 million ($2 million daily). Warner sold Atari to Jack Tramiel, former head of Commodore. The video game industry died, with no major American corporation coming anywhere near it. Enter Nintendo.

A little history here will be highly illuminating as well. What many people don't realise is Nintendo is a very old company, founded in 1889 (yes, you read that right) as a playing card company. It became Japan's largest playing card company, and was very successful. In the 1960s, they moved away from the cards and got into the game and toy markets. (A very interesting sidenote: during that same decade, Nintendo's president opened up a `special hotel' rented `by the hour.' Supposedly, the married president was one of the hotel's top customers). In the 1970s and early 1980s, the company scored significant points with big arcade hits and the Game and Watch product line. In 1983, Nintendo released the Famicom (Family Computer). It was a massive hit in Japan. In 1983, Nintendo went to Atari because they wanted to release the Famicon to the American market. Do to complications I won't go into, the deal fail through. In 1984 they were looking to broaden their market share.

1985, Nintendo announced the release of the Nintendo Entertainment System. They release SUPER MARIO BROTHERS in Japan, scoring a huge hit. In 1986, the NES comes full throttle into the American market, quickly becoming the biggest selling console ever, largely because of this title. The NES owes much of its success to SUPER MARIO BROTHERS. Coming prepacked with the console, there are an estimated 40 million copies of SMB in existence, making it the highest selling video game ever.

Unparalleled, SMB blew open the doors to the videogaming world. With rich palettes of colour, eight four level worlds, spot-on play control, and expert level design, SMB was a much longer game than most of Atari's products and was a game unlike any other at that time. SMB also had the benefit of being very simple to grasp; run, jump, and fire. It was also the first side-sroller as we know it, though Atari's PITFALL set up the concept. Also, it's one of the best. Without SMB, NES wouldn't have been nearly as big a hit.

In the end, Nintendo came at the industry's key moment. With a powerful new console and a very well-designed game, Nintendo resurrected video gaming. With its phenomenal success of the NES and this game, the video game industry once again took off, becoming one of the world's most significant economical contributors.

And we very largely have this game to thank for it

More Reviews