Mario was not supposed to be a plumber – leaving fans baffled

Gamers have enjoyed the iconic character of Mario since 1981, when the little Italian first graced our screens in the original Donkey Kong game. 

Created by Shigeru Miyamoto, generations of fans have come to know and love the character’s distinctive style. 

But over the years, many have questioned: why did Miyamoto make him a plumber? 

When first conceiving the character, it is clear Miyamoto hoped to make Mario a blue-collar worker to allow him to be relatable to legions of fans. 

Shigeru Miyamoto created the character in 1981. He is pictured at an Apple launch event in 2016

However, speaking to USA Today in 2010, Miyamoto said the design of the character had a lot to do with how he sets out the style of his video games.

‘We created the game design first and then we put the characters in to fit that,’ he said.

Mario has appeared on countless games and merchandise as it has grown to the most iconic video game character of all time 

While Mario’s role was less defined in the early stages of his existence, by the time 1983 rolled around the creator knew  what direction he wanted to go in. 

‘With Donkey Kong, we have this gorilla who grabs this gal and runs away with her and you have to go chase the gorilla down to save the lady,’ he continued, noting how the map of the game dictated the characters. 

‘And the game’s stage was a construction site, so we made him into basically a carpenter. 

‘With (1983’s) Mario Bros., we brought in Luigi, and 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 Bros. we had a setting of course that was underground, so I just decided Mario is a plumber.’ 

Miyamoto originally created the character while searching for an addition to the original Donkey Kong game 

After realizing the layout had changed the way he designed his character, Miyamoto leaned into the look and gave Mario his distinctive features. 

This included a large nose, bushy moustache, plumber’s dungarees and placing him from New York with an Italian heritage.

‘Let’s put him in New York and he can be Italian,’ Miyamoto said at the time.

‘There really is no other deep thought other than that.’