For several years the go-to answer when someone asks what Super Mario does for a living has been a plumber, but according to Nintendo, Mario hasn't fixed a leaky pipe in a very long time. In fact, when taking a closer look at Nintendo's wording, Mario may never have been a plumber at all. Over the past 35 years, players have assumed one of the most iconic video game characters of all time has remained a plumber, but this adventurous Italian has a much more exciting source of income.
Mario was first introduced as the 16x16 hero character in 1981's Donkey Kong arcade game but has since grown to be Nintendo's poster child. It wasn't until two years later, in 1983, that Mario teamed up with his taller younger brother Luigi to take the spotlight in their own title Super Mario Bros. This is when the idea was established that Mario was a plumber, and this fictitious career stuck with him for the next several years.
While Nintendo uses Mario in almost every facet of its marketing, it has yet to openly discuss what Mario does for a living. Maybe he gets paid by Nintendo to use his likeness, or maybe he's a professional athlete. This article will explore the idea that Super Mario was never a plumber while trying to answer where Mario gets his gold coins.
Super Mario Was Never Really A Plumber
In a 2010 Q&A with USA Today, Mario's creator Shigeru Miyamoto was asked if Mario had always been a plumber. Miyamoto explained that when the Mario character debuted in Donkey Kong (1981) he was "basically a carpenter" seeing as the levels depicted a construction site. In 1983, Super Mario Bros. was released and Mario was depicted as a plumber. Miyamoto stated that Mario "could be a plumber" since a large portion of the game takes place underground. Finally, Miyamoto closed his statement with "The scenario dictates his [Mario] role."
In classic Nintendo fashion, Miyamoto's statements never confirmed nor denied whether or not Mario was a plumber. However, in an official Japanese profile for Mario published in 2017, Nintendo does confirm that if Mario ever was a plumber, he isn't anymore. A portion of Mario's bio reads, "As a matter of fact, he also seems to have worked as a plumber a long time ago..." Once again, Nintendo uses wording like "seems to have worked" which leads to evidence to the fact that Mario may not have been a plumber in the first place. Mario has also played the role of a doctor (Dr. Mario, 1990) and a construction worker (Super Mario Maker, 2015) but that doesn't mean he ever legitimately held those positions.
Super Mario: Superhero or Professional Athlete?
Taking a close look at where Mario excels may give insight into what he actually does for a living. This red-clad mustachioed man can run endlessly, swim for miles at a time, jump higher than humanly possible, and is well-rounded at every sport he plays. Over the past 35 years, Mario has been the front-man in 26 different sports titles, six of which took Mario to the Olympic games to compete against superhuman animals. With Mario's unique skillset and frequent appearances on the court, it wouldn't be too farfetched to assume Mario makes money as a professional athlete.
Yet, there is one thing Mario does far more often than hitting the pitch, and that's saving Princess Peach. The vast majority of Mario games follow him as he saves Princess Peach, Mushroom Kingdom, or various other places/persons from the forces of evil. It would make sense for Mario to be employed by the Mushroom Kingdom as a full-time hero, or at the very least receive some kind of monetary reward for his efforts.
Between his career as a professional athlete and full-time hero, Mario doesn't have time for a normal 9 - 5 job. He isn't a plumber or a carpenter anymore, and there's a good argument that he never held either of those jobs. With the amount of time and effort Super Mario puts into saving the world, you'd think he'd get paid something for it.