'Can't Thank Him Enough For My Childhood': Gamers Mourn a Major Change for Super Mario Bros. Nintendo Character Charles Martinet has been voicing Mario since Super Mario 64 was released in 1996.

By Emily Rella Aug 22, 2023

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Mamma mia!

It's the end of an era for the man behind the iconic voice of Super Mario Bros. namesake character Mario, who announced he would be retiring from his role after more than 25 years.

Nintendo took to X on Monday to announce that Charles Martinet would no longer be voicing the role, something that he's done since Super Mario 64, which was released in the summer of 1996.

^{Charles Martinet poses with Mario at GAME Oxford Street in London (Getty Images)}

"It has been an honor working with Charles to help bring Mario to life for so many years and we want to thank and celebrate him," the heartfelt announcement read.

We have a message for fans of the Mushroom Kingdom. Please take a look. pic.twitter.com/U1ASicOuTO
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) August 21, 2023

Nintendo also shared that Martinet would be transferring to the role of "Mario Ambassador" where he will "continue to travel the world sharing the joy of Mario" and interacting with fans.

Hundreds of fans took to X to thank Martinet for the joy he brought into their lives over the years as the man behind the beloved animated character.

Martinet was noticeably missing as the voice of Mario in the Super Mario Bros. Movie, which was released in April and grossed an impressive $1 billion.

He was replaced by actor Chris Pratt, though Martinet did play a smaller role as the voice of Giuseppe in the film, who is Mario and Luigi's father in the franchise.

The news comes ahead of Nintendo's release of Super Mario Wonder, which is set to hit shelves in October.

Nintendo confirmed that Martinet will not be voicing Mario in the game—the first major Super Mario game to be released since Odyssey—which rolled out to the Nintendo Switch in 2017.

Nintendo has not yet confirmed who will be replacing Martinet but told fans via X that there will be an upcoming video message from Martinet and Super Mario Bros video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto.

Nintendo was down just under 3.6% in a one-year period as of Tuesday afternoon.

Emily Rella

Senior News Writer

Emily Rella is a Senior News Writer at Entrepreneur.com. Previously, she was an editor at Verizon Media. Her coverage spans features, business, lifestyle, tech, entertainment, and lifestyle. She is a 2015 graduate of Boston College and a Ridgefield, CT native. Find her on Twitter at @EmilyKRella.

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