Super Mario

How Nintendo Conquered America

By: Jeff Ryan

Narrated by: Ray Porter

Length: 8 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

The story of Nintendo’s rise and the beloved icon who made it possible

Nintendo has continually set the standard for video game innovation in America, starting in 1981 with a plucky hero who jumped over barrels to save a girl from an ape.

The saga of Mario, the portly plumber who became the most successful franchise in the history of gaming, has plot twists worthy of a video game. Jeff Ryan shares the story of how this quintessentially Japanese company found success in the American market. Lawsuits, Hollywood, die-hard fans, and face-offs with Sony and Microsoft are all part of the drama. Find out about: Mario’s eccentric yet brilliant creator, Shigeru Miyamoto, who was tapped for the job because he was considered expendable; Minoru Arakawa, the son-in-law of Nintendo’s imperious president, who bumbled his way to success; and the unexpected approach that allowed Nintendo to reinvent itself as the gaming system for the nongamer, especially now with the Wii.

Even those who can’t tell a Koopa from a Goomba will find this a fascinating story of striving, comeuppance, and redemption.

©2011 Jeff Ryan (P)2011 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“One of America’s favorite pastimes is covered in exhaustive, enthusiastic detail.” (Publishers Weekly)

Essential Reading for Mario / Nintendo Fans!

A very educational, yet delightful biography chronicling the Birth of Mario with Donkey Kong, skyrocketing success with the SMB Games and the subsequent Nintendo Console Evolution. This book is a MUST for all Fans of the heroic but lovable Plumber of a Thousand Faces. Two white gloves Thumbs UP!

A great history of Nintendo

you will become more knowledgeable about Nintendo after reading or listening to this book. did I love the book? no, but I didn't hate it either. I lean more towards loving it. I want something a little more personally in depth. most memorable part of the book is probably the universal against Nintendo battle for the rights to donkey Kong. the narrator was good but not great. he was great at times but good for the most part. good book. check it out at your local library.

Unexpectedly interesting

Many of the history books I’ve read have been rather boring, and I’ve had to struggle to finish reading them. Super Mario, on the other hand, was hardly boring at all. The author is a big Nintendo fan himself, so he put a lot of research into this book, and I could tell he really enjoyed writing it. Most of the material in each chapter deals with the history of the Nintendo company, including general descriptions of the major consoles and games they’ve created. The author lightens things up by telling an interesting story at the beginning of many of the book’s chapters. These stories cover Nintendo’s merchandising, an unfinished Mario opera, and the hundreds of ways artists have used Mario’s images in their own work. These stories added a lot of fun moments to this book.
The narrator has a clear and expressive voice, which added energy to the overall listening experience.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who grew up loving Mario or Nintendo, like I did. This book is an engaging way to learn about the history of the company through 2010, and quite a bit of interesting trivia is thrown in as well.

Well written and entertaining

Very informative and entertaining. The voice was great too, it was easy to listen to.

Ray Porter does an excellent job

I was fully engrossed in this book from start to finish. This book does a wonderful job explaining video game history with a generous dose of humor. Ray Porter did an excellent job reading and what may have been any dry parts were made interesting by him. I have a few favorite narrators and Ray is now among those.

A good story that needs some work

Super Mario: How Nintendo Conquered America is a good recounting of the history of Nintendo of America from its beginning as the distributor of Donkey Kong to today. The story is a fun ride but it's full of inaccuracies (switched Namco and Taito who made Galaxian and Space Invaders respectively), mispronounciations which I'm guessing is typos from the text (it's FamicoM not FamicoN), and just feels like it was typed up in word and thrown through its spell checker. I have a strong feeling this book wasn't properly spell or fact checked before it was published. In spite of its serious flaws I recommend it for anyone that wants to know more about how NoA came to be what it is today.

Absolutely amazing

It has good character and all the info is enjoyable. This book will bring you back and if not it’ll make and if not it’ll make you well informed.

Good story about Nintendo's rise , fall and future

This was a very insightful listen about Nintendo's beginning, rise, fall and where they stand now, though dated due the release date of this book. I did find myself zoning out and having to rewind a number of times. This is probably best taken in short bursts, say by chapter.

Almost perfect but lovely to follow!

this book was basically made for people who love video games. I don't think that the average person might vigorously enjoy sitting through every one of these chapters. But going through the history of video games for someone like me who loves them was profoundly entertaining. I used to listen to this while I was driving, showering or cleaning the house and it was absolutely invigorating to follow along. The history of Nintendo from its humble beginnings all the way to to its mega giant status. The people who were there from the bringing and the leaps and stumbles it experienced along the way. If you like history, this would interest you and if you live video games then this might intrigue you! If you live both then this book will fulfill you! Cheers!

A Guided Tour Down Memory Lane

This audiobook took me on a nostalgic ride through my vast collection of games and consoles, while providing extra context on development. it was fun to hear what my favorites could have been. The story is witty and the narration is captivating.

As the title suggests, the story focuses on Nintendo and Mario games in particular, but other consoles and games are regularly mentioned for context. The story, while plenty long, stopped earlier than I expected. the last Nintendo console covered is the Wii.