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)

really good story

if your a gamer or not you really should read this it a really good book and I enjoyed it

A Quick and Enjoyable History

It quick and enjoyable tale of the history of Nintendo up to the release of the Wii. I mostly enjoyed the book and the author has a voice that makes it seem like he is clearly interested in the subject and enjoying writing about it. There are certain repetitive beats that you can't help but pick up on, and some of the points tend to feel played up or down to fit the overarching narrative rather than be a bland restatement of history, but overall I recommend it if you are interested in the subject matter.

Great book

Awesome content and well read by the speaker. It was like reliving a part of my childhood from a different perspective.

Truly super!

Wow! What a great read!

Don't get me wrong, I love my nonfiction, documentarian fare when it comes to reading; but when it comes to books of this type, I am accustomed to informative rather than entertaining.

I finished this book in under 24 hours (where typically I take days or weeks). It was just that interesting and fun(!) to listen to!

To be sure, it contains a few (minor) factual errors, and the narrator occasionally produces a cringeworthy pronunciation...but if you have any interest in Nintendo, Mario, or the history of videogames in general, read this well-researched, well-written book. You won't be sorry.

Who Knew !! What fun !

Watching my kids and their friends play video games as they grew up, I never knew what was going on in the production and business end of gaming. Ryan brings it all out and in a most entertaining and enlightening manner. Is Mario Mario ?

more than luck

Great story about the ramp up to success for Nintendo. There were some interesting strategies in the early days of the "table games." Good strategy, coupled with a little luck, evolved into a company that measured unit sales in the 100+ million range. Solid narration too.

Good, but a bit out of date

What made the experience of listening to Super Mario the most enjoyable?

Great book, but a bit outdated. The story stops right around Wii. I really wish it was written more recently and included the past few years when the company was going through some of the more recent developments.
Great read otherwise.

Fascinating, entertaining, engaging

I thought i might enjoy this book, but it far exceeded my expectations. I'm 32, and this book was like listening to the history of the businesses of my childhood. A mix of nostalgia, trivia, business insight and philosophy, i got way more out of this book than i was expecting.

One mistake

There is one false piece of info when talking about SMB2 USA , the author says the final bass is again bowser. This is not the case. The final boss in the US version is a toad named Wart. It is one of my favorite SMB boss fights of all time.

Entertaining storytelling

This is the right story paired with the right narrator. I’ve listened to a few histories of video game makers and this is one of my favorites. It’s length keeps the story focused on the interesting points of the history without dwelling on vague or uninteresting details. I enjoyed pulling back the curtain and hearing about how some of my favorite Mario games came about and their unexpected histories. If I had any criticism, it would be the request for an updated version of the book, as this current iteration ends around 2012 and the introduction of the Wii. I’d love to hear about the Switch and the success it brought.