There has been what, 50 Mario games by now? Thirty Final Fantasy games? Twelve Splinter Cells? Okay, we know those numbers are all exaggerations, but what is it about certain videogames that has allowed them to stand the test of time and show no sign of stopping or quitting anytime soon?

From the article:

Two kids pound the controllers on a Toys "R" Us GameCube kiosk running Super Mario Strikers. The younger boy looks to be about 4 years old. He screams, "Go monkey, go monkey!" as Donkey Kong staggers drunkenly across the soccer pitch. The older boy is about 7, and he plays with confidence and coordination normally seen in teenagers and adults. But when he makes a pass while shouting, "It's a-me, Mario!" he calls attention to his age and causes some onlookers to remember their own.

If you interview adults who have played games since the Atari 2600 and then talk to children born after the N64's debut, there is a marked difference in how the generations view the videogame mascots they grew up with.

Mario is one of the most obvious examples. The Nintendo Entertainment System conquered America in 1985 and children who grew up with robots and warriors as their heroes were suddenly obsessed with playing in an electronic world where they starred as a portly man with a mustache and a cap. Mario himself is a character of circumstance; if given the choice today to create a star from scratch, it's not likely too many developers would immediately sketch a fat dude in overalls. But with the limitations of early pixel art, one feature led to another. Mario had a cap so players could see his hair. He had a mustache so his nose could be defined. Thanks to his overall straps, he had arms. His physiology remained the same even as designers became more confident with the NES palette; kids were familiar with Mario, so there was no point in usurping him for a flashier hero.

Read the full article over at 1up.com