Mario Bros. is a 1983 platform arcade game by Nintendo, the game that introduced Luigi and set the template for the sewer-dwelling plumber brothers.
Quick Facts
| Title | Mario Bros. |
| Year | 1983 |
| Manufacturer | Nintendo |
| Designer(s) | Shigeru Miyamoto, Gunpei Yokoi |
| Genre | Platform |
| Hardware | Arcade cabinet with wraparound screen mechanics |
| Ports | 10 ports, including Atari 2600, Atari 5200, and NES/Famicom — see Ports section |
History
Mario Bros. came from the same Nintendo team behind Donkey Kong: Shigeru Miyamoto handled the design while Gunpei Yokoi contributed key mechanics, including the idea that Mario could survive a fall from any height and that enemies could be attacked from below. Miyamoto recast Mario as a plumber so the action could plausibly take place in a sewer setting, a choice reportedly inspired by New York’s underground pipe network. The arcade version reached North America in March 1983, with a Japanese release following that June, and it ran on the same wraparound-screen platform hardware Nintendo had refined since Donkey Kong Jr.
The game’s defining addition was Luigi, a green palette-swap of Mario built specifically to support two simultaneous players. According to arcade-museum.com, the idea of making the game two-player only took shape after Miyamoto played Williams’ Joust, and Luigi’s name was borrowed from a pizza parlor, “Mario and Luigi’s,” near Nintendo of America’s then-new Redmond, Washington offices. Floating bonus coins and turtle-like enemies introduced here reappeared as staples throughout later Mario games. Nintendo sold the cabinet in a dedicated wide-body enclosure as well as conversion kits for existing Donkey Kong-series cabinets, and it has since been re-released repeatedly, most recently on Nintendo Switch.
Gameplay
Mario and Luigi work a single screen representing sewer pipework beneath New York City, clearing each phase by dealing with every enemy that emerges from the pipes above. Shellcreeper turtles, Sidestepper crabs, and Fighterfly insects crawl or hop across a stack of platforms; jumping up to hit the floor directly beneath a creature flips it onto its back, after which either player can walk into it to kick it into the water below and score points. Sidesteppers require two hits before they can be kicked, and Fighterflies can only be struck while they are touching a platform. A wraparound screen lets characters exit one side of the level and reappear on the other, useful for both chasing enemies and escaping them.
- Flip-and-kick combat against turtles, crabs, and flies emerging from pipes
- Wraparound screen mechanics connecting the left and right edges of the stage
- Cooperative or competitive two-player mode starring Mario and the newly introduced Luigi
- Bonus coin collection for extra points between enemy waves
Cabinet & Hardware
Mario Bros. ran on Nintendo’s arcade hardware built around the wraparound screen mechanics used across the platform, and it was originally sold in a dedicated wide-body upright cabinet before Nintendo offered conversion kits that let operators repurpose Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Jr. cabinets, swapping in the control panel, marquee, side art, and circuit board. The control panel uses a two-way joystick and a single jump button per player, kept deliberately simple to support the game’s two-player design.
Ports & Re-releases
| Platform | Year |
|---|---|
| Atari 2600 | 1983 |
| NES/Famicom | 1983 |
| Atari 5200 | 1984 |
| Commodore 64 | 1987 |
| ZX Spectrum | 1987 |
| Amstrad CPC | 1987 |
| Famicom Disk System | 1988 |
| Game Boy Advance | 2004 |
| Virtual Console | 2009 |
| Nintendo Switch | 2017 |
Mario Bros. also appears as a minigame within Super Mario Advance and its sequels, plus Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, keeping the original design in circulation well beyond its own standalone releases. Check the Atari 2600 and Nintendo Switch platform pages for details on those specific ports.
Where to Play Legally Today
- Nintendo Switch Online’s NES app, which includes the Famicom/NES version of Mario Bros.
- Official compilations featuring the Mario Bros. minigame, such as Super Mario Advance and Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga re-releases
- MAME, run only with legally owned ROM dumps from a cabinet or licensed source you own
- Arcade museums and retro arcade venues that keep a working Mario Bros. cabinet on their floor
Collector Value
Original Mario Bros. cabinets circulate in two forms: dedicated wide-body uprights, which tend to command a premium for their unique cabinet art and shape, and conversions built from repurposed Donkey Kong-series cabinets, which are more common but valued lower due to non-original artwork or mismatched shells. Standalone circuit boards also trade independently among collectors who already own a compatible Nintendo-era cabinet. Home ports on the Atari 2600 and NES are widely available and inexpensive, making them an accessible entry point for collectors not ready to take on a full-size arcade machine.
FAQs
Who made Mario Bros.?
Mario Bros. was designed by Shigeru Miyamoto and Gunpei Yokoi and manufactured by Nintendo.
What year did Mario Bros. come out?
Mario Bros. came out in 1983.
What genre is Mario Bros.?
Mario Bros. is a platform arcade game in which players defeat enemies emerging from sewer pipes by flipping them over and kicking them away.
Was Luigi introduced in Mario Bros.?
Yes, Mario Bros. was the first game to introduce Luigi, who originally served as a palette-swap of Mario to support two-player gameplay.
Has Mario Bros. been ported to home consoles?
Yes, Mario Bros. has been ported to at least ten platforms since 1983, including the Atari 2600, Atari 5200, NES/Famicom, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Famicom Disk System, Game Boy Advance, Virtual Console, and Nintendo Switch.
See also the related Donkey Kong arcade page, and browse the Golden Age of Arcade Games hub for more classic platform titles.
Sources
Facts on this page last verified 2026-07-15.