What Is Super Mario? The Best-Selling Video Game Franchise in History, Explained by Marine

Article

Mario isn't just Nintendo's biggest franchise — it's the best-selling video game series ever made.

The Numbers

Super Mario has surpassed 763 million units sold worldwide as of 2025, making it the best-selling video game franchise in history.

On the Big Screen

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, a sequel to The Super Mario Bros. Movie, released April 1, 2026.

What To Know

Mario surpassing 763 million units sold means the franchise has, on its own, outsold entire national populations several times over — a scale of cultural reach almost no other entertainment franchise, gaming or otherwise, has matched.

Mario is closely tied to Nintendo's own identity as a company — see TBM's Nintendo guide for how this single franchise fits into the company's much broader history.

What Fans Are Saying

• "763 million units is an almost incomprehensible number."
• "Excited the movie series is continuing."
• "Mario really is in a league of its own."

Original Japanese

• 「7億6300万本というのはちょっと想像もできない数字ですね」
• 「映画シリーズが続くのは嬉しいです」
• 「マリオはやはり別格の存在ですね」

Easy Japanese

スーパーマリオは、任天堂の代表作で、世界で一番売れているゲームシリーズです。