"Mamma Mia!" - Original voice of Mario retires after more than 30 years

In a tweet, Nintendo announces that Charles Martinet is stepping down as the spokesperson for Mario and other Nintendo characters. In future, he will be travelling the world in the role of "Mario Ambassador". Nintendo has not yet revealed exactly what his new function will entail.

Martinet made his first appearance as Mario in the obscure educational game "Mario Teaches Typing". The game was released in 1992 for MS-DOS, Windows and later also for Macintosh. Even in his first appearance as the Italian plumber, Martinet impressed with his typical high-pitched Mario voice and sayings such as "it's a me, Mario" and "oki doki". The recorded clips were mostly improvised.

Most Nintendo fans didn't get to enjoy Martinet's voice until Super Mario 64 in 1996. The first 3D Mario game was the starting point for iconic voice clips such as "Mamma mia", "let's-a-go" and "yahooooo".

Martinet's voice can be heard in a total of 130 (!) Nintendo games. In addition to Mario, he has also voiced other characters from the Mario universe, including Luigi, Waluigi, Wario and the baby versions of Mario and Luigi. Martinet's last appearance was in the strategy game "Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope".

Rumours about Martinet's Mario retirement have been circulating for several weeks. In June, Nintendo released a trailer for the upcoming 2D platformer "Super Mario Bros. Wonder". Many fans found the new voice clips strange and suspected that they were not recorded by Martinet. Nintendo has now confirmed to Gamespot that Martinet was not involved in the new game.

Despite the rumours, the news comes as a surprise to many Mario fans. Just two years ago, Martinet announced at a fan expo: "I want to lend my voice to Mario until I drop dead". It is still unclear who will take on the role of Mario in the future.

Martinet himself thanked his fans in a short tweet. He is looking forward to his new adventure as a "Mario Ambassador".