It’s official: Nintendo confirms that Mario is still a plumber

Mario has been a lot of things in his storied 30+ year existence: he has played golf and tennis, participated in the Olympics, gone to space and become a doctor, alongside many other professions. However, despite being originally introduced as a plumber, he has not done much plumbing in recent years, and Nintendo caused controversy last September by announcing that Mario is no longer a plumber.

However, Nintendo has rectified this by announcing officially in its official bio for Mario that he never left his original occupation. Translated from Japanese, it lists that “his occupation is a plumber”.

This isn’t surprising, as despite a move away from plumbing as a focus of gameplay, elements of his original profession have been a consistent aspect of Mario games. In particular, the recent Super Mario Odyssey, which celebrated many aspects of Mario’s history, featured Mario’s nemesis Bowser calling Mario plumber boy. In addition, relics of Mario’s plumbing past, such as hammers and warp pipes, have been consistent iconic aspects of Mario’s games.

It is good to know that Nintendo have not forgotten Mario’s roots, and even after 30 years of history, still acknowledge where their flagship character came from.