How Super Mario Bros. took inspiration from casino games
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How Super Mario Bros. took inspiration from casino games

When you look at the video game industry, one of the first big games that people point out is the Super Mario Bros. franchise. This is largely due to the Mario games being at the lead of every Nintendo console release.

It all started back in the mid-1980s when the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) was released and the first Mario game always came in with the console. Future Nintendo consoles also had strong Mario launch titles besides the Nintendo Switch which started with the Legend of Zelda franchise.

Over the years, Mario has only become bigger and better with the number of genres that were breached. From racing games to role-playing games, Mario has been in every genre. In the modern era, you can even find some casino games based on Mario.

Even the Mario franchise itself has some games that use a casino system which is why it shouldn’t be a surprise that it breached the gambling industry as well. Casino games like slots, roulette, blackjack and many more are present in Mario games. Since casino games have been embraced in the gaming scene which includes esports games, you should not be surprised that it also happens the other way around. Casino games have taken inspiration from games like Mario.

Let’s dive into some of the casino games that are present in the Super Mario Bros. franchise.

Slots are prominent in the Mario franchise

The most famous casino game in the Mario franchise is the slot game. There was already a slot system present in the early 8-bit titles but it has only become bigger as time went by. Mario titles would use the slot games for rewards in the game like bonus lives.

Since some younger people will play these games, these slots are tame compared to the real slot games that we play. The rewards are all incentives to help you like coins or even bonus items. These slots are optional which is good because some critics think that the devs are forcing this on their players.

Super Mario 64’s casino games

Super Mario 64 is hailed as one of the best games of all time because of its deep gameplay and how fleshed out the controls are. It is one of the most replayable games in history due to the gameplay but it is not the only reason why it’s so big.

This is due to the presence of both roulette and poker mini-games in the game. These two games are fleshed out enough to warrant re-plays ever since.

Pachinkos are a trend in Japan

With the presence of Pachinko and gacha in Japan, it should not be a surprise that the devs have used casino games in the Mario franchise over the years. Of course, some young people play these games but Nintendo has done a good job to make the mini-games as safe as possible.

Over the years, casino games have shed a troubled identity. Esports games were the same early in their history and casino games are a similar case with their popularity in niche markets. Mario is a good start since it’s arguably the biggest game in the world.

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