Mario is video games' Mickey Mouse, Dick Clark, and Pixar all rolled into one. He's instantly recognizable, everything he touches turns to gold, and critics and fans of all ages love him. A conversation about the medium without mentioning him is incomplete. If it weren't for Nintendo's innovative gimmickry, he would keep the Big N afloat single-handedly.

Why?

He's a fat dude with a moustache, surrounded by a cast of characters that are only a couple steps up from the much-maligned Sonic canon. Video games are primarily an adult market these days...so why does this kid-friendly plumber still capture our imagination?

We asked the Bitmob community to figure it out, and here's what they came up with.

Mario as the expression of our own imaginations

"Video games' big draw is doing things we never thought possible in unfamiliar settings -- and this is why Mario has endured. As games are trending back toward realism, developers would benefit from looking at what made Mario successful: He gave games the license to break away from reality." -- Jeremy Signor (read the full article here)

Mario as an expression of our own short comings

"Mario is a far cry from the hypermasculine heroes that have dominated -- and continue to dominate -- gaming. I think, however, it is precisely this fact that has made Mario stand the test of time. Although I can't speak for everyone that reads this site and that plays video games, I imagine that, like myself, most gamers are more Mario than Uncharted's Nathan Drake." -- Igor Bonifacic (read the full article here)

Keep reading for more reasons why we love Nintendo's mascot.

Mario as an old friend

"His library of games is greater than other franchises will ever be able to boast of and is similar to great old books. We all are more than happy to curl up on the couch for a playthrough of any of his games. We may not remember where all the secret warps lead or know how to beat the games in speed-run fashion, but if any relationship has leaped beyond the generational gaps between 8-bit and modern consoles, it is without a doubt that between Mario and his audience." -- Andrew Galbraith (read the full article here)

Mario as marketer's worst nightmare

"Nintendo built the Mario games with consideration to what the user needs to enjoy the game, not what it expected the user to want in the game. He's popular because of his early and successful games, not because his character is supposed to be cool. It's hard to imagine a rotund, overall-wearing plumber becoming anything more than a comic-relief sidekick nowadays." -- Janelle Hindman (read the full article here)

Mario as art design

"Mario can pull off many tricks. Because of his design, the quirky smile, and overalls, Mario is suitable for almost any video-game world. He can be a tennis player, a racer, or a golfer, because he looks the part without too much off a stretch. You can even turn him into a thin slip of paper and understand what the heck is going on." -- Antonio Byrd (read the full article here)

Mario as a game and only a game

"Mario games are perfect games. They are not perfect experiences, art, interactive fiction, or personal narrative. It's none of the pretentious, high-concept experiments taking agonizingly slow baby-steps on their way to becoming what they want to be. Mario doesn't have growing pains, identity crises, and he has nothing to 'say' -- nothing that, especially as a former art student, I spend way too much of my free time fussing over." -- Christian Higley (read the full article here) 

Mario is just flat-out good every time

"Mario titles provide not just fun but timeless fun -- the kind of fun that has modern gamers downloading titles like the original Super Mario Bros. for the NES in droves off the Wii's Virtual Console. Mario, above all, provides an experience that is so fun and so memorable -- on such a consistent basis -- that gamers show up for every title. Mario lives on because nearly every game is classic and rewarding like no other. When a video-game franchise manages to accomplish the release of classic installments like Mario does, the franchise is destined to stay." -- Nicholas Michetti (read the full article here)

Which of these answers is right? The key to understanding Mario is realizing that they're all right. Mario encompasses each of these qualities, and no other video-game character can boast such simplicity, creativity, or depth. While Shigeru Miyamoto, Mario's executive producer, and his team at Nintendo save their best ideas for a portly plumber, in that same character is an inoffensive, lovable, and inspiring hero.