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TechNintendo

Nintendo: Mario’s No Longer a Plumber

By
Chris Morris
Chris Morris
Former Contributing Writer
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By
Chris Morris
Chris Morris
Former Contributing Writer
Down Arrow Button Icon
September 5, 2017, 9:07 AM ET

After 34 years of cleaning out the Mushroom Kingdom’s pipes, Mario is turning in his wrench.

Nintendo has changed the biography of its most famous character, saying he is no longer a plumber. What he is doing for a living these days, though, is a lot less clear.

“All around sporty, whether it’s tennis or baseball, soccer or car racing, [Mario] does everything cool,” says the profile on Nintendo of Japan’s page (as translated by Kotaku). “As a matter of fact, he also seems to have worked as a plumber a long time ago…”

It’s unclear if Mario’s brother Luigi is carrying on the plumbing business on his own.

While Mario, whose fondness for his blue overalls is legendary, has been known as a plumber for years, he actually started out as a carpenter in Donkey Kong (when he was known simply as “Jumpman”). He has also been cast as a baseball player, a golfer, an Olympian and a doctor in other games.

Clearly, the elective classes at Nintendo’s trade school are a bit more thorough than your local community college.

Mario returns to gaming consoles in October in Super Mario Odyssey, where he’ll travel to several worlds to (once again) save Princess Peach from Bowser.

About the Author
By Chris MorrisFormer Contributing Writer

Chris Morris is a former contributing writer at Fortune, covering everything from general business news to the video game and theme park industries.

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