Game over: voice of Mario retiring after three decades, Nintendo announces

Charles Martinet, aged 67, is stepping back from his role as the iconic voice of Mario in Nintendo games after 27 years.

Martinet began voicing Mario in the game series starting from "Super Mario 64" in 1996.

He also provided voices for other characters like Luigi, Wario, and Waluigi in the game series.

In a Twitter statement, Nintendo announced that Martinet will become the Mario ambassador, ceasing his role as the character's voice actor.

The announcement revealed that despite not voicing the characters anymore, Martinet will continue to engage with fans and share the joy of Mario globally.

A special video message from Shigeru Miyamoto (Mario's creator) and Martinet is expected to be released in the future.

Fans speculated that Martinet was replaced as Mario's voice in the upcoming game "Super Mario Bros Wonder" due to differences in the character's voice in promotional videos.

Nintendo confirmed Martinet didn't voice Mario in the new game but has not disclosed the new voice actor.

Martinet once drew inspiration from Petruchio, a character in Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew," for his portrayal of Mario's voice.

Martinet did not voice Mario in the 2023 animated film "The Super Mario Bros Movie," where Chris Pratt and Charlie Day voiced the title characters.

However, Martinet voiced minor characters in the film, which became the highest-grossing video game adaptation worldwide.