The original voice of Mario still works for Nintendo (Picture: Twitter)
Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto and voice actor Charles Martinet have released a video confirming Mario and Luigi are getting new voices.
To be honest we’re not sure ‘explains’ is the best word to use here. Nintendo certainly talk about the departure of Charles Martinet – from his role as the voice of Mario, Luigi, and Wario – but despite the video below going on for almost four minutes we’re not sure we’ve learnt anything new.
His new role of Mario Ambassador is discussed, but it just seems to involve meeting fans at conventions and the like – not that that isn’t good work if you can get it.
Despite the opportunity, Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto didn’t explain why Martinet won’t be used for voiceovers anymore or who will be replacing him – with next month’s Super Mario Bros. Wonder due to be the first game without him.
The most obvious reason for the change is that Martinet is 67 and while he looks hale and hearty in the video, Nintendo may be worrying that his vocal performances are beginning to suffer.
Keeping him on salary as an ambassador helps to ensure he doesn’t get snapped up by anyone else or tempted into performing Mario-like voices for other games and shows.
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The question of who will take over is impossible to guess at but it’s going to be interesting to see if Nintendo promotes the new actors as mini-celebrities, as they did with Martinet, or if they keep them in the background.
The implication so far is that it’ll be a different actor for each role – Mario, Luigi, Wario, and so on – rather than just having one person do all of them.
Despite the recent Nintendo Direct on the game, Mario’s not yet been heard to speak in Super Mario Bros. Wonder, but at some point Nintendo is going to have to rip that Band-Aid and off let people hear the new voice.
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Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto and voice actor Charles Martinet have released a video confirming Mario and Luigi are getting new voices.