The definitive story of the rise of Nintendo. In 1981, Nintendo of America was a one-year-old business already on the brink of failure. Its president, Mino Arakawa, was stuck with two thousand unsold arcade cabinets for a dud of a game (Radar Scope). So he hatched a plan. Back in Japan, a boyish, shaggy-haired staff artist named Shigeru Miyamoto designed a new game for the unsold cabinets featur­ing an angry gorilla and a small jumping man. Donkey Kong brought in $180 million in its first year alone and launched the career of a short, chubby plumber named Mario. Since then, Mario has starred in over two hundred games, gen­erating profits in the billions. He is more recognizable than Mickey Mouse, yet he’s little more than a mustache in bib overalls. How did a mere smear of pixels gain such huge popularity? Super Mario tells the story behind the Nintendo games millions of us grew up with, explaining how a Japanese trading card company rose to dominate the fiercely competitive video-game industry.

In 1985, Super Mario Bros. was the game that introduced players to the original Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). A smash hit, the game was later followed by the equally successful Super Mario Bros. 2 and Super Mario Bros. 3. When the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) was released in 1991, the same strategy was used to hook players on the new system. It was bundled with a copy of Super Mario World. A reprint of the best-selling strategy guide published in 1992 by Compute! Books, Conquering Super Mario Bros.: 24th Anniversary Edition is designed to help players of all skill levels master these first four Super Mario Bros. games: Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 2, Super Mario Bros. 3 for the NES, and Super Mario World for the SNES. Inside you'll find tips, strategies, and illustrative screenshots to help you defeat every enemy and boss, find power-ups and special items, and successfully work your way through each world and subworld. Whether you want to beat them all, improve your best scores, or learn successful strategies and secrets while exploring every nook and cranny of each of the first four Super Mario Bros. games, Conquering Super Mario Bros.: 24th Anniversary Edition is the book to own!

More American children recognize Super Mario, the hero of one of Nintendo’s video games, than Mickey Mouse. The Japanese company has come to earn more money than the big three computer giants or all Hollywood movie studios combined. Now Sheff tells of the Nintendo invasion–a tale of innovation and cutthroat tactics.

Video games can be "well played" in two senses. On the one hand, well played is to games as well read is to books. On the other hand, well played as in well done. This book is full of in-depth close readings of video games that parse out the various meanings to be found in the experience of playing a game. 22 contributors (developers, scholars, reviewers and bloggers) look at video games through both senses of "well played." The goal is to help develop and define a literacy of games as well as a sense of their value as an experience. Video games are a complex medium that merits careful interpretation and insightful analysis