Charles Martinet Stepping Back From Voicing Mario After Nearly 30 Years; Transitioning To Ambassador

It is the end of an era – Charles Martinet is stepping back from voicing Mario after nearly 30 years as the beloved plumber with Nintendo transitioning him to the brand new position of Mario Ambassador where he will continue to share and promote the joy of Mario with the community. Nintendo posted a brief statement on social media in the morning of August 21st, 2023 which ended with the company stating that a special video message from Shigeru Miyamoto and Martinet himself will be scheduled for release sometime in the future. It is not currently known as to why Martinet has decided to step away from his iconic role – which simultaneously includes Luigi, Wario, and Waluigi respectively.

Charles Martinet has been an accomplished actor for over 35 years and came to become the voice of Mario and other Nintendo characters after literally crashing an audition – running into the casting team as they had finished up for the day. Martinet was granted a brief moment to perform with instructions from them to make up a video game and start talking as Mario before time ran out; Martinet secured his most famous role immediately following his impromptu audition. Mario Teaches Typing was the first game to utilize Martinet as the voice of Mario (CD-ROM version) with Martinet becoming a household name in 1996 with the release of Super Mario 64 and beyond. He was inducted into the Guinness World Records in 2019 for most video game voiceover performances – over 100+ in total to date.

Messages of love and support for Charles Martinet have already begun flooding the internet as fans share childhood memories of playing Nintendo games and being introduced to Mario for the first time and subsequently passing down that experience to their own families. SophistiGamer would like to extend their deepest thanks and admiration to Mr. Martinet and his work – it has truly been an honour and privilege to explore the Mushroom Kingdom with you throughout the past three decades.

Nintendo has confirmed that Martinet is not involved in the upcoming Super Mario Bros. Wonder which is scheduled to release on October 20th, 2023 exclusively for Nintendo Switch.