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The much-loved Charles Martinet stepped down from his long-running role of voicing the iconic Mario and handed the reins over to his successor, Kevin Afghani, who did a great job in the fantastic Super Mario Bros. Wonder. We were all waiting for a big announcement from Nintendo detailing who the new voice actor for Mario would be, but it turned into a fairly low-key affair. In a new chat with Nintendo of America president Doug Bowser, it seems the secrecy behind the new role was to get people to focus on the game rather than who was voicing Mario.
Afghani’s smaller profile could explain the lack of a red carpet rollout, but perhaps the greatest mystery was not who the new Mario would be but why Nintendo was so quiet about it. In Wonder, Mario sticks to the usual exclamations—“Wahoo!”—so it’s not like it’s a new voice and he’s calling for a revolt in the streets. Why the secrecy?
“We want people to enjoy the gameplay experience, and if they enjoyed the voice behind the gameplay experience, that’s what’s most important to us, not necessarily highlighting [Mario’s actor],” Bowser told WIRED last week.
Thanks to Greatsong1 for sending in the news tip!