Mario makes more history amid box office records with iconic theme now being preserved
NintendoThe Mario franchise has once again made history, with the iconic theme music of the original Super Mario Bros. game being awarded the honor of being preserved in the US Library of Congress’s National Recording Registry, becoming the first video game track to do so.
While the Mario franchise has always been a juggernaut for the gaming world and Nintendo, the franchise has been breaking more mainstream records as of late. The Super Mario Bros. movie smashed box office records for an animated feature during its opening weekend and sales for the movie and is showing no signs of slowing down.
Now, however, the Mario franchise has hit another milestone, one arguably more prestigious. In a blog update from the US Library of Congress, the research institution named the Super Mario Bros. theme one of its 25 recordings to showcase and preserve within its National Recording Registry this year.
Every year, the National Recording Registry adds over two dozen recordings or pieces of music to its archives, all of which are picked due to their long-standing legacy and importance in American culture. While this registry has been around since 2002, the inclusion of the Mario Bros. theme marks the first ever piece of video game music to be included in the archives.
Super Mario Bros. theme makes history as first video game audio inducted into National Recording Registry
The Library of Congress also posted the news on Twitter, captioning the post with the following: “A video game theme song, probably the most recognizable in history, is also a first for the Registry. The Super Mario Bros. theme by Koji Kondo helped establish the game’s legendary status & proved that the Nintendo sound chip was capable of vast musical complexity.”
In light of the news, Koji Kondo stated, “Having this music preserved alongside so many other classic songs is such a great honor,” Kondo told the Library of Congress via an interpreter. “It’s actually a little bit difficult to believe.”
Carla Hayden, a librarian of Congress, explained the significance of this decision as well as providing some insight into the selection process for the registry.
“The National Recording Registry preserves our history through recorded sound and reflects our nation’s diverse culture,” began Hayden.“The national library is proud to help ensure these recordings are preserved for generations to come, and we welcome the public’s input on what songs, speeches, podcasts, or recorded sounds we should preserve next. We received more than 1,100 public nominations this year for recordings to add to the registry.”
The Super Mario Bros. theme is now one of the 625 pieces of audio to be added to the registry. With this groundbreaking achievement, the door seems wide open for more iconic video game scores and soundtracks to be added in the coming years.
Could The Legend of Zelda theme be included next? Maybe something from Call of Duty? Time will tell which scores are next honored in this way.
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