{
  "$type": "site.standard.document",
  "bskyPostRef": {
    "cid": "bafyreifo7bestzqqpqaelqd64k3ugtxzlj7sckdawr2ob6cl726fdtpvb4",
    "uri": "at://did:plc:xrpvi727ccnv4bnwaedgs3gd/app.bsky.feed.post/3mmzkvdpxiz42"
  },
  "path": "/super-mario-per-year?utm_campaign=rss",
  "publishedAt": "2026-05-29T00:00:00.000Z",
  "site": "https://sethmlarson.dev",
  "tags": [
    "Super Mario",
    "5 hours",
    "10 hours",
    "15 hours",
    "20 hours",
    "25 hours",
    "Mario 101: For Super Players",
    "Super Mario Bros was designed on graph paper",
    "The most Mario colors"
  ],
  "textContent": "It's impossible to objectively quantify art, but we try anyway. For example: Is “Super Mario” a good video-game franchise?\n\nLooking at review scores, Super Mario includes some of the most universally-acclaimed games ever published: Galaxy, Galaxy 2, and Odyssey are respectively the #4, #5, and #13 highest ranking video-games of all time on Metacritic, all with 97 overall. _Chances seem good?_\n\nWhat if we tried quantifying art in a different and slightly more reductive way? This blog post introduces and calculates a new unit: **“Super Mario per year”**. If you enjoy this franchise like I do then this unit is of particular importance to you.\n\n## Calculating “Super Mario per year”\n\nThere have been ~19 titles (and two add-ons) published to what I consider the \"main-line\" Super Mario games, both 2D and 3D. Below is a table with every title, the year it was published, and the approximate duration to play. This last column is the most subjective, because there’s speed-runners, casual players, completionists. If you think any value is way off, send me an email.\n\nGame | 2D/3D | Platform | Year | Time to Beat\n---|---|---|---|---\nSuper Mario Bros. | 2D | NES | 1985 | 5 hours\nSuper Mario Bros. Lost Levels | 2D | NES | 1986 | 10 hours\nSuper Mario Bros. 2 | 2D | NES | 1988 | 5 hours\nSuper Mario Bros. 3 | 2D | NES | 1988 | 5 hours\nSuper Mario Land | 2D | GB | 1989 | 5 hours\nSuper Mario World | 2D | SNES | 1990 | 10 hours\nSuper Mario Land 2 | 2D | GB | 1992 | 10 hours\nSuper Mario 64 | 3D | N64 | 1996 | 15 hours\nSuper Mario Sunshine | 3D | GC | 2002 | 20 hours\nNew Super Mario Bros. | 2D | DS | 2006 | 10 hours\nSuper Mario Galaxy | 3D | Wii | 2007 | 15 hours\nNew Super Mario Bros. Wii | 2D | Wii | 2009 | 5 hours\nSuper Mario Galaxy 2 | 3D | Wii | 2010 | 15 hours\nSuper Mario 3D Land | 3D | 3DS | 2011 | 15 hours\nNew Super Mario Bros. 2 | 2D | 3DS | 2012 | 10 hours\nNew Super Mario Bros. U | 2D | Wii U | 2012 | 15 hours\nSuper Mario 3D World | 3D | Wii U | 2013 | 20 hours\nSuper Mario Odyssey | 3D | Switch | 2017 | 25 hours\nBowser's Fury (Super Mario 3D World) | 3D | Switch | 2021 | 5 hours\nSuper Mario Bros. Wonder | 2D | Switch | 2023 | 15 hours\nMeetup at Bellabel Park (Super Mario Bros. Wonder) | 2D | Switch | 2026 | 5 hours\n\nUsing the table above we can calculate approximately how much new Super Mario gameplay is published on average per year.\n\nYear | All-Time Avg | 10-Year Avg (10YA) | 2D (10YA) | 3D (10YA)\n---|---|---|---|---\n1985 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 0.0\n1986 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 0.0\n1987 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 0.0\n1988 | 6.2 | 6.2 | 6.2 | 0.0\n1989 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 0.0\n1990 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 0.0\n1991 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 0.0\n1992 | 6.2 | 6.2 | 6.2 | 0.0\n1993 | 5.6 | 5.6 | 5.6 | 0.0\n1994 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 0.0\n1995 | 4.5 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 0.0\n1996 | 5.4 | 6.0 | 4.5 | 1.5\n1997 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 3.5 | 1.5\n1998 | 4.6 | 5.0 | 3.5 | 1.5\n1999 | 4.3 | 4.0 | 2.5 | 1.5\n2000 | 4.1 | 3.5 | 2.0 | 1.5\n2001 | 3.8 | 2.5 | 1.0 | 1.5\n2002 | 4.7 | 4.5 | 1.0 | 3.5\n2003 | 4.5 | 3.5 | 0.0 | 3.5\n2004 | 4.2 | 3.5 | 0.0 | 3.5\n2005 | 4.0 | 3.5 | 0.0 | 3.5\n2006 | 4.3 | 4.5 | 1.0 | 3.5\n2007 | 4.8 | 4.5 | 1.0 | 3.5\n2008 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 1.0 | 3.5\n2009 | 4.6 | 5.0 | 1.5 | 3.5\n2010 | 5.0 | 6.5 | 1.5 | 5.0\n2011 | 5.4 | 8.0 | 1.5 | 6.5\n2012 | 6.1 | 10.5 | 4.0 | 6.5\n2013 | 6.6 | 10.5 | 4.0 | 6.5\n2014 | 6.3 | 10.5 | 4.0 | 6.5\n2015 | 6.1 | 10.5 | 4.0 | 6.5\n2016 | 5.9 | 10.5 | 4.0 | 6.5\n2017 | 6.5 | 12.0 | 3.0 | 9.0\n2018 | 6.3 | 10.5 | 3.0 | 7.5\n2019 | 6.1 | 10.5 | 3.0 | 7.5\n2020 | 6.0 | 10.0 | 2.5 | 7.5\n2021 | 5.9 | 9.0 | 2.5 | 6.5\n2022 | 5.8 | 7.5 | 2.5 | 5.0\n2023 | 6.0 | 6.5 | 1.5 | 5.0\n2024 | 5.9 | 4.5 | 1.5 | 3.0\n2025 | 5.7 | 4.5 | 1.5 | 3.0\n2026 | 5.7 | 5.0 | 2.0 | 3.0\n\nThis table will help you calculate approximately how much Super Mario is coming in the next decade. The current 10-year window pace shows **5 hours of Super Mario per year**.\n\nLooking at the trends, it looks like we may have already passed peak 2D and 3D Mario individually. This table also shows how overdue we are for a new _big_ 3D Super Mario title, the last entry being Super Mario Odyssey almost a decade ago in 2017.\n\nIf I were to somewhat morbidly apply these numbers I can estimate how much more new “Super Mario” gameplay I’m likely to experience. Let’s be optimistic and apply the “All-Time Average” instead of the “10-Year Average”: the resulting number is 256 hours. Around 10 games of similar size to “Super Mario Odyssey”... _seems good to me!_\n\n## Super Mario Blogroll\n\nIf you want to read more Super Mario writing here are a few personal selections from my blogroll:\n\n  * “Mario 101: For Super Players” by Drew Mackie\n  * “Super Mario Bros was designed on graph paper” by Nicolás Valencia\n  * “The most Mario colors” by Louie Mantia\n\n\n\nHappy gaming!\n\n\n\n\n* * *\n\nThanks for keeping RSS alive! ♥",
  "title": "How much “Super Mario” per year?",
  "updatedAt": "2026-05-29T00:00:00.000Z"
}