Let’s take a trip down memory lane, shall we?  The genius behind these characters that have firmly embedded themselves in the hearts of countless gamers is Shigeru Miyamoto.  This video game designer is also the brains behind creations such as Donkey Kong, The Legend of Zelda, Star Fox, Animal Crossing, Pikmin, and F-Zero.

Super Mario Bros. was released in 1985, two years after Mario Bros. was first introduced. The game forever endeared the likes of Mario, Luigi, Princess Toadstool, and Bowser to all of us. Many a parent in the 80s and 90s probably wanted to tear their hair out because of the game! It became so popular that it held the title of best-selling video game of all time for more than 20 years. It was only till Wii Sports hit the shelves in 2009 that Super Mario Bros. was ousted from that spot.

This month, Nintendo is pulling out all the stops. Japanese fans will have the chance to win all sorts of merchandise – playing cards, tote bags, and t-shirts. There’s also a Super Mario Collection available, which can be played on the Wii. In the UK, fans can grab a copy of MCV UK trade magazine, which is dedicated to Mario’s anniversary. If you can’t get enough of Super Mario Bros., check out 25 fun facts gathered by The Guardian. Also, here’s a neat little video of some UK celebrities, sharing their own Super Mario Bros. encounters.

Why don’t you share your own Super Mario Bros. moments?

Photo credit: clevercupcakes

Five-hundred and eleven years later Polish artist Kordian Lewandowski takes inspiration from La Pietà and merges Renaissance art with the modern day video game culture. Kordian’s sculpture portrays Princess Peach holding a dying Mario. He aptly named his masterpiece “Game Over”.

This sculpture was carved out of a polystyrene foam block and sculpted up to details.

I’m not a video gamer, but one console I did own was the 8-bit NES with Super Mario Bros. game. I got the console when I was around six years old and played with it till it broke. Mario Bros. is for me video gaming. I still remember the game tunes in my head and always kept a favoritism for retro games that are pixelated. I can imagine any true Nintendo fan boy/girl would love to view this sculpture in real.

While La Pietà is based on a religious icon, it still is a masterpiece done by one of the biggest artist to have lived on earth. And Kordian’s piece reminded me that we live in a age where everything revolves around technology and the old art form is slowing dying out. Now a days we appreciate the art of an iPhone design or the new iPad, I never anymore come across a recent painting or sculpture that has potential to survive centuries.

When I walk by art galleries I wonder why I never save money for a nice painting instead of only saving to buy technology that won’t last more then three years. Artists should take “Game Over” as an inspiration and start creating paintings and sculptures that are classic and yet depict our modern day culture.

Pieta Game Over the artists Deviant page.

A few months back, my wife and my mother were talking about decorating our then-impending child’s baby room, and the subject of painting the room came up. My mom had painted Sesame Street characters along the wall, so that started the ideas. I’m not sure if my wife wanted to one-up or top my mom or not, but she decided to paint the entire room in Dr Seuss. Characters, background, etc. One giant Dr Seuss room. It took a few months, but she got it done and it’s amazing looking.

Which brought up the topic of what to do with this new talent in the future. We used to have a video game room prior to the baby, so the subject of doing a room painted with a Super Mario Bros scene – level 1-1 we were thinking – going around the perimeter would be pretty cool. Ideas are still flowing, but we’re a little ways off before we’ll start on that project. But I’m always on the lookout to find cool decorations for this room. That’s when I found this bad boy.

It’s a hanger – for clothes, headphones, bodies, whatever – that mounts to the wall via a fairly sturdy system. This would be perfect for our room, and it’s on my to-buy list. The 8-Bit hanger. Perfect.

Of course that led me to the next big find, the Wall Bar. It’s a plain and simple physical version of the very first set of Photoshop tools. I’m not a graphic designer, but I am a photographer and having a piece of work like this near my desk would be awesome. Is it a definite purchase? Not so sure, because it is $69.99. But it’s definitely pretty cool.

See? Random stories lead somewhere eventually.

There are three to choose from, loaded up with either Donkey Kong Jr, Mario’s Cement Factory or Super Mario Bros. You might find your keyring decoration far outweighs the number of keys you have.

They’re styled as miniature Game Boys and cost just £9.99 (about $15) each. I saw them at Firebox.

Next you’ll be tattooing Mario and Luigi on your feet.