[[File:Mario-group.png|thumb|A poster showing several characters in the ''Mario'' series in a group photo.]]
The '''''Mario'' series''' is a long-running [[GamesList of games|video game franchise]] series published by the popular gaming company, [[Nintendo]]. The ''Mario'' seriesIt has been running for more than a quarter of a century, and in its lifespan has released more than two hundred video games. The series also holds the title of best-selling video game franchise in history, with over 262 million combined units sold as of March 2015.<ref>[http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110531005315/en/Nintendo-DS-Lite-Suggested-Retail-Price-Drops Mario Games Go Red]</ref>
The seriesfranchise started outbegan in 1981 with the arcade video game, ''[[Donkey Kong (game)|Donkey Kong]]'', and has since then taken off into its own franchise. Originally created by [[Shigeru Miyamoto]], [[Mario]], going under the name [[Jumpman]] when ''Donkey Kong'' was first released, is the main protagonist throughout most of the series; the main antagonist of the series is [[Bowser]], the King of all [[Koopa]]s. The ''Mario'' series has contained many different genres of games, from platformers to [[Genre#Role Playing|role-playing games]], and from puzzle games to party games. The most popular games in the series are a part of what is known as the main series, or the ''Super Mario'' series, which consists of 2D and 3D platformers; at least one is released per home console and one per handheld (bar the Game Boy Advance). Even though several games are released, not all of them are available in all countries or on all platforms. Some are only available on certain platforms in certain countries as well.
The ''Mario'' series has been released on a large array of systems, including home consoles, handheld game systems, and even personal and Macintosh computers. Originally starting out with an 8-bit game, the ''Mario'' series has gone through many graphical changes throughout the years. The series has spawned numerous sub-series, ranging from the racing games of the ''[[Mario Kart (series)|Mario Kart]]'', to the board game-like ''[[Mario Party (series)|Mario Party]]'' series, and even the sports-themed ''[[Mario Golf (series)|Mario Golf]]'', ''[[Mario Tennis (series)|Mario Tennis]]'', and ''[[Mario Baseball (series)|Mario Baseball]]'' series, as well as many more. It also plays a large part in the storyline of its partner series, the ''[[Yoshi (series)|Yoshi]]'', ''[[Donkey Kong (series)|Donkey Kong]]'', and ''[[Wario (series)|Wario]]'' series, two of which spawning from the ''Mario'' series.
