Charles Martinet has assured fans that they will still see a lot of him at events as he detailed what a Mario Ambassador does in a special video message.
Martinet had voiced Mario for more than three decades, with his first credit in the educational literacy game Mario Teaches Typing which was released in 1992. However, it was announced in August that the actor would no longer appear in future games and will now be a Mario Ambassador for Nintendo.
“Travelling around the world, sharing the joy of the Mario family, and being able to continue meeting with all of you wonderful fans who I cherish absolutely the most, is a great, great honour,” said Martinet in the video. Check it out below:
Here’s a special video message from Shigeru Miyamoto and Charles Martinet regarding the change of Mario’s voice actor, announced on 8/21. pic.twitter.com/4mOpD2Cx3a
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) September 7, 2023
Previously, Martinet had said he wasn’t sure what a Mario Ambassador was but assured fans that he would be “‘ambassading’ as I always am”.
He added that he will appear at events “around the world in the years to come”. He then handed over to Shigeru Miyamoto who shared some memories of the “journey” that the two have been on together.
“Whenever we’d meet, you would always call me ‘Papa,’” said Miyamoto and praised Martinet’s intrinsic “priority on spreading joy” while in and out of character.
On that point, in an interview with Retro Gamer, the actor expressed that the role has led him to “dream as Mario” and that the voices of Luigi, Wario and Waluigi are “alive in [him]”.
Mario + Rabbids Sparks Of Hope. CREDIT: Ubisoft, Nintendo.
“I can’t imagine a more fulfilling, joyful, fun time and fun career than the one I am having,” he said last year.
Miyamoto reiterated that Martinet will still be allowed to perform the Mario voice at events and sign autographs even though he won’t reprise the role again. The new actor will be revealed in the credits for Super Mario Bros. Wonder which is released on October 20 for Nintendo Switch.
In other gaming news, EA Sports and Codemasters have revealed EA Sports WRC, featuring 18 official World Rally Championship locations and over 600km of tracks.