Setting aside his technical first appearance in 1981’s Donkey Kong, today is a fun anniversary to take note of for fans of the Super Mario video game franchise. The fat plumber who sports the iconic overalls and red cap debuted as a titular video game hero 33 years ago today, in Super Mario Bros. which was released in Japan on Sept. 13, 1985.

Not that anyone needs to be reminded, but when the game made its way over to North America and started selling here, it became one of the best-selling video games of all time. With some 40 million copies sold for the original NES. CNBC has something of a retrospective up today in honor of the date, noting that Mario went on to become a kind of mascot for Nintendo and appeared in more than 200 different game titles. The expansiveness of that lineup making the Mario-themed games the best-selling gaming franchise in history.