Reception and Legacy
In an article about Koji Kondo, Wired.com editor Chris Kohler described the theme as one of the most famous in the world, and that it gets into your head quickly and won't leave. Jeremy Parish of 1UP.com called it one of the most memorable tracks in video game history. Netjak editor Rick Healey commented that though MTV tried to make the identifying song of the '80s, Nintendo beat them to the punch with the Super Mario Bros. theme. Editors Jeff Dickerson and Luke Smith of The Michigan Daily newspaper commented that if you were to ask a random student to hum the theme, they would likely know every note. Sam Kennedy, also an editor for 1UP.com, stated that anyone who lived through the 80's can hum the theme, and that most people remember it to this day.
Video game music composer Tommy Tallarico cited Koji Kondo as his inspiration for why he got into music, commenting that when he first heard this theme, it was the first time he thought music in video games really existed. Mario voice actor Charles Martinet commented that "The first time I ever played a Mario game, I started at about 4 in the evening and played until daylight. I laid down on the bed, closed my eyes, and I could hear that music -- ba dum bum ba dum DUM!" Acclaimed Final Fantasy composer, Nobuo Uematsu, called Koji Kondo one of the best video game composers in the industry. He also commented that he was sure everyone in the world who has come across the Super Mario Bros. theme, regardless of borderlines or age, will never forget it. He also added that it changed Japanese culture, and that it should become the Japanese national anthem. In an interview with Koji Kondo, 1UP.com editor Sam Kennedy stated that Paul and Linda McCartney visited Kondo and enjoyed the theme.
The ringtone version of the theme has proven very popular in the United States, having been on the top ten most downloaded ringtones for 226 straight weeks as of February 13, 2009. It sold approximately 747,900 in the United States in 2006.
Read more about this topic: Super Mario Bros. Theme
Famous quotes containing the words reception and/or legacy:
“To aim to convert a man by miracles is a profanation of the soul. A true conversion, a true Christ, is now, as always, to be made by the reception of beautiful sentiments.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“What is popularly called fame is nothing but an empty name and a legacy from paganism.”
—Desiderius Erasmus (c. 1466–1536)