The Mario franchise has been around for a long time, and Charles Martinet, who voices the plumber, is just as iconic. That’s coming to an end with Nintendo announcing that Martinet is stepping back from recording character voices for its titles.
Martinet will instead serve as Mario Ambassador, traveling the world and “sharing the joy of Mario” while interacting with fans. The company will celebrate his work with a special video message from Martinet and Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto coming at a “future date.” Stay tuned for more details in the meantime.
Though the tweet lists Martinet as being the voice of Mario as far back as Super Mario 64 (1996), his first role as the character dates even further back, namely the CD-ROM version of Mario Teaches Typing (1994) and Mario’s Game Gallery (1995). He would serve as the voice actor for Luigi, Wario, Waluigi and even Baby Mario, with his last major title being Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope.