Mario Dies on March 31st
Part of a series on Super Mario. [View Related Entries]
This submission is currently being researched & evaluated!
You can help confirm this entry by contributing facts, media, and other evidence of notability and mutation.
About
Mario Dies on March 31st is a mock internet conspiracy theory that posits the idea that Nintendo will kill off their long-time mascot Super Mario on March 31st, 2021. The joke corresponds with the end of the character's 35th-anniversary celebration, which fans of the video game The Legend of Zelda joke will be the day Mario dies, leaving space for Nintendo to celebrate the 35th Anniversary of Zelda. Furthermore, Nintendo intends to remove a number of Mario games from their online eShop on March 31st, 2021.
Origin
On September 3rd, 2020, Nintendo announced the Super Mario 35th Anniversary during a Nintendo Direct broadcast. During the broadcast, the company announced a multiplayer battle royale video game that would only be available until March 31st, 2021. The post received more than 9 million views in less than seven months (shown below).
That day, Twitter[1] user @nejiron tweeted, "Mario dies March 31st." The tweet is the earliest known mention of the meme (shown below).
Spread
That day, many other fans began posting that Mario would die on March 31st (examples below, left).[2]
The rumors continued into the following year, when the meme spread in greater numbers. On March 5th, 2021, iMore published an article on the rumors, "RIP Mario: The plumber dies March 31 and we can't wait." In the article, the author states that these rumors were in response to the lack of celebration of the 35th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda.
On March 17th, quote retweeting an advertisement by Nintendo about the limited-time availability of the video game Super Mario 3-D All-Stars, Twitter[4] user @Wario64 tweeted, "Nintendo gives a final warning that Mario dies on March 31st." The tweet received more than 14,000 likes and 3,000 retweets in less than one month (shown below, center).
Days later, on March 22nd, Urban Dictionary [5] user UrbanDicter1 defined March 31, 2021 as "The day when SM3DAS dies and Among Us revives itself" (shown below, right).
On March 24th, the video game website uploaded a video to YouTube entitled "Is March 31 the Day Mario Dies?" in which they explain the rumor. The post received more than 50,000 views in less than two days (shown below, left). That day, the website Nerdist posted a similar video, which received more than 24,000 views in less than two days (shown below, right).
Several media outlets reported on the meme, including iMore,[3] IGN,[6] The Independent[7] and more.
Various Examples
Mario dies March 31 #NintendoSwitch pic.twitter.com/g0kGEhyxYw
— Tytan (@tootallTytan) March 22, 2021
Insert obvious "Mario dies on March 31st" joke here pic.twitter.com/w5ussTkvP9
— Aiden139 (@AidenRS139) March 24, 2021
Search Interest
External References
[1] Twitter – @nejiron's Tweet
[2] Twitter – Mario Dies
[3] iMore – RIP Mario: The plumber dies March 31 and we can't wait
[4] Twitter – @Wario64's Tweet
[5] Urban Dictionary – March 31, 2021
[6] IGN – The Internet Dubs March 31 the Day Mario Dies
[7] The Independent – ‘Mario dies on 31 March’: Why Nintendo fans are tweeting about the death of iconic video game character
Top Comments
Kommando_Kaijin
Mar 27, 2021 at 05:33PM EDT
Armchair Psychologist
Mar 27, 2021 at 05:34PM EDT