Mario anniversary dated in Australia

This year marks the 25th anniversary of Super Mario Bros., Nintendo's revolutionary NES platformer about a moustachioed plumber and his sibling Luigi. After its release in 1985, Super Mario Bros. became the best-selling video game of all time--a title it held for almost two decades. To celebrate Mario's achievements over the years, Nintendo is rereleasing a special Wii version of the Super Mario All-Stars pack. While the pack has already been announced for North America, Nintendo Australia will bring it to Australia and New Zealand starting December 2.

The original pack, released in 1993 on the SNES, bundled the first four Super Mario games together with updated SNES graphics and sound. The Wii version of the Super Mario All-Stars pack will include Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 2, Super Mario Bros. 3, and Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels all on one disc. The pack will also include a 32-page booklet detailing the full history of Super Mario, including original hand-drawn concept art by Nintendo legend Shigeru Miyamoto, as well as comments from the team behind the Mario series and original drawings of Mario and Yoshi. Finally, the pack also comes with an audio CD containing music from the Super Mario games spanning the last 25 years, beginning with the original 1985 Super Mario Bros. and continuing to this year's Super Mario Galaxy 2. The Super Mario All-Stars pack for the Wii will go on sale for A$39.95.

Nintendo is also offering Club Nintendo members the chance to redeem 2,250 stars for a limited-edition 25th anniversary Super Mario Bros. T-shirt from November 11. The T-shirts come in three colours: white (featuring a classic 8-bit Mario design), blue (with Super Mario characters), and grey (Mario chasing coins).

According to Nintendo, the Super Mario Bros. series is now the best-selling video game series of all time, with more than 250 million units sold globally. The publisher is also hosting a competition to mark the anniversary, asking fans to submit a 30-second video and share their favourite Mario moment for a chance to win a Wii Super Mario prize pack, which includes a red Wii, a copy of New Super Mario Bros. Wii, and three cards full of Nintendo points to redeem on the Wii Shop Channel.

For more info, check out Nintendo's official competition page.