I just read this very interesting article over at Kotaku, entitled “Why A Man Plays Mario.”  It was written by Stephen Totilo, a former colleague from VH1, who now reports on video games full time.

In the piece, Stephen discusses why he, a man in his thirties, still gets a kick out of a video game franchise that is viewed by some as “juvenile.” Naturally, this article speaks to me directly, as I always have and still do have a special fondness for the Super Mario games, while games about shooting aliens or Nazis or Nazi aliens hold absolutely no interest for me.  I don’t need extreme violence, I don’t need advanced weapons system, I don’t need to be able to play in online shoot-outs with hundreds of strangers that can kill me instantly before I even have a chance to look around.  Nah, give me a kidnapped princess and some assistance from a hungry dinosaur, and I am good to go.

Anyway, it’s an interesting read for fellow Nintendo fanboys, or for folks who don’t understand why I continue to get giddy for every new Super Mario game.  (Man, I can’t wait for Super Mario Galaxy 2 to come out!!!)

Oh, and while I’m linking to interesting reads, check out this new Onion article.