Editing Super Mario Bros. 3 (section)

=== Sales ===
''Super Mario Bros. 3'' became a [[List of best-selling video games|best-selling game]].<ref name="IGN-MarioHistory" /> In Japan, it appeared at the top of the ''[[Famitsu]]'' sales charts in December 1988<ref name="ファミコン通信 TOP 30: 1月20日">{{cite magazine |title=ファミコン通信 TOP 30: 1月20日 |trans-title=Famicom Tsūshin Top 30: January 20 |magazine=[[Famicom Tsūshin]] |date=3 February 1989 |volume=1989 |issue=3 |pages=10–1 |url=https://www.retromags.com/files/file/4567-famitsu-issue-0067-february-3-1989/ |lang=ja |access-date=March 14, 2021 |archive-date=April 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210424094248/https://www.retromags.com/files/file/4567-famitsu-issue-0067-february-3-1989/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and January 1989,<ref name="ファミコン通信 TOP 30: 1月20日" /> and became the second best-selling game of 1988 after ''[[Dragon Quest III]]''.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=グーム売上ベスト10 |trans-title=Best 10 Game Sales |magazine=[[:ja:ファミリーコンピュータMagazine|Family Computer Magazine]] |date=12 February 1989 |page=116 |url=https://archive.org/details/famimagafebruary1989/page/n106 |lang=ja}}</ref> By mid-1989, ''Super Mario Bros. 3'' had become the second best-selling game in Japan (non-bundled) up until then, after ''Dragon Quest III''.<ref>{{cite book |chapter=総合TOP50 |trans-chapter=Total Top 50 |title=ファミコン通信 〜 '89全ソフトカタログ |trans-title=Famicom Tsūshin: '89 All Software Catalog |series=[[Famicom Tsūshin]] |date=15 September 1989 |page=78 |language=ja |url=https://cdn-ak.f.st-hatena.com/images/fotolife/M/MULTi88/20200420/20200420023605.jpg |access-date=March 14, 2021 |archive-date=May 7, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200507224142/https://cdn-ak.f.st-hatena.com/images/fotolife/M/MULTi88/20200420/20200420023605.jpg |url-status=live }}</ref> ''Super Mario Bros. 3'' went on to become the overall best-selling game of 1989 in Japan, just above ''[[Tetris]]'' in second place.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=グーム売上ベスト10 |trans-title=Best 10 Game Sales |magazine=[[:ja:ファミリーコンピュータMagazine|Family Computer Magazine]] |date=23 February 1990 |page=133 |url=https://archive.org/details/famimaga-1990-feb-23/page/133 |lang=ja}}</ref> It also topped the Japanese sales chart in January 1990.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Weekly Famimaga Hit Chart! (12/25～1/28) |magazine=[[:ja:ファミリーコンピュータMagazine|Family Computer Magazine]] |date=23 February 1990 |publisher=[[Tokuma Shoten]] |pages=134–6 |url=https://archive.org/details/famimaga-1990-feb-23/page/134/mode/2up |lang=ja}}</ref> By 1993, it had sold {{nowrap|4 million}} cartridges in Japan.<ref name="Sheff3" />

In North America, the inclusion of ''Super Mario Bros. 3'' in ''[[The Wizard (1989 film)|The Wizard]]'' served as a preview which generated a high level of anticipation in the United States prior to its release.<ref name="NP-9-b" /><ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.ign.com/articles/2008/06/18/watching-the-wizard| title = Watching The Wizard| first = George| last = Roush| date = June 18, 2008| website = IGN| access-date = May 3, 2022| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090827114421/http://retro.ign.com/articles/882/882655p1.html| archive-date = August 27, 2009| url-status = live| df = mdy-all}}</ref> Levi Buchanan of ''[[IGN]]'' considered the game's appearance in the film as a show-stealing element, referring to the movie as a "90-minute commercial" for the game.<ref name="IGN-90minutes">{{cite web| url = https://www.ign.com/articles/2008/06/18/the-90-minute-super-mario-bros-3-commercial| title = The 90-Minute ''Super Mario Bros. 3'' Commercial| first = Levi| last = Buchanan| date = June 18, 2008| website = IGN| access-date = May 3, 2022| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081215104353/http://retro.ign.com/articles/882/882647p1.html| archive-date = December 15, 2008| url-status = live| df = mdy-all}}</ref> The game sold 250,000 copies in its first two days of release, according to a spokeswoman for Nintendo.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1990-03-29-9001260411-story.html|title=U.S. Parents! Get Ready For The 3rd Invasion Of Super Mario Bros.|work=Chicago Tribune|access-date=May 3, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180418032359/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1990-03-29/features/9001260411_1_nintendo-spokeswoman-mushroom-kingdom-game-boy|archive-date=April 18, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> It remained the top-selling game in the United States through April<ref>{{cite magazine|date=11 May 1990|title=U.S.A. TOP 10|magazine=[[Famicom Tsūshin]]|volume=1990|issue=10/11|lang=ja}}</ref> and June<ref>{{cite magazine |title=U.S.A. TOP 10: 6月22日 |trans-title=U.S.A. Top 10: June 22 |magazine=[[Famicom Tsūshin]] |date=6 July 1990 |volume=1990 |issue=14 |page=10 |url=https://archive.org/details/weekly-famitsu-no.-14-july-6th-1990-600dpi/Weekly%20Famitsu%20-%20No.%2014%20July%206th%201990%20%28Searchable%29/page/10 |lang=ja}}</ref> to September 1990.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=U.S.A. TOP 15: 9月28日 |trans-title=U.S.A. Top 15: September 28 |magazine=[[Famicom Tsūshin]] |date=26 October 1990 |volume=1990 |issue=22 |page=10 |url=https://archive.org/details/famitsu-issue-112-oct-1990/page/10 |lang=ja}}</ref> In 1990, the game sold more than {{nowrap|8 million}} units.<ref name="Lancaster">{{cite news |last1=Ehrlich |first1=Willie |title=Beeping Invasion |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/39434069/lancaster-eagle-gazette/ |access-date=6 January 2021 |work=[[Lancaster Eagle-Gazette]] |date=6 January 1991 |page=13 |quote=Super Mario Bros. 3 sold more than eight million units after its introduction last March. |archive-date=January 7, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210107160127/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/39434069/lancaster-eagle-gazette/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Good">{{cite magazine |title=Good Housekeeping |magazine=[[Good Housekeeping]] |date=1991 |volume=212 |page=152 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KgIyAQAAIAAJ |publisher=[[Hearst Corporation]] |quote=8 million Super Mario Bros. 3 games were sold in 1990 |access-date=September 24, 2021 |archive-date=October 10, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221010212606/https://books.google.com/books?id=KgIyAQAAIAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> By 1993, author [[David Sheff]] said the game had sold 11&nbsp;million unbundled units in Japan and the United States, commenting that, in [[music industry]] terms, the game [[Music recording sales certification|went platinum]] 11 times.<ref name="Sheff3">{{cite book| title = [[Game Over (Sheff book)|Game Over: How Nintendo Zapped an American Industry, Captured Your Dollars, and Enslaved Your Children]]| first = David| last = Sheff| author-link = David Sheff| chapter = A New Leader of the Club| pages = [https://archive.org/details/gameoverhowninte00shef/page/3 3–5]| publisher = [[Random House]]| isbn = 0-679-40469-4| edition = 1st| year = 1993}}</ref> In the United States alone, the game had generated {{US$|595,000,000|long=no|1990|round=-7}} in revenue for Nintendo by early 1992,<ref name="Leisure">{{cite magazine |title=Unlikely Hero Creates Games and Profits |magazine=Leisure Line |date=June 1992 |pages=25–6 |publisher=Leisure & Allied Industries |location=Australia |url=https://archive.org/details/Leisure_Line_1992-06_Leisure_Allied_Industries_AU/page/n24}}</ref> exceeding the gross revenue of the films ''[[E.T.]]'' (1982), ''[[Batman (1989 film)|Batman]]'' (1989) and ''[[Jurassic Park (film)|Jurassic Park]]'' (1993).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Real |first1=Michael R. |last2=Real |first2=Michael |title=Exploring Media Culture: A Guide |date=26 September 1996 |publisher=[[SAGE Publishing]] |isbn=978-0-8039-5877-7 |page=81 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o-CM8WNIMBIC&pg=PA81 |access-date=October 9, 2021 |archive-date=October 10, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221010212606/https://books.google.com/books?id=o-CM8WNIMBIC&pg=PA81 |url-status=live }}</ref> The game was also a hit in other regions such as [[Europe]] and [[Singapore]].<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Nintendo: Super Mario Bros 3 |magazine=[[Computer and Video Games]] |date=15 March 1994 |issue=125 (April 1994) |page=57 |url=https://archive.org/details/cvg-magazine-125/page/n56}}</ref>

The game had sold {{nowrap|14 million}} copies by 1995,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Symposium |first1=University of Manchester Broadcasting |title=The Post-broadcasting Age: New Technologies, New Communities : Papers from the 25th and 26th University of Manchester Broadcasting Symposia |date=1995 |publisher=[[University of Luton Press]] |isbn=978-1-86020-502-6 |page=27 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yzrvAAAAMAAJ |quote=One game, ''Super Mario Brothers 3'', has sold 14 million copies and has generated more money than the movie ''ET''. Nintendo now makes greater profits than all of the American movie studios combined. |access-date=September 24, 2021 |archive-date=October 10, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221010212627/https://books.google.com/books?id=yzrvAAAAMAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> and {{nowrap|15 million}} copies by 1998.<ref>{{cite book |chapter=Best-Selling Video Game |title=[[Guinness World Records|The Guinness Book of Records 1999]] |date=September 10, 1998 |publisher=[[Guinness World Records Limited]] |isbn=978-0-9652383-9-7 |page=171 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/guinness1999book00slgu/page/170/mode/2up}}</ref> By 2000, the game had sold more than 17&nbsp;million copies worldwide, and held the record for the best-selling non-bundled video game for a long time.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kent |first1=Steven L. |author1-link=Steven L. Kent |chapter=Chapter 23: Run for the Money |title=The First Quarter: A 25-year History of Video Games |date=2000 |publisher=BWD Press |isbn=978-0-9704755-0-3 |page=334 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ny-CAAAAMAAJ |quote=Nintendo sold more than 17 million copies of Super Mario Bros. 3 worldwide, setting a lasting sales record for a game cartridge that was not packed in with console hardware. |access-date=October 22, 2021 |archive-date=October 10, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221010212627/https://books.google.com/books?id=ny-CAAAAMAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Boutros|first=Daniel|url=https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/a-detailed-cross-examination-of-yesterday-and-today-s-best-selling-platform-games|title=A Detailed Cross-Examination of Yesterday and Today's Best-Selling Platform Games|work=Game Developer|date=August 4, 2006|access-date=May 3, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151120113519/http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/1851/a_detailed_crossexamination_of_.php?page=2|archive-date=November 20, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> As of 2011, ''Super Mario Bros. 3'' was the highest-grossing non-bundled home video game up until then, with a 2011 inflation-adjusted revenue of {{US$|1,700,000,000|long=no|2011|round=-8}}.<ref name="cnbc_gross">{{cite news|last=Morris|first=Chris|title=Call of Duty, Guitar Hero Top All-Time Best Selling List|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2011/03/24/call-of-duty-guitar-hero-top-alltime-best-selling-list.html|access-date=May 3, 2022|date=March 24, 2011|agency=[[CNBC]]|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121015054856/http://www.cnbc.com/id/42253109/Call_of_Duty_Guitar_Hero_Top_All_Time_Best_Selling_List|archive-date=October 15, 2012}}</ref> In 2013, ''[[GamesRadar]]'' reported that the game had sold more than {{nowrap|18 million}} copies for the NES.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Gilbert |first1=Henry |title=25 things we still love about Super Mario Bros. 3 25 years later |url=https://www.gamesradar.com/25-things-we-still-love-about-super-mario-bros-3-25-years-later/|website=[[GamesRadar]] |date=October 23, 2013 |access-date=May 3, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190128135934/https://www.gamesradar.com/uk/25-things-we-still-love-about-super-mario-bros-3-25-years-later/ |archive-date=January 28, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> ''[[Game Informer]]'' also reported in their October 2009 issue that the [[Virtual Console]] version had sold one million copies.<ref name="gi_best" />