BODY: Mario stepped off the screen and onto the mound today as Nintendo launched one of its most ambitious domestic collaborations yet โ a tie-up between the Super Mario Bros. 40th anniversary and all 12 Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) teams.
The celebration kicked off on April 29 at Chiba's ZOZO Marine Stadium during the Chiba Lotte Marines vs. Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles game. The highlight: Mario himself throwing a ceremonial first pitch, blending two of Japan's most beloved cultural institutions โ gaming and baseball. The collaboration will roll out across all 12 NPB franchises over the course of the 2026 season, making it a league-wide event rather than a one-off promotion.
Fans can expect co-branded merchandise, special in-stadium entertainment, and themed events at ballparks nationwide. The partnership underscores just how deeply Super Mario remains woven into Japanese pop culture four decades after the original game's 1985 Famicom debut. Nintendo has been building momentum around the 40th anniversary since earlier this year, and tying it to professional baseball โ Japan's most-attended spectator sport โ signals the company's intent to make this milestone impossible to miss domestically.
The choice of all 12 teams is notable. NPB collaborations with entertainment properties typically involve a handful of clubs, but Nintendo secured the full league, from the Yomiuri Giants to the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. That kind of league-wide buy-in speaks to Mario's unmatched brand power in Japan.
The insider take
In Tokyo, sports-x-entertainment crossovers have become a reliable crowd driver, but a full 12-team NPB deal is genuinely rare. Most IP holders settle for regional partnerships with one or two clubs. Nintendo pulling off the complete set reflects both the weight of the Mario brand and NPB's own push to attract younger, more casual fans to stadiums. Expect limited-edition goods to sell out fast โ Japanese baseball merch culture is no joke, and Mario collectors will be lining up alongside die-hard fans.
Originally reported by GAME Watch (Japanese).