Mario, Sonic and Pac-Man get philatelic stamp of approval

Mario, Sonic the Hedgehog and Pac-Man are set to invade the country’s households once again following the release of a new postage-stamp set celebrating the video game characters that have helped define the modern gaming era.

Just like their subject matter the four An Post-issued stamps are likely to prove highly collectable. Designed by Dublin-based Zinc Design Consultants the stamps and a souvenir first-day cover are available from the country’s main post offices, at the stamp shop in Dublin’s GPO or online.

All are individually priced at 68c.

Mario, created by Japanese video game maker Nintendo, has appeared in over 200 games and is the best-selling video game franchise of all time. Interestingly, Mario was known as Jumpman when he first appeared in Donkey Kong back in 1981.

The moustachioed character in his distinctive red cap and blue overalls has been responsible for the sale of hundreds of millions of games for Nintendo.

Sonic the Hedgehog is some ten years younger, first appearing in 1991 and has been blazing a trail for SEGA ever since. His attempts to defeat the evil scientist Dr Ivo Robotnik have entertained children and adults ever since through the game franchise, in comics, cartoons and books.

Sonic lies at the heart of some 70 games and has grossed over €5 billion in sales for his parent company.

Many will remember Pac-Man as one of the first colour video games. The mad-cap arcade chase game was developed in 1980 and saw players steering a yellow dot around levels of maze, eating Pac-Dots and fruit, and avoiding ghosts. The Namco-produced game has spawned numerous spin-offs, remakes and sequals. It has also generated in excess of 43 million unit sales.

Two years earlier saw the birth of one of the first shooting video games. Space Invaders was released in 1978 and is credited with helping to transform the video game industry into a global one. Originally manufactured and sold by Taito of Japan, the game was released a year after the release of the Atari 2600 at the dawn of a new era of gaming.

The stamps can be ordered from www.irishstamps.ie