Year of Luigi

Year of Luigi

Anniversary logo with Luigi from Super Mario Bros. (1985)
Date	(2013-02-14) (2014-03-18)February 14, 2013 – March 18, 2014 (1 year, 1 month and 4 days)[1][2]
Type	Anniversary event
Motive	30th anniversary of Luigi
Organized by	Nintendo
Website	mario.nintendo.com

The Year of Luigi was the 30th-anniversary celebration of the fictional character Luigi. He was created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto for the 1983 arcade game Mario Bros. and has appeared frequently as a minor or supporting character in the Mario franchise since. Due to Nintendo's decision to develop Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon and Mario & Luigi: Dream Team at the same time, they declared 2013 the Year of Luigi. According to Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto, Nintendo staff members also had the urge to develop games focused on Luigi, and considered the character underrepresented compared to Mario. It was announced via Nintendo Direct on February 14, 2013, by Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata and ended on March 18, 2014.

Games released in The Year of Luigi include Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, New Super Luigi U, and Dr. Luigi, all starring Luigi as the protagonist, and with little or no appearance of Mario. Mario & Luigi Dream Team also made Luigi a large focus of the game. References to Luigi and to the Mario Bros. remix titled Luigi Bros., are in Super Mario 3D World. These games were received generally positively.

Nintendo released a wide array of Luigi-themed merchandise via Club Nintendo exclusives across the celebration, such as limited collectible pins, coins, a soundtrack selection, and an exclusive Nintendo 3DS XL in July. The company rebranded a Chicago "L" train and Clark/Lake station with Year of Luigi and New Super Luigi U promotion and released a parkour-themed mockumentary about Luigi, both in August. Canadian actor Danny Wells, who portrayed Luigi in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, died that November. In October 2019, Nintendo celebrated the "Month of Luigi" to promote Luigi's Mansion 3.