Charles Martinet doesn't know what a Mario Ambassador is
Now I'm even more confused
Back on August 21st, it was revealed that Charles Martinet would no longer be voicing any Mario characters for Nintendo. The man who brought characters like Mario, Luigi, Wario and more for decades is now transitioning into a new role, but in a recent interview with the man himself, it appears Martinet has no clue what he’ll actually be doing.
Charles Martinet was part of a panel at GalaxyCon Austin 2023 recently, and not surprisingly, Martinet brought up the topic of moving away from Mario. Unfortunately, we still don’t have an answer as to why Martinet is stepping down from the role, and even more confusing, he’s not quite sure what he’ll be doing next.
Martinet mentioned that he’s now going to be a Mario Ambassador for Nintendo, but he has no idea what that actually entails. Martinet does seem to be happy about being included in Mario’s future this way, but he has nothing to share on what the position requires of him. Just like the fans, Martinet says he’ll find out what a Mario Ambassador’s duties are as time roles on.
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thedestructo94
8M agoTo me that PR statement read as a pure PR statement. "Mario Ambassador" is probably a made up non-existent job description Nintendo made up not only to Charles but to the fans to soften the blow of him being replaced/stepping down.
"Mario Ambassador" literally means keep doing what you have already been doing Charles i.e. going to cons, signing Mario merch/memorabilia, and doing the voices for people. We just won't sue you or pay you.
I don't think Charles did anything that would warrant being kicked upstairs. It could be he's actually decided it's time to move away from voicing Mario and his last task outside promoting Mario is to train the new VA generation to pick up where he leaves off (that is if Nintendo doesn't look to AI voicing here).
tendonin
8M agoCharles can’t give away Nintendo’s plan to broker peace in Ukraine with the joy of Mario.
aussiemcbucket
8M agoI don't know why everyone views this as an affront to him. They probably made up the position, yes, but not to sidestep a legal issue or avoid public backlash. I totally hear Nintendo saying that they are moving on from him - which could totally be a mutual decision, if not entirely from Martinet - but want to keep him as a part of their organization to show their respect and love for the many years they have shared together. They know he means a lot to the fans, too, of course. I think it's a very nice gesture, and I'm sure Martinet is touched by it. He seems like the type of person to which that would mean something. He doesn't know what it entails, because he will be originating the role and likely plotting its course with Nintendo.
Why would he waste time just doing voices for people and signing autographs when the new actor will do that? He's moving away from voice acting. He's retiring. It's like saying Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka isn't involved in games anymore when they still play a role in some games like Pikmin and is the board of directors now.
If he knew the role he could say it. Infact Nintendo has already confirmed that he can say it if he likes to. But he doesn't know the role.
I paid for his autograph at a con recently and he's honestly probably doing much better that way. There was a time he signed like 25 games for me for free, and when I paid it was $30 for one signature.
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