I'm Addicted to Buying Super Mario Bros.

Hi kids! My name is Brian Altano, and I have a problem. You see, since 1985 I've carried around a familiar little security blanket to wrap myself and the latest Nintendo console all up in to protect me from the night. OK, so maybe it's not that drastic, but with the recent announcement of the Wii U's upcoming Virtual Console program, I realized that I've been buying the original Super Mario Bros. every few years for my ENTIRE LIFE. In fact, every time Nintendo has released a version of it for me to buy, I've bought it. So what the hell is wrong with me? Let's track my sordid history real quick.

I bought it in 1985 for the Nintendo Entertainment System (actually, my parents bought it for me)

I bought it in 1993 when it came to Super Nintendo as part of the Super Mario All-Stars collection

I bought the Deluxe version of it for Game Boy Color in 1999 so I could play it anywhere

I bought Animal Crossing for GameCube in 2002 and spent months trying to unlock it

I bought it as part of the Classic NES Series on Game Boy Advance in 2004 so I could play it everywhere I went (again)

I bought it when it came to the Wii's Virtual Console in 2006

I bought it as part of the Super Mario All-Stars 25th Anniversary Edition in 2010, also on Wii

I bought it when it came to the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console in 2012 so I could play it anywhere YET AGAIN

And I'll pay the $1.00 to update my Wii Virtual Console version of it when it comes to my Wii U this year.

And you know what? I'll buy it on Nintendo's next handhelds and on Nintendo's next home consoles, decades from now. Why? It's my gaming comfort food. It's safe, it's cozy, I know it from front to back and it will never let me down. It's perfect. And I just love knowing that it's always right there.

Oh, and I'm a crazy person. How about you?

Brian Altano is IGN's Executive Editor of News & Features and co-host of IGN's weekly comedy variety show Up At Noon. Follow him on Twitter @agentbizzle while he waits for Super Mario Bros. to be ported to even more things he owns.

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