Nintendo has announced a special red Wii version to mark the 25th anniversary of the Mario franchise; the first Super Mario Brothers game released on September 13, 1985.

Interestingly enough, just three days later, Ultima 4 released on the Apple II platform. The first Ultima game to introduce the Avatar, Lord British’s professed favourite, and one of the defining RPGs in the history of gaming, ever, period…turned 25 this year as well. Indeed, you could argue that it was with Ultima 4 that the Ultima series really found its soul and stride; it is every bit as seminal a game as Super Mario Brothers.

It’s a pity, then, that no computer manufacturer offered a system for sale done up with Ultima artwork. Although I suppose RPGs don’t age as well, given 25 years, as do console platformers.