Mario Teaches Typing

Mario Teaches Typing is an educational video game developed and published by Interplay Productions for MS-DOS compatible operating systems, Microsoft Windows, and Macintosh. The game uses the Mario character, licensed from Nintendo, to teach keyboard skills. Featuring several modes of difficulty, the software taught typing letters, words and sentences using aesthetics from existing Mario games.

Conceived by Brian Fargo, the developer aimed to replicate the success of the Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing software. Nintendo agreed as it was expanding into more creative and educational products at the time. Interplay first released the title on floppy disks in 1992 and then published an enhanced version on CD-ROM in 1993. A sequel, Mario Teaches Typing 2, was developed by Brainstorm and published by Interplay in 1997. Like the enhanced version, the sequel updated the interface and added features to the original product. Mario Teaches Typing is the first time Mario spoke in a video game, originally by Ronald B. Ruben for the initial release and then by Charles Martinet in the enhanced CD release. Afterward, Martinet became the official voice of Mario, voicing the character for 32 years.

The title frequently appeared in top ten sales charts of educational software from 1992 to 1996 and went on to sell over 800,000 copies. It had a mixed reception, both in contemporary publications and retrospective commentary. Praise focused on the software's use of the Mario franchise in the presentation and its appeal to children. Critics were divided as to its competency as a typing tutorial. While drawing comparisons to Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing, reviewers felt that the various iterations of Mario Teaches Typing were suitable for kids and the former was better for adults. Nintendo continued the relationship with Interplay until ceasing such endeavors in the late 1990s.