Study finds that Super Mario 64 DS changes players' perceptions of space

Super Mario 64 is arguably the most influential 3D video game of all time, but has it also been affecting our perceptions of 3D space in real life? According to a study from 2014, the answer is yes! Specifically, the study found that players of the Nintendo DS version of Super Mario 64 perceived objects in the space around them differently from others.

The study in question was published in the Molecular Psychiatry journal and recently highlighted by Supper Mario Broth on Twitter. Participants were asked to play Super Mario 64 DS for at least 30 minutes a day for two months. Then, they took a series of tests. Ultimately, these tests showed that their perception of space changed from egocentric to allocentric. In other words they saw understood the objects around them in relation to each other, rather than in relation to themselves - almost like a 3rd person video game!

Could playing 3D platformers like Super Mario 64 really make you better at understanding and navigating 3D space? It seems so! Now you can play 3D Mario games and feel satisfied that you’re improving your spatial abilities.

Click here to read through the full results of the study for yourself.