Was Mario the First Nintendo Game? No - Pre-Mario Timeline

No. Mario debuted in 1981's Donkey Kong (as "Jumpman"), but Nintendo released games over a decade earlier.

Nintendo's Pre-Mario Timeline

• 1977: EVR Race – Arcade horse-racing betting game (mechanical/video hybrid).
• 1978: Computer Othello – Nintendo's first purely video arcade game.
• 1980: Game & Watch: Ball – First handheld LCD game.
• 1980: Color TV-Game 6 / 15 – Dedicated home Pong-style consoles (Japan only).
• 1981: Donkey Kong – Shigeru Miyamoto's breakthrough; Jumpman becomes Mario in Donkey Kong Jr. (1982) and Mario Bros. (1983).

So Mario is Nintendo's mascot, not its origin.