---
title: "Which came first, Apple or Mario?"
description: "Apple vs Mario: Apple came first, by 5 years — 1976 against 1981. What happened in each case, and why the dates are often given differently."
url: https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/apple-vs-super-mario/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Which came first, Apple or Mario?

**Which came first, Apple or Mario?: Apple**

1976 — 5 years before Mario

Apple came first, by 5 years. Jobs, Wozniak and Wayne founded Apple Computer Company.

## Side by side

|  | Apple | Mario |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Year | 1976 | 1981 |
| Date | 1976-04-01 | — |
| Category | company | media |
| What happened | Jobs, Wozniak and Wayne founded Apple Computer Company. | Mario debuted as "Jumpman" in the arcade game Donkey Kong. |

## Apple

Apple was founded on 1 April 1976, a year and a day after Microsoft. Ronald Wayne, the third founder, sold his 10% stake back for $800 twelve days later. The Apple I was a bare circuit board sold for $666.66; the Apple II of 1977 was the machine that made the company.

## Mario

Mario first appeared in Donkey Kong in 1981, credited as Jumpman, four years before Super Mario Bros. of 1985 made him a household name. He wears a cap because animating hair at that resolution was impossible, and dungarees because they made his arm movements legible against his body — the design is entirely a consequence of an 16×16 pixel sprite.

## Common questions

### Which came first, Apple or Mario?

Apple, by 5 years — 1976 against 1981.

### When did Apple start?

1976. Jobs, Wozniak and Wayne founded Apple Computer Company.

### When did Mario start?

1981. Mario debuted as "Jumpman" in the arcade game Donkey Kong.

## Related pages

- [Microsoft or Mario?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/microsoft-vs-super-mario/)
- [Apple or Nintendo?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/apple-vs-nintendo/)
- [Apple or the Ford Motor Company?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/apple-vs-ford/)
- [Apple or Coca-Cola?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/apple-vs-coca-cola/)
- [Apple or LEGO?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/apple-vs-lego/)
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- [Apple or McDonald's?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/apple-vs-mcdonalds/)
- [Apple or Microsoft?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/apple-vs-microsoft/)
- [Apple or the internet (ARPANET)?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/apple-vs-arpanet/)
- [Apple or email?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/apple-vs-email/)
- [Apple or the Macintosh?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/apple-vs-macintosh/)
- [Apple or Windows?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/apple-vs-windows/)

## Sources

- Wikidata — Wikimedia Foundation (https://www.wikidata.org/) [CC0 1.0]