The GAME store at Oxford Street in London will hold a launch event for Super Mario Galaxy on the 15th, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., with a special guest appearance by Charles Martinet, the man behind the voicebox of red-capped plumber Mario. He's had quite a lot of things to say about working on Super Mario Galaxy - he even got to play a little preview of it ahead of everyone else. Now, he's gracing London fans with his presence during the launch at GAME. More details after the jump.

Fun at work? Is there such a thing? As evidenced in Snake's codec clips in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, it looks like the people in charge of the script as well as voice acting are having a good time in their work. Nintendo's localization producer Nate Bihldorf confirmed that doing the English translation for the upcoming star-studded Super Smash Bros. Brawl is indeed feels more like a fun ride instead of a hard grind at work.

Bihldorf mentions his work with the voice cast of Metal Gear Solid characters, who are making an appearance in the game and delivering banter through codec transmissions. He recounted:

Going through the Wario sequence where it's the Colonel in this very serious voice telling Snake he's attacking by farting, the [actor playing the] Colonel was just cracking up. The first three or four takes he just couldn't do it. Then he got into character and banged it out there.

Bihldorf said that Snake will have codec transmissions with his back-up team about the other Brawlers, and the codec clips will be easily accessible in the game. We sure do hope so, because we're planning to watch them all the moment we get to play the game next year (we can't wait!).

Aside from Brawl, Bihldorf is also working on Super Mario Galaxy, where he is in charge of naming the galaxies for the English translation. He said that the English dialogue, handled by other Nintendo staff, will be whimsical and light as is the case with other Mario case. Of course, we're going to hear more of "It's-a me, Mario!", by Mario's voice actor Charles Martinet.


Check out a sample of Snake's codec transmission in Super Smash Bros. Brawl after the jump!

Mario, that Italian moustached plumber... Who would've thought he would sound... not so plumber-ish? Not exactly a surprising revelation anymore, but the same guy behind his voice also did other major Nintendo characters like Wario, Luigi, baby Mario, and baby Luigi. You can put all the love and hate on the man responsible, Charles Martinet.

Most of us first heard him in Mario 64 which was released more than a decade ago, yet he's far from being out of the business. Being a guest in several events such as the the Video Games Live Concert in San Francisco, this 57 year old man is still kicking.

We've found a video of him in action on Gametrailers as they feature Game Head, a show American and Canadian gamers can't miss. Of course, there's also a review on Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer and a look at the hot babes on the Juiced event.

Anyway, Martinet talks a little bit about his past, his experiences, and why Link can't get a voice after so long. The video is embedded below, so see for yourself:

Considering that Koji Kondo, the Japanese composer responsible for most Nintendo soundtracks, is a man of few words, Wired was lucky enough to have talked to him. Charles Martinet, the voice of Mario, and Tommy Tallarico of Video Games Live only have good words to say about Kondo, especially after his great performance at the GDC.

Kondo was born in Nagoya, studied at Osaka University of Arts. As a college student he was fond of playing arcade games like Space Invaders and the Donkey Kong series. He also liked to listen to hard rock, jazz and fusion, to musicians like Deep Purple, Cassiopeia, Chick Corea, and Herbie Hancock. He dreamed "only a little" of being a keyboard player.

Nintendo was where he found his first job, and he has been working with the games giant ever since. Kondo says that his goal for making the Super Mario sound track was to create something that had never been heard before. An interesting fact is that Kondo made the underwater music for Mario first before anything else, because it was the easiest to imagine.

Kondo admits that he does submit his ideas to the game directors, that in a sense, he's just like any of the game designers. But he's never played any of the new games nowadays, complaining that "it's too hard for me". We'll just have to excuse that complaint for now, knowing as how Koji is one of those people who oversee the whole project of Wii Music.

The man behind (the voice of) Mario had a recent interview with The Sun UK and talked about what it was like working with and actually getting to play Super Mario Galaxy.

Here's what he had to say:

Mario Galaxy is going to be the most exciting, amazing fun ever. I played a little preview of it and I had goosebumps of joy and was giddy with laughter. The new Wii controller has so much versatility and makes possible all these things you could never imagine doing before.

It is like magic. This game takes it to a completely different level for Mario. I’m not allowed to reveal yet what I say in Galaxy but I can tell you there will be some surprises.

True enough, a lot of us have been expecting great things from the game. The Wii remote in itself will really pose an interesting gameplay experience. Indeed, it's one of the most anticipated titles on the Wii, including Metroid Prime 3.

Too bad for us though, he didn't reveal an exact release date for the game. But safe to say, this guy's got nothing but raves for the game. Wow, big surprise there. He is the game anyways. Well, the voice behind the game, at least. Mama mia!