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Miyamoto explains why Mario is chubby

"Not because I wanted to make him cute."

Now he's done it. Nintendo legend Shigeru Miyamoto has gone and mentioned Mario's weight.

Not content with launching a console without a Mario game in tow, Miyamoto has started dropping hints the portly plumber is a little more than ample sized.

Isn't he just big boned?

Apparently not.

Speaking with Nintendo president Satoru Iwata about middling 3DS sub sim Steel Diver, Miyamoto let slip the news Mario had to be fat - so ancient tech in Nintendo's NES console could detect when players waddled into walls.

"The reason Mario is a plump shape is because gaming devices at that time could only read collisions between square boxes, not because I wanted to make him cute," Miyamoto explained.

"His design turned out like that because I adjusted for the capabilities of the gaming device of the day. For example, resolution was low, so I made his face big," he continued, adding insult to injury.

So now you know. Super Mario 3DS is due later this year. We bet it starts with Princess Peach offering cake. Not helping.