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Tokyo, July 19 (Bloomberg) -- Nintendo Co. is relying on a portly plumber with a water gun to defeat the world\'s richest man. Today, the world\'s second-largest video-game maker starts selling ``Super Mario Sunshine,\'\' the first version of the series for its GameCube console. The company is betting Mario\'s fans will spurn the rival Xbox, made by Bill Gates\'s Microsoft Corp. Mario -- created in 1985, the year Gates started selling his Windows computer operating system -- already has fans, while Gates needs to recruit followers for heroes of exclusive Xbox games, analysts say. Nintendo is focused on fending off Microsoft after Sony Corp. pulled clear in the $20 billion industry. ``It\'s granted that `Super Mario Sunshine\' will be a big hit, with sales of probably more than a million copies,\'\' said Nobumasa Morimoto, an analyst at Tokyo-Mitsubishi Securities Co. ``Mario is very popular, especially among kids.\'\' Kyoto-based Nintendo failed to meet its target of selling 3.8 million GameCubes in the fiscal year ended March 31 after releasing the console in September last year. Microsoft said yesterday it had sold 3.9 million Xbox consoles since its release in November, short of its original 6 million target. Sony has sold 30 million PlayStation 2s since March 2000. Nintendo must meet its goal of selling 12 million GameCubes this fiscal year to keep Microsoft at bay, analysts said. ``Xbox is likely to make a serious dent on Nintendo\'s market share,\'\' said Amir Anvarzadeh, an analyst at KBC Financial Products in London. ``The fight for the second place may take its toll on Nintendo\'s profit margins and bank balance.\'\' Sequels Nintendo has sold more than 160 million Mario titles worldwide, the company said. The latest Mario game, to be released in the U.S. next month, is the first of a series of sequels that Nintendo will release at regular intervals during the year, the company said in a brochure to retailers. The company will also set up consoles and big screens at toy stores throughout Japan, allowing users to test the games before they are released. ``This will be a make-or-break year for the GameCube,\'\' Shigeru Miyamoto, Nintendo\'s chief game designer, told reporters last month. Sales of a video-game console usually peaks in the second year of its release, he said. Nintendo is also trying to take advantage of its Gameboy Advance hand-held video game, the market leader, when designing games. ``Legend of Zelda GC,\'\' that will debut in December, will allow players to control the action characters, including a pixie called Link, not only with their GameCube controller but also with the Gameboy Advance. That may allow up to four players to take part in the game. It is the latest update of a game that debuted in 1987. Xbox While offerings from the Xbox repertoire are mainly versions of action, adventure, sports and shooting games already available on PlayStation 2, Microsoft is also selling exclusive games, including the alien shoot-em-up game ``Halo.\'\' Gates says he\'ll do what it takes to catch up. At the time of the Xbox\'s release in November, Microsoft said it would spend $500 million in an unspecified period of time to market the Xbox.As sales fell short of targets, Microsoft said in May it will spend another $2 billion to improve the console and urge game makers to develop more online games for the Xbox\'s Internet debut later this year. ``Super Mario Sunshine\'\' sees Mario interrupting his vacation on a tropical island to vanquish enemies with a backpack water pump. A sequel ``Mario Party\'\' will be released in November. Among other games, ``Starfox Adventure\'\' will follow in September and ``Metroid Prime,\'\' a space-adventure game will be released before the Christmas shopping season. Nintendo will set up GameCube consoles and screens at 124 stores of Toys \'R\' Us-Japan Ltd. starting today, part of a nationwide campaign to test market the new titles, the company said on its Web site. The move follows Microsoft\'s plans to appoint more retailers to stock the Xbox in Japan. Happinet Corp., the sole distributor of the Xbox in Japan announced the strategy last week. Currency Woes Nintendo also has to counter the negative impact of the yen\'s recent surge against the dollar, analysts said. The yen\'s rise hurts Nintendo\'s earnings because more than half of the company\'s sales come from the U.S. The company has to take a charge when the value of its dollar-denominated holdings decrease. In May, Nintendo said it may take a charge of about 10 billion yen in its full-year earnings because the dollar may fall to less than the estimated 130 yen exchange rate. The company forecast a net income of 90 billion yen ($773 million) on sales of 640 billion yen for the full year after the charge. The yen has already risen 10 percent more than Nintendo\'s estimated level for the dollar and the gain will hurt Nintendo\'s earnings especially in the fiscal first half, analysts said. ``If the yen maintains the current upward trend through September, it will be a serious blow to Nintendo,\'\' said Hirotoshi Murakami, an analyst at Kokusai Securities Co. The shares of Nintendo rose as much as 220 yen, or 1.4 percent, to 15,550 yen.
Gates started selling his Windows computer operating system --
