Some examples I found to describe the steps that led to the success of Nintendo's Mario Brothers' games are how Nintendo introduced the character and went on from there. Mario was originally a carpenter in Donkey Kong named "Jumpman" but after using the nickname of Mario, they made it the official name. The devs must've loved the name, because then in 1983 Mario got his own game revealing his twin brother, Luigi. The slow reveal of his brother and him having his own game added a story to this character and a lot of people were into it. So much so that Mario and Luigi found themselves in arcades and peoples homes in 1985. This made the Super Mario Bros. game even more out and available to anyone in an arcade or store. Because of this the game started to grown even more and was becoming a top hit for so many people. In 1990, an american survey saw that children recognized Mario more than they recognized Mickey Mouse. If this wasn't enough, in 1996 Mario 64, a three-dimensional game staring none other than Mario, has been recognized as a major influence in the gaming community. In conclusion, from a carpenter in Donkey Kong to the possibly biggest game in history, Mario took many important steps to get where it still is today.
