So, I tried to play Mario 3 (I think) with my oldest daughter (she is 7) and she could barely play it. To be fair she doesn't play a lot of video games but at her age I was beating Mario 3 (and most other NES games I came across) so it's weird to watch her try to play and a running jump is hard for her to do.

I'm assuming most other people don't understand this but does anyone remember their first video gaming experiences with a game like Mario where skill with jumping is one of the main requirements?

Yes I do remember my first video gaming experiences with a game like Mario where skill with jumping is one of the main requirements. My first video game system was a game boy advanced SP system and one of the first 3 games I got for it was Super Mario World, Super Mario Advanced 2, I was 6 years old and got it for Christmas and honestly I had a hard time getting the hang of it until my dad helped me. But were you playing Mario 3 using vizzed because it might just be the keyboard that's throwing her game off because I've had a hard time playing games that involved alot of fast pace moment with the keyboard, maybe it might be better to start her off on a handheld.

geeogree : Oh yes, I remember. My first Mario experience was a terrible one. I died a lot, I touched enemies and I fell into holes etc. But I became better by watching how others did. It was very enjoyable to see them play as well. Maybe you should try to teach your daughter how to play Mario by showing how YOU play Mario. It is the best (and fun) way to teach.

I remember when I was 9, I had started Super Mario Bros and I am surprised I didn't suck too much at it for my age! Could never get past the Hammer Brothers in 8-3 as there was no easy way to make it past without knowledge of the hidden powerups! I beat that game roughly 3 years later... 10 times in one session!

Super Mario Bros 3 on the other hand... it's a freaking nightmare. I STILL have difficulty with World 8 even after about 7 years, and I still cannot manage to beat the marathon of airship levels. Get Game Over, and you are gonna have to do those stupid airships and nightmare mazes again!

Related to jumping, I had no problem with anything BUT tenairships on World 8 where you have to focus on the autoscrolling, jump timing, and while fire and wrenches get thrown out everywhere. Surprised the really hardcore levels in Super Mario Maker (< 5% clear rate to <1%) are little to no problem for me.

If I played the NES Mario games at 6 years old... I would just fail so much that modern gamers would just laugh. You cannot inagine how bad THAT would be.

I guess that would be Aladdin and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for the Genesis/Mega Drive for me, which I think I first played when I was like 6-7. Aladdin was definitely a game where mastering jumping was very important, it took a lot of trial and error for me as I'm sure I sucked at them at first but I remember becoming somewhat proficient at it, though I never beat it I remember coming close. Now several years I'd actually say I might be worse than I was back then but that might also have to do with not having the mega drive controller and having barely played it. Though my memory is foggy about it since it was so long ago.

Sonic on the other hand I barely touched. I remember finding it harder and I didn't have as much interest in it as I was more familiar with Aladdin and other games based on Disney movies and therefore wanted to play them. So I guess it really depended on how much I played the game. I could get pretty good at one or two games, but from what I remember it didn't really make me any better at other platformers. I later got a gamecube in stead which I had the Sonic Mega Collection game for, and got more familiar with the games. I remember Sonic 3D Blast, and Sonic Pinball being the two games I played the most however so I guess I had weird taste in games when I was younger.

After I eventually gave away the gamecube my skills naturally deteriorated due to barely playing any platformers and discovering other genres, mainly RPGs, at least until I got a DS and I discovered vizzed I guess not having played that many platformers when growing up and still not playing them that often (with a few exceptions) is part of the reason I've never been that good at most of them. Though I've been trying to become better during recent years as I've become a bit more of an all around gamer playing a bit of everything in stead of just focusing on a few genres like I used to.

I played Super Mario Bros when I was 3 years old. It was hard up until the point where I couldn't get past level 2, but when I was 7 I was actually pretty good at it. I have actually been playing games all my life up until the point where beating any game I play isn't all that hard depending on the time I give it. Now Mario itself isn't really a difficult game to play so if you daughter gives it a little more time and effort, I am sure that doing a running jump wouldn't be much of a challenge too her. I think you should just let her play it more often so she could get better.

I think my first ever was...super Mario kart? Or Mario 64 I can barley remember that. But what I do remember is that my dad and my brother played super Mario kart a lot. And I would just sit there and learn of what a video game was back then. Until I understood what I wanted to know that was when I asked my brother if I can play and thus that is how my video gaming came to be. I think we had the megadrive after the super Nintendo that was when I played more of that than the snes. Having first experience's like that can be hard. She just needs to try and play more to get the hang of it. None of us were the best when we started out on playing video games at ages of 3-4 or 5-7. ^-^

The problem with my daughters is that they don't really want to play because they die so easily and they don't like watching because "it's boring".

It's unfortunate but there isn't much I can do about it. They just aren't in to video games yet.

I wasn't the best at video games, and often whenever I'd boot up Super Mario Bros. on the NES we got from a friend of my Dad's, I'd die at that first Goomba.  I was afraid of that Goomba.  Often my fears would get in the way of my progress, and although I loved certain video games, I just wasn't very good at most of them.  I took pride in being able to figure out games without the help of the manual, but although I could figure out the basics well enough, I feel my pride got in the way of my progress.  It also prevented me from trying as hard as I could have.

If I had discarded my fears and my pride, I probably would have excelled at every video game I played.  Give your children time.  Their situation may be different, but in time, they will likely come to love playing video games with you and loving it.  I have come to enjoy video games I never thought I would enjoy because I gave them a shot.  OlliOlli, for example, is one of my favorite games.  When I was younger, I probably would have called that game "dumb" simply because I wasn't good at it.  Your children might be of the same mindset, calling something "dumb" or "boring" because they aren't good at it themselves, not because they completely hate it.  Now I enjoy OlliOlli for the reason that I'm not good at it.  I'm not extremely good at it, but I take joy in my progress.

geeogree : As supernerd said give them time. Sadly in this generation you may never know if your kids that you have any in the near future would like the games that you used to play at their tender age. For most of them would be mixed reviews for them sadly....

Harry Potter was the first game I played that required jumping (mind you all you had to do was run towards the edge and it did it for you) and I think I jumped in that game more than sonic 1. It didn't take me long to get used to the controls at all as the game was quite easy and straight forward for the most part (Quiddicth was the first time I had played inverted controls which wasn't fun at first). I did also play sonic 1 a lot on the mega collection plus on the ps2 and I was able to go through the game reasonably well. By the time I got my first mario game (which was super mario bros part of the classic nes series) i was already familiar with platformers such as sonic and crash bandicoot so I found the game easy. I am ok at super mario bros 3 but I could be better if I played it more.

Do not feel bad. I read an article less than 2 years ago saying that modern gamers (born during this millenium) were barely able to go through the first world in Super Mario Bros! I wonder if it is the controller or the lack of perspective...

I find it strange honestly.... she can play a game like Minecraft which is quite a complex game overall if you consider all the thing you have to remember in order to play.

When it comes to Mario on NES or SNES the game is more about skill than knowledge and she doesn't have it.

geeogree : I guess that "today's youth" (man I feel old) simply is not into side-scrolling platform games. From the speedrun I saw of the DS Mario games, they look ridiculously easy compared to the original 1985 one. There is more than enough time, Mario has quite an arsenal of transformations and obstacles seem more sparse.

My first experience with GAMING was Yoshi on the NES at, like, 2. I sucked at it.

My first experience with PLATFORMING was Sonic the Hedgehog 2 on the Genesis/Megadrive at about 3 or 4. I did alright, but nothing spectacular. I could beat Emerald Hill Zone, as well as Chemical Plant Zone at times (although the boss actually gave me trouble back then), but Aquatic Ruins was the death of me every time. I never understood how to not drown and wasn't good enough at platforming to make it through the top path, away from the water.

My first experience with Mario was Super Mario Bros. on the NES at around the same time as Sonic (both consoles were side by side). My, what a different time it was. A time where my dad was the grand master of the family in Mario games, and taught me all of the ins and outs of both the first and third Mario Bros. games. I don't remember beating the first world until I was like 4 and a half, though, but running jumps weren't really of much concern to me.

...Funny. I just realized how many games I've played before my all-time favorite franchise was even introduced to me: Kirby. I didn't play Kirby until I was seven, when I got Kirby and the Amazing Mirror near launch, alongside Metroid Fusion.

Also, janus, this is more a problem of lack of critical specific knowledge of how the game works. It's just like playing a fighting game: you don't just jump into it and know everything by default without practicing it, even if you have prior experience in other games in the same genre (being good at Street Fighter IV doesn't automatically make you as good in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3). These people who played probably were not familiar with many platforming games, much less those like Super Mario Bros., which had a much heavier feel to them. While control is the same, and even simpler, Mario has more gravity to him in the original than even in Super Mario Bros. 3, so sometimes it's hard to gauge jumps if you haven't played it before.

It's the same way I'm superb at platforming games, but the average ten year old will wipe the floor with me in any first person shooter or MMORPG. I have no prior experience in those games, and don't know the quirks of such games.

My niece will be 7 in April, and I just introduced her to Mario the other day (she said she plays sports games with her uncle although I don't know the extent of that). She struggled with it, but I probably did too lol. I don't remember my first experiences much except with hockey and WWE for Sega.

Yes, my first experience was very similar to your daughter's, but with Sonic (3, I think) for the Genesis instead of Mario. I was terrible at the game at first, barely making it to the second act before dying every time. I was about the same age she was as well. Don't be too surprised on her first go at it if she's not doing well at all. I'm sure she can pick up her daddy's skill with a little practice lol. 

Well i've played games ever since I was 2, and one of my first games was mario kart super circuit, so yeah I have been playing for a long time.
Furthest back I can remember is me playing a gba in france in a tent, I believe.

I don't ever remember that I struggled with games (mario, etc.)because I was so young, but I imagine I really was awful.