As Newman defines it, superplay “is a generic term that describes a range of gaming practices that differ significantly in their execution and implementation but that are bound together by a common desire to demonstrate mastery of the game through performance” (Newman 2008). As James Newman describes, speedrunning is one example of a unique style of gameplay called “superplay”. These communities are often divided into even more niche subgroups: for example, the percentage of completion is different among different runners, some groups prohibit the utilization of glitches, and others require that runs be done on the original hardware, an NES, rather than a computer-emulated version of the game. for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), wherein players compete to complete the game as quickly as possible, is a deeply varied community, and the parameters of this goal differ between communities of speedrunners and the ways in which they play.
The deeply competitive speedrunning community that still surrounds Nintendo’s 1985 release Super Mario Bros.