STACK NZ Sep #66

STACK

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Mario, that’s who! Yes, Nintendo’s iconic Italian plumber is celebrating his birthday, and we’re cheering the portly little personal drainer’s big day too with 30 facts about him and his games.

28-year-old budding developer Shigeru Miyamoto had an idea for a video game that featured a love triangle and tried, unsuccessfully, to obtain the license for Popeye. Undeterred, he designed a character called Jumpman for a game that would become Donkey Kong. A carpenter by trade, Jumpman wore red overalls and a blue shirt.

Tech limitations forced the designers to abandon the idea of giving Mario hair; he was given a hat instead. Overalls were introduced to outline where Mario’s arms were. The decision to rename Jumpman to Mario was undertaken on the 1983 arcade title, Mario Bros. The game was relatively popular in Japan, but failed in the U.S. The great video game crash of 1983 was in full swing. It wasn’t just the name that was changed; Mario’s trade was switched from carpenter to plumber. The colour of his overalls was also switched from red to blue. Mario Bros. was also the FIrst game to feature Mario’s brother, Luigi.

Mario as the bad guy? Well, in the sequel to Donkey Kong Jr., Mario has Donkey Kong trapped in a cage and it’s down to the ape’s son to come and free him. In 1990, Mario also became a doctor in the infectious Dr. Mario. The Super Mushroom design in Super Mario Bros. is inspired by the Amanita Muscaria; a mushroom with psychedelic qualities. Super Mario Bros. has sold a whopping 40.24 million copies and was the best selling game of all time until another Nintendo title knocked it off the perch – Wii Sports.

Other names considered for Jumpman were Mr. Video and

the Japanese word for a middle-aged man, Ossan.

In early promotional

material, Mario was shown as being bald.

stack.net.nz