$58 Billion Worth Nintendo Actually Had Another Name Planned For its Most Popular Character, Mario

Nintendo is among the most successful video game company. But when talking about the Big N, it’s impossible not to think about their Italian plumber mascot. Mario is a favorite and iconic video game character in history. However, the plumber in red didn’t initially have his iconic name.

Mario is the central character of the Super Mario Bros and the official mascot for Nintendo. The Italian plumber has appeared in more than 200 video games. His popularity has made an enormous contribution to the success of Nintendo. The most selling toys and merchandise are of Mario.

Nintendo had a different name for Mario

The Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto designed the Italian plumber. Initially, Miyamoto created him failing to acquire the famous cartoon character Popeye. So, the Italian plumber first appeared in the 1981 game Donkey Kong.

Miyamoto initially didn’t have a name for the character and called him “Mr. Video.” After the game’s release, Miyamoto thought he wasn’t popular and planned to use him as a cameo character. Meanwhile, the Nintendo of America named him Jumpman in the instructions. But the iconic character finally got his name from the Nintendo of America.

In those days, the American team worked from a warehouse belonging to an Italian American man named Mario Segale. Once, the former Nintendo of America president, Minoru Arakawa, had a fight with the landlord over rent. After that fight, Arakawa promised to pay the rent and also named the unnamed character Mario.

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Finally, Mario made his first official entry with his iconic name in the 1983 arcade game Mario Bros. Further, it was the first game where he appeared as a plumber because he was a carpenter in Donkey Kong. Later, Miyamoto also claimed that the Italian plumber became such a hit because of the name change to Mario.

What is Mario’s last name?

The story about Mario’s name doesn’t only end with Jumpman and Mr.Video. After becoming a favorite character, fans started wondering about his last name, which Nintendo kept a secret until the 1993 live-action movie where he was called ‘Mario Mario.’

Later, he was called Mario Mario at many events. But in 2012, then Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata claimed he had no surname. But after Iwata’s demise in 2015 and on the Super Mario Bros. 30th Anniversary, creator Miyamoto officially announced Mario’s full name as Mario Mario.

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Undoubtedly, this iconic character had to deal with a lot regarding names. Do you think the name played a significant role in Mario’s popularity? Share your thoughts in the comment section.