By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. Close

Forums - Nintendo - Iwata asks NSMB: Mario WASN'T going to be the star at the begining

alfredofroylan on 24 November 2009

Yep, remember how good ol' Mario started at Donkey Kong? Well originally that place was reserved to .... Popeye!!!

Miyamoto: That's why at first I asked if I could make a game using Popeye. The basic concept of Popeye is that there is the hero and his rival who he manages to turn the tables on with the aid of spinach.

Iwata: When you put it like that, it's the same as Pac-Man, isn't it? (laughs)

Miyamoto: Yes, it's identical to Pac-Man! (laughs) So I sketched out a few ideas for games using Popeye. At that point, Yokoi-san was good enough to bring these ideas to the President's attention and in the end one of the ideas received official approval. Yokoi-san thought that designers would become necessary members of development teams in order to make games in the future. And that's how Donkey Kong came about.

Iwata: But originally it was going to be a Popeye game.

Miyamoto: That's right. But while I can't recall exactly why it was, we were unable to use Popeye in that title. It really felt like the ladder had been pulled out from under us, so to speak.

That "asks" is priceless full of Nintendo history

http://us.wii.com/iwata_asks/nsmb/vol1_page1.jsp



Around the Network
supermario128 on 24 November 2009

Nintendo would be much different with Popeye instead of Mario. I can only imagine..... O_O




Nintendo still doomed?
Feel free to add me on 3DS or Switch! (PM me if you do ^-^)
Nintendo ID: Mako91                  3DS code: 4167-4543-6089

MANUELF on 24 November 2009

So they created the biggest videogaming icon by luck?



alfredofroylan on 24 November 2009
MANUELF said:
So they created the biggest videogaming icon by luck?

Not only that:

Iwata: So the entire design was a case of form being dictated by function. You can really see that your specialist field, industrial design, is evident in the final result. Then, because he jumped up and down, he became known as "Jumpman", right?

Miyamoto: Well, I called him "Mr. Video". My plan was to use the same character in every video game I made.

Seriously this's the best "Ask" article. Full with details and info about Nintendo's past.



Majin-Tenshinhan on 25 November 2009

I thought this was already known, though. I'm sure I've heard it before, at least.



Around the Network
The Ghost of RubangB on 25 November 2009

Wow. I hadn't heard that before about SMB.

I just had to look up when he made the Popeye game. 1982. I can't believe he wanted to use the character again 3 years later. Miyamoto might've been "the Popeye games guy" instead of "the Mr. Video guy" we know and love.



twitter.com/evaneldeneller

Sunday Fundays

Siko1989 on 25 November 2009

lol they where creating mario as a quick buck 1 time only game? then it became popular? wow.. i love nintendo's History?




Farmageddon on 25 November 2009

The part about the mushroom is amazing, too, that's the kind of attention that makes their games so good.



famousringo on 25 November 2009

Just think, for decades we could have had vegetarian sailors complaining about being stereotyped.

I feel that a great opportunity has been missed.



"The worst part about these reviews is they are [subjective]--and their scores often depend on how drunk you got the media at a Street Fighter event."  — Mona Hamilton, Capcom Senior VP of Marketing
*Image indefinitely borrowed from BrainBoxLtd without his consent.

The Ghost of RubangB on 25 November 2009
The Ghost of RubangB said:
Wow. I hadn't heard that before about SMB.

I just had to look up when he made the Popeye game. 1982. I can't believe he wanted to use the character again 3 years later. Miyamoto might've been "the Popeye games guy" instead of "the Mr. Video guy" we know and love.

Okay, I'm reading all of this now...

Just realized you guys were talking about Donkey Kong and not SMB.  Oops!

So he almost used Popeye instead of Mario for Donkey Kong in 1981, and then went and made the Popeye arcade game in 1982, and then back to Mario for Mario Bros. in 1983...  the plot thickens.

And quoting yourself is pretty cool.



twitter.com/evaneldeneller

Sunday Fundays