Most Nintendo fans know that Mario was called Jumpman in Donkey Kong but did you know that he was originally going to be called Mr Video?
Shigeru Miyamoto and Satoru Iwata take readers through the early days of Mario in the new 'Iwata Asks' feature and among other things, they discuss why he has a moustache, why he wears overalls and, most importantly, his original name.
"I called him "Mr. Video". My plan was to use the same character in every video game I made," said Miyamoto. "I thought the way Hitchcock cropped up in all the films he directed was really cool! Or take manga artists like Osamu Tezuka8 and Fujio Akatsuka9 who have the same character popping up in a variety of different works. I think I was probably influenced by that at the time."
However, he admits that his original name wasn't very good. "I felt that I had come up with a pretty solid character, which is why I thought: "Right, I'll keep using him from now on!" That's why I decided a solid, imposing name like "Mr. Video" would work best. But thinking back, I don't think I should have gone with that name. Someone at Nintendo of America actually came up with the name Mario. If he had been called "Mr. Video," he might have disappeared off the face of the earth."
