Posted on 13 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 1 Comment

Even though Donkey Kong is still a pretty important Nintendo character today, his success pales in comparison to Mario’s fame. Yet, we can’t forget that Donkey Kong was very popular back in the day. Eventually, Shigeru Miyamoto chose to focus on the Italian plumber rather than the lovable ape. According to Miyamoto, this decision was made because he felt Donkey Kong was too big and also due to the fact that Nintendo wanted Mario to appear in additional titles.

“Well, the first reason is that Donkey Kong is just too darn big. And because he’s so big, we actually created Donkey Kong Junior to try to come up with the same sort of character, but in a smaller, more manageable size. And as we were looking at an 8-bit size, Mario became a much easier character to use. So that’s the first reason. My original goal was that I really wanted to use Mario in a lot of different games. So, for example, in the original Punch-Out! you’ll see Mario and Donkey Kong in the audience. You’ll see Mario is the referee in Tennis [a 1984 Nintendo Entertainment System game]. And then it became taking Mario and Luigi both and putting them in different situations in various games, and was the direction that I decided to take.”

Source

Posted on 13 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, Random | 3 Comments

Some of you may have seen Chris Bringhurst’s original picture with 100 video game characters. Recently though, he made a new image with 200 characters (see below). Chris explained to PixiGeek how the original idea started:

“Well, I work at a call center that has some pretty long stretches of nothing, and I get bored pretty easily. I had thought before how cool it would be if Master Chief and the Halo franchise were given the Mega Man treatment. So I took about two days – yes, that long – and tried to create the best Master Chief Mega Man sprite I could in between calls at work. People liked it and asked me to do others, so I tinkered with Mortal Kombat a little, then Nathan Drake from Uncharted, and I realized that there were literally hundreds of characters in the video game universe who might really work with that retro look that we all love. Two months later, here I am.”

Chris says that he takes requests, so if you’d like to see a video game character reimagined as a Mega Man sprite, make sure to let him know!.

Posted on 13 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 0 comments

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Posted on 13 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 6 Comments

In honor of the upcoming Nov. 21 launch of Donkey Kong Country™ Returns for the Wii™ console, Nintendo has filed a request with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to trademark the pop-culture phrase “It’s on like Donkey Kong.” For those unfamiliar with the term, “It’s on like Donkey Kong” is an old, popular Nintendo phrase that has a number of possible interpretations depending on how it’s used. In addition to Nintendo’s use, it has been used in popular music, television and film over the years, pointing to Donkey Kong’s status as an enduring pop-culture icon and video game superstar.

Donkey Kong™ is one of the oldest and most recognizable video game characters. He has been a pop-culture icon since the launch of his 1981 self-titled arcade game. Donkey Kong again rose to prominence in the 1994 Super NES™ game Donkey Kong Country. His new game, Donkey Kong Country Returns, marks his triumphant return in a new side-scrolling adventure with new challenges amid a beautiful setting. The game features the first simultaneous cooperative game-play mode for the series, with one player controlling Donkey Kong and the other controlling his agile pal, Diddy Kong™.

On Nov. 21, It’s on like Donkey Kong™!

For more information about Donkey Kong Country Returns, visit http://donkeykong.nintendo.com/.

Source: Nintendo PR

Posted on 13 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in DS, General Nintendo, Videos, Wii | 0 comments

Posted on 13 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, DS, General Nintendo, News, Wii | 5 Comments

Miyamoto on how Mario become a character…

“If you look at the technology we have now we obviously have a bigger screen and there is a lot more space and you can do a lot more detailed artwork. But if you go back to (1981’s) Donkey Kong, it was a 16-by-16 (inch) screen area. The character I came up with to fit that best was this small little guy with a big nose and a mustache, the characteristics that would stand out in that medium. We created the game design first and then we put the characters in to fit that. With Donkey Kong, we have this gorilla who grabs this gal and runs away with her and you have to go chase the gorilla down to save the lady. And the game’s stage was a construction site, so we made him into basically a carpenter. …. With (1983’s) Mario Bros., we brought in Luigi and a lot of the game was played underground so we made him to fit that setting and, we decided he could be a plumber. The scenario dictates his role.”

Miyamoto on whether or not Mario has a hat because it was difficult to draw hair…

“The technology of the time really dictated how we did character design. If I gave Mario a lot of hair you have to animate it or it doesn’t look right. By giving him a hat we didn’t have to worry about that. We also didn’t have to draw his eyebrows, his forehead or any of these other things. It was just a really useful tool to help us emphasize what we were trying to do on this small screen.”

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Posted on 13 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 3 Comments

Over the past several weeks, we’ve been discovering all sorts of facts about Mario. Shigeru Miyamoto recently shared an additional nugget regarding the plumber’s origins at the Nintendo World Store event for Super Mario Bros.’s 25th anniversary. Have you ever wondered why Mario is Italian? Well, according to Miyamoto, the idea came from his interest in foreign comics, as well as the fact that Mario Bros. was set underground.

“As a kid, I was a big comic fan and I liked foreign comics as well. So I drew some characters that had more western type features with a little bigger noses and what not. Now with Mario, I think with Mario Bros. we had a setting of course that was underground, so I just decided Mario is a plumber. Let’s put him in New York and he can be Italian. There was really no other deep thought other than that.”

Source

Posted on 13 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 2 Comments

“The content we provide on our handheld gaming is far in advance of what you can pick up for a five minute, ten-minute fix on a mobile phone. To some extent, you’ve seen there have been games [on mobiles] for ages and ages. In our industry there’s always been talk about apps and things coming on… I think it’s grown and there’s so many of them, but the actual business model is yet to be proven to some extent. I know a lot of software developers, when they look at their sales on the mobile phone side [they see] it’s probably at this stage very marginal.” – Nintendo of Europe boss David Yarnton

Nintendo has yet to see an impact on sales from mobile gaming, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it got to that in the distant future. He’s right though: most mobile (phone) gaming is for those quick 5 or 10 minute fixes while you’re waiting somewhere or on a bus to work or something. I know I’ve never played a mobile game for more than a few minutes at a time! Can’t say the same about my DS though.

Via CVG

Posted on 13 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, Videos | 1 Comment

Over the weekend, the Nintendo World Store hosted a party for the 25th anniversary of Super Mario Bros. Shigeru Miyamoto was in attendance, as was Andrew Gardikis, a fan who has previously executed successful speed runs for the game. Gardikis once again attempted a speed run on Sunday, though there was, naturally, more pressure this time around. Unfortunately, he was unable to complete it, but at least it seems everyone has a great time! You can check out more pictures from the event here.

Source

Posted on 13 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 3 Comments

In this photo provided by Nintendo of America, Margie C., 19, from Brooklyn, New York, is one of the first to purchase the new limited-edition red Wii bundle which includes New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Wii Sports, and red Wii Remote Plus and Nunchuk controllers at a special event to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the original Super Mario Bros. game at Nintendo World in New York on Saturday, November 7, 2010. (Victoria Will/AP Images for Nintendo of America)

In this photo provided by Nintendo of America, multiple generations of devoted Nintendo fans including John S., 4, and Will S., 6, from Brooklyn, New York, and Robert C. (son) and Robert C. (father) from New York, New York, dressed in their best Mario-themed gear to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Super Mario Bros. at Nintendo World in New York on Sunday, November 7, 2010. (Victoria Will/AP Images for Nintendo of America)

In this photo provided by Nintendo of America, Nintendo video game designer, Shigeru Miyamoto, celebrates the 25th anniversary of Super Mario Bros. with a cake at Nintendo World in New York on Sunday, November 7, 2010. The cake depicts a level from Miyamoto’s Super Mario Bros., one of the most beloved video games in history. (Victoria Will/AP Images for Nintendo of America)

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