Mario's original name Jumpman

[Grandy02]

I'm a bit confused about Mario's original name (which only lasted for a short time). It is commonly known that he was originally called Jumpman. But what are the other details? Currently, I understand it like that: Miyamoto named his character Jumpman and the damsel-in-distress Lady. When the game was "localized" for the American market, they renamed the characters Mario and Pauline, respectively. So the characters were actually not known as Jumpman and Lady in North America, but in Japan they were.

However, that article in The Times bugs me:
www.thetimes.co.za/Entertainment/Article.aspx?id=856651
They tell "Created by Shigeru Miyamoto in 1981 and first named Jumpman (Mr Video Game if you live in Japan), Mario’s got to be the most diversified plumber in the world." Mr. Video Game? In Japan? But then when and where was the name Jumpman used at all? The American Donkey Kong arcade flyer from 1981 doesn't mention "Jumpman" in any way, it tells about the "little carpenter" Mario and Pauline, of course.

So, what's now the truth behind Mario's original name???

[kirbychu]

Hah. I think someone at The Times got their wires crossed. He was referred to as Mr. Video Game in Brawl at one point, but I don't think that's ever actually been his name.

[Fryguy64]

Mario has never been known as "Mr. Video Game". That's likely to be a misunderstanding about his iconic status as the most famous videogame character of all time.

The truth is, he was known as Jumpman in Japan (along with Lady) in 1981 with the release of Donkey Kong. The name only appeared on the instructions attached to the machine. Because the instructions where these names were used were in Japanese and English, a small number of these machines were also exported to the United States in the very early days.

When NoA began to manufacture their own machines and print their own instructions, they renamed the characters Mario and Pauline.

I've just checked, and he wasn't called "Mario" in the Japanese Game & Watch game either. In fact, in that game he is called "Rescue Man".

By the time Donkey Kong Jr. was released in 1982, Nintendo had adopted the name "Mario" in Japan. Key to this... he was referred to as Mario in-game as well (Escape to Mario's hideout!)

However, Pauline was never referred to as Pauline in Japan until her appearance in Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis. She was still "Lady" even in the Game Boy DK.

THE MORE YOU KNOW!

[Grandy02]

Aha, thanks! But are you sure about Pauline? The Japanese webpage for Donkey Kong GB already uses the name "Pauline" (ポリーン), and that page was created in 1997 or earlier.
www.nintendo.co.jp/n02/dmg/qda/index.html

EDIT: Also, I just noticed that Pauline is just called "The Beautiful Girl" on the American arcade flyer rather than Pauline.

[Savage Adam]

Well, I always thought Jumpman was a purely American thing, so...

May 15, 2009 8:08:23 GMT -5 Fryguy64 said:

THE MORE YOU KNOW!

Canada sucks.









*waits for nobody to get the reference*

[Johans Nidorino]

Why is one of the puzzles in Picross DS named "Jumpman Mario"? I think that's a very cool way to refer to that specific look of Mario in his early days, but has it been used somewhere else? Some Paper Mario game?

[nocturnal YL]

Jumpman is a badge in Paper Mario (TTYD, don't know for PM1 or SPM) that increases jump attack by 1 but disables hammer attacks.

EDIT - but as long as the reference to this specific sprite goes, I don't think it has ever been called so.

[Koopaul]

May 15, 2009 10:34:05 GMT -5 Savage Adam said:

May 15, 2009 8:08:23 GMT -5 Fryguy64 said:

THE MORE YOU KNOW!

Canada sucks.









*waits for nobody to get the reference*

Family Guy.

[Boo Destroyer]

May 15, 2009 7:50:35 GMT -5 kirbychu said:

He was referred to as Mr. Video Game in Brawl at one point, but I don't think that's ever actually been his name.

You're thinking of the Dojo. But not everything on there is to be taken that literally.

Melee's trophy of him said he was "known worldwide as Mr. Nintendo". Who the crap ever calls him that?

[Shrikeswind]

*meekly* ...I do?

Just kidding. It's kinda like calling Billy Mayes the Oxy-Clean guy, you know who's intended by the statement even if you don't actually have their name. No one calls him Mr. Nintendo, but if someone actually did people would know who was meant.

[Fryguy64]

May 15, 2009 8:30:55 GMT -5 Grandy02 said:

Aha, thanks! But are you sure about Pauline? The Japanese webpage for Donkey Kong GB already uses the name "Pauline" (ポリーン), and that page was created in 1997 or earlier.
www.nintendo.co.jp/n02/dmg/qda/index.html[/quot]

Huh. That was the page I was thinking of... I was sure they didn't call her Pauline in that game (and it was 1994).

May 15, 2009 8:30:55 GMT -5 Grandy02 said:

EDIT: Also, I just noticed that Pauline is just called "The Beautiful Girl" on the American arcade flyer rather than Pauline.

I've seen that flyer... but that's referring to her role (similarly, Mario is referred to as "The Brave Carpenter") However, she isn't referred to as Pauline anywhere on the flyer... huh.

[Koopaul]

Hm... Do you suppose Mario would've become the hero and mascot he is today if he was never given that name?

Consider the direction he was going after Donkey Kong. In Donkey Kong Jr. hew was the villain. It seem the Kongs were still the main focus.

But because Jumpman was given a name, an identity, perhaps drove his career into a new direction?

[Shrikeswind]

It's possible, but remember that DK Jr. never really kicked off as a character despite being a named hero in the spotlight. Pac Man and Mario carried on because they were charmers. Also note these prime examples of famous heroes: Pac Man, Mega Man, Bomberman, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and Spiderman. Also remember that Mario was already his name when he first (and last) was seen as a villain.

[nocturnal YL]

I think Mario worked because:

(1) Donkey Kong was successful and that's Mario you were controlling, disregarding whatever name he might have had.

(2) If Donkey Kong was a success, then Super Mario Bros was a HUGE success. It's the gameplay of SMB1 that attracted so many people to become a gamer in the first place. Say, if SMB1 didn't use Mario, then whoever took place of him would be the famed hero today - this is what I think.

[Fryguy64]

This is one of those difficult questions that relies very heavily on context. You have to remember, Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr. and Mario Bros. were all hugely popular arcade titles, and a lot of base gameplay elements from these games were continued in Super Mario Bros. (hitting blocks, springboards, moving platforms, pipes, turtle enemies, knocking enemies off blocks from below, climbing vines, momentum when moving).

Super Mario Bros. was an evolution of gameplay mechanics, so it would have been unlikely any other character would have been considered for the role.

Super Mario Bros. was the first or second Nintendo game I ever played (Duck Hunt may have been first). I didn't know Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr. or Mario Bros., so the game just seemed fantastically weird. Travelling through pipes? Kicking turtles? Eating mushrooms in order to break bricks?

Of course, it was still a great game even without the character history, but would the game have taken off as massively as it did if the existing gamer market in 1985 didn't buy in to the established Mario name? If they didn't grab that market, would the NES have taken off? Would the videogame market have remained stagnant?

On the subject of Jumpman...

It's easier to identify with a more clearly defined character, but Donkey Kong was a success with Jumpman in the leading role... so he could have kept the name over time. One has to wonder how history would be different:
- Donkey Kong
- Donkey Kong Jr.
- Jumpman & Bumpman
- Jumpman's Big Adventure

Jumpman probably wouldn't be Italian and so Charles Martinet would continue being obscure. It's difficult to imagine a world where so prominent a fictional character was different in some way.