Post by Tomspy77 on Sept 27, 2010 14:45:03 GMT -6
'Super Mario Bros.' Is 25!
Twenty-five years ago, game designer Shigeru Miyamoto created the video game Super Mario Bros., which has since sold millions of copies and spawned numerous spin-offs. Here are some highlights from the history of the computerized plumber:
* 1974—In a bizarre incident that will come to shape his development of Mario years later, Miyamoto accidentally smacks his head against a brick outcropping and some gold coins fall out
* 1981—Kept up all night by a leaky flush toilet mechanism, Miyamoto fantasizes about having a giant ape pelt his shiftless plumber with barrels
* 1986-1993—In the so-called 'Mario mania' years, Sega fails time and time again to score a hit with its goateed Croatian electrician character, Milorad
* 1991—Super Mario World introduces Yoshi, a complicated allegory for the state of Japanese politics
* 1994—Following the box-office failure of the Super Mario Bros. movie the previous year, the script for a Mario Kart–based sequel is hastily rewritten into the film Speed, with Dennis Hopper reprising his role as the villain
* 1994—Hoping to replicate the success of Mario's brother Luigi, a third brother, Dan, joined them briefly before giving up the video game life and going back to his family and financial planning job in Pasadena
* 1999—Mario is licensed to the State of New York for use in its plumbers certification exam-prep software
* 2005—Mario celebrates his 100 billionth death
www.theonion.com/articles/super-mario-bros-is-25,18129/