What about Mario himself? Its common knowledge that at the start of the project that would become Donkey Kong, Mario was known simply as Jumpman. Where, then, did his name and Italian heritage come from? For the answer, we must look to an encounter that occurred in a warehouse owned by Nintendo of America in the early 1980s. Desperately short of cash, NOAs president, Minoru Arakawa, was using the warehouse as their headquarters to prepare the launch of Donkey Kong in the U.S. During a board meeting, there was a loud knock on the door, and their landlord burst in. His name was Mario Segali. Mario, a fairly short, moustachioed Italian man, was extremely angry about the late payment of rent for the warehouse. Possibly his moustache was bristling with rage. Its difficult to say. In any case, after Minoru promised him that the rent would soon be forthcoming and ushered him out of the door, someone noticed the similarities between Mr Segali and Jumpman, and Super Mario was born. You may take the truth of the story with a pinch of salt, but theres little doubt that Mario Segali is the inspiration for the character. Hes reputedly unimpressed by his fame, and lives a fairly reclusive life. Hes currently believed to be hiding out in his brother Luigis basement, with his girlfriend Peach. Click "next" below to check out the myth of the Mario universe...