16 Mind-Blowing Facts You Never Knew About Nintendo
9. Mario's Original Name Wasn't Jumpman, But Mr. Video
He'd be known as the barrel-leaping Jumpman in the very first Donkey Kong, but even before that, Shigeru Miyamoto stated he wanted to have a name that was 'solid' and 'imposing', leading with 'Mr. Video'. Following that, the team had many debates on such a contextually appropriate name (videos weren't going to be the defining 'thing' forever). First he was labelled as Jumpman due to his abilities, but when Miyamoto wanted to really flesh out the character's personality and traits, he needed a catchier name, and so 'Mario' was born.