Claire LaRose
Sydney Glazer
Professor Gemmell
GAM206-203
11 March 2013
America Will Always Love Mario
During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the country of Japan underwent many changes internally, and was forced to alter their skill strengths from their notoriously ruthless military, to working towards producing technologically advanced products. In September of 1889, Fusajiro Yamauchi founded Nintendo Playing Card Co. Ltd., which originally produced handmade hanafuda cards. These cards became very popular in Japan, and after several decades of success, the cards were brought over to the U.S. by Fusajiro’s grandson, Hiroshi Yamauchi. The cards were unsuccessful in America, causing Yamauchi to consider the fact that playing cards had become an out-of-date past time to Americans. They needed something more refreshing and original than the hanafuda cards. It wasn’t until Nintendo released the arcade game Donkey Kong to America that the video gaming industry truly started to take off and become popular amongst the people. Nintendo took the idea of playing an electronic video game in an arcade, and made it better by creating video games, gaming systems, and handheld devices available for Americans to buy, and to play in the comfort of their own home. The game Super Mario Bros. Deluxe was released in 1999 for the Game Boy Color, and was the first handheld gaming device that featured a color display. Super Mario Bros. Deluxe affected American culture during the turn of the 21st century by creating a demand in the video gaming industry, and by celebrating Mario as a gaming icon. As a culture, America has affected Super Mario Bros. Deluxe by providing more opportunities technological advancement, by pressuring Nintendo to generate new gaming ideas, yet still keeping the Super Mario Bros. originality throughout.
By revenue, the Nintendo Entertainment System is the world’s largest video game company. Originally, Nintendo only gained small success in the video game industry until the release of Donkey Kong in 1981. When Donkey Kong was created, the hero- originally called Jumpman- is a carpenter trying to save his girlfriend from a crazed ape. Jumpman, was later renamed Mario because of his resemblance to the Nintendo office’s landlord, Mario Segali. The game was a hit and greatly increased Nintendo’s profits as well as introduced Mario, the present day gaming icon, as a character. Inspired by their success, they began developing a home videogame console. In, 1985, the Famicon system was launched in Japan, which became know as the Nintendo Entertainment System or NES, when it was introduced in North America the same year. They began developing many different games such as Excitebike, Super Mario Bros., and Metroid to The Legend of Zelda, but it was Super Mario Bros. that quickly became one of the best selling games worldwide. Super Mario Bros. was created in 1985, as a sequel to the existing arcade game Mario Bros. Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka, two members of Nintendo’s Creative Department, developed the game. It’s creation was driven by Nintendo’s desire to further progress its “athletic games” and led to many sequels in the Mario Bros. series that all built upon the same basic premise. But the game did not make its debut in America until it was released on Game Boy Color in 1999. Since this game was newly featured in color, it was given the name Super Mario Bros. Deluxe. The Game Boy Color is the successor to the original Game Boy handheld video game device, introduced to The United States in 1989. “The Game Boy has four operation buttons labeled "A", "B", "SELECT", and "START", as well as a directional pad. There is a volume control dial on the right side of the console and a similar knob on the left side to adjust the contrast. At the top of the Game Boy, a sliding on-off switch and the slot for the Game Boy cartridges are located. This system featured color graphics, a backlit screen, and