![]() ![]() Of course, Mario hasn't completely limited himself to the realm of video games. Unlike the Wario and Donkey Kong games, the Yoshi games are less of an official spinoff, and more of a franchise that more or less exists within the same Shared Universe as Mario. And courtesy of Rareware, Donkey Kong ended up with a Retool in the form of the popular Donkey Kong Country games, starring the original Donkey Kong's (now known as Cranky Kong) grandson, also named Donkey Kong, along with the latter's nephew, Diddy Kong. Along the way, he's picked up more friends like his dinosaur buddy Yoshi and Anti-Hero doppelgänger Wario, who along with Luigi and Peach have spun off successful games of their own. Since then, Mario has become Nintendo's mascot and their most prolific character, branching out from platformers into Mascot Racers, sports titles, Role Playing games, and more. The formula has become codified to the point that the deliberate and highlighted trope subversions in spinoffs have themselves become tropes. Mario and Luigi must fight their way through a number of obstacles to face Bowser and rescue the princess. The story, which would recur countless times through the franchise, was simple enough: Bowser, a giant fire-breathing Turtle Dragon Ox Dinosaur and King of the Koopas, kidnaps Princess Toadstool of the Mushroom Kingdom (who would later revert to her Japanese name, Peach). Mario was joined by his brother, Luigi, for their own game, Mario Bros., in which the brothers, having taken up plumbing, fought an infinite number of turtles and other pests issued from a number of pipes.Īll this led to the game which more or less defined the entire Nintendo product line: Super Mario Bros. This would be the only title to give Mario a villainous role. The sequel, Donkey Kong Jr., recast Mario as the antagonist, from whom the captured Donkey Kong must be rescued. President Minoru Arakawa and Don James thought it would be funny to name the character after him, thus creating the name and nationality of Mario. During production of the overseas release, Nintendo of America had a suspenders-wearing Italian American named Mario Segale as landlord of one of their warehouses. The player character was not named in Japanese materials, but the tentative name " Jumpman" had been given for use in Nintendo of America's localization. In that game, a certain mustachioed carpenter was charged to rescue the beautiful Lady (later renamed Pauline) from a rampaging ape. ![]() The story of the Mario Brothers begins not in their own game, but in Donkey Kong. Created by Shigeru Miyamoto, the series both popularized and crystallized the Platform Game. The centerpiece of Nintendo's gaming empire, the biggest and most successful video game franchise to date, to the extent where its title character was at one point more recognizable to American children than Mickey Mouse. ![]() Indeed, Gameloft will be keen to ensure licenses such as Despicable Me are able to keep the momentum the publisher has been building on smartphones ticking over, with sales having jumped 21 percent back in Q1 2013.For the first NES platformer in the series, see Super Mario Bros. News of the downloads total comes just as Gameloft releases Despicable Me: Minion Rush's first update on iOS - Android to follow - which features new outfits for the Minions likely aimed at keeping that in-app revenue rolling in. That suggests a healthy portion of the game's large audience are happy to part with the case. Gameloft hasn't revealed how the game is performing on a revenue basis, but Despicable Me: Minion Rush is currently the 13th top grossing game on the App Store in the US. " Despicable Me: Minion Rush is a huge success for Gameloft, Universal and Illumination alike, and we are thrilled that our players have put so much support behind this franchise,” detailed Gameloft's senior VP of publishing Gonzague De Vallois. In the US, it held on to the top spot for three weeks. Said total – built up across the App Store and Google Play – comes with the publisher revealing the game topped the free rankings on Apple's marketplace in more than 100 countries. With an ever-growing stable of film licenses to its name, Gameloft has announced free-to-play releaseĭespicable Me: Minion Rush has just passed 50 million downloads in a single month. ![]()
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