Mario Segale, named after Nintendo's mascot, dies at 84

Mario Segale, the owner of the real estate construction and real estate business in Seattle who inspired the name of Nintendo's famous mascot, died Oct. 27, according to news reports. The Seattle Times and The Auburn Reporter. He was 84 years old.

In the early 80's, Segale owned the commercial park housing Nintendo's US arcade site, while the company was busy converting thousands of disused people. radarscope play cabinets Donkey Kong. At the time, Minoru Arakawa, president of Nintendo of America, and other leaders were trying to give an Americanized name to the avatar of the player, who was still called "Jumpman" at that time. Donkey Kong art cabinet).

The story goes that when Segale came to Arakawa to claim the payment of a late rent bill, the inspiration hit.

Although the roles of Segale's role in Mario's denomination remain global, the details may change with the narrative. The landmark story of Nintendo by David Sheff Game over suggests the executives shouted "Super Mario!" after the visit of Segale in 1981 (although the book is badly named "Segali"). As Benj Edwards notes in a thorough exploration of the story in 2010, the character's "Super" descriptor will not become common until the release of Super Mario Bros. in 1985. Other stories over the years go so far as to suggest that the "Super" comes from the role of "director" of Segale, but these stories provide little direct evidence.

In an interview with MTV in 2005, Shigeru Miyamoto of Nintendo confused the US warehouse in New York. Miyamoto also incorrectly suggested that Segale "has a striking resemblance to the character we designed in Japan for the game," which shows how much history can be mutilated over time, even among the major players Game.

In any case, as The Seattle Times Death notes, Segale "has always dodged the notoriety [for being Mario’s namesake] and instead wanted to be known for what he had accomplished in his life ", such as building a successful construction company from a single dump truck bought after high school in 1952. A 1993 Seattle weather The article quotes him as a joke: "You could say I'm still waiting for my royalty checks," which seems to be his only commentary on the auxiliary role he's played in Nintendo's story.

Segale is survived by his wife Donna, four children and nine grandchildren.