Super Mario is named after real-life businessman Mario Segale, who rented out a warehouse to Nintendo. After Nintendo fell far behind on rent, Segale didn't evict them but gave them a 2nd chance to come up with the money. Nintendo succeeded & named their main character after him.

Image from preview.redd.it and submitted by awoere
image showing Super Mario is named after real-life businessman Mario Segale, who rented out a warehouse to Nintendo. After Nintendo fell far behind on rent, Segale didn't evict them but gave them a 2nd chance to come up with the money. Nintendo succeeded & named their main character after him.

soulnumberfive on September 22nd, 2020 at 18:08 UTC »

Well then who the fuck is Luigi?

How deep does this go? Now I’m concerned there’s a real Wario out there.

TooShiftyForYou on September 22nd, 2020 at 18:46 UTC »

Segale visited the warehouse to collect overdue rent from Nintendo of America president Minoru Arakawa and berated him in front of employees. According to a widely circulated story, Arakawa and the other developers subsequently renamed the Donkey Kong player character, previously known as Jumpman, to Mario.

In 2015, Nintendo confirmed that their Mario character was indeed named after Segale. Segale told The Seattle Times in 1993, "You might say I'm still waiting for my royalty checks."

Unfortunately, Segale passed away in 2018.

Deluxe78 on September 22nd, 2020 at 18:51 UTC »

It’s a me, Mario... Where’s the coins for rent?