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Mario Segale, the real estate developer whose name was the inspiration for the much beloved Nintendo character, has died aged 84.
According to an obituary, Segale died surrounded by his family on October 27 after a career creating a “remarkable legacy” with his self-taught business acumen.
However, outside of his hugely successful construction and real estate businesses, Segale also leaves being an entirely different legacy for being the person the Super Mario computer character was named after.
In 1981, Segale rented out a warehouse in Tukwila, Washington, to Nintendo of America, which they used as their headquarters. During this time, legendary games developer Shigeru Miyamoto was designing the classic Donkey Kong game and needed a name for the playable character, who at the time was simply known as Jumpman, reports Kotaku.
The company reportedly used Mario as a nickname after their landlord, before it eventually just stuck. The Italian plumber then went on to become one of the the most successful and recognizable computer game characters of all time.
However, for decades Segale chose to shun all publicity and involvement with the Nintendo character, fearing being associated with Mario could damage the reputation of his businesses.
It is believed the only time he has spoken on record about Mario was for a 1993 article for The Seattle Times.
https://www.bing.com/search?q=Mario+...12&FORM=HPNN01
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/techn...ies/ar-BBPfBK4
According to an obituary, Segale died surrounded by his family on October 27 after a career creating a “remarkable legacy” with his self-taught business acumen.
However, outside of his hugely successful construction and real estate businesses, Segale also leaves being an entirely different legacy for being the person the Super Mario computer character was named after.
In 1981, Segale rented out a warehouse in Tukwila, Washington, to Nintendo of America, which they used as their headquarters. During this time, legendary games developer Shigeru Miyamoto was designing the classic Donkey Kong game and needed a name for the playable character, who at the time was simply known as Jumpman, reports Kotaku.
The company reportedly used Mario as a nickname after their landlord, before it eventually just stuck. The Italian plumber then went on to become one of the the most successful and recognizable computer game characters of all time.
However, for decades Segale chose to shun all publicity and involvement with the Nintendo character, fearing being associated with Mario could damage the reputation of his businesses.
It is believed the only time he has spoken on record about Mario was for a 1993 article for The Seattle Times.
https://www.bing.com/search?q=Mario+...12&FORM=HPNN01
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/techn...ies/ar-BBPfBK4