MARIO JUMPS INTO A COMPUTER NEAR YOU!
You’ve rescued the princess on your Nintendo Entertainment System. You’ve stomped Koopa Troopas on the go with your Game Boy. Just when you thought it was time for the world’s busiest plumber to take a break, Nintendo and Id Software are teaming up to bring the action of “Super Mario Bros. 3” to your computer!
“It’s definitely an honor, being able to work alongside the biggest name in video games and help bring their titles to the PC crowd,” said Id Software co-founder John Romero. “Hopefully this will be the start of something great, for both Nintendo and all of us here at Id.”
What’s even better than playing Mario on your computer? Playing Mario on your computer for FREE! “Super Mario Bros. 3: Shareware Edition” is coming to stores this December! Ask your local retail outlet about it to receive a disk containing the first two worlds, fully playable, free of charge! If you’re still hungry for more afterwards, the rest of the game will be available for purchase. Bowser beware, there’s no system Mario can’t get to now!
-Nintendo Power #18, November/December 1990
MARIO DEFEATS ANOTHER “KING,” TOPS PC CHARTS AS YEAR COMES TO AN END
Gamers worldwide may still be reeling from the shock of Nintendo’s decision to enter the PC market, but there’s nothing surprising when it comes to their sales. Industry estimates place the “Super Mario Bros. 3” port’s sales as at least 1 million, a fact no doubt helped by Nintendo’s employment of the shareware model. The second-biggest title of the year, “King’s Quest V: Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder,” achieved only half as much, enjoying a brief month in the sun before being stomped by Mario.
But the plumber’s invincibility may be just about to run out. As the Super Nintendo hits stores this year, Mario will face an enemy even worse than Bowser: Sega. Does Nintendo have what it takes to stay afloat in both the PC and console markets? Only time will tell.
-Computer Gaming World #60, February 1991
After careful deliberation, I have decided our previous agreement to develop a CD add-on for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System is no longer necessary. Our newfound success in the market of personal computers has removed the need to research disc-based technology for our home consoles. I hope you are able to understand. Please give my regards to everyone at Sony.
-Letter from Hiroshi Yamauchi, President of Nintendo, to Norio Ohga, CEO of Sony, March 2, 1991
Plumbers Are For Toilets, Not TVs.
Sure, you could sit in your dad’s old office chair, use the same keyboard you type up your homework with, and squint your eyes as you try to make out the fat guy jumping around on the tiny screen. Or you could chill out on the couch, turn on the TV, put a controller in your hand, and get ready for the craziest thrill ride of your life.
Meet Sonic the Hedgehog. He’s blue, he’s got a major attitude, and he’s too fast for any cruddy computer to show. Only the coolest kids in town can handle this hog, and only the coolest kids in town play the Sega Genesis. Let Dad get back on the computer.
Genesis Does What Nintendon’t.
-Sega Genesis magazine ad, June 1991
MARIO STOMPS SONIC, BUT HIS SALES ARE IN ANOTHER CONSOLE
With the initial excitement of the Super Nintendo having long-since died out, the Sega Genesis is looking to be the victor this holiday season. But it’s not Sega that Super Nintendo fans need to worry about so much as Nintendo themselves. The recent PC release of Super Mario World has been flying off the shelves, and it’s not hard to see why. Who wants to pay 200 big ones for Super Mario World when you can play it on the same machine you used for Mario 3? The Q-Mann’s even heard word that the next Zelda is coming to the PC too!
Things may be looking down for the Super Nintendo, but don’t worry about Nintendo themselves. Sonic the Hedgehog can run all he likes, but he’s not catching up to Mario’s sales.
-Electronic Gaming Monthly #29, December 1991
Ah, the question everyone wants to ask. “Why’d you change?” Somehow they dig up the old notes I took, all those crazy cartoons and shit, then they look at me now and can’t figure out how we’re the same person. You were lucky enough to hold this interview while I’m in a good mood. If it’ll shut everyone up and put the question to rest, then fine. I’ll talk about the “good old days” this one time, and then I swear on my life I’ll never mention them again.
PC games used to be about freedom, letting your ideas run wild. Didn’t matter if your idea was too weird, too complex, too offensive, whatever. If you could code, you could make it. You probably wouldn’t get rich, but back then we didn’t really care. We had jobs. Monkey Island had done pretty well, or so we thought. We were already messing around, figuring out how the sequel would go, laughing at our own lame jokes.
Then came Mario. Suddenly there’s a game on the PC that any kid can pick up and play without a single hint. And we were competing with it with a bunch of inside jokes. We might as well have been burning money.
So the boss comes in and pulls the plug on Monkey Island 2. Some people said it was George Lucas himself that made the call. Personally, I don’t know and I don’t care. What mattered was we had to prove we were still worth keeping around and think up a game that would sell. Some of the other guys were already at work on a Star Wars platformer, but Ron and me, we prided ourselves on being “idea guys,” so they asked for ideas.
Ron pitched something about a bunch of guys going into a cave, seeing a bunch of weird shit down there, learning about the characters. I thought up something real quick about a kid jumping into people’s minds. Both of us got stopped before we could even finish. We weren’t giving games, we were giving stories. Bowser kidnaps the princess, Mario comes to rescue her. You can make millions with a story like that. Story’s not an issue.
What we both thought up was a guy going somewhere weird and seeing weird shit, so we started with that and worked from there. Steve had a lot of fun drawing the crazy backgrounds, I remember that much. Fun, that’s what we were still thinking about. We had to compete with Mario now, but we could still have fun. We could still be crazy. What if Mario could read the enemies’ thoughts and hear how much they hate their jobs? What if, you know, what if Mario had to kill a different princess to save the one he cared about? We had a lot of laughs at first.
Of course, then the boss kept demanding more and more changes. This ability’s too tricky to pull off, remove it. That joke’s too dark, we want kids to buy this. Every time we thought up something new, it got stripped away, until the end result amounted to Mario with some crazy backgrounds. It was a soulless piece of crap devoid of any of the artistry we cared about.
And you know what? It sold. It sold more than Monkey Island could’ve ever dreamed of. Hell, they’re still making new Psycho Cave games, and they always top the charts on Warp Pipe when they come out. Ron quit afterwards. Couldn’t handle a little change. But me, I’m adaptable. If you can make more money with less work…well, why wouldn’t you? That’s just common sense.
I don’t talk to Ron anymore. Or Steve, or Dave...only person I knew back in the “good old days” who I bother with anymore is my mother. Because I know what they’d say to me. They’ll complain about the games I do now, say they miss the old Timmy with the bad haircut and crazy ideas. They can call me a stiff all they like, but they can’t say I’m out of crazy ideas. It’s not the kind of crazy that they like, sure, but when a giant moves into your neighborhood and you’re expected to stand your ground, crazy ideas are what it takes to survive.
-Tim Schafer, CEO of Activision, interview with Forbes, November 2011
Intimidated? Of course we’re not intimidated. So you can attach that big ugly thing to the Genesis and put discs in it. Great. You can play Nintendo games on a disc already, and you don’t need to buy an add-on for it. All the equipment’s already in your own home. Let’s look at what we’ve done just this year, all right? We’ve got Zelda, on the Super Nintendo, in 256 beautiful colors on the PC. We’ve got Kirby, on the Game Boy. We’ve got Mario Kart coming up, and we’re looking into something really special with that. I can’t say too much about it yet. Hell, we might not even be able to implement it for a while, but it’s going to blow you away. Long story short, Sega better rethink that whole “Nintendon’t” thing.
-John Romero, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Nintendo of America, May 1992
DO YOU REMEMBER…CASTLE WOLFENSTEIN?
In this installment of “Do You Remember…” we take a look back at one of the more bizarre titles of gaming’s past. Playing as a prisoner of war escaping a Nazi fortress, Castle Wolfenstein had you reliving World War II on your Apple II. Despite the limits of the top-down perspective, Wolfenstein brought a pretty innovative stealth system, challenging the player to stay out of the guard’s vision (or at least be prepared to shoot him if you can’t!). It even proved popular enough for a sequel that improved on the formula, letting the player hide the dead guards and bribe the live ones. But alas, all good things must come to an end. In ’87 Wolfenstein developer Muse Software closed down, taking the series with them.
-Nostalgic Gamer Monthly #7, August 2010
REVIEW: “MINOTAUR II: THE PERILS OF DAEDALUS”
Although at first I eagerly anticipated the sequel to last year’s dungeon crawler, the end result has left me confused. Sure, with more classes, more items, and a more fleshed-out combat system, it improves on the original Minotaur’s formula in every way. At the same time, however, a part of me feels like the developers have missed out on the opportunity to do something truly fresh. With the recent arrival of “Link to the Past” to Macintosh, a game where you explore dungeons with a recognizable name behind it to boot, any small developers will need to come up with something truly revolutionary to compare, and unfortunately, that’s not to be found here. Minotaur II may be a worthy successor, but if the developers are already retreading familiar ground this early in their careers, I can’t foresee much of a future for Bungie.
-Computer Gaming World #110, September 1993.
We have happily modified the SNES version of Mortal Kombat as you’ve requested, but you have no authority regarding DOS as a platform. You are correct, the average consumer views the PC as “Nintendo games,” and if the violence of our title really does damage your reputation by association as you fear, we apologize. Regardless, the PC is not your system, and you have no right to dictate what a third-party developer releases on it. To even attempt something like that is not just pointless, but it indicates a desire to suppress the freedom of fellow artists. We don’t need your angry letters coming in from Redmond when we’ve got people from the other Washington on our ass.
Remember, John, before Nintendo bought you up, you and your friends were just a bunch of guys sitting around with big dreams. I bet you thought up ideas that would put Mortal Kombat to shame. Ideas that the guys upstairs don’t want sitting side-by-side with Mario. I’m sorry you won’t get the chance to make those ideas into a reality, but please don’t deny others the same chance. I’m sure you understand.
-Letter from Ed Boon to John Carmack, September 6, 1993
Thank you for your feedback on how to increase the marketability of Super Metroid in the West. Though your ideas are certainly interesting, I believe they would have the opposite effect of what you claim. Nintendo has always prided itself on family entertainment, and implementing your proposals are far more likely to alienate young consumers than attract them, especially in light of the recent violence controversy in your country. Furthermore, Samus Aran fights to maintain peace in the galaxy, not out of a lust for violence. I would never stand for such a gross violation of her character. Nevertheless, your input is appreciated, and we will be sure to maintain contact regarding other upcoming titles.
-Letter from Yoshio Sakamoto to John Carmack, December 10, 1993
Put Away The Kid’s Toys!
You’ve had your fun, Sonic. We know you’re so proud that you beat a system not even its own makers like with your fancy talk of “blast processing.” Save your big words for the dictionary. Our pictures speak for themselves. SNK and Sony are proud to introduce the NeoGeo 2. Arcade-perfect 2D graphics meet 3D graphics the likes of which have never been seen before. Now you’re practically in the game. So when you’re done messing with that dinky little hedgehog, get rid of the kidstuff and pick up a station where you can REALLY play.
-NeoGeo 2 magazine ad, June 1994
No, I guess Donkey Kong couldn’t go full Killer Instinct and beat the shit out of those alligators. Still, we’ve got to do something. That Warcraft game’s been getting a lot of attention, and we’ll have to lend some kind of mature edge if it hopes to compete. It kind of looks like a big cartoon, doesn’t it? Why not sneak in some dirty humor? Nothing too crazy, of course, but enough to tell people “This isn’t just a kid’s game!” I know you can pull it off.
-Letter from John Romero to Tim Stamper, July 1, 1994
You’ll never hear this from Romero or Carmack, you know, don’t bite the hand that feeds you, but the suits in Japan never knew what people wanted. Maybe it was the age difference. Bunch of old men trying to figure out what ten-year-old kids like. Maybe it’s how they’re on the other side of the world. Whatever it is, the Kyoto boys quickly figured out to listen to whatever the Johns had to say. First was convincing Rare to spice up Donkey Kong. The suits freaked out at first, sure, but afterwards they saw it worked. Then there was bringing Mario Kart to DWANGO. It’s commonplace now, of course, but back then the kids ate up being able to play with each other when they weren’t even together. And of course there was what happened with Earthbound. The Genesis had hit it big with Chrono Trigger, and Nintendo wanted their own RPG in the States to match it. The suits didn’t have a clue how to market it. Romero took one look at the boss fight at the end and said “We go with that.” Tell people a game’s full of freaky shit like that, and they’re going to get curious. He’s the reason Earthbound ended up the hit it did. Then he managed to convince Yokoi to drop that Virtual Boy nonsense. Even today, he’s still thanking Romero for that.
Miyamoto himself stayed skeptical, of course. That’s why Yoshi’s Island took the…interesting direction it did. After the sales came in, though, even he was convinced. Romero’s influence had spread to the point where nobody was able to contain it. I’m sure we all remember Yamauchi’s big announcement. At Nintendo’s offices, what shook us more was the day after. Shigeru Miyamoto wrote to the Johns, asking what they would do with Mario.
-Tom Hall, interview with IGN, September 26, 2011
That's all I have so far. Let me know what you think, if there's anything that needs work, etc. I need all the feedback I get if I want to take on a whole novel. I'll have more later!