People have been left stunned after realising why Nintendo legend Mario has that name.
The Italian plumber and his twin brother Luigi have featured in hundreds of Nintendo games down the years, with the Super Mario series and Mario Kart played by millions the world over.
The games generally involve Mario, who was created by legendary video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, galivanting around Mushroom Kingdom and saving Princess Peach from the villain Bowser. And over the years, the number of characters in the games has continued to increase.
Mario first appeared in a game in 1981 when Donkey Kong was released. The character had originally been called Mr Video and Jumpman, but something occurred during the development of Donkey Kong that led to him being renamed Mario.
Mario Segale (file) (Internet Unknown)As a recent post on X (formerly Twitter) by @historyinmemes explains, Nintendo's mascot was named after American businessman and real estate developer Mario Segale. Nintendo was renting one of Segale's warehouses in Tukwila, Washington State, in 1981, but had fallen behind on rent payments.
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Instead of evicting Nintendo, Segale gave the gaming firm time to come up with the money. In return, Nintendo decided to honour their landlord and name Mario after him. Miyamoto himself confirmed this was true in an interview in 2015.
Speaking about it to The Seattle Times in 1993, Segale joked: "You might say I'm still waiting for my royalty checks." Sadly, Segale passed away at his home in Tukwila in 2018, aged 84.
Reacting to the story on X, one user wrote: "Have never heard this before. Super Mario Bros on Nintendo kicked it all off. What a way to make a name for himself with generosity." Another said: "Imagine an iconic character being named after you jeez."
"Second chances can sometimes make you a legend," a third person said. While a fourth added: "I love stories like this."
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