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"Who Comes up with the names?"

Have you ever played a game and thought. Who in their right mind would call the main character that. The likes of Mario, Sonic, soild Snake, lara croft. Who made up these names and why.
Mario was named after Mario Segali who worked for nintendo, he was italien and looked a bit like mario.
Ok thats fine but Mario's second name is also Mario. So thats Mario Mario the plumber.
Originally he was suposed to be a carpenter as Shigeru Miyamoto wanted to make his character a hard working person so that the players could identify him/herself with him. He was then changed to a plumber.

Im not sure how sonic the hedgehog got his name but Im sure it must have something to do with his speed. As he can run and spin very fast.
There have been alot of weird names but most have meaning. Pac-Man is named after the Japenese word pacu meaning "to munch". So whats the weirdest name you have heard of in a game?

Another little bit of fun. If you could change the following characters names what would you call them? Try choose a name that suits their image.

1.Mario Mario and Luigi Mario
2.Sonic The Hedgehog
3.Crash Bandicoot
4.Lara Croft
5.Solid Snake
5.Zelda
6.Parappa The Rapper
7.Donkey Kong
8.Pac-Man

I wonder how the PLaystation 2 got its name.. I wonder ;-) Bet it took them several days to think up that name.

New Jimmy wrote:
> Sonic must have got his name from the "Sonic Boom"
> phenomenon which occurs when you go faster than the speed of sound.

Wernt they thinking of making Sonic an Armadillo at one point?

I got my info from
http://www.nintendoland.com/ home2.htm?mario/

I though this would be fairly reliable. Also this is what alot of the other sites say. I havn't read his autobiography. So i can't comment on it.

You also have to be able to read Japanese to read his Autobiography, luckily I know a bit of it!

AliBoy wrote:
> er-no wrote:
> 1.Mario and Luigi
Mario was decided as a name
> after Nintendo called
> the character jumpman, the simple
> colours on his clothes and his hat
> made him appear like a
> plumber and so Mario was given as this was
> the name of a
> plumber that once visited Shigsy at his house near
>
> Kyoto.

Thats not what Nintendo say. The reason they called him
> Mario is in the original message.

Actually my reason is the correct one as said in the AutoBiography of Shigeru Miyamoto!

I always wonder about who names those endless RPGs on the PC. It won't be long before they run out of combinations of the words dark, darkness, mage(s), evil, legend, death, dungeon, fire etc..., and then where will they be?

So Lara Croft was a posh wimbledon lady, hmmm shes probably been dead quite a while now to??? Very sad.

er-no wrote:
> 1.Mario and Luigi
Mario was decided as a name after Nintendo called
> the character jumpman, the simple colours on his clothes and his hat
> made him appear like a plumber and so Mario was given as this was
> the name of a plumber that once visited Shigsy at his house near
> Kyoto.

Thats not what Nintendo say. The reason they called him Mario is in the original message.

1.Mario and Luigi
Mario was decided as a name after Nintendo called the character jumpman, the simple colours on his clothes and his hat made him appear like a plumber and so Mario was given as this was the name of a plumber that once visited Shigsy at his house near Kyoto.

2.Sonic The Hedgehog

Sonic is also a name for 'too fast' and 'lightning quick' so it was appropiate.

4.Lara Croft
Names after a famous girl at Wimbledon High School which is very near the Eidos base.

6.Parappa The Rapper

The only visibly similar word that rymed with Rapper was Parappa, this name was choosen because it sounded better the Slapper the rapper.

7.Donkey Kong

Shigsy was a fan of King Kong, and so the Huge monkey inherited its second name from him, the first was choosen because in Japan to be called a donkey is to be clumsy and stupid, Donkey Kond was born, a clumsy Giant Ape.

1.Mario Mario and Luigi Mario = The Cheezy Bros
2.Sonic The Hedgehog = Cinos
3.Crash Bandicoot = Foxy
4.Lara Croft = Pointy Knockers
5.Solid Snake = Bob
5.Zelda = Helga
6.Parappa The Rapper = Rapper The Parappa
7.Donkey Kong = Just Donkey
8.Pac-Man = Chomper