Iconic video game characters have an interesting history around their famous names. All of them were originally named differently.
Video game mascots like Super Mario are known to practically the entire world. However, the way they got there was multi-faceted. Why designations like “Jumpman” and “Mr. Needlemouse” played a role.
Pac-Man
On 22 May, the gaming character Pac-Man turned 42 years old. The yellow wolverine originated in Japan and is actually called “Puck Man”, pronounced “Pakkuman” in that country. The phrase “Paku Paku” is an onomatopoeia for eat, which would be best translated as “munch”. It is also known for “opening and closing one’s mouth. “
I know what you’re wondering: the secret to looking so good at 42 is chasing ghosts and chomping power pellets! 😜 Let’s keep this party going like it’s 1980! PACMANBirthday pic.twitter.com/FPXHrCHYw8
– PAC-MAN Official (@officialpacman) May 23, 2022
However, the originally puck-shaped character was changed from Puck Man to Pac-Man. This was because at the time of release in the US, there were fears that the word “puck” would be misused for the swear word “fuck”. Pac-Man is the most famous character of the Namco studio. In June, the gaming icon will celebrate a crossover with Fortnite.
Lara Croft
Before the success of the 3D adventure Tomb Raider in 1996, there was a thought process regarding the main protagonist. Originally, the most famous video game heroine was called Laura Cruz. In the story, she had South American roots at the beginning.
The name was renamed, however, to suit British as well as American audiences. Laura was considered difficult to pronounce and was therefore changed to Lara, which was now given its British origin for the story. Those responsible also looked in the phone book for a suitable English surname and came up with “Croft”.
Super Mario
The Super Mario video game series from Nintendo is the most famous and successful video game franchise in the world. The Italo plumber Mario made his debut in the cult arcade game “Donkey Kong” in 1981.
His creator is the now famous video game developer Shigeru Miyamoto, who is responsible for all Super Mario games and other top franchises like The Legend of Zelda at Nintendo. Originally, Miyamoto wanted to name the character “Jumpman” because in the Donkey Kong game he jumps over barrels to get to the princess.
But the then president of Nintendo of America, Minoru Arakawa, suggested the name Mario. This was because the landlord of the Nintendo building in Seattle was called Mario Segale. The son of Italian immigrants had similarities with the character. That’s why the most famous video game character to this day is called Mario, who speaks with an Italian accent.
Sonic The Hedgehog
The blue hedgehog has been Sega’s mascot since 1990 and was supposed to be a serious competitor to Nintendo’s Mario. At the time, both Japanese video game makers were vying for the top spot among gaming giants.
Sonic was invented by former Sega designer Naoto Ōshima. In development, he was still called “Mr. Needlemouse” because that was the Japanese translation for Hedgehog. However, this was quickly followed by the now familiar name Sonic, symbolising the character’s fast pace. After all, Sonic The Hedgehog is considered to be a super-fast hedgehog who can even reach sonic speeds.
Crash Bandicoot
Similar to Sonic The Hedgehog, the creation of Crash Bandicoot’s name appears to have been a simple process. However, this one initially bore a different name. The main protagonist of the game series of the same name was considered the mascot of the Sony PlayStation in the late 90s.
During development in 1994, the nose-butcher was given the codename “Willie the Wombat”. However, this was never to be considered, mainly because there was already a cartoon character with this name. Before the presentation at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), those responsible at developer Naughty Dog settled on the current name.
Crash means noise or collision and in this case is due to the destruction of the boxes, while Bandicoot is the English translation for the endangered nose-butcher.
