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Luckily for everyone, Nintendo couldn’t secure the rights, and Donkey Kong, Mario (originally Jumpman), and Pauline were created. Players would take the role of Popeye to traverse increasingly dangerous levels to save Olive Oyl and defeat Bluto. In fact, the game was originally meant to be a Popeye game. Miyamoto took inspiration for the idea from several different sources including Popeye and, of course, King Kong. That engineer’s name was Shigeru Miyamoto and the game he created was Donkey Kong. But Nintendo didn’t give up, and they tasked a young engineer with remaking the cabinet into something that would catch on in the States. While the cabinet was a huge hit in Nintendo’s native Japan, it fell flat with American audiences. In 1980, they released Radar Scope, an arcade shooter in the vein of Galaga or Space Invaders. They had made a fortune with Game & Watch, one of the very first handheld gaming systems, but they were ready to enter the arcade industry. In the early 80s, the arcade market in America was booming and Nintendo wanted in on the action. Space Invaders is a shooting video game released in 1978 created by the future inventors of Donkey Kong. We are also excluding any appearances outside of video games, so we won’t be mentioning the slightly unsettling late 90s animated show, probably for the best. So, only games that feature DK as the lead need apply. For the sake of sanity, we are going to narrow it down to his solo career. You could fill a book with all the games, spin-offs, cross-overs, and cameos DK has made over the years. Quick Facts Creator (person) Shigeru Miyamoto Release Date Original price $19.99 Operating System Nintendo Developed By (company) Nintendo History of Donkey Kongĭonkey Kong has been a fixture on Nintendo consoles and exclusives for decades. So, let’s dive in and look at the long and storied history of everyone’s favorite tie-wearing ape. The success of Donkey Kong paved the way for Mario and the NES to reach meteoric heights. Mario may be the face of the company, but there is another character that Nintendo can thank for its establishment in the global gaming picture: Donkey Kong.ĭonkey Kong was Nintendo’s first mega-hit, and it allowed the company to gain a foothold in the North American arcade market. That is thanks in large part to the world-famous mascot, Mario. Today, Nintendo is one of the most recognizable names in gaming. The game was a smash hit with fans and breathed life into the character, reintroduced tight 2D platforming levels, and brought back a lot of the familiar faces of the past. In 2010, Nintendo brought the DK character back to his roots with Donkey Kong Country Returns.Donkey Kong Country was released in ’94, named Game of the Year, and sold more than 500,000 copies in the first week, making it the fastest-selling video game of all time at that time. In 1994, developer Rare took the reins of the DK franchise for the first time and revolutionized the character forever.He went so far as to write a back story for the characters and created short “cut scenes” for the game. Shigeru Miyamoto, the creator of Donkey Kong, was ambitious in creating the game.
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Originally intended as a Popeye arcade game, Nintendo couldn’t secure the rights, so Donkey Kong, Mario (originally Jumpman), and Pauline were created.Donkey Kong was Nintendo’s first mega-hit – allowing the company to gain a foothold in the North American arcade market and to pave the way for Mario.
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