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Donkey Kong, one of the earliest platform games and Nintendo's top-selling franchises, has sold over 65 million units as of 2021 since its first game was released in July 1981. Recently, court documents from the 1980s revealed something interesting behind the game: the many names Nintendo considered before settling on Donkey Kong.
Let's travel back to 40 years ago, to the year 1983. Universal was unhappy with the name and concept of "Donkey Kong," claiming it was too similar to King Kong. They filed a lawsuit alleging that Donkey Kong infringed upon the King Kong trademark.
The court documents show that Donkey Kong was not the only name Nintendo considered. The Development Department of the game had offered a list for Shigeru Miyamoto, the game's creator to choose from. Looking at the list of proposed names, fans might be relieved that the game was ultimately named Donkey Kong, rather than the peculiar "Kong Dong" or "Kong the Kong."
Now we all know that Nintendo won the lawsuit, and they continued to create more titles for the Donkey Kong franchise. If you're curious about the judge's opinion on the distinction between King Kong and Donkey Kong, here's what the court documents reveal about their perspective:
"Donkey Kong is comical and entertaining. The player tries to maneuver Mario the carpenter up a structure of pink girders by having him climb ladders and run up ramps while avoiding cement tubs, barrels, beams, and other obstacles. The goal of the game is to maneuver Mario to the top, where he can free a girl from the hands of a big gorilla. The farcical, childlike and nonsexual Donkey Kong creates a humorous impression by jumping up and down and strutting back and forth to tease Mario.
"The Donkey Kong gorilla is thus quite different from King Kong, a ferocious gorilla in quest of a beautiful woman who goes on rampages, chases people, crushes them underfoot, or throws them to the ground, and fights with dinosaurs, giant snakes, airplanes, and helicopters, all culminating in his tragic and bloody death. Donkey Kong's silly obstacles of pies, cement tubs, birthday cakes, and umbrellas, its prim captive girl with her hair in pigtails, and its pleasant colors and humorous sounds, create a totally different concept and feel from the drama of King Kong.” (thanks, PC Gamer)
Nintendo
These documents were first made available online by gaming historian Norman Caruso in 2020. If you would like to dig into more fun facts, feel free to check his Twitter.
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