Super Mario has been a fixture in gaming since the early '80s, when he was first introduced in 'Donkey Kong' in 1981. Since then, the plucky plumber has starred in no less than 25 games bearing his names and has become synonymous with Nintendo.
Mario Segale owned the warehouse in which the first Nintendo arcade cabinets in the US were stored. The story goes that Segale, who was a tough businessman, stormed into the warehouse demanding back rent. Employees witnessing this decided to name the character - then known as Jumpman - after Segale.
Mario Segale, the namesake of Nintendo’s Mario character, dies at age 85https://t.co/vgFVwlfMYp
This is the first labeled photo of him as an adult on the Internet pic.twitter.com/fm4Do6tikY— Benj Edwards (@benjedwards) November 1, 2018
For the most part, Segale has shied away from the connection. In 1993, Segale joked to the Seattle Times that he was still waiting on his royalty checks. A later article from Technologizer said that Segale "valued privacy over money, which is why he hasn't accepted any from being Mario."
Segale had some business dealings in Ireland, funnily enough. In 1998, Irish conglomerate CRH plc. bought out M.A. Segale for $60 million.
Although he had little in the way of involvement with the game itself, the name 'Mario' has lived on and become a cornerstone of popular gaming culture for over three decades.
