Buffy Silverman - The World of Mario Bros.

Lerner Publications Minneapolis

Buffy Silverman

The World of Gaming

The World of

MarioBros.

Copyright 2018 by Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.

All rights reserved. International copyright secured. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwisewithout the prior written permission of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc., except for the inclusion of brief quotations in an acknowledged review.

Lerner Publications Company

A division of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.

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Minneapolis, MN 55401 USA

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

The Cataloging-in-Publication Data for The World of Mario Bros. is on file at the Library of Congress.

ISBN 978-1-5124-8315-4 (lib. bdg.)

ISBN 978-1-5415-1197-2 (pbk.)

ISBN 978-1-5124-8311-6 (EB pdf)

Manufactured in the United States of America

1-43328-33148-9/21/2017

Contents

Chapter

From Jumpman to Mario

You press a button and Mario races across a brick platform. He nears an enemy Goomba, a small mushroom-like creature. You tap another button and Mario jumps. He lands on the Goomba and flattens it.

Video game fans around the world recognize Marios moustache and red hat.

Mario is one of the worlds most popular video game characters. But he wasnt always the star of his own game. He first appeared in 1981 in an arcade game called Donkey Kong . You put coins in an arcade machine to start a game.

People played Donkey Kong at places such as arcades and restaurants.

When Donkey Kong was designed by the Japanese company Nintendo, Mario was called Jumpman. He was named for his favorite move. He jumped over barrels and from one platform to another.

Before the game was released, Nintendo employees met in a warehouse in the United States to view the new game. They thought Jumpman needed a different name. During their meeting, the owner of the warehouse arrived. His name was Mario. Soon Jumpman was named Mario too!

Donkey Kong has a never-ending supply of barrels to throw at Mario.