Summary
In 1981, Nintendo released the arcade gameDonkey Kong, which has gone down in history as one of the most important video games of all time for introducing the most iconic mascot platformer to ever mascot platform—Mario. But that arcade game nearly had a very different name.
As revealed in old court documents scanned by Gaming Historian (and reported byEurogamer), he was nearly called Kong Dong. Do not search that up on the internet, all you’ll find is a bunch of King Kong smut. Trust me, I looked. Nintendo dodgeda Bullet Billback then.
“To [Shigeru] Miyamoto, kong meant a gorilla since the popular name for a gorilla in Japan is kong. At the end of May 1981, [Shinichi] Todori devised the name Donkey Kong for the game after reviewing various suggestions from the development department,” the document states.
“The various names considered include: Funny Kong, Kong the Kong, Jack Kong, Funky Kong, Bill Kong, Steel Kong, Giant Kong, Big Kong, Kong Down, Kong Dong, Mr. Kong, Custom Kong, Kong Chase, Kong Boy, Kong Man, Kong Fighter, Wild Kong, Rookie Kong, Kong Holiday, and Donkey Kong.”
The Court Documents Were About A Dispute With King Kong
Speaking of King Kong dong, the whole reason we know about these original names is because of a court case between Universal and Nintendo (who funnily enoughteamed up for the Mario movie last year).
Universal accused Nintendo of basing Donkey Kong on King Kong, but Nintendo refuted these claims, saying that Donkey Kong was “farcical and nonsexual”, a far cry from King Kong.
“Donkey Kong creates a humourous impression by jumping up and down and strutting back and forth to tease Mario,” the judge said.
Imagine if they had called him Kong Dong. Nintendo sitting in a courtroom, straight-faced, saying that Kong Dong teases 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.”
Nintendo ultimately won the case, with the Judge deeming that “at best”, Donkey Kong could be considered a parody of King Kong.
