Most people think that the first online games were developed in 1994 when games such as Warcraft and Doom appeared, just after the the internet came into being in 1993 and developers could start including internet connectivity in games to enable people to play against friends and colleagues via the world wide web. However, actually online gaming started as far back as 1969. Initial computer games such as Nimrod and Spacewar could only encompass one or two players and they had to be using the same computer.
Computer systems then developed to allow people to use the same computer but from different rooms. After that modems were developed that gave more range to the computers so that players did not need to be in the same building. Players could connect with each other via a telephone connection. As computer to computer connections got quicker, online games were developed where people could connect into a main central computer system and play games hosted on that terminal. Shortly after multi-player games were developed so you could play against others. Local Area Networks (LAN) and Wide Area Networks (WAN) developed, eventually leading to the creation of the internet in 1983. This allowed for network games to be developed where the computer could send and also receive information, allowing people to play against others.
Mario Games first went on sale in 1981 with Donkey Kong and was made for the Arcades. Mario became the mascot of Nintendo games and as of 2012, there have been nearly 150 mario games, including re-releases with several games brought out each year. Mario games have been made for Nintendo systems such as the Wii and Game Boy. As well as mario games, the character of Mario has also appeared in non-Mario games such as Mike Tyson's Punch Out where he was the referee. There has also been a Super Mario Bros television series and film based on the characters. There have also been a number of sport inspired mario games such as Mario Golf and Mario Tennis. In 1999 Mario Party series came out which was lots of mini-games that can be played by 4 players. There was also Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games which featured 24 games from the summer Olympics, followed by a Mario at the Winter Olympics.
Mario was developed for the Donkey Kong Mario game. Mario was originally made to be a carpenter in the first game, to fit in with the construction site setting of Donkey Kong. But for Super Mario Bros the setting was in an underground sewer and so he became a plumber. His character looks were drawn from Western influences and he was placed in New York and made an Italian. Originally Mario was dressed simply in red overalls and a blue shirt because of the limitations of the technology in the arcade machines. Over time and with better technology and graphics Mario's appearance became more defined with a hat with a red 'M' on it in a white circle and with gold buttons on his overalls.
Mario was always the hero. At the start he had to rescue his girlfriend called Pauline in Donkey Kong, but she was then replaced by Princess Peach in the Super Mario series. Luigi is Mario's younger brother in the mario games and is the second character in two player games. Yoshi is Mario's pet and ride and is based on a dinosaur. In later Super Mario Bros games there is Wario, the anti-hero to Mario.
Mario is the most well known video game character and an icon of the gaming world. Mario games have sold over 20 million copies and it is the best selling online game of all time.
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