Without delving into the huge ape in the room that is the fact that Donkey Kong actually began life as a villain, meaning that this now costly catchphrase can mean something bad, we have to wonder about Nintendo’s possible use for it. Over ten years later and, with most readers certainly only learning about it right now, we’re assuming they didn’t use it all that much. Still, we’re talking about a company fighting an endless war against not just hackers but also against players who just want to make fan games because they love Nintendo games, so acquiring words to prevent evil Microsoft or Sony competitors from saying them actually sounds pretty inside Nintendo’s ballpark.
This was a dumb move, sure, but it’s also sad that it didn’t set the precedent for Nintendo to trademark and reuse “My Body Is Ready”, a much better and more popular line that actually originated from Reggie Fils Aime, the man who presided over Nintendo Of America up until Bowser took over (yes, literally).
Despite dumb, the sleaziness of taking this beautiful staple away from public ownership lies fathoms beneath that of the makers of Tekken when they trademarked not just interactive loading screens, but even the practice mode in fighting games.
Top Image: Nintendo