He could have looked like this in the film...

Legend has it that Super Mario was named after the landlord of Nintendo's North American offices back when the company first started, but in the new 'Iwata Asks' feature it was revealed that our lovable tubby plumber was also going to be called 'Mr Video' at one stage.

Shigeru Miyamoto said that he planned to use him in every game he made, being influenced by the way in which Hitchcock ensured that he had a cameo in all his films.

Miyamoto further admitted that the name wasn't very good:

I felt that I had come up with a pretty solid character, which is why I thought: "Right, I'll keep using him from now on!" That's why I decided a solid, imposing name like "Mr. Video" would work best. But thinking back, I don't think I should have gone with that name. If he had been called "Mr. Video," he might have disappeared off the face of the earth.

Super Mr Video Galaxy, Mr Video Kart, Paper Mr Video the Thousand-Year Door...do you think Mario would have achieved the same worldwide success that he has today with this branding?

[source gonintendo.com]