One benefit that Nintendo has over competitors like Sony or Microsoft is the sheer volume of iconic properties and franchises at its disposal. Series like Pokemon, The Legend of Zelda and Donkey Kong are household brands that manage to sell millions of copies with each and every new iteration (provided the hardware it's appearing on has a decent install base).
While those aforementioned franchises do hold a special place in consumers' hearts, none of them are as iconic as Super Mario. The property is home to a medley of mascots that gamers the world over are familiar with, but it turns out that fans may have been left in the dark for over two decades in regards to the actual name of one of the franchise's most prestigious characters — Yoshi
As it turn out, Mario's reptilian companion's actual monicker is T. Yoshisaur Munchakoopas, and this is all according to a Nintendo Character Guide that originally hit during 1993. This name has only just resurfaced after Blake J. Harris, author of the much talked about Console Wars book, posted his findings on Twitter for the world to see; affectively changing the dinosaur's identity in the process.
According to the 21 year old Guide, Mario also has the faux-scientific name "homo nintendonus," which seems to suggest that he's not of the same species as his homo sapien fan base. Feel free to check out Yoshi's official description for yourself, however:
"Yoshi, properly known as T. Yoshisaur Munchakoopas, had been held captive in an egg until Mario (homo nintendonus) bopped along and rescued him. Instantly, the young dinosaur and the plumber became fast friends. Together, they set out to rescue Yoshi's dinosaur pals from the wickedness of Bowser."
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Perhaps Nintendo simply forgot it had given the adorable and ferociously hungry dinosaur a full name that exceeded the familiarity of Yoshi, or maybe the company opted to remove such a drawn out name from canon a few years after Super Mario World housed the iconic green dinosaur's debut in 1990. Whatever the reason for the name failing to resurface in the past two decades, T. Yoshisaur Munchakoopas appears to be the legitimate name of a character that gamers believed to have known very well.
It's unknown at this point if the Big N will dismiss the newly rediscovered name or embrace it, but it's ludicrously unlikely to ever change the name of existing and upcoming franchises (i.e. Yoshi's Island, Yoshi's Woolly World, etc.) or marketing ventures to accommodate the significantly less catchy and drawn out title of the Yoshi character.
There is one question fans are sure to have after this discovery though: What does the "T." in T. Yoshisaur Munchakoopas stand for? Tyrannosaurus Yoshisaur seems a little too redundant, but who know with Nintendo — the company did keep Yoshi's real name under wraps for the better part of 20 years.
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Follow Riley on Twitter @TheRileyLittle.
Source: Blake J. Harris — Twitter (via Polygon)