Impact
After the first Donkey Kong was released, Universal Studios sued Nintendo, alleging that the video game was a trademark infringement of King Kong, the plot and characters of which Universal claimed for their own. In the case, Universal City Studios, Inc. v. Nintendo Co., Ltd., a United States District Court ruled that Universal had acted in bad faith, and that it had no right over the name King Kong or the characters and story. The court further held that there was no possibility for consumers to confuse Nintendo's game and characters with the King Kong films and their characters. The case was an enormous victory for Nintendo, which was still a newcomer to the U.S. market. The case established the company as a major player in the industry and arguably gave the company the confidence that it could compete with the giants of American media.
The success of the Donkey Kong series has resulted in Guinness World Records awarding the series with 7 world records in the Guinness World Records: Gamer's Edition 2008. The records include: "First Use of Visual Storytelling in a Video Game" for the rudimentary cut scenes featured in the original Donkey Kong arcade game, and "Most Collectible Items in a Platform Game" for Donkey Kong 64.
"It's on like Donkey Kong" is an expression used in pop culture that is inspired by the game. Nintendo requested a trademark on the phrase with the United States Patent and Trademark Office in November 2010.
The original game was the focus of the 2007 documentary The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters.
The monster truck Donkey Kong is based on the character.
Read more about this topic: Donkey Kong Series
Famous quotes containing the word impact:
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—Joshua Meyrowitz, U.S. educator, media critic. “The Blurring of Public and Private Behaviors,” No Sense of Place: The Impact of Electronic Media on Social Behavior, Oxford University Press (1985)
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—Ronald Reagan (b. 1911)