Gaming Industry1980s court documents show Nintendo considered ‘Kong Dong’ and ‘Kong the Kong’ before settling on the name Donkey KongWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
Gaming Industry1980s court documents show Nintendo considered ‘Kong Dong’ and ‘Kong the Kong’ before settling on the name Donkey KongWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Nintendo)
Sheinberg felt Universal was owed and began putting the squeeze on several videogame companies over King Kong, including Nintendo, but the Donkey Kong creator was the only one that didn’t buckle. Instead Nintendo fought and, in a case that ran from 1982 with a final appeal in 1984, won a decisive victory: Donkey Kong did not infringe on Universal’s copyright, and remained Nintendo’s character.
Funny Kong; Kong the Kong; Jack Kong; Funky Kong; Bill Kong; Steel Kong; Giant Kong; Big Kong; Kong Down; Kong Dong (!); Mr. Kong; Custom Kong; Kong Chase; Kong Boy; Kong Man; Kong Fighter; Wild Kong; Rookie Kong; Kong Holiday; and finally, Donkey Kong.
Kong Dong is the ludicrous suggestion that leaps out most, although the real stunner here is perhaps that Funky Kong, first introduced in Rare’s Donkey Kong Country series, has roots going back further than I’d ever thought. There are many further tidbits in Caruso’s posts,like this Miyamoto doodle of a bear, orthe original 1933 copyright certificate for King Kong, though perhaps the prize find is Judge Sweet’s summation ofthe differences between the two gorillas.
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“The Donkey Kong gorilla is thus quite different from King Kong, a ferocious gorilla in quest of a beautiful woman who goes on rampages, chases people, crushes them underfoot, or throws them to the ground, and fights with dinosaurs, giant snakes, airplanes and helicopters, all culminating in his tragic and bloody death. Donkey Kong’s silly obstacles of pies, cement tubs, birthday cakes and umbrellas, its prim captive girl with her hair in pigtails, and its pleasant colours and humorous sounds, create a totally different concept and feel from the drama of King Kong.
“At best, Donkey Kong is a parody of King Kong, but a parody of this sort is not an infringement.”
Perhaps the less said about the “prim captive girl with her hair in pigtails” the better, but this is a brutally efficient summary of two fictional gorillas and their worlds, and I would even say you get the sense Judge Sweet quite enjoyed playing Donkey Kong (“pleasant colours and humorous sounds”).
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