By: Doug Trueman Designed By: Katie Bush In 1981 an unknown Japanese artist created a game based on a gorilla, a plumber, a kidnapped blonde, and lots of barrels. That game became known as Donkey Kong. In October of 1999, 18 years later, Nintendo released Donkey Kong 64 to the Nintendo 64 with critical acclaim, selling 2.5 million copies, and it became the sixth-best-selling game of that year, in spite of its late release in October. In GameSpot's History of Donkey Kong feature, we analyze Donkey Kong's evolutionary track from the early arcade days to the coming games on the Game Boy Color. What makes the ape so great? Why is Nintendo's "gorilla" warfare so successful? The answers to these questions are inside.
Special thanks to Keita Iida, James Wilson, Jim Leonard, the team at www.dkvine.com, Brian (Killer List of Video Games), and Ambrosine.
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