Release Date: July 28th, 2020

In April of 2020, I gave my Patrons 3 options for a new episode: Chex Quest, Sony’s 3 Biggest Mistakes, and Mario Paint. With 490 votes cast, Mario Paint won the contest with 211 votes!

But right away, I thought I had made a mistake. As I started initial research, there just wasn’t much out there. I was concerned I wouldn’t be able to make the video. But as I kept digging, I discovered a lot of people still using Mario Paint. This blew my mind, since the game came out almost 30 years ago. I decided that the video would answer 2 questions: Why did Nintendo make Mario Paint and how did it affect kids growing up?

I posted a call-out on Twitter for people who grew up playing Mario Paint and interviewed about 10 different people. I narrowed that down to 5, and then finally down to 3. Their stories really helped flesh out this video, and I think it is easily one of my favorites.

Sources

Court Cases

  • Gussin v. Nintendo of America, No. 2:93-cv-04308-LGB-B (n.d.).

Magazines

  • “Nintendo Readies Mario Paint Package.” Advertising Age, August 31, 1992.

Newspapers

  • Burrill, William. “Mario Paint Unlocks Imagination, Allows Children to Become Artists.” The Gazette. December 10, 1992.
  • Erickson, Jim. “Of Mice and Math; New Generation of Computer Games Teaches Kids as It Entertains.” Seattle Post-Intelligencer, October 26, 1992.
  • Hunt, Dennis. “A Vast Video Wasteland – Nintendo Shies Away from Developing ‘educational’ Games.” Austin American-Statesman, August 4, 1990.
  • Leary, Warren. “School Computers Emulate Games To Capture the Attention of Pupils.” New York Times, May 25, 1993.
  • Levinson, Arlene. “Nintendo Gives MIT $3 Million to Make Games More Educational.” The Monitor. May 18, 1990, sec. D.
  • “Nintendo Posts $785 Million Profit For 1992.” Associated Press, May 21, 1993, sec. Business News.
  • Pereira, Joseph. “Nintendo Gives MIT $3 Million for Research on Educational Games.” The Baltimore Sun, May 16, 1990, sec. F.
  • Rubin, Neal. “Guard Your Child from the Dark Side of Nintendo.” The Dispatch. May 26, 1989, sec. B.

Press Releases

  • “Mario Paint and Mouse Leads Way to New Era of Educational Software.” Canada NewsWire, June 1, 1992.

Radio

  • “Educational Software Selling Briskly.” NPR All Things Considered, December 20, 1992.

Websites

Videos