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Fri 14 May, 2004 07:08 pm
I was going to write nintendo and pick a bone with them, I was just curious if anyone had an idea of how to kick this letter up a knotch.
Nintendo,
I would like to say hello to the good people at Nintendo Entertainment Services. I was directed here by a Ms. Sonya Hoch, from General Services, as she felt your department could best help me with my problem. I have no complaints as to the quality of Nintendo products... well, perhaps with the 64, but generally none. I have never sued Nintendo before, and I never hope to. I am, however, concerned with your character, Super Merio. My wife is half italian, and her father has owned a pizza business since 1982, called Merio's Super Pizza. Our daughter is at LEAST one quarter italian (I have a lot of european blood, but I don't have it traced very well). My father-in-law inherited the pizza business from his own father, who inherited it about thirty years prior from his own father. I hope to inherit it some day. The issue is about the similarity between Super Merio, and Merio's Super Pizza. I find the similarity offensive, though I don't quite know what to do about it. Perhaps you could stop using the name? Maybe have more games starring Luigi. (But please, not "Super" Luigi, or anything about pizza). I don't feel anything requires the attention of a court of law, as I figured we could manage things maturely ourselves. I thank you for your time and concern for this pressing issue. And I thank you for your response, which I patiently await.
With Respect,
Samuel Coates
To be honest I find it hard to believe you can write a letter like this without intending it to be humorous. I don't mean this to be offensive, but...here is my take.
1) Nintendo's character is called Mario, not Merio. This pretty much blows your whole case.
2) If Nintendo is still a company, we (the gaming community) don't know it. Well, I'm sure a company which at one point in time held so much of the industry has found some way to tag along on other products to keep their CEO's afloat...but the sad fact is, this corporate giant is a beached whale. Nobody buys Nintendo anymore, I doubt you can even find it for sale.
3) Nintendo has legal rights to those names...and I'm sure they don't care what your personal feelings are regarding them. If Nintendo sent you a letter asking you to rename your child because one of the CEO's children had a SIMILAR name, would you acquiesce? Surely not...
4) You should not refer to it as a pressing issue becuase time is not a factor
5) There is no logical reason to mention your personal opinion of Nintendo products
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