Franchise: Kirby
Kirby Triple Deluxe
Kirby's Air Ride
Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble
Kirby's Return to Dream Land
Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards
Kirby's Star Stacker
Kirby and the Rainbow Curse
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS
Kirby's Dream Course
Kirby's Pinball Land
Kirby Super Star Ultra
Kirby's Dream Land 3
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble 2
Kirby's Dream Land 2
Kirby's Adventure
Kirby: Planet Robobot
Kirby Mass Attack
Ultimate NES Remix
Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe
NES Remix 2
Kirby & the Amazing Mirror
Kirby Super Star
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
Super Smash Bros.
Kirby's Epic Yarn
Kirby Family
Kirby's Dream Land
Kirby's Dream Collection Special Edition
Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition
Kirby Star Allies
Kirby: Squeak Squad
Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land
Kirby Air Ride
Kirby's Star Stacker
Kirby: Canvas Curse
Super Smash Bros. Melee
Kirby and the Forgotten Land
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Kid Kirby
Kirby's Block Ball
Kirby's Avalanche
Viewing Single Trivia
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When Donkey Kong became popular, Nintendo was sued by American film company Universal Studios over allegations that Donkey Kong was plagiarizing their 1933 film King Kong. Lawyer John Kirby, defending Nintendo, pointed out that Universal was aware of and had previously argued in court that the story of King Kong was in the public domain due to the film's novelization, which came out before the film and marked the first non-promotional appearance of the character, failing to have its copyright notice renewed. As a result, Universal lost the case. Nintendo lavishly awarded Kirby by taking him, his wife and some associates to dinner at a fancy Manhattan restaurant, giving him a sailboat named "Donkey Kong" and the exclusive rights to the name Donkey Kong for sailboats as a strange show of gratitude.
In a 2011 interview with Game Informer, Shigeru Miyamoto stated that "Kirby" was one of many candidates on a list of names that were proposed for the then-in development video game character, and upon seeing it, he recalled John Kirby and felt that a connection between the two would be amusing. However, the name was picked not as a tribute to the lawyer, but rather because the harsh-sounding nature of the name was a comedic contrast to the character's soft, cute design.
In a 2011 interview with Game Informer, Shigeru Miyamoto stated that "Kirby" was one of many candidates on a list of names that were proposed for the then-in development video game character, and upon seeing it, he recalled John Kirby and felt that a connection between the two would be amusing. However, the name was picked not as a tribute to the lawyer, but rather because the harsh-sounding nature of the name was a comedic contrast to the character's soft, cute design.
Original DidYouKnowGaming blog post:
http://didyouknowgaming.com/post/32069456462/donkey-kong
2011 Game Informer interview mentioning Kirby's name origin:
https://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2011/06/17/miyamoto-wii-amp-wii-u-are-colored-white-for-all-ages-appeal.aspx
[Below links provided by Rocko & Heffer.]
Legal files:
https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/615/838/1515073/
Sail boat:
David Sheff - "Game Over: Press Start to Continue: The Maturing of Mario" (1999). Wilton, Connecticut: GamePress. (Page 126 in the book):
https://archive.org/details/0966961706/page/26/mode/1up
http://didyouknowgaming.com/post/32069456462/donkey-kong
2011 Game Informer interview mentioning Kirby's name origin:
https://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2011/06/17/miyamoto-wii-amp-wii-u-are-colored-white-for-all-ages-appeal.aspx
[Below links provided by Rocko & Heffer.]
Legal files:
https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/615/838/1515073/
Sail boat:
David Sheff - "Game Over: Press Start to Continue: The Maturing of Mario" (1999). Wilton, Connecticut: GamePress. (Page 126 in the book):
https://archive.org/details/0966961706/page/26/mode/1up
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