Games
Discover facts about games. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Games
Universal Studios sued Nintendo in 1982 over Donkey Kong, claiming it infringed on their copyright for King Kong, but Nintendo's lawyer discovered that Universal had previously proven King Kong was in the public domain.
Universal Studios sued Nintendo in 1982 over Donkey Kong, claiming it infringed on their copyright for King Kong, but Nintendo's lawyer discovered that…
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Male characters in The Sims 2 could be abducted by aliens through a telescope and return mysteriously pregnant, eventually giving birth to a green alien baby.
Male characters in The Sims 2 could be abducted by aliens through a telescope and return mysteriously pregnant, eventually giving birth to a green alien baby.…
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Original Pokemon Red and Green codebase was so incredibly unoptimized and messy that the late Satoru Iwata had to step in and compress it himself so they could fit the second region into Pokemon Gold and Silver.
Original Pokemon Red and Green codebase was so incredibly unoptimized and messy that the late Satoru Iwata had to step in and compress it himself so they…
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Obscure chess move en passant was added in the fifteenth century specifically to counter the newly introduced rule that allowed pawns to move two squares forward on their first turn.
Obscure chess move en passant was added in the fifteenth century specifically to counter the newly introduced rule that allowed pawns to move two squares…
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British intelligence agencies hid real silk escape maps, compasses, and actual currency inside modified Monopoly boards sent to prisoners of war held in Nazi camps during World War II.
British intelligence agencies hid real silk escape maps, compasses, and actual currency inside modified Monopoly boards sent to prisoners of war held in Nazi…
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Capcom released a special controller for Resident Evil 4 that was literally shaped like a blood-splattered chainsaw, complete with a pull-cord that you had to yank to turn the device on.
Capcom released a special controller for Resident Evil 4 that was literally shaped like a blood-splattered chainsaw, complete with a pull-cord that you had to…
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Venezuelan citizens famously resorted to farming and selling World of Warcraft gold in 2017 because the digital fantasy currency was actually worth significantly more than their…
Venezuelan citizens famously resorted to farming and selling World of Warcraft gold in 2017 because the digital fantasy currency was actually worth…
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Skyrim features the constantly repeated and highly memeable guard dialogue about someone stealing your sweet roll, which is actually a deeply entrenched inside joke that spans…
Skyrim features the constantly repeated and highly memeable guard dialogue about someone stealing your sweet roll, which is actually a deeply entrenched…
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Super Smash Bros was originally prototyped in secret as a completely generic fighting game called Dragon King, featuring untextured humanoid fighters that looked absolutely terrible in motion.
Super Smash Bros was originally prototyped in secret as a completely generic fighting game called Dragon King, featuring untextured humanoid fighters that…
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Pong was never originally intended to be released to the public, as Atari founder Nolan Bushnell only assigned the table tennis project to new employee Allan Alcorn as a basic…
Pong was never originally intended to be released to the public, as Atari founder Nolan Bushnell only assigned the table tennis project to new employee Allan…
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Overwatch was salvaged from the smoking wreckage of a massive, canceled multiplayer project called Titan, which Blizzard Entertainment spent seven entire years and millions of dollars developing.
Overwatch was salvaged from the smoking wreckage of a massive, canceled multiplayer project called Titan, which Blizzard Entertainment spent seven entire…
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Uno was invented in 1971 by an Ohio barber named Merle Robbins, who simply took a deck of standard playing cards and wrote instructions on them to settle an argument with his son over the rules of Crazy Eights.
Uno was invented in 1971 by an Ohio barber named Merle Robbins, who simply took a deck of standard playing cards and wrote instructions on them to settle an…
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Mew was secretly programmed into the first generation of Pokemon games just two weeks before the final cartridges were manufactured, completely bypassing Nintendo's strict quality assurance testing.
Mew was secretly programmed into the first generation of Pokemon games just two weeks before the final cartridges were manufactured, completely bypassing…
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Jenga was created by Leslie Scott, a British game designer who grew up in East Africa and based it on a simple block-stacking game her family played with standard wooden building blocks.
Jenga was created by Leslie Scott, a British game designer who grew up in East Africa and based it on a simple block-stacking game her family played with…
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Pong is widely considered the first commercially successful video game, but Atari's founder Nolan Bushnell aggressively stole the entire concept from a different console called the Magnavox Odyssey.
Pong is widely considered the first commercially successful video game, but Atari's founder Nolan Bushnell aggressively stole the entire concept from a…
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Microsoft Solitaire was not included in Windows 3.0 just for fun, but as a stealthy psychological training tool to teach computer illiterate boomers how to use a mouse.
Microsoft Solitaire was not included in Windows 3.0 just for fun, but as a stealthy psychological training tool to teach computer illiterate boomers how to…
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Candy Land was designed in 1948 by Eleanor Abbott, a retired schoolteacher who was actively recovering from polio in a San Diego hospital ward.
Candy Land was designed in 1948 by Eleanor Abbott, a retired schoolteacher who was actively recovering from polio in a San Diego hospital ward. She noticed…
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Rhydon was the very first Pokémon ever created by designer Ken Sugimori, long before Pikachu became the globally recognized yellow face of the massive corporate franchise.
Rhydon was the very first Pokémon ever created by designer Ken Sugimori, long before Pikachu became the globally recognized yellow face of the massive…
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Rubik's Cube was invented in 1974 by Hungarian architecture professor Ernő Rubik as a teaching tool to help his students understand 3D geometry, but once he scrambled it for the…
Rubik's Cube was invented in 1974 by Hungarian architecture professor Ernő Rubik as a teaching tool to help his students understand 3D geometry, but once he…
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Sonic the Hedgehog was specifically designed with red shoes inspired by Michael Jackson and a buckle inspired by Santa Claus, which sounds like a fever dream but actually created a global mascot.
Sonic the Hedgehog was specifically designed with red shoes inspired by Michael Jackson and a buckle inspired by Santa Claus, which sounds like a fever dream…
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Minecraft was initially coded by a single Swedish developer named Markus Persson over the course of just six days in 2009 before it became the best-selling video game in the history of the universe.
Minecraft was initially coded by a single Swedish developer named Markus Persson over the course of just six days in 2009 before it became the best-selling…
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Gunpei Yokoi invented the cross-shaped directional pad in 1982 for a Donkey Kong handheld game because a traditional joystick was simply too clunky to fit in your pocket.
Gunpei Yokoi invented the cross-shaped directional pad in 1982 for a Donkey Kong handheld game because a traditional joystick was simply too clunky to fit in…
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Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr A.
Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr A. Serebrov brought a gray Nintendo Game Boy loaded with Tetris aboard the Soyuz TM-17 spacecraft in 1993, making it the very…
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Microsoft spent over one billion dollars extending warranties to fix the infamous Red Ring of Death hardware failure that plagued the Xbox 360 console during its early years on the market.
Microsoft spent over one billion dollars extending warranties to fix the infamous Red Ring of Death hardware failure that plagued the Xbox 360 console during…
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