Why is it called Donkey Kong

[the-hat]

So I was chatting to my boy the other morning on the way to school (hes 6), and he says "Why is it called Donkey Kong when its a Monkey ?"

So I ask the question cos i dont have a clue !

 

[bbz149]

Kids!

 

[silverfox0786]

Thast his name Donkey and Kong is his surname

the same as Diddy Kong and Dixie Kong and Grandpa Kong

 

[Vamino]

Taken from Wikipedia:

Yamauchi wanted primarily to target the North American market, so he
mandated that the game be given an English title, though many of their
games to this point had English titles anyway.

Miyamoto decided to name
the game for the ape, whom he felt to be the strongest character.[sup][19][/sup][sup]:39[/sup]
The story of how Miyamoto came up with the name "Donkey Kong" varies.

A
false urban myth says that the name was originally meant to be "Monkey
Kong", but was misspelled or misinterpreted due to a blurred fax or bad
telephone connection.[sup][26][/sup]

Another, more credible story claims Miyamoto looked in a
Japanese-English dictionary for something that would mean "stubborn
gorilla",[sup][20][/sup] or that "Donkey" was meant to convey "silly" or "stubborn"; "Kong" was common Japanese slang for "gorilla".[sup][15][/sup][sup]:238[/sup]

A rival claim is that he worked with Nintendo's export manager to come
up with the title, and that "Donkey" was meant to represent "stupid and
goofy".[sup][25][/sup][sup]:48–49[/sup] In the end, Miyamoto stated that he thought the name would convey the thought of a "stupid ape"

 

[jonwarby]

The internet seems to suggest two main theories

The game should have been called Monkey Kong but there was a typing error / translation error and it got named Donkey Kong

[font="Trebuchet MS, arial"]but the one with the most credibility [/font]

The name was chosen by game designer Shigeru Miyamoto as a combination of the word "Kong", since the movie King Kong had caused it 'to colloquially mean monkey' in Japan. Miyamoto believed "donkey" meant "stupid" or "Stubborn" in English, and assumed the name Donkey Kong would convey the sense "stupid ape" to an American audience.When he suggested this name to Nintendo of America, he was laughed at, but the name stuck

 

[PaulSwan]

So we should be thankful it didn't end up as "Ass Kong"

 

[subzero]

I thought it was a poor translation akin to continental circus lol

 

[Guests]

So we should be thankful it didn't end up as "Ass Kong"

It gets called a lot worse than that over here, that I can assure you!!

 

[rcantor77]

I thought it was a poor translation akin to continental circus lol

I'm pretty sure it is... Miyamoto or anyone else at Nintendo isn't going to publicly say "Yeah we messed up and didn't read the fax correctly"

There is a good article here about it...
http://www.snopes.com/business/misxlate/donkeykong.asp

There was a King Kong paraody film released in Japan in 1933 called Wasei Kingu Kongu so that could give some weight to that version of events.

But the final conclusion on that site suggests that both are rubbish...

These explanations aren't inherently implausible either (although
they're probably a bit garbled, as it would be a bit unusual to find
"donkey" listed as a synonym for "stupid" or "goofy," as the former is a
noun and the latter are adjectives), although some have dismissed them
as face-saving tales concocted after the fact to cover up an
embarrassing mistake. Nintendo was sued by MCA for infringing on
"King Kong," but they don't seem to have chosen the name "Donkey Kong"
with the intent of avoiding copyright complications. (Miyamoto's
himself said during the court trial that "King Kong" was considered a
generic term in Japan for any large, scary ape, hence his use of
"Kong.")

The bottom line is that no evidence backs up any of the explanations
that the name "Donkey Kong" came about because of a misread fax,
mispronunciation, or mistranslation. Shigeru Miyamoto, the game's
inventor and the one person who unquestionably knows the origins of the
name he chose, has repeatedly affirmed that he used the word "donkey" to
convey a sense of stubbornness and the name "Kong" to invoke the image
of a gorilla.

 

[Nes4life]

What is Dankey Kang?

 

[Guests]

^ That's what the yanks call it!

 

[big10p]

I thought it was a poor translation akin to continental circus lol

I always thought that name was deliberate as F1 is often referred to as "the F1 circus", due to it travelling around and putting on a show in different countries.

 

[rcantor77]

I thought it was a poor translation akin to continental circus lol

I always thought that name was deliberate as F1 is often referred to as "the F1 circus", due to it travelling around and putting on a show in different countries.

If that was the case, why would they change the name in the US...

rcantor772015-10-15 21:26:08

 

[big10p]

I thought it was a poor translation akin to continental circus lol

I always thought that name was deliberate as F1 is often referred to as "the F1 circus", due to it travelling around and putting on a show in different countries.

If that was the case, why would they change the name in the US...

Probably because the US has no interest in F1 and probably wouldn't get the reference.

 

[jengineer]

No your all wrong, it's because the monkey has a massive penis

 

[Hurray Banana]

No your all wrong, it's because the monkey has a massive penis

Is he called Konkey Dong then??

 

[Jase]

There's a funny website somewhere about Engrish or Japanese English. I used to wonder why the bootleg PacMan was called Hangly Man. Say it in a Japanese accent and you might get it! ??