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A Kid’s Super Mario Bros. 4 Rejection Letter Inspires Me!

A Kid’s Super Mario Bros. 4 Rejection Letter Inspires Me!

Ah yes, now I remember that warm, fuzzy feeling.

When you’ve been around gaming as long as I have (especially now that I work in one facet of the industry), it’s easy to become jaded. You lose a part of yourself that once existed. It’s not really your fault, as it happens somewhat unintentionally. You start to find that deep-rooted sense of excitement and awe that previously stirred way down in your gut shows itself less and less over the years. It happens to all of us eventually. Whether it’s with music, films, or books… you get the idea.

However, one gaming journalist just helped me recapture a tiny bit of that lost wonder by sharing his experience with Nintendo back in the early 1990s. Jason Venter is a freelance writer who sent an elaborate pitch to Nintendo of America as a child, with an extensive outline for what he wanted to see in the next NES title. According to the synopsis , his vision of Super Mario Bros. 4 would involve Bowser’s brother and more Mushroom Kingdom high-jinx.

When speaking with Polygon , Venter had this to say regarding his encounter with their friendly front office and how they decided to let him down gently, instead of crushing the youngsters hopes and dreams forever.

I’ve been a fan of Nintendo and its games for a long while, and this letter partly shows why. When I sent an unsolicited idea, the company didn’t have to send a careful response, and didn’t need to return my documents. Sending them through the paper shredder probably would have worked just as well. Instead, though, the company complimented me on my creativity and returned my plans so that I wouldn’t have to feel my work was wasted… Still, I appreciate that Nintendo took me seriously and was so encouraging, even though what I received was likely just a form letter prepared in advance for just such an occasion.

Curious what Nintendo of America would have to say to such a young boy during the heyday of the early 1990s? Just take a read below, as we’ve posted the original rejection letter (dated June 29 th of that year).

A Kid’s Super Mario Bros. 4 Rejection Letter Inspires Me!

So why did this touch me so much? More importantly, why did I bring it to your  attention? It’s for a reason I hope resonates within all of us. Those younger gamers our there may not relate to this as well as us old fogeys, but any time we can be reminded of that original wide-eyed wonderment we once knew… it’s important to seize the opportunity. We’re living through a truly exciting era, but at times I feel like we’re just going through the motions. Don’t you?

So here’s to really understanding where we’ve been, where we’re going…and retaining a child-like appreciation of all things gaming in the process. The same kind that motivated this young kid to send his idea to Nintendo with an optimistic confidence, not the overly cynical edge found today.

I now realize it’s far too easy to lose such a valuable trait and not even realize it.

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