[DISCLOSURE: The subject of this story is a freelance critic who writes for GameSpot]
More than two decades ago in early 1990, a hopeful 11-year-old named Jason Venter sent Nintendo of America a document featuring drawings and text; it was his pitch for Super Mario Bros. 4.
Venter, who currently heads up the website HonestGamers and writes as a freelance game critic, has now published the response he received. In it, a Nintendo representative is kind and cordial, declining to use Venter’s ideas, but wishing him the best. You can read Nintendo’s full response below.
Venter’s 13-page pitch included a hand-drawn map and visualizations for new characters, including an unknown brother of evil king Bowser, who, like his sibling, planned to capture the Princess. In this game, Mario was going to be called yet again to rescue her, Venter told Polygon.
Writing on his website, Venter said the kind response he received from Nintendo, even if it was just a standard reply sent to all who write in, is one of the reasons why he’s been a longtime supporter of their games.
“I’ve been a fan of Nintendo and its games for a long while, and this letter (partly) shows why,” Venter says. “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.”
Image Credit: Polygon
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