The chocobo in Final Fantasy was based on a real creature called a “Gastornis” that existed 45 million years ago.
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Donkey Kong was Mario's pet that he'd abused. Donkey Kong kidnapped Mario's girlfriend as revenge for the mistreatment.
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In 2000, Pope John Paul II gave his blessing to the Pokémon franchise, saying the games did not have "any harmful moral side effects" and were based on "ties of intense friendship."
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45% of all online gamers are female, and women over the age of 18 are the industry's fastest growing demographic.
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In response to the moral panic surrounding violent video games, Penn & Teller released “Desert Bus,” for the Sega Cd. In the game you drive a bus from Tuscon to Las Vegas in a straight line for 8 hours.
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As of 2011, gamers have collectively spent over 6 million years playing World of Warcraft. That's almost as long as the existence of the human species!
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