P Switch, P Wing... What's the "P"?

[Weegee]

Has there ever been official word on what the "P" stands for in these objects' names? Or how about the "N' on the backs of the cards in SMB3's matching game? Is a P-Wing related to a G-string?

[Lakitu]

I thought it was power but I found this from a quick web search on the Mario Wiki.

'The P-Wing (originally Magic Wing) is a special item that debuted in Super Mario Bros. 3. The "P" stands for Paratroopa or Patapata (the Japanese name for that enemy). It is a successor to the power-up simply known as the Wing.'

[The Chef]

Mario Wiki only knows this because it was revealed in an Iwata Asks interview. (Though for some reason it refuses to load. Anybody have any idea why?)

[MEGAߥTE]

Super Mario Bros. 3 introduced several enemy-based items:
Jugem/Lakitu's Cloud
Kuribo/Goomba's Shoe
Hammer (Bros.) Suit
and the P-Wing (Patapata/Paratroopa Wing)

The name Patapata Wing was part of the original SMB3 Japanese manual.

However, it also fills the P-Meter, or Power Meter, and derivative power-ups like the P-Acorn don't really make sense with the Patapata name. P also officially stands for Power in the case of the P-Balloon. I'd guess it's the same for the other occurrences.

The N-mark spade card is a reference to Nintendo's playing card designs, which refers to Nintendo.


P.S. your ad blocker is preventing the interview from loading.

[The Chef]

Do adblockers assume the interview is an ad or does Nintendo do that deliberately like other major websites?

[MEGAߥTE]

There is a tracking script embedded in the article that breaks the loader when it is blocked. I don't think it was intentionally done, just sloppy.

[Weegee]

Thanks for the answers, fellas.