inspiration for Super Mario Bros

[Gottfrid]

How did the guys at Nintendo come up with the concept of Super Mario Bros?
It sure is a strange mix. Italian plummers, mushrooms, turtles, etc.
And the music, wich is great, what can hvae been the inspiration for that?

[Ice_Wolf]

From this site:

Super Mario Bros. was a multi-world adventure somewhat inspired by another arcade icon’s 1983 game, Pac-Land.

And also:

The idea that this game would be for two players did not come about until Shigeru Miyamoto was inspired by Williams’ Joust.
The name for Mario’s brother, Luigi, who is introduced in this game, came from a pizza parlor nearby the then-new Redmond, Washington headquarters of Nintendo of America called “Mario and Luigi’s.”

Don’t know about the music, sorry.

[Ice_Wolf]

Ah. Found something. The original videogame music and effects was the work of Japanese composer Koji Kondo:

The theme, written by Koji Kondo, employs a mish-mash of styles, including a calypso melody and hip-hop drums made from bursts of static.

[RM_Mentock]

Before Mario was Mario, he was Jumpman.