Go to any video game store in Korea and you’re bound to hear the name ‘Mario’ within a matter of minutes. Mothers come in looking for gifts for their kids, and they usually don’t ask for Final Fantasy, Tekken, or even Everybody’s Golf, despite the fact that Sony virtually owns the console market in this country. Rather, they ask for Mario, or “something like Mario”. Sadly, their requests are usually met with negative responses. Either stores simply don’t have any Nintendo products, or the little merchandise they do have is unreasonably expensive. What gives?