Editing Power-up (section)

==History==
{{expand section|date=February 2012}}
===Origin===
The term "power-up" is an example of {{Transliteration|ja|[[wasei-eigo]]}} (Japanese pseudo-Anglicisms); the sense was coined in Japanese as a compound of {{Nihongo|"power"|[[wikt:パワー|パワー]]|pawā|noun}} and {{Nihongo|"up"|[[wikt:アップ|アップする]]|appusuru|verb}}, literally "to up someone's or something's power or abilities". The general meaning of ''X-up'' in Japanese is "this will increase your X", and this construction is regularly used in areas such as advertising.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pVxoAAAAIAAJ&q=%22up%22+%22%E5%BA%83%E5%91%8A%22+%22%E5%92%8C%E8%A3%BD%22|title=言語生活|language=Japanese|trans-title=Language Life|author=[[National Institute for Japanese Language and Linguistics]]|journal=Gengo Seikatsu|publisher=[[Chikuma Shobō]]|date=July–December 1971|access-date=2021-12-29|issue=238–243|page=86|issn=0435-2955|archive-date=2023-02-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230206234117/https://books.google.com/books?id=pVxoAAAAIAAJ&q=%22up%22+%22%E5%BA%83%E5%91%8A%22+%22%E5%92%8C%E8%A3%BD%22|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8jMHAQAAIAAJ|title=A Guide to Modern Japanese Loanwords|last=Webb|first=James H. M.|publisher=[[The Japan Times]]|date=1990|access-date=2021-12-29|page=143|isbn=478900502X|archive-date=2021-12-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211229130658/https://books.google.com/books?id=8jMHAQAAIAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref>{{Verify source|reason=Google Books does not let anyone preview the second source, although it is believed to contain relevant keywords.|date=December 2021}}

===First instances===
[[File:Supermushroom.png|thumb|The [[Super Mario#Mushrooms|Super Mushroom]]{{Broken anchor|date=2025-05-13|bot=User:Cewbot/log/20201008/configuration|target_link=Super Mario#Mushrooms|reason= The anchor (Mushrooms) [[Special:Diff/1075012795|has been deleted]].|diff_id=1075012795}} is an idealized representation of the [[Amanita muscaria]] fungus.<ref name="Li"/>]]
[[File:Pacman-cutscene.png|thumb|A [[cutscene]] in ''[[Pac-Man]]'' comically exaggerates the effects of the power pellet.<ref name="cutscene"/>]]
''[[Pac-Man]]'' from 1980 is credited as the first video game to feature a power-up mechanic,<ref name="autogenerated1"/> though at the time they were called "power capsules" by the manufacturers.<ref name=philips /> Every maze in the game contains four Power Pellets which temporarily give Pac-Man the ability to eat ghosts, turning the tables on his pursuers. The effect of the power-up was illustrated by one of the first [[Cutscene|cut scene]]s to appear in a video game, in the form of brief comical interludes about Pac-Man and Blinky chasing each other around.<ref name="cutscene">{{cite web |url=http://www.joystickdivision.com/2011/01/five_things_we_learned_from_pa.php |title=Five Things We Learned From Pac-Man - Joystick Division - Videogame news, features and reviews |publisher=Joystick Division |date=2011-01-25 |access-date=2016-05-24 |archive-date=2017-09-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170910190627/http://www.joystickdivision.com/2011/01/five_things_we_learned_from_pa.php |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="gamesradarimportant">{{cite web |author=Zergnet |url=http://www.gamesradar.com/gamings-most-important-evolutions/?page=2 |title=Gaming's most important evolutions &#124; GamesRadar |date=9 October 2010 |publisher=Gamesradar.com |access-date=2016-05-24 |archive-date=2011-12-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111221132323/http://www.gamesradar.com/gamings-most-important-evolutions/?page=2 |url-status=live}}</ref> The power pellet entered popular culture with a joke on [[video game controversies]] regarding the influence of video games on children.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.marcusbrigstocke.com/pacman.php |title=Official Site for the stand-up comic, writer, presenter & actor |publisher=[[Marcus Brigstocke]] |access-date=2009-03-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120703184547/http://www.marcusbrigstocke.com/pacman.php|archive-date=2012-07-03 |quote= If ''Pacman'' had affected us as kids we'd be running around in [[Discotheque|dark rooms]], munching [[Recreational drug use|pills]] and listening to [[Techno|repetitive music]]. [...] I suppose that because it is part (and has been for years) of a much larger routine about games, children, behaviour, parenting, negative influences, violence etc etc, it would be easier to drop from my set.}}</ref>

In 1984, ''[[Sabre Wulf]]'' introduced power-ups in the form of flowers which, when blossoming, provided effects such as speed up and invincibility.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~jg27paw4/yr06/yr06_36.htm |title=Cry of the Wulf |magazine=Your Spectrum |date=August 1984 |issue=6 |access-date=2016-06-14 |archive-date=2022-08-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220809071844/http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~jg27paw4/yr06/yr06_36.htm |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1985, ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'' introduced the [[Super Mario#Mushrooms|Super Mushroom]]{{Broken anchor|date=2025-05-13|bot=User:Cewbot/log/20201008/configuration|target_link=Super Mario#Mushrooms|reason= The anchor (Mushrooms) [[Special:Diff/1075012795|has been deleted]].|diff_id=1075012795}}, which has entered popular culture,<ref name="Li">{{cite journal|last1=Li|first1=Chen|last2=Oberlies|first2=Nicholas H.|title=The most widely recognized mushroom: Chemistry of the genus Amanita|journal=Life Sciences|date=December 2005|volume=78|issue=5|pages=532–538|doi=10.1016/j.lfs.2005.09.003|pmid=16203016|quote=Idealized representations of this species permeate popular culture. A. muscaria can be found [...] as a major obstacle in video games (e.g., the ''Smurfs'' and ''Super Mario Bros.'', respectively).|url=http://libres.uncg.edu/ir/uncg/f/N_Oberlies_Most_2005.pdf|access-date=2018-05-18|archive-date=2020-08-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806123833/http://libres.uncg.edu/ir/uncg/f/N_Oberlies_Most_2005.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> being described as "the [[Wiktionary:quintessential|quintessential]] power-up".<ref name="SuperMushroom"/> The original game idea was to have an always big Mario as a technical advance, but later the power-up was introduced to make him "super" as a bonus effect.<ref name="shrine3">{{cite web|url=http://www.miyamotoshrine.com/theman/interviews/0561.shtml |title=Miyamoto Shrine: Shigeru Miyamoto's Home on The Web |date=2012-02-25 |access-date=2016-05-28 |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120225062953/http://www.miyamotoshrine.com/theman/interviews/0561.shtml |archive-date=February 25, 2012}}</ref> The development team thought it would be interesting to have Mario grow and shrink by eating a magic mushroom, just like in ''[[Alice's Adventures in Wonderland]]''.<ref name="worldrecord">{{cite web | author = O'Connell, Patricia | url = http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_45/b3958127.htm | title = Meet Mario's Papa | publisher = BusinessWeek online | date = November 7, 2005 | access-date = 2005-11-26 | archive-date = 2005-11-02 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20051102024711/http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_45/b3958127.htm | url-status = dead}}</ref> Other power-ups introduced in this game were the Super Stars and [[Super Mario#Fire Flower|Fire Flowers]]{{Broken anchor|date=2025-05-13|bot=User:Cewbot/log/20201008/configuration|target_link=Super Mario#Fire Flower|reason= }}, which gave Mario invincibility and the ability to shoot fireballs at enemies, respectively.

[[Konami]]'s 1985 game ''[[Gradius]]'' had the first use of a selection bar where the player could select which power-up effect to trigger, instead of having a fixed instant effect.<ref name=gradius>{{cite web|url=http://www.ugo.com/games/top11-videogame-powerups-gradiusoption |title=Gradius' Option - The Top 11 Video Game Powerups - UGO.com |date=2007-06-29 |access-date=2016-05-28 |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120603172600/http://www.ugo.com/games/top11-videogame-powerups-gradiusoption |archive-date=June 3, 2012}}</ref>

In 1986 and the years after, the concept of permanent power-ups appeared in the [[Action role-playing game|action role-playing]] genre in the form of ''perks''.<ref name="CRPGs"/>