A petition to name a character after Robin Williams in the next edition of the "Legend of Zelda" video game has earned over 100,000 signatures, and has now garnered a response from Nintendo itself.
The gaming company has acknowledged the public's request to honour the actor and comedian as a non-playing character, after the 63-year-old took his own life on Aug. 11.
The "Good Will Hunting" star had a longstanding history with the brand, having previously appeared in a commercial for "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D" in 2011 opposite his daughter Zelda.
"Dad?" asked Zelda Williams, in one of the advertisements. "Are you confusing me with the princess again?"
"It's hard to say," replied her father. "You're both so magical."
Zelda Williams, 25, was named after the game's title character.
"We appreciate the outpouring of support from the gaming community, and hear the request of fans to hono[u]r him in a future game," said a Nintendo representative to Polygon.com. "We will not be discussing what might be possible for future games during this difficult time, but we will hold our memories of Robin close."
The Change.org petition was the initiative of Nick Schaedel from Adelaide, Australia. In his initial mission statement, Schaedel wrote of Williams' love for the game, "It was a series he loved, and it's a small tribute to a great man."
"Robin was an avid player of video games, with a love for all things Nintendo, and a particular love of all things Legend of Zelda. It is well-known that he named his daughter after the series' titular princess."
Video game fans are also lobbying for "World of Warcraft" to memorialize Williams' contributions to the gaming community. Unlike Nintendo, WoW's parent company, Blizzard Entertainment, has confirmed plans to include a character that would represent Williams' looks or personality, but has not yet released any specifics.
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The gaming company has acknowledged the public's request to honour the actor and comedian as a non-playing character, after the 63-year-old took his own life on Aug. 11.
The "Good Will Hunting" star had a longstanding history with the brand, having previously appeared in a commercial for "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D" in 2011 opposite his daughter Zelda.
"Dad?" asked Zelda Williams, in one of the advertisements. "Are you confusing me with the princess again?"
"It's hard to say," replied her father. "You're both so magical."
Zelda Williams, 25, was named after the game's title character.
"We appreciate the outpouring of support from the gaming community, and hear the request of fans to hono[u]r him in a future game," said a Nintendo representative to Polygon.com. "We will not be discussing what might be possible for future games during this difficult time, but we will hold our memories of Robin close."
The Change.org petition was the initiative of Nick Schaedel from Adelaide, Australia. In his initial mission statement, Schaedel wrote of Williams' love for the game, "It was a series he loved, and it's a small tribute to a great man."
"Robin was an avid player of video games, with a love for all things Nintendo, and a particular love of all things Legend of Zelda. It is well-known that he named his daughter after the series' titular princess."
Video game fans are also lobbying for "World of Warcraft" to memorialize Williams' contributions to the gaming community. Unlike Nintendo, WoW's parent company, Blizzard Entertainment, has confirmed plans to include a character that would represent Williams' looks or personality, but has not yet released any specifics.
.@robinwilliams Thank you. You gave us so much joy in our lives, and we hope you enjoyed your time in our world. We’ll see you in-game.
— World of Warcraft (@Warcraft) August 13, 2014ALSO ON HUFFPOST: