The name of the Super Mario Brothers character is being changed by Nintendo after three decades of possible racist slurs
- The character’s name is changed from Blackie to Spike in Japanese
- He is known by this name for western fans of the video game
Video game maker Nintendo has announced that it will change the Japanese name of Spike, the frontman of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, before the movie is released in Japan later this month.
The character, who first appeared as an enemy of Mario in the 1980s game Wrecking Crew, will change his name from Blackie to Spike in Japanese, as he’s been known to Western fans of the video game for the past three decades.
Nintendo did not immediately give a reason for the decision to change the name, which is a racist slur in Western countries. It noted that the new Japanese name will be the same as the one used in Europe and the United States.
“The name in “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” which will be released on April 28, 2023, will also be “Spike,” the company wrote in a tweet on its official Japanese Twitter account last Thursday.
Foreman Spike originally appeared in the 1985 Wrecking Crew series as a construction worker and enemy of Mario.
The character, who was first an enemy of Mario in the 1980s game Wrecking Crew, will change his name from Blackie to Spike in Japanese, as he’s been known to western fans of the video game for the past three decades.
Nintendo did not immediately give a reason for the decision to change the name, which is a racist slur in Western countries
In the Super Mario Bros. movie, he is the former boss of Mario and his brother Luigi before they quit their construction jobs to start their own plumbing business.
The film scored the highest-grossing worldwide opening of all time for an animated film.
It stars Chris Pratt as Mario, Charlie Day as Luigi and Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach.
The film grossed $377 million (£303 million) worldwide in its first five days of release, overtaking Frozen 2’s previous record of $358 million (£288 million).
The film has a 56% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes compared to its 96% audience rating.
In response to the disparity, Elon Musk tweeted, “Wow, the critics are so disconnected from reality!”
In the movie Super Mario Bros. Spike is the former boss of Mario and his brother Luigi before they quit their construction jobs to start their own plumbing business
Nintendo wrote in a tweet on its official Japanese Twitter account last Thursday
The film follows Brooklyn plumbers Mario and Luigi as they are transported through a mysterious pipe as they work underground repairing a water pipe.
The brothers wander into a “magical new world,” and when separated, “Mario embarks on an epic quest to find Luigi,” according to a synopsis on the film’s website.
The 1993 Super Mario Bros. film starring Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo as Mario and Luigi was critically reviewed.
Mario and Luigi have appeared in several Nintendo-produced game titles over the years, including Mario Kart, Super Mario Odyssey, and Super Mario Party.
The video game industry is worth hundreds of billions of pounds worldwide and is one of the fastest growing industries in the UK, with many turning to gaming during the coronavirus lockdown.
