Nintendo Announces Permanent Name Change for Mario Character
Nintendo's official Japanese Twitter account has announced a permanent name change for one of the company's characters. In the NES game Wrecking Crew, Mario and Luigi are construction workers plagued by a foreman named Spike. In the Japanese version of the game, Spike originally had the name "Blackie," but it appears that will no longer be the case. The character will now go by Spike in all regions, and the change will take effect starting with the character's appearance in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which is set to release in Japan on April 28th.
The Tweet from Nintendo's Japanese Twitter account can be found embedded below.
ファミリーコンピュータ向けソフト『レッキングクルー』などに登場するキャラクター「ブラッキー」の名称を、欧米での名称と同じ「スパイク」に変更いたします。なお、2023年4月28日に公開される『ザ・スーパーマリオブラザーズ・ムービー』での名称も、同様に「スパイク」となっています。 pic.twitter.com/HhTXEOmzxn
— 任天堂株式会社 (@Nintendo) April 20, 2023
Nintendo's Tweet does not give a specific reason for the name change. However, as Video Games Chronicle notes, it's possible that the decision was made to avoid any connotation with a racist slur. It's also possible that Nintendo simply wanted the character to have the same name across all territories. This wouldn't be the first time the company changed a character's name to be the same across regions; prior to Super Mario 64, Princess Peach predominantly went by the name "Princess Toadstool" in North America. Super Mario 64 established "Peach" as her first name, while "Toadstool" became her last name, though it's rare to see her full name used anymore.
In The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Spike appears as Mario and Luigi's former boss, and is voiced by comedian Sebastian Maniscalco. When the brothers first appear in the film, it's revealed that they've quit their jobs working construction in order to open their own plumbing company. The two find themselves ridiculed by Spike after their commercial airs. While Wrecking Crew doesn't have much of a story, after seeing the movie, it makes sense why Spike is one of the villains in the game, despite being the foreman and Mario and Luigi his employees: turns out the guy is just a jerk!
Are you surprised Nintendo changed the character's name from "Blackie" to Spike? What do you think of the Wrecking Crew game? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!