Nintendo, the video game company responsible for iconic games like Pokemon, Animal Crossing, and Super Mario Bros., has announced that it will change the name of one of the characters in its upcoming film, “The Super Mario Bros. Movie”. Spike, a foreman who first appeared as an enemy of Mario in the 1980s game “Wrecking Crew”, will now be called “Spike” in Japan, just as he has been known to Western fans for the past three decades, instead of the previous name, “Blackie”. Nintendo did not explain why it decided to change the name, but it is likely due to concerns over the previous name’s possible racist connotations.
Nintendo announced the name change through a tweet on its official Japanese Twitter account last Thursday, stating that the character will also be called “Spike” in the movie, which will be released in Japan on April 28, 2023. CNN reached out to Nintendo for a comment on the name change, but the company did not provide any further information.
Foreman Spike first appeared in the Wrecking Crew series as a construction worker and arch-rival of Mario. He later appeared in the “Super Mario Bros. Movie” as the former boss of Mario and his brother Luigi before they quit their construction jobs to start their own plumbing business. The movie, which features Chris Pratt as Mario, Charlie Day as Luigi, and Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, made over $200 million in the US and Canada during its five-day opening run, and an estimated $377 million worldwide.
In recent years, Mario and Luigi have appeared in a variety of Nintendo-produced game titles, including Mario Kart, Super Mario Odyssey, and Super Mario Party. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe remains the top-selling title of the game maker, having sold 52 million copies worldwide since its release in 2017 on the Switch.
The move to change Spike’s name comes amid a global reckoning on racial sensitivity in popular culture. Many companies, including Nintendo, have been scrutinized for racially insensitive depictions or portrayals in their products. In the past, Nintendo has faced criticism for its depiction of the character Mr. Game & Watch in the Super Smash Bros. game series, which some viewed as a racist caricature of Indigenous people. The company responded by saying it would remove the caricature from future releases of the game.
This is not the first time that Nintendo has changed character names in its products. In 1993, the company changed the name of a character in the game “Yoshi’s Cookie” from “Mario” to “Mario Mario” to better reflect the character’s relationship with the famous plumber. In 2020, the company also changed the name of the Pokemon character Mr. Mime in the Japanese version of the game from “Barrierd” to “Mister Mime”.
As companies face mounting pressure to be more sensitive to racial issues and avoid perpetuating negative stereotypes, it is likely that more changes like this will be made in the future. The move by Nintendo to change Spike’s name is a step in the right direction, and it shows that the company is taking its responsibility to be socially aware seriously.