Nintendo acknowledges Mario character name change for Japan
Spiked.
A Mario character who appears in the new Super Mario Bros. Movie will be re-named in Japan, Nintendo has confirmed.
Mario and Luigi's former boss Spike appears in the film as a stern foreman and rival for the brothers' new firm. The character is a deep cut from Mario canon, and originally appeared in the NES and arcade game Wrecking Crew back in the 1980s.
In Japan, Spike has always had the name "Blackie" - which for obvious reasons will no longer be used. Henceforth, the character will be re-named as "Spike" in any future appearances, and the Japanese dub of the Super Mario Bros. Movie will use "Spike" as well.
"The name of the character 'Blackie' that appears in the family computer software 'Wrecking Crew' will be changed to 'Spike', which is the same as the name in Europe and the United States," Nintendo wrote in a statement posted to Twitter this morning.
"In addition, the name in The Super Mario Bros. Movie released on 28th April 2023 is also Spike."
Japan has had to wait several weeks for the Super Mario Bros. Movie to arrive in its cinemas, while the film breaks box office records around the world. It's now the biggest video game movie adaptation ever and the best animated film launch of all time.
Oh, and "Peaches" - Jack Black's Bowser ballad from the film is also proving popular too.
"We've come a long way from Bowser's brief cameo in Wreck-It Ralph, when Nintendo famously gave notes on the correct way for Disney's animators to show Bowser holding a teacup," I wrote in Eurogamer's Super Mario Bros. Movie review. "Illumination's version of this world, made hand-in-white-glove with Miyamoto himself, undoubtedly allows for more freedom - though, perhaps unusually for Miyamoto, steadfastly refuses to upset the tea table itself."