Nintendo has slightly, quietly altered the boxart for Super Mario Odyssey.
The box art originally featured the sombrero-donned Mario since its reveal, only to now be replaced with Mario swimming in a yet-to-be-revealed water area within the game.
You can compare both versions below:
The original design is pictured above left, with the latest update pictured above right.
Nintendo caught some flack from the usual armchair warriors with the appearance of Mario wearing a sombrero and poncho, traditional Mexican garb, while also playing some mariachi music in the latest trailer for Super Mario Odyssey.
The news comes after Nintendo COO and president Reggie Fils-Aimé said Nintendo avoids making political statements in any of their games. “Making political statements are for other people to do,” Reggie said. “We want people to smile and have fun when they play our games.”
I got some responses from actual Mexican fans of the game. “We loved the fuck out of sombrero Mario, now they took it away from the box,” said one fan. Another Spanish speaking-user said “They did? Fuck. As long as it is still in the game.”
Super Mario Odyssey launches for the Nintendo Switch on October 27th, worldwide. In case you missed it, you can find our exclusive, hands-on preview for the game (with video) here from this year’s E3.