Nintendo, more so than any other video game company, has a reputation for being pretty family friendly, and while there are exceptions to the rule like the now20 years oldConker’s Bad Fur Day, 2005’sSuperMario Strikersis as PG as it gets. Perhaps this is why it’s so surprising that the GameCube soccer title is the game that Nintendo chose to run with when deciding to get a little NSFW with its advertising. Please be advised that in discussing the story, some suggestive content is below.
For the uninitiated,SuperMario Strikersis a soccer game featuring characters from the Mushroom Kingdom, similar toMario Tennisand other such sports games starring the plumber. The game spawned a Wii sequel calledMario Strikers Chargedthat was the firstMariogame to get a T for Teen rating from the ESRB,but it was the firstStrikersgame that had an advertising tactic so M for Mature Nintendo eventually had to reject it.
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Tucked away in the bottom corner of the ad in question is theSuper Mario Strikerslogo, with the text “You’re gunna need a pair” featured square in the middle. Two soccer balls hang in a net above the text and make it pretty clear what, exactly, Nintendo thinks players need a pair of in order to playMario Strikers. While the soccer title is often considered one of the betterMariosports game ideas, this advert for it was maybe better left on the drawing board.
Nintendo eventually scrapped the idea, which, of course, did nothing to prevent the image from making its way onto the internet. Intended initially as a magazine advert, the image recently resurfaced in a Reddit thread, spawning a few fun, if schoolyard level jokes as well as comments about how such an ad likely wouldn’t be considered today. Just as someNintendo games of the era no longer hold up, some of the era’s advertising tactics are best left in the past as well.
Of course, Nintendo deserves some credit for not actually running the ad. The company tries to avoid controversy where it can, going so far as to remove innocently intended butsuggestive looking hand gestures fromMario Kart 8,and even back in 2005 Nintendo decided theSuper Mario Strikersad was too provocative.
Earlier this yearNintendo acquired Next Level Games, the production company responsible for theMario Strikersgames, which has many fans excited about the possibility of anotherStrikerstitle being released. While there is no official word on whetherMariowill be lacing up soccer cleats anytime soon, if the plumber does return to the field, the advertising probably won’t be so suggestive.
