Nintendo’s black and white silhouette character Mr. Game and Watch has made headlines with a marketing promotion that went on this weekend to show off Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, which is scheduled to release December 7 for the Switch.
A controversial callback to native American history was demonstrated during a live stream where Mr. Game and Watch had donned his feather headdress and torch once again for an in-game attack.
This move originated from a game called Fire Attack which debuted more than three decades ago back in 1982 on old-school G/W hardware. The same outfit was removed from a 2002 title known as Game and Watch Gallery 4 for the very same reason.
The outfit was shown during the live stream and was hit back a huge internet blowback.
Nintendo followed-up by talking about how they plan to, once again, remove this outfit from the upcoming title. In an interview discussing the issue with Eurogamer, Nintendo states:
“Nintendo has been planning to distribute an update for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate that removes the feather from the silhouette of Mr. Game & Watch. The original game on which this depiction of the character is based was released more than three decades ago and does not represent our company values today.”
And then they went on to give their apologies to fans and viewers who were offended and offer their continued efforts towards making the next SSB game welcoming for everyone:
“We sincerely apologize that this change was not noticed in our marketing material and are continuing our work to make Super Smash Bros. Ultimate an experience that is both welcoming and fun for everyone.”
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate rolls out on December 7 for the Switch. The game is the next entry for the SSB series, which has one major title every new generation of Nintendo Consoles- usually a short time after release.