Mario Party 8 recalled in Europe
by Alexander Sliwinski 
{ Jul 13th 2007 at 9:55PM }
The Nintendo releaseth, the Nintendo taketh away. Mario Party 8, which finally was supposed to release in Europe today, has been recalled. According to Ninendo, "Unfortunately we have discovered that a small number of games contain the wrong version of the disk due to an assembly error."We can't help but wonder what's on the disk ... perhaps something naughty? That would just be too much fun. Nintendo says they'll re-launch Mario Party 8 as soon as they can. Guess Europe is going to have to wait even longer now, but, you know, aren't they kinda used to it by now?
[Thanks JaSoN]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Imadogg99 @ Jul 13th 2007 10:04PM
Mario Party 69?
Neebs @ Jul 13th 2007 10:07PM
Wikinews says:
The word is "spastic," and can be seen on the "Shy Guy's Perplex Express" board. If a player lands on one of several certain green spaces, Magikoopa will appear and, before rearranging the train cars, will say, "Magikoopa magic! Turn the train spastic Make this ticket tragic!"
http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Party_video_game_banned_in_UK_for_having_offensive_word
sourced to:
http://www.thunderboltgames.com/news/viewnews/1705
Fatass of Kickassness @ Jul 13th 2007 10:22PM
Thats the second Nintendo game that has been recalled due to the word 'spastic' being in it. Thing is, I bet the person in question who pointed out wasn't actually offended, but was just looking for a reason TO be offended, and found one in the game.
That might sound stupid but it happens all the time.
Joshua @ Jul 13th 2007 10:33PM
Strange...What happened in the US release?
Neebs @ Jul 13th 2007 11:21PM
"spastic" is not an offensive word in the US. To be spastic is like "freaking out."
Fatass of Kickassness @ Jul 13th 2007 10:24PM
Edit - the first wasn't a Nintendo game, but it was fairly recent and the name of the game was Mind Quiz - without prior knowledge that it was a PSP game one would naturally assume it belonged to the DS.
GiantHaystax @ Jul 13th 2007 10:25PM
Nintendo platform releases are becoming a joke in the UK/europe. The announce trauma centre 2 yet the first one hasn't even come out yet, not to mention paper mario and various others I can't think of right now.
Jonathan Tran @ Jul 13th 2007 10:42PM
I thought the game was recalled because it sucked??
Xizer @ Jul 13th 2007 10:46PM
It was recalled because it contained the word "spastic" ?
What the fucking shit?
You Brits are fucking spastic.
copa @ Jul 13th 2007 10:50PM
No, they are bloody spastic.
Aero @ Jul 13th 2007 11:26PM
While it is stupid that they are recalling the game due to this (I mean, it's not as if they are using it as an insult) but here spastic means someone with mental retardation. All Game are doing here is preempting the wave of idiots who have nothing better to do then complain and try and get things banned.
JamesE @ Jul 15th 2007 2:04PM
No, spastic means someone with spasticity of the muscles - continuous contraction. Mental retardation can occur if cerebal palsy is the cause and the damage to the brain hits outside of the motor centres.
It's a usage that doesn't have any sensible use in a kid's game. I realise the American lexicon misuses it horribly, but still.
zwarrior @ Jul 13th 2007 11:06PM
I doubt it was an assembly "error", it was a concerned employee who wanted to save people from playing this crap game so he slipped in either Zelda or an early build of Mario Galaxy
Neebs @ Jul 13th 2007 11:22PM
Which makes no sense...at all. How would someone in the process of assembly have open access to the source code, as well as the ability to change it.
ssuk @ Jul 14th 2007 6:58AM
It's called a JOKE. And how this has been 1 heart'd just shows that Joystiq users have no sense of humour.
Triple07 @ Jul 13th 2007 11:16PM
Not like their missing anything. Just play any of the other 7 Mario Party games and you'll have a pretty good idea of what it will be like on the Wii. Except with maybe 10 minigames that actually use the Wii remote and don't suck.
Beneloth @ Jul 14th 2007 12:00AM
Mario Party 8 was released on June 22nd, at least in Germany and Austria (and I think in the rest of Europe too). And I couldn't find anything about a recall on the Nintendo-Europe pages. Could this possibly be just a hoax mail going round in Britain?
gir @ Jul 14th 2007 12:51AM
Manhunt 2 stands no chance in Europe........EVER!!!
Ryan @ Jul 14th 2007 1:08AM
Wow. A game gets banned/recalled because it contains one instance of an offensive word. I don't know what spastic means over in Europe, but it must be one damn offensive word (think fuck squared) to get it recalled.
ssuk @ Jul 14th 2007 7:02AM
Spastic in britian is used to describe a mentally challenged person. And using the word can be seen as you descriminating against disabled people.
Britain doesn't like descrimination, because we're all pussies and we can't be grown-up and ignore childish insults or words like "spastic".
Taltos @ Jul 14th 2007 1:27AM
Ironically, Ryan, that's not the case. At least not that I know of. Like others have mentioned, a Mind Quiz game for the PSP contained the word. Someone got offended, made trouble, and it was quietly recalled. So Ninty's just keeping it safe to avoid controversy apparently. Go figure.
Imadogg99 @ Jul 14th 2007 1:49AM
They should have just made it rated T
James Montagna @ Jul 15th 2007 8:22AM
The reason for this is a scene where Magikoopa flies by, and it says something along the lines of "turn the train spastic."
reppy @ Jul 14th 2007 3:40AM
I love Mario Party. Get 3 friends to play it with you and you'll have a blast.
Sully @ Jul 14th 2007 4:37AM
My copy of the game arrived from Amazon UK this morning.
gavbrown @ Jul 14th 2007 5:08AM
If it was because of the word 'spastic' then I agree it should be pulled. It's kind of like the 'N' word but for disabled people. Nintendo wouldn't allow that word in a game and they shouldn't allow this one either.
Bones3D @ Jul 14th 2007 6:03AM
Sounds like these gimpy cripples need to stop riding the short bus if using "spastic" in a game is enough to get it recalled. Despite our freakshow appearance, we handicapped folk do have spines underneath the bodybrace. Just because we don't always speak in coherent sentences, or complete words, or at all without flailing our arms and moaning over a puddle of drool, doesn't mean we need others to go around being offended for us! (After all, that's just plain retarded, even from our point of view...)
Anyway, let's keep those disability checks coming. I need some new games!
Tomas @ Jul 14th 2007 8:42AM
What? Not released yet? I've already got it for more than a week! It has already been released. Wonder what's wrong with it....
Skipjimroo @ Jul 14th 2007 11:24AM
@ Gavbrown,
The 'N' word for people with a handicap is exactly the weight which that word bears in the UK. Like the afore mentioned it also has a slang abbreviation: Spazzy.
I remember back in the nineties an "infomercial" (as our cheeseburger loving cousins across the pond care to dub them)went out depicted a young boy with down's syndrome telling the camera with an air of delection
"I don't have to be a spazzy any more"
This was with regard to a recent legislation parliament had put in to stamp out the cruel moniker and assure that only the politically correct term of mentally handicapped would ever be used henceforth.
Long story short it's a word that over here carries connotations of hatred and bigotry. Themes perhaps not welcome in a game advised as being suitable for ages three and up.
Personally, I think it's a great word when used as a generic insult. One that regularly finds its way into my repertoire and could happily foresee as giving me a cheap giggle in what will otherwise be a bland unengaging game.
zwarrior @ Jul 14th 2007 4:12PM
Who would go out of their way to insult a mentally challenged person anyway? Maybe I'm living in a bubble, but it's generally avoided here and we treat them respectably
Defenestrator2.0 @ Jul 14th 2007 12:58PM
Quick, everybody start putting the word "spastic" into the European version of their games to anger more easily offended people! It's like screwing around on old man Jenkin's lawn: you know you shouldn't do it, but it's just too damn funny to see his reaction.
zwarrior @ Jul 14th 2007 4:10PM
In the process of doing that, we would be offending a lot more people than we intended to, including maybe some members of our own families
Poisoned Al @ Jul 14th 2007 7:41PM
I don't think it's so much a case of us British being over sensitive. I just think we have far more swear words then Americans have. However, thanks to the internet a lot of them are seeping though to the US... Where Americans predictably get it wrong and use them in totally the wrong context...
Sorry, I've been playing Dirt, and I want to strangle those two fucking annoying American twats that mispronounced EVERY French car name in it!
Charles @ Jul 15th 2007 10:08AM
Quick, we need another controversial PSP ad to take the heat off Nintendo! Go SONY Go!
CarbonFree @ Jul 15th 2007 1:16PM
Is Super Paper Mario available in the UK yet? If so, in Francis' nerd castle, to get into one of the locked rooms, you have to answer 'true' to the statement 'Fanny packs are a trendy accessory' or something along those lines. Last time I checked, fanny had different meanings state-side than across the pond. Did they take that out?
spamulike05 @ Jul 16th 2007 8:24AM
In the u.k they are called "bum-bags", but I don't know if they localised it from the u.s name, I would hope so though, as having your kid come and ask you about "fanny packs" could cause u.k parents who don't know the u.s name to be a little surprised!
jamesdudley83 @ Jul 15th 2007 2:09PM
I have cerebal palsy and I find this hilarious. It'd be crap luck to be a disabled kid on the playground when your peers are playing games that legitimize use of the word, though. It's idiotic when songs like "Spasticus Autisicus" (written and sung by a polio victim get banned), but to my knowledge Nintendo have no reason to reclaim the word and I support their decision to withdraw it as a socially responsible step. This is a game for everyone to play so some level of censorship is acceptible.
Still... I really wish I had a copy. I just think this is hilarious.
Will @ Jul 21st 2007 8:26PM
i only heard about the recall on wednesday, and was wondering if it was recalled in the Uk, why i saw it in Asda bein sold when i was food shopping?
And yeh its dumb to recall it cos of the word spastic, just up the age rating and it wud have been fine. Ive played tons of other games that have far worse stuff in them.