It looks like there is a Mario impostor on an official Nintendo website.
If you go to the Japanese Super Nintendo World website, the Mushroom Kingdom real-life theme park that opens in Osaka on February 4, will be greeted by good old Mario, accompanied by the hashtag #WeAreMario.
The problem is that this is not really Mario. At least, it’s not an official Nintendo animated Mario. This Mario was apparently designed by an artist known as uJidow on Twitter and, presumably by mistake, added to the official Super Nintendo World website.
I love how Nintendo used MY old ass Mario render on the official Nintendo World website. https://t.co/mmJhWNi0n1#Nintendo #SuperNintendoWorld pic.twitter.com/Xp8cmfwte9January 7, 2021
It is unclear whether Nintendo intends to replace the fan-made rendering with an official one, but uJidow’s work is still active on the site at the time of writing. Honestly, no one would have noticed if the artist hadn’t signed. It is an incredibly accurate description of Mario’s modern design, despite being one of the older versions of the artist. In addition, uJidow doesn’t seem to care much. And what a compliment it is for uJidow that the Mario makers themselves mistook the fan-made rendering for the real thing.
Speaking of talent, it’s worth checking out the artist’s most recent works. An image shows the mustache plumber in the front and center on the cover of Cyberpunk 2077; another shows Mario posing with Geno from Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. Then there are just a few high-quality renderings worthy of any official Nintendo website.
Thank you, Nintendo Life.
Watch this 15 minutes Super Nintendo World tour with Mario Shigeru creator Miyamoto.