Hackers are reportedly inserting porn into 'Super Mario Odyssey'
Lately it feels like the wholesome world of Nintendo just keeps getting increasingly horny, what with all the revelations about Mario's nipples, genitals, and Luigi's enormous schlong. We even wrote about the sexual undertones of some great Super Mario Odyssey photo mode screenshots ourselves.
But the latest NC-17 scandal out of Nintendo is a lot less fun and harmless than all that.
Recent reports indicate that Switch hackers appear to be inserting pornographic images into Super Mario Odyssey via the company's version of profile pictures. And since lots of kids play that game, a Reddit thread of concerned parents cropped up on r/NintendoSwitch that included some examples of said images.
Usually, the protections put in place by Nintendo to keep these kind of hacks from happening are pretty secure. But a Polygon investigation sourced the problem back to home-brewed software called DevMenu. "Switch hackers have discovered ways to load DevMenu on retail Switch consoles, and have since found a way to use DevMenu to create and upload custom avatar images," explained reporter Michael McWhertor.
Of course the minute customized avatars became possible, porn started streaming into Super Mario Odyssey. What's worse, there is no way to report a user's avatar at this time because Nintendo only included options for company-approved images.
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Thankfully, the spread of the porn plague seems contained to Luigi’s Balloon World, an added mode that came with an update released earlier in the year. The premise of Luigi’s Balloon World is grounded in online connectivity, with players tracking down balloons hidden by other online players.
Once found, the players avatar is displayed on the balloon itself. And, uh, yeah Pornhub screengrabs just aren't what anyone signed up for in this situation.
We reached out to Nintendo for comment on these reports but did not hear before publication. We will update the story with any statements from the company. Earlier this week, IGN reported that Nintendo was cracking down on users who pirated games, so it's possible there could be a similar solution to this situation.
For now, parents from the Switch subreddit are suggesting the temporary solution of disabling internet connectivity on the device altogether.
Topics Gaming Nintendo Nintendo Switch
Jess is an LA-based culture critic who covers intimacy in the digital age, from sex and relationship to weed and all media (tv, games, film, the web). Previously associate editor at Kill Screen, you can also find her words on Vice, The Atlantic, Rolling Stone, Vox, and others. She is a Brazilian-Swiss American immigrant with a love for all things weird and magical.
