Racist Punch-Out!! Censored at One Location
Contributor: Nove Ayn Warren
The Best Buy location in Maple Grove, MN has been restricting players from playing the popular fighting game Punch-Out!! during the Nintendo World Championship Qualifying citing racism. Concerns were raised when one of the qualifiers noted the stereotypical nature of the fighters. After alerting management, the qualifiers took to social media and rapidly generated national scrutiny.
“This is not the type of message we want to send,” Vyacheslav Krupin, Assistant Store Manager stated after consumer outcry was brought to his attention. “Not all Jamaicans jive-talk and not all Japanese love Sushi. In this day and age it’s understandably shocking to find such overt racism.” To Mr. Krupin, the Russian fighter Vodka Drunkenski was especially infuriating.
The Best Buy location has declined to state if they plan to restrict any other games from the Nintendo World Championships qualifier. The Store Manager who requested his name be withheld stated, “We have to do what is best. We are currently listening to concerns over the sexual undertones noted in Zelda II.”
Nintendo representatives have not responded to how they plan to correct the issue.
