Nintendo of Europe posted the following announcement on their website on July 13:
Mario Party 8 was launched in the UK today. Unfortunately we have discovered that a small number of games contain the wrong version of the disk due to an assembly error. We have therefore decided to recall all copies of the game from UK retailers so that this mistake can be corrected.
We will re-launch Mario Party 8 in the UK as soon as possible and will announce a new launch date shortly. We very much regret any inconvenience caused.
However, an online rumor indicates a possible alternate reason for the recall. The game contains the following incantation by Kamek:
Magikoopa magic!
Turn the train spastic!
Make this ticket tragic!
The inclusion of the word "spastic" resulted in a recall of Ubisoft's MindQuiz for Nintendo DS late last month after a woman publicly complained that the game had called her "Super Spastic." The term holds an offensive connotation in the UK, particularly with regard to those afflicted with cerebral palsy, a disease from which her son had recently died. The word is generally innocuous in North America, and highlights the care that must be taken during localization, even when the language doesn't change.
