10 Things Nintendo Wants You To Forget About Mario

7. Mario Kart Arcade GP: Beslan Hostage Crisis Images

The Namco developed Mario Kart Arcade GP was a spin-off racing game. The game is well-known for having a controversial image left in the game's directory which was used to test the cabinet's NamCam feature. One image is a simple colour palette test, the second is of some kind of mascots in Japan, while the third is a still from the 2004 Beslan school hostage crisis. The event saw over 1,100 people be taken hostage with over 300 deaths as a result of the hostage situation. There's currently no explanation as to why such an image is in the game's directory. To speculate on why such an image is in the game's test files, it's possible a developer or programmer suffered a personal loss as a result of the tragedy and saw this as his own personal tribute or homage to his lost loved one. While Mario Kart Arcade GP wasn't particularly acclaimed or notable as an entry in the franchise, this is definitely not the kind of publicity that Nintendo was looking for.