9 Video Games That Were Recalled For Completely Bizarre Reasons

The amount of attention to detail required to develop a fully-polished video game is truly extraordinary.

As demonstrated by Aliens: Colonial Marines, just a single coding mistake can be enough to completely break certain parts of a game, and it's always possible for major errors to sneak their way into the final build.

On the plus side, most games nowadays can be quickly and easily patched by the developers - even before they're available for customers to buy - a practice that can fix pretty much any problem. But not every game in history has had that luxury.

In some cases, the only solution has been to recall the product from digital and retail shelves, with only a select few making a comeback, while the rest disappear into the all-consuming clutches of time. In addition, because these recalls are such rare cases, the reasons behind them tend to be quite unusual.

Whether it's some adults-only content, a crippling lawsuit, or even a virus that damages the system itself, the problem has to be somewhat bizarre when the only way to rectify it is to pull the game from sale.

If you were to compile a list of the least offensive things in human history, Mario would be somewhere near the top, along with marshmallows, paper towels, and lollipop ladies. As such, it might surprise you to learn that Wii exclusive Mario Party 8 went through a difficult launch period in the UK, which included the game being recalled from store shelves due to the accidental inclusion of some colourful language.

The game released in North America in late May 2007, and was scheduled to hit British shores at the end of June. However, as that date neared, Nintendo announced that it would be delayed due to "production issues", but they did not elaborate on precisely what that meant. It didn't seem like too big a problem though, as the title was made available to purchase on 13 July.

But then, in another twist, it was hastily recalled by Nintendo, so they could correct a language problem that might have caused offence to UK players specifically. Certain copies of the game included a distasteful word that starts with "spa" and ends in "tic", which is commonly used as a derogatory term aimed at people with disabilities.

After correcting this issue by replacing that word with "erratic" instead, Mario Party 8 was released again on 3 August - this time, for good.