Did You Know Gaming - Spastic Kamek

by **robometal cowboy** » 02 Feb 2013 19:11

Did You Know Gaming - Spastic Kamek
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by **Jirachi** » 02 Feb 2013 19:13

Waaaa? how is spastic offensive?
At the very least it shouldn't be used in this context(were it just literally means mixed arround)

by **TheDreamingHawk** » 02 Feb 2013 19:17

Spastic, OFFENSIVE?

Call me when the term "Ice cream" means "Death" in antartica.

by **The Stickman** » 02 Feb 2013 19:17

It's true, also hillarious.

by **MoldyClay** » 02 Feb 2013 19:20

Yeaaah. It's not offensive in it's literal meaning, but it'd be to them like if we had "retarded" in the game.

In the real world it just means delayed or slowed/stunted or something, but it's used as a negative slang, so it can't be said/used. Same deal.

They (I believe?) also had Left 4 Dead 2's cover changed so the hand was flipped around, because the two fingers facing a certain way is the equivalent to a middle finger or something like that.

It's a cultural thing.

by **wingo84** » 02 Feb 2013 19:24

Ha, yes the word Spastic here in the UK is very taboo.

It was originally a word used to describe people with Cerebral Palsy, but over time it's degraded and has become an offensive term .. a bit like calling someone a retard.

Very politically incorrect. Strange how other places have a different contextual meaning.

by **Cipher DX** » 02 Feb 2013 19:30

This is true, I remember it being recalled the day it was initially released. Had to be reissued about six weeks later.

Unfortunately, the vast majority of people who use the word "spastic" or more commonly "spaz" here in the UK use it as an insult aimed at the mentally retarded or otherwise disabled. It's not used quite as often as "retard" - another popular playground insult - but you do still get quite a lot of it.

In the US, I know neither retarded nor spastic are in the least bit offensive, but they are in the UK, and sadly it's mainly down to playground culture.

by **TheDreamingHawk** » 02 Feb 2013 19:31

MoldyClay wrote:Yeaaah. It's not offensive in it's literal meaning, but it'd be to them like if we had "retarded" in the game.

In the real world it just means delayed or slowed/stunted or something, but it's used as a negative slang, so it can't be said/used. Same deal.

They (I believe?) also had Left 4 Dead 2's cover changed so the hand was flipped around, because the two fingers facing a certain way is the equivalent to a middle finger or something like that.

It's a cultural thing.

Regardless, it makes sense considering when Kamek says it. I mean, he just is saying he wants to mess up the train, what's wrong with that?

by **Jirachi** » 02 Feb 2013 19:33

@wingo84
Yeah i understand that it's just that it's not used in that context within the game.
It'd be like if a game got banned because a character called another character fruity because it could mean something similar to "gay". but in the context of the game it just means eccentric(in other words just odd in general)

by **CM30** » 02 Feb 2013 19:59

I knew this, I mentioned it in an article about Mario facts on my site a while ago.

And yes, as someone from the UK, it's a pretty offensive word over here. In fact, I'm kind of surprised Nintendo of Europe even missed it at first, the word is barely ever used for any other meaning in this country. Heck, I doubt most people have even heard it in general.

by **HammerGalladeBro** » 02 Feb 2013 20:23

Knew about this one almost since it was released there.

Kind of sad what meaning it has developed in the UK. Cultural differences, I guess.

And by the way, wasn't Super Paper Mario recalled in the UK for the same reason, but for a different word? I can't remember which word was, though.

by **lotso shoes** » 02 Feb 2013 20:36

HammerGalladeBro wrote:And by the way, wasn't Super Paper Mario recalled in the UK for the same reason, but for a different word? I can't remember which word was, though.

No, that was due to glitch that froze the game.

In any case, as a guy from the UK myself, I have to be honest, I'd never heard of this being an issue until a couple of years back. Hell, in my primary school days, 'spaz' used to be the go-to word to jokingly call someone stupid, and I don't recall any teachers ever complaining about it. I guess times have just changed since then?

by **TheHappyCog** » 02 Feb 2013 20:40

Apparently this issue caused problems with the release of S.P.A.Z. (Space Pirates and Zombies) as well. Funny how there can be such significant differences even when the cultures involved have the same language and heritage.

by **LDAF** » 02 Feb 2013 20:56

Cipher DX wrote:This is true, I remember it being recalled the day it was initially released. Had to be reissued about six weeks later.

Unfortunately, the vast majority of people who use the word "spastic" or more commonly "spaz" here in the UK use it as an insult aimed at the mentally retarded or otherwise disabled. It's not used quite as often as "retard" - another popular playground insult - but you do still get quite a lot of it.

In the US, I know neither retarded nor spastic are in the least bit offensive, but they are in the UK, and sadly it's mainly down to playground culture.

Calling someone a retard in the U.S. is offending them, but calling them a spaz is a bit more of a tease-y thing, kind of like calling them clumsy.

by **koopaul** » 02 Feb 2013 22:10

In the U.S. "spastic" mostly means "out of control"

One time my friend's motorcycle was acting weird, and kept running a certain way. He said it was "acting spastic"

by **Jingleboy** » 02 Feb 2013 22:15

koopaul wrote:In the U.S. "spastic" mostly means "out of control"

One time my friend's motorcycle was acting weird, and kept running a certain way. He said it was "acting spastic"

Both meanings make sense in the UK. For example, something can a "spazzy fit". Either way, the word is pretty taboo here because it is used in negative context for mentally retarded people.

by **warbearer** » 02 Feb 2013 23:17

Happened again in 2011 with Transformers Power Core Combiner line. His name had to be changed from Spastic to Over-Run stickers to cover the name on the box. And In another Transformers bio for Strafe, spastic was removed with twitchy.

by **TheEyeProjects** » 03 Feb 2013 09:30

And this is why localization takes so very long...

by **JGreenhill** » 03 Feb 2013 10:07

Yeah Spastic is pretty offensive, it also seems like a very 80's word, kinda like puff. Something you'd hear in Life on Mars and not something you're really likely to hear anywhere else. I'm more comfortable using the word retard than spastic, when describing someone as stupid. I also wasn't aware there was another meaning. I just thought it was a derogatory term for disabled people.

by **MrChewtoy** » 03 Feb 2013 14:18

@TheDreamingHawk
Yeah, but over here the word "spastic" is really only used as a taboo word. So no one would even take the context into consideration, it's just offensive.

Although I wouldn't agree with DYKG that it's highly offensive. Perhaps it is to those who know people that are mentally ill, but plenty of people use it as a throwaway insult. It's about as offensive as crap is to most.

by **Berrix** » 03 Feb 2013 15:01

I remember this when it happened. Used to lurk in the GameFAQs forums when I was that young and everyone used spastic to call Nintendo fans of any form to bypass the censorship for a couple months, on top of dooming Nintendo's end, as always.

by **Chosenoneknuckles** » 03 Feb 2013 18:30

Yeah, tis not a nice word. Though I literally haven't seen or heard it anywhere since the 90s, so good good.

by **Jerome** » 03 Feb 2013 21:46

I could understand if it were something profane or obscene, but this seems to be yet another example of Political Correctness going too far.

by **Nin2000** » 04 Feb 2013 01:26

Yeh that's also quite offensive in australia. Spastic, spaz or spazo are derogatory terms and are generally heard in the school yard.