As US comedy series Saturday Night Live airs a sketch ridiculing November’s showdown between Grand Theft Auto 6 and the remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, two former Nintendo employees recalled a more infamous SNL sketch from years earlier that wasn’t well received at all.
The old SNL skit featured controversial billionaire businessman Elon Musk dressing as Nintendo character Wario, judged to be evil, ironically enough. During the trial, it was mentioned that Mario was on drugs, Luigi’s photos were blurry, while Wario-Musk tried to convince the courtroom that he had been misunderstood.
“It didn’t go well,” Krysta Yang said on the Kit and Krysta podcast (via Techradar). Yang was a former host of Nintendo Minute with Kit Ellis – the eponymous Kit in the podcast’s title – and both worked within Nintendo for over 10 years.
“We were always there for that,” Ellis added. “It was one that people didn’t like…It wasn’t well received at Nintendo,” Yang echoed.
Ellis said the Wario sketch came out of “left field” because it obviously wasn’t related to anything, as there was no Mario or Wario game released at that time. “Why is Elon Musk Wario?” Ellis remembers people asking questions. “Some things touched on topics that were uncomfortable for Nintendo.”
Nintendo had nothing to do with the skit, the two men insisted, “But there is a lot of contact between Nintendo and the producers of SNL, (and) these other late-night shows. There are people who are very focused on this particular segment within the Nintendo communications team, making sure that they get the games when they come out, that they have access to the information.”
In the latest Zelda vs. GTA 6 skit, Link and Jason – main characters from their respective games – argue over which game is better. Yang and Ellis praised Link’s costume – “It seemed tailor-made for the remake,” Ellis said – but both men were more tight-lipped about the sketch itself. “I thought it was generally good,” Yang said. “I wasn’t rolling around on the floor laughing or anything like that. There were times where it was a little cringe-inducing.”
The Ocarina of Time remake was previewed in detail in September, ahead of its November 5 release. The game’s art style has been significantly updated, which has been the subject of much debate, but there have also been changes to the performance and operation of the game. It’s a remarkable undertaking.
Meanwhile, GTA 6 is looming for release on November 19.
Gn tech
