True, but Tyson's appearance was a contracted one. This is why the Punchout!! for VC is "Punchout!! with Mr. Dream" and not "Mike Tyson's Punchout!!". Nintendo and Tyson had a contract dispute related to his title loss to Buster Douglas and as a result, Tyson isn't in the game any more. While I only played the "Mr. Dream" version once, IIRC, Mr. Dream is white.

One could further argue that it was only by necessity that Tyson was picked. At the time, he was the baddest man on the planet. If there's a UFC game, it could very well be Chuck Liddell who's chosen to front the game and then you have the whole racism thing coming back into the discussion because Liddell is white.

But while we're on the topic of Punchout!!, Little Mac's trainer, Doc Louis, is black - as is Mr. Sandman and possibly also Bald Bull (though he could be middle eastern). Piston Honda is asian, Von Kaiser is German, Don Flamenco is ostensibly Spanish, Great Tiger is Indian (or perhaps Sikh), Soda Popinski is Russian, etc.

An argument against diversity in Nintendo games falls flat with this game as it was a very early hit for the company.

Mine was actually an impulse purchase.

Ran into an old co-worker outside of Best Buy on Dec 24th and he had one in a bag. Told me he didn't have it on reserve (I asked); they had them in stock. On the day of Christmas Eve.

My Fiancee and I purchased Super Mario Galaxy for a friend of ours for his birthday earlier that month and, given the social nature of the system, I figured it would be good for us to have the same system with the same games so we could all get together and play them together (he's also engaged to another friend of ours).

Walked in and bought one on the spot - with Super Mario Galaxy.

I haven't been this addicted to a video game since the original Legend of Zelda on the NES. I lost two months of my Freshman year in college to that game. No secret why I hadn't bought a game system since.

Contributing factors were the Nintendo name, game franchises, reputation for quality, motion sensing controls, and included sports games. I can't wait for MLB 2K8.

I found out the hard way that there was a good reason why the AMF game was only $19.99.

The pin action seems more realistic than the Wii bowling game at first, but then you figure out how hard it is to strike (vs. bowling for real) and the pin action seems to be less "active" than how pins behave in reality.

I found myself thinking "That hit shouldn't leave that spare - or that split", because I bowl league in real life.

It's a good concept, but I have heard that the Brunswick game gives more realistic reactions to balls hitting pins (and pins hitting other pins). I have also heard it's more difficult to get used to the Brunswick controls, but once you're up the learning curve it's a good simulation.

I have enjoyed the Wii bowling myself, and my friend who works at GameStop and also bowls in my league tells me that most bowlers tend to enjoy the Wii bowling the most.

YMMV.

I suppose it makes sense that Mario would try to push a "pushable" object (at least an object small enough that a person may believe they can push it), I'm left thinking that I missed something in the game is all. Some hidden power-up where I should push an object to reveal a hidden room.

When I got to the haunted galaxies I thought I had stumbled upon the correct area to push something (push a statue to reveal a secret passage - sure, it's cliche, but I thought it to be the best target for the behavior), but alas there was nothing.

Thanks for the responses.

This is because these games are all made in Japan where thousands upon thousands of years of culture have been able to survive (and some might argue thrive) without the notion of political correctness.

Imagine that.

If the company that made the game was based in America, the diversity you have been programmed to expect in today's American society would be reflected in the characters of the game.

When I play a game, I try to escape all of the real-world issues that assault me on a daily basis.

Just a thought.

PS - it should be noted that I am not against diversity, not against integration and certainly not for the promotion of any one group of people over (or at the expense of) another group of people. I'd just like someone to tell me whether King Kaliente, Bouldergeist, Bowser, Guppy, etc. are white, black, asian, indian or latino before this topic gets completely out of control.

PPS - BombBoos, Bob-Bombs and Bullet Bills are colored black, as are the torpedoes that are sent after you in some underwater worlds.

I've noticed that when you push Mario (or Luigi, for that matter) up against an isolated object - like a Bowser statue, for example (not a wall or cliff or other big obstacle) - the character will try to push the object. The object doesn't move, but there's Mario pushing with all his might up against the statue trying to move it just an inch.

So as I ran around the rest of the galaxy, I tried pushing most every isolated object I could find. Try as I might, however, I have been unable to find any object that the character can successfully move by pushing.

Let's disqualify coconuts as they appear to be kicked (or dribbled, like a soccer ball) when Mario walks into them and not pushed with the character's hands.

Is this behavior just a red herring, something that was anticipated to be used in the game but cut out during development or just some other left-over of the design process? Or is it legacy code from another game engine that was used as the basis for the engine behind Super Mario Galaxy?

Anyone come up with any useful purpose for this behavior?