Oops: Nintendo accidentally releases 'Paper Mario: Color Splash' early

By Gabe Gurwin September 23, 2016

paper mario sticker star released early wiiu papermariocolorsplash e32016 scrn 10 — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Paper Mario: Color Splash isn’t scheduled to launch for another two weeks, but a few select fans have managed to get the full game early. This wasn’t from a local game store breaking the game’s release date and selling it early, though — instead, Nintendo’s own systems appear to have malfunctioned.

YouTube user Brandon Maisonet posted a video last night detailing the discovery. After pre-ordering a digital copy of Paper Mario: Color Splash through the Wii U’s eShop, Maisonet realized that he was actually given immediate access to the full game.

“I’ve played it for a little bit, too, just to make sure it’s not a demo, and it’s definitely not,” he says.

The video was shared to the Paper Mario subreddit, and several users were able to verify that the game did, in fact, release early through digital pre-orders. One user claims that he made it to the game’s first battle, where Shy Guys make fun of you for being bad at the game. Another user claims he managed to make it to World 1-4 without any issues, and he took his console offline to see if the game would still work — it did.

The unlocked game appears to only be released in North America, however, with Polygon noting that European users were unable to download the game while it was made available. You can no longer gain access if you haven’t already digitally pre-ordered it.

Paper Mario: Color Splash didn’t make the best first impression with fans when it was unveiled over the summer. Its RPG elements appear to have been substantially stripped down from the first few games in the series, with players negatively comparing it to the 3DS entry, Paper Mario: Sticker Star.

Paper Mario: Color Splash is supposed to launch for the Wii U on October 7.

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Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…

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