Super Nintendo World Website Used Unofficial Mario Render, Twitter User ujiidow Points Out

On January 7, 2021, Nintendo Life reported that the Super Nintendo World website briefly featured an unofficial render of Mario, a discovery first shared on Twitter by user ujiidow. The find prompted coverage across social and gaming outlets after side-by-side comparisons showed the site’s artwork closely matched an image originally posted online by the creator who also uses the Reddit handle coolest_luigi. Super Nintendo World is the Nintendo-themed area developed in partnership with Universal Parks & Resorts, built around Nintendo’s iconic characters such as Mario. Mario himself is Nintendo’s flagship IP and appears across hardware platforms including the Nintendo Switch. While Nintendo manages the character and licensed appearances, art and promotional assets for park sites are typically coordinated between the theme park partner and Nintendo’s licensing teams. According to the screenshots shared on Twitter and captured by Nintendo Life, the webpage initially displayed an image that matched the unofficial render. Nintendo Life’s coverage included an update noting the image remains in use on the site as a loading icon. In journalistic terms: a community artist’s work was used on the official Super Nintendo World website and later persisted in a small, functional role on the page. Rewriting notable reactions in plain reporting language: the original headline’s tongue-in-cheek line — effectively saying the render was “not quite the official Mario” — reflected the uncanny similarity between the two images. Another comment compared the unexpected likeness to the visual surprises found in other Nintendo moments, referencing Super Mario Sunshine as an example of Mario appearing in an unusual form in the franchise’s history. The artist’s social handles were central to tracing the image. Twitter user ujiidow posted the screenshot showing the discrepancy, and further investigation linked the artwork to a Reddit account named coolest_luigi, where the creator had previously shared the render. This incident illustrates how community-created assets can surface in official contexts and the importance of clear asset tracking for licensed properties. Nintendo and its partners regularly announce projects and updates through channels such as Nintendo Direct and eShop posts for game-related news, while theme-park collaborations rely on separate promotional pipelines. Nintendo Life’s coverage, authored by Kate Gray, remains the primary contemporary report documenting the January 2021 website discovery.