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Rainbow Road Returns to Regular Road After Pride Month

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REDMOND, Wash. — Nintendo of America announced that all Mario Kart games will receive an automatic update on July 1st, changing Rainbow Road from a colorful space racetrack into a standard space turnpike.

ā€œWe actually always meant for Rainbow Road to be Pride Month exclusive, but we forgot for twenty years,ā€ said Nintendo of America president Doug Bowser. ā€œWe want to show our unwavering support for the LGBT community, but really, isn’t thirty days enough?ā€

Michael Harbor, a Mario Kart speedrunner and member of the LGBT community, spoke out about the change to the digital racetrack.

ā€œNobody really thought the track was political until they announced it was, and before we could even get used to the idea, they’re already taking it away. I feel like I should be offended, but I’m mostly just confused,ā€ Harbor said. ā€œI’m not sure why they are framing this like a pro-gay marketing play. It’s kind of the exact opposite.ā€

Mario Kart developer Margaret Stevenson defended the reasoning behind Rainbow Road’s controversial update.

ā€œThis is not a political statement. It’s just a matter of what makes sense,ā€ Stevenson said. ā€œA floating rainbow in space? That’s a bit outlandish if it’s not Pride Month. A regular toll highway in outer space seems a lot more ā€˜on brand’ for us, year round.ā€

Nintendo of America also revealed that the fan-favorite character Toad is a proud gay man, and would therefore no longer be appearing in the Mario series in any form until next June.