Oh, boy. Fans of the Super Mario Bros. series are in a state following a player poll that discovered there is no one way to pronounce "Bros."
Obviously, it's short for "Brothers," so you'd say out loud, "Hey, feel like playing some New Super Mario 'Brothers' Wii with me? I'm totally stuck on that underground boat level and it's genuinely one of the worst things I've ever experienced." You'd say that, and I'd reply, "Sure, but I haven't played New Super Mario 'Broze' Wii in a long time, so I have no idea whether me being there would help or hinder you." Yes, I know it's the Super Mario Brothers because they are two brothers named Mario and Luigi. But, that extra syllable is unnecessary effort. Plus, you know what I mean if I say "Broze" rather than "Brothers" through the majesty of situational context.
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Those in the other camp will be delighted to know that of the nearly 2,000 Resetera users who submitted their response in the poll, 43% of them say "Brothers" out loud. But, more than a quarter of them opt for "Bros" instead. According to the sacred texts of Jolly Phonics, "Bros" should rhyme with "moss," unlike "Broze" which would rhyme with "crows." This has baffled me, to be honest. "Bros"? Really? Super Mario Bros? The other options that have appeared over the course of the discussion are "Brous," which would rhyme with "mouse" and "Braus," which would rhyme with "cause." Anarchy. Utter anarchy.
However, it's pretty explainable why there are this number of different pronunciations of the same word. As a massively successful global series with fans from all four corners of the earth, people will say things differently. A really easy example is McDonald's, which is called "McDo" in France. I remember being flummoxed when they asked me if I wanted to go to "mack-doh." I've never heard of that, I replied. They looked confused but were excited to introduce me to the fast food chain, and when I saw the red and gold logo from afar, the penny (or cent) dropped. Ohhh. "McDo" is McDonald's.
Still, it's an interesting insight and has probably caused some arguments on an otherwise pleasant afternoon. This is a good place to remind you that the Switch ports for Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario Galaxy will be removed from the eShop on March 31st, so if you're yet to bag the bundle, hop to it. And, once normality returns to the world, I'll definitely be looking into a trip to Super Mario World at Universal Studios Japan, which opens on March 18th.
Featured Image Credit: Nintendo