Princess Peach: Showtime! is gearing up to be the campest game ever – and fans are living for it
The much-anticipated game is a camp colour explosion, as you can see from this game art (Nintendo)
In an incredible victory for sapphics across the globe, queer icon Princess Peach will be serving pink royalty realness front and centre once again in the new bright and colourful Nintendo game Princess Peach: Showtime!.
First teased in June’s Nintendo Direct and set for release on March 22, 2024, the game will be the first time in 18 years that Peach has had the starring role that she truly deserves. Her last time to shine was in Super Princess Peach, released on Nintendo DS in 2005.
Long idolised by lesbians, gay men and trans femmes alike; in the latest sneak preview, Mother Peach radiates confidence and charisma in what fans are already describing as the campest game of all time.
In the trailer, which has already amassed more than 1.2 million views, Peach serves a series of iconic looks, from Detective Peach to Sword fighter Peach. Yes, that’s right, Princess Peach has a sword. It’s camp, it’s fierce, it’s brilliant.
Despite dividing fans with Nintendo’s changes to the game’s box art, Mario enthusiasts have largely continued to eat up everyone’s favourite Mushroom Kingdom ruler in all her dazzling glory.
Posting to X, one fan wrote “Princess Peach Showtime is high camp and I love it” whilst another perfectly highlighted how each version of the Princess radiates “different queer vibes”.
Nintendo’s LGBTQ+ history
Princess Peach: Showtime! isn’t the first time Nintendo has struck a chord with the LGBTQ+ community. Prehistoric dinosaur and all-round icon Birdo has been a feature of Mario games since 1988, when she first appeared in Super Mario Brothers 2. The English manual for the game refers to Birdo as a male “who thinks he is a girl” and many Nintendo fans believe this is proof that she is trans.
More recently, Nintendo has actively embraced the LGBTQ+ community. In July, after a court in Osaka (where Nintendo is based) upheld the Japanese ban on same-sex marriage, the company introduced a policy giving employees in same-sex relationships equal standing when it comes to employee benefits.
Obviously, we can’t mention Nintendo queer icons without mentioning the game that is home to so many LGBTQ+ Nintendo fans: Splatoon 3.
Splatoon 3 introduced three new idols to the series, Frye, Big Man and Shiver as part of their “fresh” pop band “Deepcut”. When the game was released in September 2022, Shiver’s gender was unclear – with many Nintendo fans speculating that she was non-binary.
Despite Nintendo confirming that she is female and uses she/her pronouns, Shiver and the game remain fan favourites within the queer gaming community – so much so that Splatoon’s between-game lobbies are frequently dominated with hilarious and inspiring queer art.
Will Princess Peach claim her rightful title and take the number one spot for campest game of all time? You’ll have to play the game for yourself to see…
Princess Peach: Showtime! Pre-orders are available now on Nintendo eShop and at select retailers.
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