The Real Reason Nintendo's Bizarre Metroid Tweet Was Removed

Social media can be a useful tool for small businesses and major corporations alike, but sometimes a tweet comes along that sets the internet ablaze. That very thing occurred on Oct. 3 when the official Twitter account for Nintendo France posted a bizarre image of Solid Snake from "Metal Gear Solid" staring at "Metroid" protagonist Samus Aran's rear end, accompanied by an emoji of two eyes looking to the side. No, seriously.

If this was meant to be some kind of humorous promotion for the upcoming "Metroid Dread" (somehow), its meaning was utterly lost on the account's followers. Almost immediately after the image was posted, fans began to swarm the Nintendo France account with shocked reactions, jokes, and plenty of memes. One fan, @PicklesMaking, even pointed out that this image was weirdly in-line with establish "Super Smash Bros." canon. They posted a clip from "Super Smash Bros. Brawl" in which Snake makes a comment about trying to catch Samus in her Zero Suit. Naturally, Snake's contact, Mei Ling, promptly puts him in his place.

And it looks like the fan response to Nintendo France's tweet had a similar effect. Nintendo quickly realized its gaffe, and the account deleted the offending image shortly after the deluge of complaints and jeers. Of course, this being the internet, plenty of fans had already taken screenshots. Some did so to keep in memory of the incident, while others began re-posting the image to ask Nintendo why the company thought this was a good idea. As the dust began to settle, all eyes were on Nintendo's response to the situation.

In the hours after the tweet was deleted, fans began trying to piece together how this particular image had made its way to the official Nintendo France feed. 

Some people theorized that the tweet had been posted by someone who was fed up with their job. Gamers in the ResetEra forums debated the inappropriate nature of the tweet, with many seeing it as being demeaning towards one of gaming's most iconic female characters. YouTuber Aero pointed out that the image in question was actually an official screenshot that has been on the "Super Smash Bros." website for quite some time. Fans seemed to widely agree that whoever had posted the image was probably in some kind of trouble. Meanwhile, many more were just baffled by the entire episode.

Fans may never know what the thinking was behind the peculiar tweet, because Nintendo has yet to make any statements regarding the matter. Instead, the gaming giant has since decided to remind people that Samus' next adventure, "Metroid Dread," will be launching for the Nintendo Switch on Oct. 8. No word on whether or not Snake will be involved — or if he's been put in time out.