Namco apologizes to Chilean miners for ‘Welcome Back’ Mr. Driller image

Mr. Driller is a character that appears in a series of brilliantly addictive puzzle games by Namco Bandai.

As the games are based on drilling through miles of colourful rock as fast as possible, Namco posted the image above of Mr. Driller in front of a Chilean flag on its Twitter feed, as a tribute to the now-famous Chilean miners rescued this week. The message simply reads, “Welcome back!”

A nice gesture, right? Well, I thought so. It’s innocent, good-natured, fun, and is helping to celebrate the saving of 33 human lives. Except now, the company has pulled the image and apologized for any offence caused. WHY? Am I missing something? For what earthly reason is this well-meaning image possibly offensive?

I’m guessing complaints were made, because Namco Bandai’s next tweet, a grovelling apology, read: “We would like to offer a profound apology to everyone. It was inexcusable.”

Oh, Namco. It really wasn’t.

[Via Eurogamer]