Charles Martinet is reportedly not allowed to do Mario's voice anymore

Barely two years ago, it dropped like a bombshell in the gaming world that Charles Martinet, the man who gave Mario a voice for 30 years, had to hand over to Kevin Afghani. At the time, it was said that Martinet would continue to work with Nintendo as an ambassador, without specifying what that meant.

Apparently, Martinet himself hasn't been any wiser on that point, according to influencer Ricky Berwick (known for mocking and prejudice against the disabled). He met Martinet at a recent convention, but the latter refused to do any of his classic voices, which included at least half of the Mushroom Kingdom, because he's apparently not allowed to:

"Charles Martinet wasn't even allowed to do the voice of Mario or any of his iconic character's voices either at the convention I attended over the weekend.

"It's a fucking shame"

Nintendo themselves hasn't commented on the matter, but there's been no video of Martinet reprising Mario and the crew since he left, which would explain it. It doesn't seem unreasonable at all that Nintendo would actually have a clause about not competing with their new voices and not making money on their brands.

Berwick is right, it is a shame, and it means we'll never hear him proclaim "It's-a-me, Mario!" again. An era laid to rest.

Incidentally, it was only yesterday that we reported that Samantha Kelly, the classic voice behind Princess Peach and Toad, among others, had also been sacked and will now be replaced by someone else.