Dandori Issue

About

"Dandori Issue" is a variation of the popular gaming term Skill Issue that developed specifically in the Pikmin 4 fandom after Nintendo introduced the term "Dandori" to define the type of gameplay needed to succeed at Pikmin.

Origin

The phrase itself is in reference to the new marketing term "Dandori"^[1] utilized by Nintendo for Pikmin 4. Dandori ^[2] was defined by Shigeru Miyamoto in the September 2022 Nintendo Direct ^[1] as "strategic planning, managing, and deploying of the Pikmin." In Pikmin 4, there are missions known as "Dandori Battle" where players must demonstrate these skills in a timed fashion in order to clear the stage. Failing these stages would mean that the player had not demonstrated good "Dandori Skills" and would not be able to progress through the game.

The term "Dandori Issue" was first seen on Twitter in a June 30th, 2023 post by @OchreHorns,^[3] who stated that those who found Pikmin 2 had a "Dandori Issue" (shown below). The post on Twitter amassed over 5,000 likes and 750 retweets in two weeks. YouTube animator Sproutposting ^[4] replied to the tweet saying "I hope you know that you just created a term that will be used for the next decade."

Spread

Over the following weeks, the phrase "dandori issue" inspired posts in the Pikmin fandom across social media, including on Reddit ^[5] and Tumblr. ^[6] On July 1st, Redditor Styxarts_^[7] posted a Drakeposting meme suggesting the subreddit replace "Skill Issue" with "Dandori Issue," gaining over 980 points in /r/pikmin (shown below, left). The following day, Redditor GamePlayXTreme posted image macros of Olimar and Louie captioned "Dandori Issue," gaining over 120 points in the same subreddit (shown below, right).

The term saw some spread outside of the Pikmin fandom. For example, A user who was complaining about Red Arm in the game Ultrakill on the Steam Forums had the term used against them as well when they expressed frustration with the game.^[9]

On July 13th, 2023, two images referencing the term appeared on the TSX Times Square Takeover video billboard marketing campaign in New York City. Two of the fifteen second ad slots approximately at 10:30 PM Eastern Time that evening had mentioned the term in image macros which were displayed in the city.^[10]

Various Examples

External References