I wasn’t expecting to be jealous of children this morning. After a teaser posted earlier in the week, LEGO and Nintendo have confirmed what many thought was true. The two companies are going to be producing LEGO kits based around the Super Mario IP. Why did I have to be born in the 80s?
Julia Goldin, chief marketing officer and EVP for LEGO, said in a press release, “We are very excited to bring Mario into the physical world through interactive and social LEGO play. With this experience, we will help millions of kids with love for Mario to engage and play in a completely new way, where they are in control of creating and playing games with their favorite character.” Just rub the salt in my wound, Ms. Goldin.
Seriously, though, this kit looks pretty incredible. Likely utilizing NFC technology, the LEGO Mario figure will feature small screens for his eyes and be packed with a speaker to make him talk. As you move him across different enemies and obstacles, Mario will respond accordingly with samples taken straight from the games. There’s even the end level music. AH!!!
Takashi Tezuka, an executive officer at Nintendo, added, “I have always liked LEGO products and how they help children use their imagination to play. The new product we created together with the LEGO Group seeks to combine two different styles of play – one where you freely build the world of Mario and the other where you play with Mario in the very world that you have created.”
That last part seems to be the gist of this LEGO set. This is more than just throwing the Mario branding onto a product and selling it. Children are encouraged to create their own obstacle courses and navigate through them. You even see rotating platforms and coins in the promotional video.
Technology is sometimes an absolutely amazing thing. I would have loved to have a LEGO Mario set as a child, but at least someone is going to get one. If only I could wind back the clock and return to my youth. Where’s a time machine when you need one?
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