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"Marco" pasta is a good match for mushroom sauce, litigation
NeoGAFfer Chittagong found this bag of pasta in a Citymarket in Finland. The package is sending a very clear message, and that message is "It's-a not quite me, Maaaario!" Apparently when Mario and Luigi took off on their Mushroom Kingdom adventure, Mario's less-famous identical brother Marco stuck around and devoted his time to making delicious dried pastas. Either that or some unscrupulous company has shamelessly ripped off Mario's likeness. We'll leave it up to you to determine which is more likely-- that this is the work of an unknown relative of a fictional character or of real-world jerks. Hey, maybe Marco will show up in Good Smash Friends Battle for the Nintenco Wuu!
New Super Mario Brothers plush toys are new, super, and plush
We really weren't fans of Mario's blue shell ability in New Super Mario Bros., because it tended to steer us inexorably into a lava-filled grave. But we want to hug this plush Blue Shell Mario. And then maybe toss him into lava. Play-Asia is selling these adorable NSMB toys, produced by Banpresto, for about $11 each. You have your choice of the aforementioned Mario, a Mega Mushroom, Boo, Luigi (in casino minigame regalia) and Toad. Does anyone else find it odd that Luigi still wears his green hat, even when he's in formal attire? [Via Siliconera]
iPod's glow helps rescue lost mushroom picker
Talk about the iPod's halo effect: the Gazette-Times has a story about a 25-year-old "city boy" son of a mushroom picker who got lost in the back woods of Benton County, Oregon. Apparently picking went a little late, and after getting separated from her son, the mother sent a search and rescue team to find the boy. Surprisingly, the glow of his iPod nano was bright enough in the thick underbrush for the team to track him down at 1:12 am, offering the possibility of a new "life saver" marketing angle for Apple's darling little music player.All humor aside, however, Pini Nou was reunited with his mother.
New Super Mario power-up preview
A video of some of the new power-ups featured in New Super Mario Bros. has been posted on the official website — additional videos will be posted on 5/1, 5/8, and 5/15. The current video features the exciting new Mega Mushroom power-up (pictured) and its counterpart, the Mini Mushroom. The new blue Koopa shell also makes an appearance, transforming the plumber into Shell Mario, as seen in the underwater scene. And of course, what preview would be complete with a Fire Mario sighting?The video also gives us a look at some of Mario's moves, including the ground pound (or 'butt bounce'), double jump, and wall jumping ability. We may have picked up on Infendo's skepticism a few weeks ago, but this new footage had us on that nostalagia tip, hard. You know, all warm and gooey inside. New Super Mario Bros. is set to drop on May 15.
Have Mario send your mail (via stamps from Japan)
Sure, old Mario has been known to paint, play professional sports, and even do some actual plumbing work on occasion, but he'll soon be able to power your mail through the postal service in the Far East.10-stamp sheets of 80 Yen stamps are now available for pre-order in Japan, where gaming otakus will soon be able to adorn their snail mail with the likes of goombas, magic mushrooms, and mustachioed men. The set will be out next month.Has the government of a country like the US ever done anything this official to honor one of the icons of gaming? Perhaps when we have avid gaming advocates in Congress -- or even, dare we say, in the White House -- things will look a little different with game legislation proposals and the postage of unwanted junk mail.[Via GameBrink]See also: French stamps to feature video game icons (Super) Mario Bros. question mark and POW block speakers
