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'The Brothers Mario' machinima brings the Mushroom Kingdom to Liberty City
Usually, we balk at fan-made creations that take innocent, classic game characters and put them in mature scenarios. That's not the case with this GTA IV machinima, The Brothers Mario -- not because it's especially hilarious, mind you, but because it's actually, unbelievably badass.
Super Mario Bros. tricks explained with animated GIFs
With the launch of the 25th Anniversary edition of Super Mario All-Stars for Wii drawing near (this Sunday!), you may be seriously tempted to buy all those classic Mario games again for, like -- what? The fourth time? Think again! Not only is the "Limited Edition" Wii game a veritable ROM dump of the SNES All-Stars (which features graphically and musically enhanced versions of the NES games, by 16-bit standards), it's also missing a lot of the great "glitches" from the original games. TASVideos has assembled a comprehensive guide to the elite tricks and tactics from the original Super Mario Bros. games -- with pictures! Animated pictures. It serves as a stark reminder to us purists why there's really no substitute for the originals, even when said substitute comes in a nifty box.
Super Mario Bros. 25th anniversary book out in Japan next week
For those Mario lovers who want more commemorative book than is included with the Super Mario All-Stars Limited Edition, Enterbrain is publishing its own brand of "Super Mario 25th Anniversary Commemorative Book" in Japan on December 9. The 144-page page-turner includes a retrospective interview with Shigeru Miyamoto, a collection of Mario manga, stickers and a poster, and a CD of orchestrated Mario music from the Press Start Symphony of Games concert series. If you don't mind a little (okay, probably a lot) of Japanese text along with your Mario ephemera, you can pre-order a copy from Amazon Japan for ¥840 -- that's about $10.
LEGO art pays homage to some of gaming's best
You don't know flickr user Encaja en Camon, but rest assured that the account in question has some pretty awesome and simple LEGO adaptations of famous games and their characters. Above, you can check out Sonic's blocky noggin, while just past the break we've included a couple of our other favorites.
Kinect hacked into Super Mario Bros. emulator controller
YouTube user Yankeyan recently showed off one of the cleverest Kinect hacks we've seen to date: He's managed to use the motion-sensing gadget to control Super Mario Bros. 1 - 3 on an NES emulator. Well, he kind of controls it. We've never seen anyone work so hard to grab that first mushroom before.
Nintendo rolls out orange and green DSi bundles especially for Black Friday stampedes
Black Friday is one of those new school traditions we can really get behind: the consumer's holiday, where trampling an elderly person is perfectly acceptable as long as you end up with a $40 netbook. Well, Nintendo's getting in the spirit this year with two new orange and green DSi bundles for your shopping pleasure. The bundles serve to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the famous Super Mario Bros. games and come with Mario Party DS. The bundles will be available on November 26th (yes, that's Black Friday) for $149.99. Full press release is below.
Spanish neighborhood receiving video game street names
If you happened to be visiting the new neighborhood of Arcosur, located in Zaragoza, Spain, this past weekend, you would have played witness to a truly ... unique sight. This past Saturday, one of the first streets in the still-under-construction suburb received a moniker: Avenida de Super Mario Bros., which, as the Spanish-speakers and context clue-users among you probably figured out, translates to Super Mario Bros. Avenue. Present at the unveiling was the titular plumber himself, as well as the neighborhood's new residents, who sported fake black mustaches in solidarity. The name was chosen by said residents in an online poll -- and it isn't the only gaming-themed name which won out. Future boulevards in the community will be named after Sonic the Hedgehog, Space Invaders and The Legend of Zelda. This is all very cool -- but we're still holding out hope for an Alleyway Alleyway. Is it too late for a write-in ballot? [Image credit: VicioJuegos]
Super Mario All-Stars U.S. box art revealed, Iwata Asks talks music
Listen, if you're a dyed-in-the-wool Wii owner who hasn't already purchased the entire Super Mario catalog on Virtual Console, you're probably going to pick up the 25th Anniversary Super Mario All-Stars Limited Edition package. Nintendo recently revealed exactly what the game you'll be hunting for is going to look like, posting the game's official U.S. box art on the company's Twitter feed. Also, the latest installment in the Iwata Asks saga sees the president pressing a few Nintendo EAD composers about the music which will come in the bundle's soundtrack CD. Give it a read, if you're interested in the history of the franchise's timeless accompaniment -- just don't get surly with us if you get "Slider" stuck in your head for like, a month.
Super Mario All-Stars Limited Edition hits North America on Dec. 12
Nintendo of America has announced plans to celebrate Super Mario Bros.' 25th anniversary by selling us Super Mario All-Stars again. On December 12, the Super Mario All-Stars Limited Edition will be released in North America, with the same contents as the European and Japanese releases: the game on a Wii disc, a Super Mario History CD with tracks from classic and modern Marios, and a 32-page Super Mario History booklet. Nintendo says that sales will continue "while supplies last," which makes it sound like there will be only one run of the All-Stars collection. Considering the bonuses, that $30 price actually compares pretty favorably to buying All-Stars on eBay.
Super Mario used to pack a beam gun
OK, so our jealousy of Japan and Europe and their Super Mario Bros. collectors editions has become utterly crushing. N-Styles provides the proverbial camel-back-breaking straw with some original design docs included in the package's history book. Not only are they so totally gorgeous that we want to lay them out on a bed and go full Indecent Proposal, but Andriasang's translation shows they're full of interesting tidbits like the fact that Mario was originally supposed to have a beam gun. Boy, fireballs seem pretty tame now that we know how close we got to ... Mario Chief? Master Plumber? ... Sorry, give us a second, we'll come up with something.
Developers celebrate Super Mario Bros.' 25th anniversary
In case the red consoles didn't sufficiently alert you, 2010 is the 25th anniversary of the release of Super Mario Bros. for Famicom and NES. To commemorate the occasion, Famitsu spoke to a group of prominent developers about the impact Shigeru Miyamoto's masterpiece had on them and the industry. "The reason I entered the industry," Capcom's Keiji Inafune said, "was because I encountered Mario and learned how interesting games can be. Thank you, Mr. Shigeru Miyamoto." Super Monkey Ball and Yakuza creator Toshihiro Nagoshi expressed a similar sentiment, saying "It's the game that made me enter the game industry." Bethesda's Todd Howard said that Super Mario Bros. was the beginning of "the genre where the hero always follows the correct path." Our favorite quote is from Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii. "Also, I can't say much," he said, "but there was also 'Kintamario.'" Yes, yes there was.
Club Nintendo celebrates Super Mario Bros.' 25th anniversary -- with pins
Sure, we may not have the special Super Mario Bros. 25th anniversary Wii or DSi XL, or the Super Mario All-Stars re-release, but Europe and Japan don't have these pins -- or this screensaver. The newest items in the Club Nintendo shop are these four commemorative Mario pins, each shipping in early November for a steep 450 Coins -- which means you can go ahead and forget about collecting them all. On the other end of the price scale is a new Mario screensaver, featuring footage from games throughout the series, which you can download for 10 Coins. Compared to the pins, it's a bargain! But it's also a screensaver.
Super Mario Wii and DSi XL systems coming to Europe
First, the Super Mario Collection Special Pack was confirmed for Europe after being announced for Japan. Today, the special edition Super Mario Bros. 25th Anniversary DSi XL and Wii systems have been announced for the region as well, with each red system bundled with a Mario game. The red Wii set, in stores October 29, includes Wii Sports and New Super Mario Bros. Wii. However, instead of the special version of Super Mario Bros. packed with the Japanese system, the European version includes the "original" Donkey Kong. This is probably just the NES game on Virtual Console, but the "original" terminology suggests it could be the arcade game. The red DSi XL bundle includes a copy of New Super Mario Bros. and will be out October 22. None of this has been announced in North America. Happy birthday, Mario!
Super Mario All-Stars 25th Anniversary hits Europe on Dec. 3
Europe will be able to play Super Mario All-Stars on the Wii -- and, perhaps more importantly, collect some new Mario stuff -- on December 3. Nintendo of Europe announced plans today to release Super Mario All-Stars: 25th Anniversary in the region, in a deluxe package similar to the Super Mario Collection Special Pack coming out in Japan this month. The new Wii package includes Super Mario All-Stars (SNES versions of Super Mario Bros. 1-3 and The Lost Levels), a history booklet, and a CD with selections from throughout the series, through Super Mario Galaxy 2. With all the special edition items in Japan and this in Europe, we in North America feel left out of the festivities. We're checking with Nintendo of America about potential release plans for the collection here. Update: Nintendo UK posted an image and a press release here.
Nintendo Wii turns red with glee for Super Mario's 25th anniversarii
First of all, put away those credit cards, American readers, this is so far a Japan-only affair. Nintendo's celebrations of Mario's 25th birthday are extending beyond custom DSi and DSi LL consoles to a repainted Wii machine and a pretty sweet bundle to go with it. The sporty red number above includes one of the newfangled Wii Remote Plus controllers -- which can do MotionPlus tracking without the additional appendage -- along with a similarly rouged-up nunchuck, and, perhaps best of all, a preinstalled copy of Super Mario Bros. 25th Anniversary Edition. That's still the game you know and love, but it now comes with bricks embellished with the number 25 on the front. You'll catch a screenshot after the break, while the Japanese audience can expect the tasty bundle to drop on November 11 for ¥20,000 ($241). Hey, if you really want it that bad, you've got a whole month to figure out an import strategy.
Nintendo shows off special edition Super Mario Bros. DSi and DSi XL
Yeah, Super Mario Bros. was kind of a big deal, and we can't fault Nintendo for wanting to celebrate: September 13th marked the 25th anniversary of the game's launch, and Nintendo is pushing out special editions of the DSi and DSi XL (pictured) to celebrate, along with some pretty sweet swag. We mentioned the handhelds this morning, but now we've got a couple pictures -- way to play it subdued, Nintendo. Unfortunately, the consoles are for Japan only, but what we're particularly digging is this Super Mario Collection Special Pack that Nintendo will be launching alongside. The pack will include a version of Super Mario All-Stars for the Wii, a soundtrack CD, and a "Super Mario History, 1985 to 2010" booklet with some unreleased materials like initial development planning sheets handwritten by Shigeru Miyamoto himself. Again, announced for Japan only. Sounds like the import industry is going to be hot this October when these things land! %Gallery-103649%
Mario DSi XL and DSi temporarily make us forget the 3DS
Japanese DS fans face a critical choice: start saving for a 3DS to be able to buy one at launch, or buy one of the swanky Super Mario Bros. 25th Anniversary DSi LL systems announced last night. Nintendo has revealed an image of the system (above), along with a surprise: a 25th Anniversary DSi, also in red, and also with Mario graphics. That's going to make choosing even more difficult. The DSi LL will be available in Japan on October 28 for 18,000 yen ($215). The DSi, featuring an adorable little Mario jumping over the camera, will be available the same day for 14,800 yen ($177) -- but only from 7-Eleven and its online shop.
Miyamoto explains why it's 'easy' to make a Mario game
As part of Nintendo's ongoing celebration of Mario's 25th anniversary, the latest edition of Iwata Asks is a lengthy conversation between Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto and guest host Shigesato Itoi, creator of Earthbound. In the interview, Miyamoto suggested that making Mario games has been "easy," thanks to ever-evolving technology. "What's been easy about making the Mario games is that they could naturally change along with the progress of technology," Miyamoto observed. "For example, when you make live action SFX movies and as special effects technology advances, then you have new methods at your disposal." Adapting to new technologies has been key to Mario's longevity, Miyamoto explained. "In the same way, as technology advances, the Mario games change, too [...] And as technology changes, so does what you want to do. If it weren't for that, I don't think I could have stuck with it this far." Because the Mario franchise is meant to change with technology, there hasn't ever been a "roadmap" for the series. Instead, the impromptu schedule of Mario games has fueled its creative stamina. "The games turn out more fun that way than if you planned everything out on paper," Miyamoto added. Although Miyamoto has been working with Nintendo and the Mario series for the past 25 years, it seems the famed designer isn't ready to quit any time soon. When quizzed about his position 25 years from now (when he's 85!), Miyamoto admitted that "I'll probably be working on something." Of course, there's a caveat: "If I'm still alive then."
Nintendo trademarks Super Mario anniversary logo
The 25th anniversary of Super Mario Bros' NES debut is only a week away. To celebrate, Nintendo of Japan has trademarked a new ... logo. Siliconera speculates that the logo will be appended to the upcoming Japanese re-release of Mario All-Stars (known as Super Mario Collection). But, why go through the effort of trademarking a logo for a single product? Presumably, the company will want to use this logo on all Mario games in the coming year. While Mario's 25th anniversary should warrant a far more festive attitude from Nintendo, it doesn't seem like Mario actually needs the added attention. Unlike most other gaming mascots, Mario's popularity hasn't waned in the 25 years since the NES game -- a testament to how beloved an icon he truly is.
You could buy this $435 Super Mario Bros. sweater, or ...
You could buy this PlayStation 3, this Xbox 360, or two of these Nintendo Wiis. You could get two beautiful sets of Global chef's knives. Heck, you could even purchase a top of the line netbook! Or you could buy a sweater with Mario on it made by the developer of Earthbound. For 435 dollars. The choice is yours.
