Sorry, Mario, Your Princess Is in Another NYC Tourist Trap
You know something big is happening when a company pours out the massive dollars required to decorate Times Square for an entire day.
For Nintendo, that day will be November 12. The iconic New York City
landmark will be transformed into a veritable Mario playhouse, in honor
of the November 13 launch of Mario 3D Land, arguably the most important title to launch for the 3DS to date.“Nintendo is giving fans in New York City a rare opportunity to experience how 3D significantly enhances and reinvents the beloved Mario
gaming experience. Anyone who visits Times Square on Nov. 12 will be
invited to play inside Mario’s 3D world with life size warp pipes,
trampoline coin jumps and a flag pole finale,” wrote Nintendo in a press
release.In addition, fans will receive exclusive Tanooki ears and tails so
they can look just like Mario does when he gets that classic brown leaf
power-up.
This sounds pretty awesome, actually, and the fact that it will drive native New Yorkers crazy — any genuine New Yorker already loathes Times Square and its infinite gaggle of near-stationary tourists — by making Times Square even more crowded than usual is a nice touch. It does make me wonder why Nintendo hasn’t gone ahead and made an actual official Nintendo theme park yet, though. Even if it’s just in Japan. Who wouldn’t want to try and make it through an actual Mario world? You could have a Metroid world and a Pok?mon world and a Mario Kart racetrack… fuck it, Nintendo. You should be paying me right now for these ideas. My mouth is sealed until you cut me a check.