Nintendo and LEGO have an interesting deal worked out to release LEGO Super Mario sets starting this August that will take the popular building block toys above and beyond their usual means by giving Mario interactive digital screens. Today LEGO announced that the $60 Super Mario Starter Course Bundle will be released alongside four separate $9.99 Power-Up Packs giving the portly plumber abilities from a variety of his popular video games.
Power-ups can be emulated by holding in the correct buttons. The play experience won't be great, but this could be used to see what a power-up does if you don't own it. There's more detail on exactly what is read and presented via the Bluetooth interface on Shinichiro Oba's Github. It's worth noting that the included hats are for decoration only. During the last few years, the focus of computer science education (CSE) in primary and secondary schools (shortly K-12) have reached a significant turning point.
The four power-ups featured by LEGO are Fire Mario from the NES Super Mario Bros., Propeller Mario from New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Cat Mario from Super Mario 3D World, and Builder Mario from Super Mario Maker and its sequel that recently received its final DLC update. Each pack includes two snap-on outfit pieces that change LEGO Mario's sound effects and digital features, allowing him to collect coins in different ways based on the actions they facilitate in those original titles.
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While these Power-Up Packs are set to launch the same day as the main starter course, fans of LEGO and Super Mario alike may have to try extra hard to get their hands on Mario himself. Pre-orders on the Starter Course Bundle sold out soon after they were announced in April.
Nintendo's leading property is undoubtedly the face of video gaming around the world, even as Microsoft and Sony continue to release stellar games and have big plans with their next-generation consoles the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5. That global popularity has led to various different media crossovers well before this LEGO series, including work on a Super Mario Animated Movie through Illumination.
At the same time there are always Mario games in the pipeline, with one of Nintendo's most recent announcements being Paper Mario: The Origami King coming to the Switch. For those who find LEGO Super Mario's price tag a little too steep to jump on board — or for those who simply can't find any sets available online — the new game's aesthetic has already inspired DIY origami Princess Peach tutorials.
Between recent tie-ins with LEGO and Levi's, Nintendo has clearly been eager to capitalize on the success of the Switch console. With characters as iconic as those found in the Super Mario series it's an understandable pursuit, and LEGO Mario certainly seems like a fun, creative way to reimagine the fan-favorite property.
The LEGO Super Mario Starter Course Bundle and Power-Up Packs are slated for release on August 1st, 2020.
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Source: LEGO