A few days ago, the LEGO Group announced a new partnership with Nintendo. Designers from both companies joined forces to create a new physical play experience that brings Super Mario to life in the world of LEGO bricks, launching later this year. Below is the press-release and intro video with all the details that we know so far. Check them out, and let’s discuss.
BILLUND, March 12, 2020: The LEGO Group announced a partnership with Nintendo that will change the way people interact with Super Mario in the physical world and engage in LEGO experiences.
Both companies share a passion for innovation and play and their collaboration has led to a re-imagination of the LEGO building experience, enabling an entirely new way to play inspired by the beloved video game icon, Super Mario.
Neither a video game nor a traditional LEGO brick-based set, LEGO Super Mario is a new product line that features an interactive LEGO Mario figure who collects coins in real-life game levels created with LEGO bricks. The new line will let kids experience the playful world of Super Mario like never before. Super Mario will be brought to life in the physical LEGO world and new levels of challenge and styles of play will be part of the iconic LEGO experience enjoyed by generations.
The news was also shared in a video posted by the LEGO Group and Nintendo (watch below), which hints at what fans can expect when LEGO Super Mario launches later this year. The video shows players using an interactive Mario figure to collect coins in a real-life game level that has been created with LEGO bricks.
“We are very excited to bring Mario into the physical world through interactive and social LEGO play”, said Julia Goldin, Chief Marketing Officer, EVP of the LEGO Group. “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. By seamlessly incorporating the latest digital technology, LEGO Super Mario is a highly social, interactive, and collaborative experience for kids.”
“I have always liked LEGO products and how they help children use their imagination to play”, said Takashi Tezuka, Executive Officer and Game Producer of Nintendo Co., Ltd. “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.”
LEGO Mario seems to be a very interesting and innovative product that incorporates both physical and digital play. My guess is that it will be received well by kids, and perhaps even older LEGO and Mario fans. And the collaboration with Nintendo is interesting in itself. Nintendo owns several other industry icons besides Mario, such as Donkey Kong, Metroid, Zelda, and Pokémon. Mega Construx is doing very well with their Pokémon sets, and LEGO fans have been asking for Zelda sets for several years now.
What do you think? How do you like LEGO Mario so far? Is this a theme you’re interested in? And what do you think of the demo video? Feel free to share your thoughts and discuss in the comment section below!
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NOt what I was expecting, but not bad. As long as they also make Mario minifigs. 😀
I’m confused by the gameplay. How does this work?
Mario looks like a duplo figure.
It seems better than Hidden Side as it doesn’t depend on an app or VR technilogy. I’m looking forward to this.
My kids are excited about it. I think it will be popular with their age group.
Is this a Duplo set? That what it looks like? And does Mario has a screen on his chest that’s interactive? Does this set work with an app or by itself? It’s confusing.
It’s standard LEGO, expect for the large figures. As far as I can see, no app is involved.
I guess there could be some electronic components included in certain bricks, to facilitate interaction… Or something similar…
Yes, that’s possible. It’s hard to tell from the video, but it would make sense.
From what I understood:
– Mario is full of electronics (4 screens: 2 for eyes, 1 for mouth, 1 for belly, a speaker and kind of a barcode reader on the bottom)
– no app is involved
Yes, that’s my understanding as well.
Not my cup of tea, but still…
Otherwise, I heard Lego will close down their brand stores indefinitely outside of China, until the Corona Virus has passed over. Possibly people were too paranoid to touch the BAM minifig bowls, anyway…
Yes, stores are closed until at least the end of the month. In most places, this is a response to local regulations and procedures, not so much what the LEGO or the public wanted. The public is going nuts in some places. On the one hand, stocking up on enough toilet paper to last until the end of eternity, on the other hand, hanging out in crowded bars to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. As the saying goes, persons are smart, it’s people who are dumb. 😀
Ha, yeah, my local convenience store was all out on toilet paper. Three wide shelves were completely empty in a relatively small store…
I managed to snag two rolls on a local freeshop at a campus where I volunteer, though… 😉 (I might not strictly need them right now, but it would be annoying if I would run out with empty stock everywhere…)
Yeah, this year will be remembered as the the Year of the Run on Toilet Paper! 🙄
MARIO is disappointing, it looks like a product that was developed independently and then modified to work with the LEGO system, not a system of play that reflects the strengths of the both IPs.
That’s a good observation, and it seems like the press-release kind of hints that. Once we see the first reviews, we should be able to give a better assessment, so I would still give it a chance. 🙂
I will wait until more info is known about this. I appreciate that they continue to innovate, even if it doesn’t always work out. The toy market is rough.
I could see this being really good or really dreadful. So far I like it, but like many of these types of sets, so much depends on how good the technology works. We will see….
I think kids will love this. Adults probably not so much. But they may decide to release a set for older Mario fans.