Rockefeller Center will be overrun today by hordes of carnivorous mushrooms — and fans of Nintendo’s “Super Mario Brothers” are delighted to take a bite.
To celebrate tomorrow’s release of “Wii Super Mario Brothers,” the plaza will be transformed for one day into a real-life version of the Mushroom Kingdom — the fairyland where, for nearly 30 years, death has been dealt 2,000 ways to gutsy plumbers Mario and his brother Luigi.
“These characters have a history that stretches back to the beginning of the computer age,” says Kit Ellis, a Nintendo executive overseeing the exhibit, which will include a temporary Nintendo Museum filled with Mario Brothers memorabilia.
“Many people have extremely fond memories from these games,” he says.
Other elements of the exhibit will include “Super Mario Brothers”-centric oddities, giant mushrooms, carnivorous plants and even a giant 8-foot pipe — a prop ripped straight from the games.Of course, there will also be demonstrations of the new Wii edition of the game.
Ellis says the “Mario” memorabilia that makes up the museum was gathered from long-time Nintendo employees who held onto some of the odder examples of “Mario” merchandise. Items include lunchboxes, watches, video games that were only released in Japan, movie trailers, old commercials and magazines.
“These people have been really good and forthcoming about sharing these items,” says Ellis.
“It’s amazing how some of these things can take you back in time.”
Mario first appeared as the hero of the smash coin-operated video game “Donkey Kong.” Since then he’s turned up in nearly 200 games, cartoons and television shows — and was even played by Bob Hoskins in a film that also starred John Leguizamo and Dennis Hopper. Like most “Super Mario Brothers” games, the goal of the new edition is the same: Mario and Luigi must rescue Princess Peach from the clutches of the evil King Koopa, a reptilian jerk who commands armies of deadly mushrooms, killer plants and spiky turtles.
The new game includes a four-player capability, a big deal to enthusiasts. It was designed by Shigeru Miyamoto, the original samurai of game design who many consider to be the father of video games.
And despite the obvious psychedelic inferences (uh, deadly eyes and teeth!), Miyamoto allegedly never meant to load the games with references to hallucinogenic drugs.
“He’s really just a very soft-spoken, artistic, down-to-earth kind of guy,” says another Nintendo executive who has worked with Miyamoto. “I don’t think he would even know what the [drug] term ‘shrooming’ means.”
The Nintendo World Store at 10 Rockefeller Plaza is open today from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.; (646) 459-0800.