In celebration of Mario Day, Google and Nintendo partner up to bring Mario Kart to Google Maps.
National Mario Day has been observed on March 10 after the realization that the abbreviated date (MAR10) spells out the character’s name.
In celebration,Google and Nintendo collaborated in bringing Mario Kart to Google Maps on iOS and Android.
This isn’t the first time Google has incorporated video games into Maps, as users were able to play Ms. Pac Man during April Fools‘ Day last year.
Starting today, users will be able to enable Mario in becoming the navigation arrow as he drives en route to a destination in his kart.
According to a blog posted to Google, this feature will only be around for a week and can be accessed by tapping an icon at the bottom-right corner of the app. Following the prompt on screen will jump start navigating the roads as Mario.
UX engineer at Google Maps Munish Dabas cautions users to drive safely, posting the reminder to „practice safe driving on the road—we don’t encourage throwing bananas or red shells at other drivers in real life!
