You can navigate the world as Mario for a limited time inside Google Maps.
The awesome new feature, added to celebrate Mario Day on March 10, shows you driving along in Mario’s red kart — complete with familiar sound effects.
We had little interest in Nintendo when it was trying to sell us the Wii U. Now, thanks to the incredible success of the Switch over the past year, it’s the hottest company in gaming. Even Google is jumping on the Nintendo bandwagon by bringing Mario to Maps.
Mario comes to Google Maps
Starting today, and running for one week to celebrate Mario Day on March 10, you can navigate the world as Mario. Instead of appearing as the usual blue navigation arrow, you’ll appear as the world’s most famous plumber in his iconic red kart.
You’ll also hear familiar Mario phrases and sound effects, but Google encourages you to continue driving safely; “we don’t encourage throwing bananas or red shells at other drivers in real life!”
An update to the Maps app, available to download now, is required. Once you have it installed, you can switch to Mario by selecting the yellow “?” icon that appears alongside the “Start” button when you begin navigation. You’ll then have to confirm you want to enter “Mario time!”
Photo: Google
Get Super Mario Run at half price
You can also celebrate Mario Day by getting Super Mario Run on iOS for half price. The in-app purchase to unlock the full game with all six worlds is usually priced at $9.99, but between March 10 and March 25, you can get it for just $4.99.
