Google has rolled out a new feature in its Maps app on Saturday, which is available to both Android and iOS users. The new feature brings a Mario Kart on the navigation interface while using the app. This new feature will be available for one week.
Munish Dabas, User Experience Engineer at Google Maps, recently said in a blog post that Google has collaborated with the Japanese video game maker, Nintendo which is also the creators of the Mario game to bring Mario to Google Maps and accompany all users for their driving adventures using the app for one week.
Google has brought this new feature to celebrate a special day, dubbed as MAR10 day, which is on the 10th of March. This feature will be available to the users of Google Maps for one week, which started on March 10.
“We know a true Mario fan when we see one. They hum the Super Mario Bros. background music on repeat, daydream about collecting gold coins and 1-UP mushrooms, and want nothing more than to traverse the Mushroom Kingdom with Luigi, Toad, and Yoshi to rescue Princess Peach from Bowser,” Dabas added in the blog post.
To use this new feature, users have to first update the Google Maps app to its latest version from the App Store. Users would then need to click on the yellow “?” icon which is available in the bottom right corner of the Google Maps app for both Android and iOS versions. Users will be presented with a prompt to enable the “Mario Time!” feature and then they need to select the “Lets A-Go” option.
Once this feature is enabled, the user navigation arrow of Google Maps will be morphed into Mario, the popular character of the game, released by Nintendo in the 90s era.
Dabs also said in his blog post “He’ll be a constant companion wherever you’re driving this week-to work, to school, or the spaghetti house. Just remember to practice safe driving on the road we don’t encourage throwing bananas or red shells at other drivers in real life!”