Nintendo and Lego team up on a $229 mechanical NES and TV set

• 

  If you were disappointed because the first Lego/Nintendo collaboration was aimed at young children, you might be more impressed with the pair's latest project. [credit: Lego ]

Back in March, we found out about a collaboration between Nintendo and Lego, who have teamed up to make a Super Mario platform game made out of Lego bricks. It's fair to say that Lego Mario was met with an underwhelming reception from adult fans of Lego—no surprise since that set was aimed squarely at children. On Tuesday, the two companies revealed another joint project, one we think most of you will love: a brick-built Nintendo NES and TV, complete with a mechanical scrolling Super Mario on the screen.

Lego NES B-Roll.

The set includes an NES console with one controller, along with a game cartridge that fits into the cartridge slot, just like the real thing. While that's pretty neat, I'm more impressed with the little retro TV set, inside of which is part of a level from Super Mario Brothers. As you turn a handle on the side of the TV, the level scrolls by, with Mario jumping over the obstacles in 8-bit glory, bouncing on Koopas and collecting power-ups as he goes. Not only does it look totally awesome, it also appears to use some really interesting building techniques that go to show how far Lego's construction methods have come since the sets of my childhood all those decades ago.

"Super Mario has been a cherished figure in the gaming world for over thirty years now," said Maarten Simons, Creative Lead on Lego Nintendo Entertainment System, the Lego Group. "Many adults still fondly remember that first time they saw Mario leap across the small screen, even if the graphics were a lot simpler than they are today. With the Lego Nintendo Entertainment System, we're letting them truly indulge in that nostalgia, recreating one of the most-loved consoles of all time so they can see the Super Mario from their childhoods once again—and even to share the experience of gaming in the 1980s with their own children."

Read 2 remaining paragraphs | Comments