Over the weekend, some lucky JetBlue planes got a pleasant surprise as they entered Terminal 5 at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport: a photo op with none other than Nintendo’s (and gaming’s) leading man, Mario.
As part of an initiative called “Nintendo Switch On the Go,” Nintendo has taken over a tiny portion of Terminal 5 at JFK and converted it into a mini gaming haven everything about Mario And Nintendo Switch. Apparently families were invited to the hub, which appears to have taken over one of them public lounge of the terminal areas and were welcome to take photos with a person dressed as Mario. It even looks like some of the kids who stopped by the pop-up were offered Mario’s iconic red hat to keep, or at least wear for the photo op.
The airport pop-up also had several switches available for families and their children to try out some Nintendo titles. According to the images provided by Nintendo, the games are included Super Smash Bros Ultimate And Mario Kart 8 Deluxewhich are among the best-selling systems games of all time. A sign in front of one of the children also lists Mario Party Superstars And Captain Toad’s Treasure Hunteras well as newer titles like Super Mario Bros Wonder, The Mario vs Donkey Kong New editionand myself Princess Peach: Showtime!
The pop-up at Terminal 5 will be there until April 20th. So if you’re flying to or from New York soon, see if you can swing by and join in on the fun. At least stop by there and charge your Switch, which is apparently another service they offer.
The first time I heard about this pop-up was via a tweet from the Game Awards account, with Nintendo surprisingly remaining quiet on the matter. However, the name of the initiative, “Nintendo Switch On the Go,” seems to indicate that the show will be going on tour, so I wouldn’t be too surprised if we see a similar constellation in major cities across the country and eventually around the world . It’s perhaps the most expensive and stupid way to get your hands on it Princess Peach Showtime! But I’m not above traveling to JFK just to play this under-promoted game.
Most importantly, does Mario live there now? My shitposting colleague Zack Zwiezen pointed out that this could be a situation like the 2004 comedy The terminal, in which Tom Hanks plays a European who is denied entry into the United States but also cannot return home. Is the Mushroom Kingdom in the middle of a military coup? In this film, Hanks’ character survives by eating cheap fast food, which makes me wonder what Mario thinks of our modern offerings. Sure, it’s not mushrooms that cause a growth spurt, but Shake Shack does have mushroom burgers. I could imagine Mario pursuing a career as a food influencer if he runs out of things to do in this situation. You get the bag, best friend.
