WTMK is now playing its annual Christmas playlist.  Tune in and hear vaguely Christmas/winter-y music from now until Twelfth Night!

There may even be some special surprises coming up over the week...

Link: WTMK

The Speedgamers are running a Mario marathon for charity.  Visit their website at www.thespeedgamers.com to find out about The Speed Gamers' Mario Marathon.  They'll be playing Mario games from December 14th to December 17th while raising money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Link: http://www.thespeedgamers.com

The fine folks at Mariothon, CO are running a another game marathon for charity.  Visit their website at www.bottle-crew.org to find out about Mariothon Colorado 3 - Rarevolution.  They'll be playing Mario (and other) games from December 13th to December 16th while raising money for Action Against Hunger.

Link: Mariothon 3 at www.bottle-crew.org

Shigeru Miyamoto's 60th birthday is today.  Happy birthday, Mr. Miyamoto!

Another band of dedicated gamers is holding a Mario marathon to raise money to charity.  This time, the charity in question is the Starlight Children's Foundation and the folks involved will be playing games and taking donations from October 25th to October 28th.  Visit their website, donate, and try out some of the interactive features of their Mariothon.  Suggest games to play, and you might win something yourself!

Mariothon.org's marathon begins October 25th at 15:00 BST (that's 7 A.M. PST on the 25th for my fellow Americans) and runs until the 28th.  For more information, visit Mariothon.org.

Links: Mariothon.org
Starlight Children's Foundation

Mario Tennis Open is currently on sale for $17.99 over at GameFly.com.  GameFly used games generally have their boxes and manuals stored away before the games are shipped for rentals, which means their used games are generally in very, very good condition.  The Club Nintendo codes are even unused!  The game comes with free shipping, as well.

I've ordered several used games from Gamefly, and they've always arrived in nearly perfect condition -- some looking brand new!

If you're interested, you might want to get a copy soon - this appears to be a sale price.

Link: GameFly.com - Mario Tennis Open

Emily Rogers of NotEnoughShaders.com recently wrote an excellent article all about Yoshi's Island.  The article discusses the game's development, its unique style, the critical reception (past and present), and uses these to argue that the game should be "required reading" for all new game designers.

Overall, it is an excellent article and reading it made me think of Yoshi's Island in a slightly different way.

Go take a look, everyone!

Link: Emily Rogers - "Why “Yoshi’s Island” should be studied at game design schools"

It seems that the Wii U version of the upcoming Scribblenauts Unlimited will include characters from both the Mario and Zelda series.  Promotional artwork shows Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Yoshi hanging out with Scribblenauts protagonist Maxwell as well as with a few other Nintendo friends (Link, Zelda, Epona and a Goron.)  Sadly, it appears that the Nintendo characters can't be modified in any way, unlike nearly everything else in the game.

More details to come later, we assume.



Source: WB Interactive Press Release

WTMK is pleased to present more game remixes and covers for your listening pleasure: Mochtroid127's Volumes 6 - 10 of video game metal!  James "Turner" Hall ("Mochtroid127") has been releasing these for a bit now, and we're glad to present them to you.  Each album consists of several metal remixes and covers of game music, including many Mario and Donkey Kong tracks.

Volume 6 (Amazon MP3): Featuring "How to Play" (SSBM), "Menu" (Diddy Kong Racing), "Treetop Tumble" (DKC3), "Monkey Smash" (DK64), "Fever" (Dr. Mario), and "Bowser's Road" (SM64.)

Volume 7 (Amazon MP3): Featuring "Title" (DKC), "Adventure Map" (SSBB), "Minigame Medley" (Mario Party 8), "Life in the Mines" (DKC), "Bowser Battle" (M&L: Partners in Time),  "King K. Rool's Theme / Hideout Helm" (DK64), and "Disc Channel / Introduction" (Mario Strikers Charged.)

Volume 8 (Amazon MP3): Featuring "Title, Menu, Raceway" (MK64), "Angry Aztec" (DK64), "Airship Fortress" (Mario Kart DS), "All-Star Intro" (SSBM), "Professor E. Gadd's Room, Dark Rooms" (Luigi's Mansion), "Castle" (SMW2: Yoshi's Island), and "Fear Factory" (DKC.)

Volume 9 (Amazon MP3): Featuring "Ancient Lake" (Diddy Kong Racing), "Overworld"  (SMW), "Mushroom Bridge"  (MKDD), "Lost World Anthem"  (DKC2), "Cosmos of Illusion, Battlerock Galaxy"  (SMG), and "Metal Battle"  (SSBM.)

Volume 10 (Amazon MP3): Featuring "Stickerbrush Symphony" (DKC2), "Bowser Castle" (SMK), "Peach Beach" (MKDD), "Chaos!, Boss Battle" (M&L: Partners in Time), "Forest Frenzy" (DKC), and "Final Destination, Ending" (SSBM.)

Listen to these tracks on WTMK or buy them on Amazon or iTunes.

Special thanks to Mochtroid127 for providing TMK with copies of his albums!

Links: Mochtroid127's Youtube Channel
Mochtroid127's website

Computer and Video Games, a British magazine and website, recently published a special interview with David Wise, composer of Donkey Kong Country.  Some interesting facts include:

Among other items of interest, it appears that the famous "Jungle" theme was actually three different themes that were patched together at the suggestion of Rare's co-president Tim Stamper.
"Stickerbrush Symphony" from Donkey Kong Country 2 almost didn't make it into the game, as it was originally composed as an underwater piece and the game wasn't designed with underwater segments.

Go read the article for far more information about Wise's work, past and present!

Source: Computer and Video Games: "Like: The Music of Rare's David Wise"

We're proud to present another new album spinning on WTMK -- Donkey Kong Country by The Greatest Bits.  This album twists up the Donkey Kong Country music you know and love into a dance/hip hop/chip tune smoothie.  The tracks all sound updated but retain that certain 90s Euro feel!

"They have been restyled into SNES remixes and Wii remixes that are retro and modern at the same time . . . A lot of the lead melodies of the game have been ‘vintagized’; they have been performed with 8-bit style soundchips. On the other hand the songs have been remixed in styles of current dance beats and hip-hop grooves." -- The Greatest Bits

Highlights include:

"Aquatic Ambiance" -- electronic blips and bleeps backed with deeper beats and synth notes.

"Simian Segue" -- chiptune enhanced!

Thirteen tracks covering the entirety of the Donkey Kong Country music experience.

Tune in to WTMK to listen for yourself, or grab a copy off Amazon or  iTunes.

Special thanks to The Greatest Bits for sending TMK a copy of the album!

Links: The Greatest Bits website
Amazon: Donkey Kong Country
iTunes: Donkey Kong Country

WTMK is pleased to present more game remixes and covers for your listening pleasure: Mochtroid127's Volumes 1 - 5 of video game metal!  James "Turner" Hall ("Mochtroid127") has been releasing these for a bit now, and we're glad to present them to you.  Each album consists of several metal remixes and covers of game music, including many Mario and Donkey Kong tracks.

Volume 1 (Amazon MP3): Featuring "Bowser's Theme" (SM64), "Fungi Forest" (DK64), and "Menu" (SSBM).

Volume 2 (Amazon MP3): Featuring "Aquatic Ambiance" (DKC), "Toad's Turnpike" (MK64),  "Break the Targets" (SSBM), "Dire, Dire Docks" (SM64), and "DK Island Swing" (DKC).

Volume 3 (Amazon MP3): Featuring "Character Select" (SSB), "Hot Head Bop" (DKC2), "Dimble Woods" (M&L: Bowser's Inside Story), "Main Menu" (DK64), "Bowser's Castle" (MK64), "Gang Plank Galleon" (DKC), "Menu" (SSBB), and "Introduction" (Mario Superstar Baseball).

Volume 4 (Amazon MP3): Featuring a medley from Mario Power Tennis, "Story" (SMW2: Yoshi's Island), "Welcome to Crocodile Isle" (DKC2), "Bowser Castle" (MK:SC), "Bonus Game" (SSB), "Mine Cart Madness" (DKC), "Koopa Troopa Beach" (MK64), and "Slider" (SM64).

Volume 5 (Amazon MP3): Featuring "Bad Boss Boogie" (DKC), "Chocolate Island" (SMK), "Gritzy Desert" (M&L:Partners in Time), "Yoshi Desert" (MK:SC), "Airship, Boss Battle" (SMB3), "Krooks March" (DKC2), and "Opening" (SSB).

Listen to these tracks on WTMK or buy them on Amazon or iTunes.  More music will be coming soon, too!

Special thanks to Mochtroid127 for providing TMK with copies of his albums!

Links: Mochtroid127's Youtube Channel
Mochtroid127's website

WTMK is pleased to present another exciting video game remix album: VG Soundtrack Legacy!  This 2010 digital release by Yoann Turpin ("Megalorganiste") is available on Amazon and iTunes and features 18 video game remix tracks -- including three tunes pulled from across the Mario series.

Super Mario Athletic R'n'Mix (Super Mario World)
Smooth jazz keyboards and electronic tones give the Athletic tune an almost "Sonic" feel.

Mario And The Delfino Sunshine (Super Mario Sunshine)
Delfino Plaza with a backing beat.

Super Mario Bros Crazy Reemix (Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3)
A funky take on the SMB Aboveground theme, leading into the Underground music and a bit of the Water theme. Next, a bit of SMB3's Athletic theme, the Yoshi's Island major Boss Theme, what might just be a very stylized bit of SM64's Endless Staircase theme, and finally bring it all to the classic SMB Aboveground theme.

VG Soundtrack Legacy's Mario tracks are currently playing on WTMK, and available for purchase on Amazon's MP3 Store or on iTunes.  Special thanks to Megalorganiste for providing TMK with a copy of his album!

Links:
VG Soundtrack Legacy on Amazon MP3 Store
VG Soundtrack Legacy on iTunes
Yoann Turpin ("Megalorganiste") Artist Website

Twin Galaxies confirmed a new high score on Donkey Kong Junior this week.  Mark Kiehl of Missouri scored 1,328,100 points on July 29, 2012, giving him the new world record for the game.

Sources: Twin Galaxies, PatrickScottPatterson.com

Game Informer magazine recently published an interview with Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka, an interview in which several startling new revelations about the Mushroom World were revealed.  You may want to sit down before you read these.

* Currently, Bowser Jr. is Bowser's only child.  The Koopalings are no longer considered Bowser's children.

* Yoshi's Island is part of the core Mario series.

* Mario and Luigi have no last name.

* As Mario has always been a blue-collar worker, it's possible that his medical role in Dr. Mario was "maybe, in some way, not necessarily legitimate."

Pick up a copy of Game Informer for the full interview.

Source: Game Informer, October 2012.

Grant Kirkhope was recently interviewed by Nintendo Nation about a variety of subjects.  Fortunately for all of us, the DK Rap was brought up.  It seems the idea came from George Andreas at Rare, with several Rare staff members contributing their voices and Kirkhope recording it all.  Kirkhope and the rest thought it was hilarious, but weren't expecting gamers to take it as "a serious attempt at writing some kind of really great rap song."  Kirkhope also mentions seeing a clip of a "a real credible [Japanese] rapper" doing a serious version of the song.

We can only hope that a clip of the serious, hard core DK Rap surfaces soon.

Source: Nintendo Nation

Mariothon Colorado will be playing games and raising money to support OAR - the Organization for Autism Research. In April they raised over $1,500 for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital -- this time they hope to beat their record by using three teams to tackle both the Mario and Zelda universes.

From September 6th through the 9th, watch them struggle against Goombas, Octorocks, Leevers, and Peahats too!  Help out your favorite team by donating and answering trivia questions.

Red versus green.  Three days.  Seventeen games.  Millions of coins and rupees, thousands of lives, and hundreds more Yoshis plummeting to their doom.

The battle begins at 5PM MDT on September 6th, 2012.

Link: Mariothon, CO

Super Mario Kart was released 20 years ago today, at least in Japan.  The game was released on August 27th, 1992 in Japan and at some point in September in the USA.  For the past 20 years, folks have been tossing bananas, hurling shells, and desperately trying to escape from blue shells of doom!  As a special bonus, WTMK has a special Mario Kart-themed playlist running right now.

What's your favorite Mario Kart game?

The Atari 2600 has seen ports of Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., and the original arcade Mario Bros., but that wasn't enough for Sprybug over on the Atari Age forums.  He's busy putting together a version of Super Mario Bros. for the 2600, complete with background music and boss battles!  Sprybug has released a demo of a limited version of world 1-1, and he's working on boss battles against the nefarious Bowser Jr..  Take a look at the demo footage and see what's possible on the 2600.

Demo Footage: (Youtube)

Source: AtariAge Forums

Unless you're a European reader, you're probably counting down the hours until New Super Mario Bros. 2 releases.  To help make the wait just a bit easier, we're broadcasting a special selection of New Super Mario-styled tunes on WTMK.  Tune in now and get more "waah waah" than you can possibly handle!

Link: WTMK: All Mario Radio

This is a fun little tidbit of news, but it appears that someone at Nintendo was very interested in keeping Bowser's portrayal authentic during his cameo in the upcoming Disney film Wreck-It Ralph:

"We did have kind of a check-in process, where we would show them the footage and say, 'What do you think? Is it good?' At one point, (Nintendo) said, 'Bowser's much bigger than that. He's way bigger than Zangief.' We were like, 'Okay, we'll make him bigger. How's that?' They'd say, 'Yes, that's good -- but he wouldn't drink his coffee like that. He wouldn't make that mouth.' (Laughs) Of course, then people from Sega said, 'Well, Doctor Robotnik is bigger.' (Laughs) They wanted their characters bigger and bigger. We were going to end up with these giants in a room, with Ralph as this little guy... But I think that stuff really helped. I looked back on our original animation before the Nintendo notes, and it was like, 'You know, he does look more like Bowser now.'"
-- Director Ralph Moore

Additional information is sprinkled throughout the IGN interview with Moore and producer Clark Spencer.  Go take a look!

Source: IGN: Wreck-It Ralph Creators on Using Actual Video Game Characters

A few hours ago, Nintendo broadcast a pre-E3 edition of Nintendo Direct to showcase some of the features of Wii U. While Nintendo President Satoru Iwata talked about how the new "Miiverse" will interact with games, viewers were treated to about 15 seconds of New Super Mario Bros. Mii footage, which ended with a look at a map screen that contained text messages from Miis.



First of all, there appears to be some sort of an achievement system planned, as evidenced by the orange text bubble that reads, "Cleared in under 100 seconds!" above Catherine's post.

Next, let's take a look at the two posts surrounding Catherine's achievement:

Michael: "A baby Yoshi that balloons up to carry you? Too cute!"
Thomas: "OK, being a flying squirrel is WAY more fun than it should be!"

The new baby Yoshi ability sounds plausible, but what is Thomas talking about? Assuming he's not confusing Tanooki Mario for a squirrel, does this mean Mario will have a flying squirrel power-up?

It's possible that the Mii messages are just shown as examples, but we may not know for sure until E3 or even later.

We've posted more screen captures below. You can watch the full Nintendo Direct video on Nintendo's YouTube channel.

The Los Angeles screening of Super Mario Bros.: The Movie happens this Friday, May 25th at 11:59 p.m. at the Nuart Theater.  This theatrical print screening comes thanks to the efforts of The Super Mario Bros.: The Movie Archive.  Members of the production crew will be attending screenings and speaking about their contributions to the film, and a collection of film and production memorabilia will be on display.

The Los Angeles screening will feature David L. Snyder, production designer.  Tickets cost $10.50 and are currently available for purchase online.  Screenings are also coming to Seattle, WA and Wilmington, NC.

Link: Facebook Event Page for the Screenings
Ticket Orders: LA 5/25
Link: Super Mario Bros.: The Movie Archive

Mario marathons seem all the rage as of late, and a new challenger has appeared: "NES Bros. Off 2012."  Four players will tackle the NES port of the arcade classic Mario Bros.  The marathon begins May 5th at 12 noon EST.

Link: GamingWorldWide - NES Bros. Off 2012

Thanks to the efforts of The Super Mario Bros.: The Movie Archive, theatrical print screenings of Super Mario Bros.: The Movie are coming to select cities in the near future.  It's been 19 years since the film first appeared, and this is only the second time it's been made available in theaters.  Members of the production crew will be attending screenings and speaking about their contributions to the film, and a collection of film and production memorabilia will be on display.

The first screenings will be on April 27th and 28th at the Sunshine Cinema in New York City.  Both screenings are being held at midnight and will feature guest speaker Michael Criscuolo (a.k.a. "Goomba Man").  The tickets cost $10 and are currently available for purchase online.  Screenings are also coming to Los Angeles, CA, Seattle, WA and Wilmington, NC.

Link: Facebook Event Page for the Screenings
Ticket Orders: NYC 4/27 , 4/28
Link Super Mario Bros. The Movie Archive

Mariothon Colorado will be playing games and raising money to support St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.  Two teams will battle their way through the Mario universe while you watch -- and lend a hand!  Join in by answering trivia questions and giving extra points to your team of choice.

Red versus green.  Three days.  Sixteen games.  Millions of coins, thousands of lives, and hundreds of Yoshis plummeting to their doom.

The battle begins on April 19th.

Link: Mariothon, CO

Nintendo's Mario website has been updated, featuring links to all current Mario titles as well as a Mario trivia game and a Mario-themed memory game.  Most TMK readers should be able to easily get a perfect score on the trivia game.

Link: Nintendo's Official Home for Mario.

Unlike last year, WTMK will not be stooping to cheap gimmicks and silly jokes just because today is April 1st.  A new playlist is now running, containing nothing but Mario music!  Tune in now.  Trust us.

Link: WTMK: Mario Radio

The mystery of SMB's North American launch continues to puzzle the gaming world.  Luckily, our Super Mario's Release Date Is Missing! article now has company in the form of Frank Cifaldi's excellent article "Sad But True: We Can't Prove When Super Mario Bros. Came Out."  Cifaldi covers much of the same ground as our piece, but brings new interviews and a special system registration card from the 1985 NYC NES launch!  Make sure to take a look at this excellent piece of gaming journalism, and feel free to reread TMK's piece as well.

Link:  GamaSutra.com - "Sad But True: We Can't Prove When Super Mario Bros. Came Out"

A few days ago Target started selling the Super Mario 3D Land / Flame Red 3DS bundle for $179.99 -- now they've dropped the price on the stand-alone 3DS to $145.00 and are running a "buy 2 get 1 free" promotion on the games.  With Luigi's Mansion 2 and Paper Mario both coming to the 3DS this year, it might be worth taking advantage of this special sale price.  Grab a system and pick up Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7 to go with it!  (Kid Icarus: Uprising makes for a fine third title, if you want to take advantage of the sale -- and there's even a Dr. Mario reference in the game's tutorial!)

Link: Target.com - Flame Red 3DS w/ Super Mario 3D Land ($179.99)
Target.com - Aqua Blue 3DS ($145)
Target.com - Cosmo Black 3DS ($145)
Target.com - Flame Red 3DS ($145)
Target.com - Pearl Pink 3DS

Gamestop.com has started selling download codes for two 3DS eShop titles: Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins and Pushmo.  While 3DS and Wii titles have been available for redemption from Club Nintendo for a few months now, and a select number of WiiWare and Wii Virtual Console titles have been available on Nintendo's online store and Amazon, this would be the first time 3DS eShop titles have been available for sale.  Gamestop appears to only be carrying two titles at the moment, but perhaps more will follow.

Link: Gamestop product page - Super Mario Land 2
Link: Gamestop product page - Pushmo
Source: Nintendo Life

It appears that Target is running a sale on the 3DS & Super Mario 3D Land bundle.  The bundle is listed for $179.99 on Target's web site.  While the price is listed as being an "online" price, you can check local stores to see if they have the bundle in stock.  If you've been waiting to get a 3DS, this represents a $20 discount on the system and game.

Link: Target.com: Nintendo 3DS - Flame Red - with Super Mario 3D Land

This Monday Charles Martinet will be racing against random gamers from Australia and New Zealand.  For a chance to test your skills against the voice of Mario, just enter the Australian / New Zealand community code (39-7327-4613-9024) into Mario Kart 7, then play in the community between 6:30pm(AEST) and 7:30pm(AEST) on Monday, March 19.  If you get matched up with Martinet, his Mii will appear in your Mii Plaza -- assuming you've enabled the Invite Mii option in the Mii Plaza settings.

For anyone interested who lives outside the Australia and New Zealand portion of the world, it may be worth noting that community codes don't appear to region locked.

Links:
Nintendo of Australia Mario Kart 7 Community site
Nintendo World Report's article

Cowboom is currently selling new, sealed copies of Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem! for $9.99 plus $5 shipping.  This is Cowboom's "Deal of the Day" and the sale will end at midnight tonight.  If you're interested, you should probably hurry on over to their site!

Link: Cowboom.com Deal of the Day

TMK's Twitter and Facebook pages have been rolling along!  Aside from the relatively rare glitch or double post (double post), all is going according to plan. Over 350 folks are now following our regular Mario-related updates, and we look forward to making new friends.

If you've ever had a burning desire to see third-rate imitations of Mario toys, shoes, shirts, backpacks, and sequin-covered thingies, then you might appreciate "Yoshi Turtle" -- a blog focused on bootleg Nintendo merchandise. 

I was going to make a slightly-witty reference to the most bizarre item I found on the blog, but I'm not really sure whether the guillotined USB Mario is weirder than the Yoshi entirely bedecked in sequins.  For that matter, how many "points for originality" should be awarded to a depicting Mario clad in the skin of Yoshi -- while also wearing a pair of Mickey Mouse ears?

Source: Yoshi Turtle

A guy going by the name of "Baron von Brunk" has made a giant airship out of Lego.

More specifically, it's a giant Super Mario Bros. 3 airship made from over 8,000 Lego blocks and measuring about six feet in length!

Go visit Brunk's website, or read the CNN "Geek Out!" interview with Brunk.

Source: http://vonbrunk.tumblr.com/post/17876499706/airship
http://geekout.blogs.cnn.com/2012/02/28/super-mario-3s-airship

Fro Design Co. is offering a set of "vintage"-looking posters designed to warn countless Goombas and Koopa Troopas of the dangers embodied in the mustachioed "red menace" while also stirring their passions into action against the plumbing scurge.  If you ever wondered what it would be like to live in an alternate dimension in which World War II featured sentient reptiles fighting against the Italian invaders . . . wonder no more!

There are nine different poster designs, and each is limited to a print run of just 150 (signed and numbered, of course.)  Grab the entire set for only $150 -- or just stare at the images on the website.

Source: http://frodesignstore.blogspot.com/2012/02/complete-mario-propaganda-set.html

WTMK is running a special Valentine's Day-themed selection of tunes for you on this happy day.  Tune in now and get yourself in the mood for love!

Or for playing video games.

Tune In Now: http://themushroomkingdom.net/wtmk.shtml

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