You can now get Mario to be your friend in navigation on Google Maps.


Mario is back at it again, entertaining people. Yes, Mario will be attending your navigation routes replacing the usual arrow. This is a result of a partnership between Google and Nintendo ahead of Mario Day which is celebrated on March 10th of every year.

This feature is available in the latest update of Google Maps on Android and iOS. We all know Mario as the cool time killing practice for the kids of the 90’s. Although, it’s enjoyed by people of all age groups even today. This is a result of the active participation of Nintendo in Mario’s marketing. As a fact, Nintendo was able to sell millions of its consoles just because of the popularity of Mario at that time.

Mario Cart on Google Maps

So this time, Google planned to showcase Mario’s cart-riding abilities through its infamous map service- Google Maps. To be clear it isn’t available as an easter egg like the PacMan Google collaborated with. It’s very simple to summon Mario on Google Maps starting from today. You just have to tap on the little ‘Nintendo-designed’ question mark which is placed beside the usual ‘Start navigation’ button after you’ve entered your destination.

After that, you’ll get a confirmation message in Mario style generally asking whether you wanna proceed with the route. I bet no one will deny that!

As soon as you start moving in reality, Mario seated in his red cart will replace the usual arrowhead that used to direct navigations. Although, it is sad that you will only be able to experience Mario for a week and no more. So if you are a person that does not use navigation that much, you might wanna go out for a ride this week. As I said before, PacMan was featured along with several other easter eggs such as a Lochness Monster and Doctor Who’s TARDIS.

According to TechCrunch, this whole deal wasn’t a brand advertisement as there was no exchange of funds between Nintendo and Google.

Get the latest version of Google Maps on iOS and Android.