MAKE EVERY DAY A MARIO DAY

March 10 has become to be known as MAR10 DAY in honor of the popular mustachioed hero from Nintendo video games. This year for "Mario Day" a number of retailers are offering discounts on Nintendo branded products and Illumination dropped the final trailer for the studio's upcoming The Super Mario Bros. Movie which hits theaters on April 5, 2023. HAPPY MAR10 DAY! 

Nintendo though isn't just hyping Mario today but promoting the video game franchise throughout the month of March. Here are some ways you can make every day a Mario Day!

• Nintendo Switch Mario Choose One Bundle: Make every day a MAR10 Day with a Nintendo Switch system with Red Joy-Con controllers, your choice of a free Mario full game download (a $59.99 value) and stickers from the upcoming Super Mario Bros Movie. Anyone that purchases the bundle can select one of the following games: Super Mario Odyssey, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe or New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe. The bundle is available starting on March 10 at a suggested retail price of $299.99 at the My Nintendo Store and select retailers. 
• Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – Booster Course Pass Wave 4: The next eight courses that are part of Wave 4 of the Booster Course Pass DLC** are coming to the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe game on March 9. The newly added Fruit Cup and Boomerang Cups are composed of Tour Amsterdam Drift, GBA Riverside Park, Wii DK Summit, Yoshi’s Island (which is making its Mario Kart debut!), Tour Bangkok Rush, DS Mario Circuit, GCN Waluigi Stadium and Tour Singapore Speedway. A new playable character, Birdo, will also be added to the game in this wave of the DLC. 
• GameStop In-Store Mario Events: Celebrate at select GameStop locations on March 11 from noon to 4 p.m. local time to continue making every day a MAR10 Day! Play games featuring Mario and friends, like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe and more, and receive free Mario themed-items, while supplies last. 
• Save on Select Mario Games!: Celebrate the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom with two waves of savings on select Nintendo Switch games. The first half of the sale starts on March 10 (MAR10 Day!) at 12 a.m. PT and lasts until March 23 at 11:59 p.m. PT. It features deals on digital games and DLC featuring Mario and friends, including Mario Party Superstars, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, Yoshi’s Crafted World and Luigi’s Mansion 3. The second wave of the sale runs from March 24 at 12 a.m. PT until April 7 at 11:59 p.m. PT. This sale includes savings on Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Super Mario Odyssey, New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe, Super Mario Maker 2 and Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury. Games on sale can be purchased directly in Nintendo eShop or on Nintendo.com at https://www.nintendo.com/store/sales-and-deals/#mar10-day. 
• Mario & Friends Retail Sale: From March 5 to March 11, fans will also be able to head to select retailers to save up to $20 on select games featuring Mario and friends, including Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Super Mario Odyssey, Super Mario Maker 2, Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury, Mario Party Superstars and many more. Additionally, fans can save $40 on the high-octane Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit! 
• SUPER NINTENDO WORLD Opening: The day all Mario fans have been waiting for is finally here! SUPER NINTENDO WORLD at Universal Studios Hollywood is officially open to the public. At SUPER NINTENDO WORLD, guests can battle Team Bowser on the Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge ride, dine at Toadstool Café, level up with Nintendo-themed merch from the 1-UP Factory store and wear an interactive Power-Up Band (sold separately) to participate in activities throughout the Mushroom Kingdom. 
• Win a Trip to SUPER NINTENDO WORLD!: My Nintendo wants to send you to SUPER NINTENDO WORLD at Universal Studios Hollywood! Starting on March 10 until April 25, head to https://my.nintendo.com/ to enter the SUPER NINTENDO WORLD Family Fun Sweepstakes. One lucky winner with up to three guests will win a trip to Universal Studios Hollywood to visit SUPER NINTENDO WORLD and see the Mushroom Kingdom in real life!
• Play Nintendo Fun: Kids can also join in on the Mario fun, today and every day, with activities and videos at Play Nintendo. Visit the Play Nintendo website and Play Nintendo YouTube channel for DIY crafts, quizzes, gameplay and more featuring Mario and friends! 

For a full list of MAR10 Day activities, including special announcements from Nintendo’s partners at LEGO, First 4 Figures and PDP Promotions, please visit http://mario.nintendo.com.

Play DONKEY KONG for FREE on your Internet Browser

I'm dating myself but when I was a kid the new high-tech toy was going to the arcade in my hometown to play DONKEY KONG.  I spent a fortune in quarters jumping barrels trying to rescue the lovely Pauline. This game featured the first appearance of Mario who later rose to fame with the video game Super Marion Brothers, for its time had better gameplay than the other games out at that time and was the best selling arcade machine of the early 80s.  As we play Playstation 4 in our living room, my kids don't believe me that when I was a child we had to go to places to play video games rather than just sit on your own coach and turn on the tv.  I try to use Chuck E. Cheese to explain it to them but that pizza chain has really become more about mechanical rides and skee ball than video games so they didn't really get the connection. Oh how the times have changed, but I still have fond memories of warm summer evenings watching the neon lights flicker on the video screen as I took on the evil Donkey Kong trying to save the day.

Nintendo who produced the game and owns its rights to boost its home video game platform sales so far has been reluctant to allow its classic games like Donkey Kong and Super Mario Brothers to turned into apps that can be played on smart phones and tablets.  That is a bummer but probably helping me stay productive and not losing track of time while dodging barrels and grabbing coins on my phone's screen all the time.  You can though now play DONKEY KONG for FREE on your Internet Browser by visiting ArcadeYum.com.

Time warp back to the 1980s with this online game that provides the basic controls of left-right-up-down and jump as you try to make your way up the construction site to rescue your kidnapped girlfriend from the dreaded Donkey Kong.  Here's a screen capture of a game I recently played on my PC on the AracadeYum website.  Note you have to use Flash to be able to play the game but this may work on some tablets and phones that have compatibility.

CLICK HERE to play DONKEY KONG!

Be aware that ArcadeYum doesn't charge any money for you to play the games on their website but they do download some software that allows them to target you with advertisements when you are online. I've found that if you click this link the website doesn't download this software but if you visit this link it won't allow you to play without downloading the software.  For more information about ArcadeYum's software downloads, what they do and how to remove them, click here.  So far I haven't seen the ArcadeYum software listed on my computer or seen any advertisements generated by it so I think you're clean if you use the flash version of the game in the first link I posted. Just be alert to click cancel or no if you are prompted to download anything when you visit this website unless you are OK with receiving advertisements from them and having some of your Internet browsing habits tracked.