On “Mario Day” (March 10) Nintendo of America tweeted a short teaser that hints at an upcoming Lego/Super Mario collaboration.
Now, just two days later, Nintendo has dropped a full trailer for the Lego Super Mario set, which introduces an entirely new type of gaming experience.
The trailer shows a product that IGN said “bridges [the] gap between games and Lego.” It’s a brick building set, but also an interactive electronic adventure.
Ars Technica reports the set will be buildable into physical and playable levels that Lego Mario can journey through. Builders will be able to place smart bricks like coins, koopas (the mushroom-like enemies in the “Super Mario” universe) and question blocks, and collect them with their Lego Mario figure, who will react in turn with noises and lights.
“With this experience we will help millions of kids with love for Mario to engage and play in a completely new way, where they are in control of creating and playing games with their favorite character,” Julia Goldin, Chief Marketing Officer of the Lego Group, told Forbes. “Lego Super Mario is a highly social, interactive and collaborative experience for kids.”
The Lego Super Mario set will likely be able to connect to other devices through Bluetooth, Forbes reports, possibly allowing users to track how many coins and items they’ve received and unlock new features, or even compete against their friends who also have Lego Super Mario sets.
Lego Super Mario won’t be Lego’s first video game collaboration, as they’ve previously made “Sonic the Hedgehog” sets, but it will be their first collaboration with Nintendo, the Guardian reports.
While official prices have not been released for the collaboration, Polygon reports that the Lego Super Mario line is scheduled to be released later this year.