Earlier this year, Mario Kart 8 proved that Nintendo could do DLC right.
Each piece of downloadable content offered up new courses, new characters and new karts — but there's one piece of DLC that fans may have forgotten. For whatever reason, Mario Kart 8 featured a single pack of free Mercedes-Benz DLC.
That's right: the actual, real-world car company teamed up with Nintendo to include three special vehicles in Mario Kart 8. It wasn't bad, just really weird — and as it turns out, Nintendo's DLC deal with Mercedes-Benz didn't stop with Mario Kart 8.
Starting today, players can download new Mercedes-Benz DLC in the last place you'd ever expect: Super Mario Maker. The new Mystery Mushroom costume is part of the latest batch of limited-time Event courses, and as one might expect, it transforms Mario into a tiny 8-bit version of one of the company's GLA SUVs. It's easily one of the weirdest pieces of DLC to ever come to a Nintendo game — and the "Mercedes Mushroom" is just the beginning.
Mario won't be able to turn into an SUV right away — no, players will have to complete the requisite Event course before they can grab the new Mystery Mushroom for themselves. So, what exactly does a level featuring a Mercedes Mushroom consist of? What else — a trip to a Mercedes dealership!
Obviously, this deal (and the Mario Kart 8 DLC) is part of some larger partnership between Nintendo and Mercedes ... but why? It's hard to imagine that most Nintendo fans are out shopping for high-end SUVs, and most Mercedes drivers probably don't pay much attention to video games. Who knows — maybe the crossover is bigger than people assume, and the deal is actually a big success for both companies.
One way or another, the latest batch of Event courses — including the Mercedes-Benz level — is set to launch later today.
