The charmingly blocky, pixelated vistas of one of the world’s most popular video games is about to get invaded by gaming’s most iconic character.

That’s right; Mario is coming to Minecraft in the Super Mario Mash-Up Pack, on May 17th.

Nintendo has announced that the Super Mario Mash-Up Pack will be available exclusively for the Wii U version of Minecraft, and will be a free download to players who already own the game.

The new Mario expansion will provide players with all the tools they need to create fantastic Minecraft interpretations of the fabled Mushroom Kingdom, from across the spectrum of Mario’s adventures. Nintendo says that the Super Mario Mash-Up Pack will contain goodies such as:

• New skins of a number of classic Mario characters
• Textures to help you construct your Mario-themed universe
• A selection of music from across the multitude of Mario games

A retail release of Minecraft: Wii U edition with the Super Mario Mash-Up Pack included will also be released at retail. The physical version will hit stores on June 17th, and will run you $29.99.

The most interesting aspect of Mario’s impending arrival to the user-created worlds of Minecraft, is that Mojang, the company behind the smash hit, was purchased by Microsoft in late 2014. So the Super Mario Mash-Up Pack represents the first collaboration between the two rival console manufacturers, Nintendo and Microsoft.

It will be fascinating to see if this opens up the door for Mario and co to be included in other versions of Minecraft. If anything, the as of now, exclusivity of the Super Mario Mash-Up Pack will provide devotee’s an incentive to pick up the Wii U version of the game.

Are you ready to explore the avenues of the Mushroom Kingdom when the Super Mario Mash-Up Pack arrives in Minecraft: Wii U Edition? Build your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below.

Written by The Watchman

The Watchman is a journeyman gamer who has seen and played a good chunk of gaming history.
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