In a surprising piece of product placement, Nintendo has teamed up with Mercedes to offer a free DLC car in Mario Kart 8.
The in-game vehicle, a Mercedes GLA, will be freely available to download in Japan this summer.
When asked whether the DLC would arrive in Europe, Nintendo UK sounded positive.
"The announcement this time was made by Mercedes-Benz Japan regarding their collaboration in Japan with NCL," a spokesperson told Eurogamer.
"As for the information relating to the distribution of the GLA kart for MK8 outside Japan, we will be able to announce in the near future."
The deal also sees Mario appear in a new live-action Mercedes advert, Famitsu revealed (thanks, NeoGAF).
Mercedes' website for the promotion features classic NES Super Mario Bros. visuals, with Mario in a Mercedes squashing Goombas.
The upcoming DLC isn't the first time that Nintendo has featured other brands in its first-party games - Pikmin 2 was full of liscensed items for players to find, while Wave Race 64 featured Kawasaki jet skis.
But the inclusion is a bit more blatant than most of these deals - and may stem from Nintendo's recent decision to license out its character IP to a greater extent.
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-05-29-mario-kart-8-getting-free-mercedes-car-dlc
The in-game vehicle, a Mercedes GLA, will be freely available to download in Japan this summer.
When asked whether the DLC would arrive in Europe, Nintendo UK sounded positive.
"The announcement this time was made by Mercedes-Benz Japan regarding their collaboration in Japan with NCL," a spokesperson told Eurogamer.
"As for the information relating to the distribution of the GLA kart for MK8 outside Japan, we will be able to announce in the near future."
The deal also sees Mario appear in a new live-action Mercedes advert, Famitsu revealed (thanks, NeoGAF).
Mercedes' website for the promotion features classic NES Super Mario Bros. visuals, with Mario in a Mercedes squashing Goombas.
The upcoming DLC isn't the first time that Nintendo has featured other brands in its first-party games - Pikmin 2 was full of liscensed items for players to find, while Wave Race 64 featured Kawasaki jet skis.
But the inclusion is a bit more blatant than most of these deals - and may stem from Nintendo's recent decision to license out its character IP to a greater extent.
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-05-29-mario-kart-8-getting-free-mercedes-car-dlc