One week ago, Nintendo launched Super Mario Galaxy 2 in North America. To commemorate the event, Nintendo of America held a launch party for Club Nintendo VIP members at the Nintendo World Store in New York City, and it featured an appearance by Mario's voice actor, Charles Martinet.
Nintendo Week, the weekly show hosted for free on the Wii's Nintendo Channel, was in attendance to chat with the party-goers and interview Mr. Martinet. If for some reason you are unable to view Nintendo Week via the Wii, you can find part one of the episode here and part two here, thanks to NintenDaan.
Fortunately for the people of Toronto, we were not left out of the fun and festivities, as Nintendo of Canada held its own launch event at the Yonge-Dundas Square on May 23rd. And while Martinet was not able to make it to appear before the mass of Mario-loving Torontonians, the trade-off is that the event was a lot less exclusive than the Nintendo World version, perhaps allowing more people to get their Galaxy on.
The event was scheduled to begin at noon, but people were lining up early, and there was a greater turnout than expected. Being Victoria Day Weekend, Nintendo of Canada and its agents worried most people would be away at their cottages and other gatherings for the weekend. Fortunately, everything turned out alright, as many came to check out the game that was getting perfect review scores across the board.
Of course, no Mario event would be complete without one very special guest of honor: none other than Mario himself! Everyone's hero (who is apparently much taller in person than he appears on TV) would come out to pose for pictures with his fans for a while before retreating to a shaded area for a break, and repeating the process.
Nintendo wasn't the only company doing promotion in the area, though. Slice also had a group decked out in wedding attire handing out bubbles and promoting their "To Cuba With Love" contest, but even they were drawn in by the star power of the world's most famous fighting plumber. After a little "cross-promotion" by way of posing together for some pictures, one can only wonder if Mario now has a "Super Mario Sunshine 2" on his mind.
While one of the advertised draws for the event was a chance to win a copy of the game in a drawing, Virgin Radio 99.9 FM had a booth set up next to Nintendo's tent. This not only gave those who came by a second chance to win Super Mario Galaxy 2, but also a chance to win a complete Wii console as well.
And as with any good video game publicity event, there was swag on hand to be had. In addition to a Super Mario Galaxy 2 drawstring backpack-like bag with goodies inside, those 12 and under were able to take a spin on the wheel of Mario balloon animals and watch a balloon artist create Mario, Luigi (or their heads), Yoshi, or a Power Star right before their eyes.
Check out all of our photos from the event in the slideshow below, and be sure to check back later this week. If you haven't decided to get Super Mario Galaxy 2 yet, then maybe our interview with one representative from Nintendo of Canada will be able to persuade you.
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