Nov. 9, 2010

With the busy holiday season approaching, Nintendo of America was looking to find new ways to improve speed and efficiency at its always-busy distribution facility in North Bend, Wash. In the past, the company has tried a number of solutions, including having Donkey Kong™ roll packages down a set of girders into waiting trucks or expediting deliveries through warp pipes.

This year one of the suggested innovations included the use of wind-up Mini Mario toys. These tireless mechanical toys are featured inMario vs. Donkey Kong™: Mini-Land Mayhem!, a new game launching for the Nintendo DS™ family of systems on Nov. 14.

Initially the use of the helpful Mini Marios seemed like a good idea. Unfortunately, they were not guided appropriately and soon marched non-stop throughout the entire building, climbing girders, riding conveyor belts and causing a bit of mayhem. They overran Nintendo’s facility for a short time, but operations have since been returned to normal.