Nintendo Partners with Facebook for Hackathon Event

Published: July 24, 2015 12:20 PM /

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Mario Maker Facebook

Nintendo of America is partnering with Facebook for a special "Hackathon" event, starring Super Mario Maker.

A hackathon is a Facebook-exclusive event, allowing employees at Facebook to, in this case, design levels in Super Mario Maker. The hackathon is part of Facebook company culture, allowing employees to participate in other interests outside of Facebook.

Nintendo will be providing the demo build of Super Mario Maker from E3, with each participant presenting their designed levels to a panel of Nintendo and Facebook judges. The winner will have the opportunity for their level to be included in Super Mario Maker at launch this September.

Nintendo is planning a video series that will document the entire event for fans. Nintendo is also planning to provide live updates through their social media channels during the event, which takes place on July 28th and July 29th.

“Facebook is known for connecting people through delightful shared experiences" said Scott Moffitt, Nintendo of America's Executive VP of Sales. "Video games fit that mission perfectly, and we’re thrilled to work with a partner like Facebook to help more people form connections through the joy of games like Super Mario Maker."

The news about the event was accidentally leaked by Nintendo on twitter much earlier than planned. Several minutes after the tweet went out, Nintendo pulled the information down. Several hours later, Nintendo released a statement regarding the event, confirming the partnership with Facebook is true.

Super Mario Maker will be released worldwide on September 11th, and those who do purchase will receive a free "idea book" providing possible level designs and inspiration for would-be level creators. A special amiibo figure will also be released in conjunction with the 30th anniversary of Nintendo's mascot, coinciding with the release of Super Mario Maker.

So is this a good partnership between Nintendo and Facebook? Can't wait to see the levels they create? Leave your comments below. 

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| Staff Writer

A longtime player of games, creator of worlds, and teacher of minds. Robert has worked many positions over the years, from college professor to education… More about Robert