Mar10 Party Celebrations: Pairing Nostalgia with New Tech
On Wednesday, March 10, community members stopped by the Centergy One lobby to celebrate Mar10 (Mario) Day – an annual holiday recognizing the entire fan-favorite franchise. Hosted by Tech Square ATL (TSQATL) Social Club, the Mario Party Coffee Talk (which is a great way to catch up and caffeinate with other community members) included a variety of different video games to play – from the newest Mario Kart with augmented reality (AR) to throwing it back with some retro nostalgia – and of course, some piping hot coffee.
While attendees engaged in some old-school games (like Contra on a Raspberry Pi), and raced each other in the latest version of Nintendo's Mario Kart Live (which combines AR technology with conventional RC cars), discussions around participants’ first-ever video games began.
Interestingly enough, we learned that several attendees’ first games ever played were pretty similar, with Goldeneye, Duck Hunt, Mortal Kombat, Contra, and Atari all being tied as the top responses. Not surprisingly, we also confirmed that competitiveness amongst our community members is always present – this time, in the form of the fastest race times from Mario Kart Live:
Ben: - 0:55:721
Dominick - 0:57:025
Brian - 0:57:527
Rich - 1:01:845
Saad - 1:02:638
Jared - 1:21:100
Jamie - 1:21:219
Cathleen - 1:21:368
Kristi - 1:56:291
Regardless of the scores, this mid-week break was the perfect balance of nostalgia and new technology – and the opportunity to meet some fellow TSQATL members in a safe environment. Coming together as a community, whether it’s for a quick video game or to practice your elevator pitch, is what we’re all about.
For more information on our upcoming activations, which are curated experiences thoughtfully designed to create unique conditions that strengthen the culture of our community, check out our community calendar. Of course, we’re always interested in learning more about what our members are interested in – so feel free to contact us as well with your ideas!
What’s the first video game you ever played? Let us know in the comments below.