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"       At SXSW, dreams really do come true.\u2028 \u2028To promote the new natural gas-based PurePlus Technology motor oil, Pennzoil teamed up with Nintendo, who is about to release Mario Kart 8, to create real-life Mario Kart. It&amp;#039;s the realization of a fantasy I have held onto for nearly two decades.\u2028 \u2028Well, sort of. Mario Kart Reimangined didn&amp;#039;t let me shoot turtle shells or find secret passageways, but it was still more fun than a barrel of Donkey Kongs.\u2028 \u2028Riders started out by taking a breathalyzer test. If they blew anything higher than a 0.0 then they weren&amp;#039;t allowed on the track. Thank my lucky power stars, the beer I drank on the way to the track was not detected. Drivers choose between racing as Princess Peach, Bowser, Mario, or Luigi. I&amp;#039;m still a little bitter that my main man, Wario, was not an option and that my number-two, Bowser, was snagged by my colleague, Davey, leaving me to assume the role of the smug plumber hero himself, Mario. Each character then straps into their designated go-karts, suited with RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) sensors and GoPro cameras.\u2028 \u2028The flagman, who, unfortunately, was not floating in a cloud seven feet above the starting line, waved the flag and we were off. Throughout the track there were blue icons and red turtle shell icons on the asphalt. When racers drove over five blue icons they got a boost of voltage to the motor and sped ahead for about seven seconds. If they drove over a turtle shell\u2014like the time that my jerk of a brother, Luigi, cut me off\u2014then the motor loses voltage, leaving a racer to putter along for a moment. Pennzoil also wanted to include a banana peel icon that loosened steering when a kart passed over it, but the idea was tossed down the plumber pipe because of safety concerns.\u2028 \u2028The GoPro footage is broadcast on split-screen Jumbotrons around the track. All the footage is edited in real-time in a control room so that to bystanders see floating turtle shells and upside-down footage when a driver runs over the anti-gravity icon. It was a little disappointing to find out that as a rider I didn&amp;#039;t have the same visuals as the spectators. I was expecting augmented reality helmets that made it appear as if I was actually attacking my opponents and driving through floating boxes. To be fair, Pennzoil and their ad agency, JWT Atlanta, only had about three months to pull this off. It&amp;#039;s difficult to even find a venue in Austin during SXSW with that much notice, let alone a racetrack. What they put together in that time was impressive, fun, and (based on the crowds) a marketing success. I&amp;#039;m just hoping it was enough success to convince them to improve upon the experience and technology. All I need is the ability to launch shells, and I&amp;#039;d be the Mario Andretti of Mushroom Kingdom. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.popularmechanics.com/culture/gaming/a10332/we-play-real-live-mario-kart-at-sxsw-2014-16582563/>