Avant-garde watchmaker TAG Heuer yesterday released a special Connected smartwatch that celebrates the beginning of its long-term collaboration with video game company Nintendo. Featuring the intrepid and iconic Mario, the TAG Heuer Connected x Super Mario Limited Edition combines luxury and sport with fun features that encourage the user to get out and about and step up their physical activity with Mario.
INTERACTIVE WATCHFACE
With more than 370 million games sold worldwide since the first Super Mario Bros game launched in Japan in 1985, Mario, with his red cap and blue overalls, has become recognised the world over. Always on the move, whether he’s running and jumping, or playing sports like golf and tennis, Mario’s upbeat and active personality will encourage users to enjoy moving too. With its watchface, which becomes livelier and more animated the more the user is active, this edition of the TAG Heuer Connected changes as its user makes progress, for a fun and motivating way of keeping active throughout the day.
The changing faces of the TAG Heuer Connected x Super Mario as you work towards your goals.
The animations are based on the gamification rewards system: Mario greets you with a welcoming salute in the morning and, as the day progresses and you rack up your step count, you unlock rewards at each stage of your daily target – 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% – and a different animation plays out on the dial. These take the form of Super Mario’s famous objects: at 3 o’clock, the Super Mushroom that makes Mario grow; at 6 o’clock, the Pipe that allows him to travel fast; and at 9 o’clock, the Super Star that makes him invincible lights up. And when you reach 100% of your daily step count target, Mario climbs the Goal Pole, another iconic feature of the video game. The interactive watchface will be pre-installed on the TAG Heuer Connected x Super Mario Limited Edition. Other editions of the Connected will able to download it at a later stage.
SUPER MARIO COLOURS
The TAG Heuer Connected x Super Mario also comes packed with exclusives, both in the digital experience it delivers and on the watch itself. The interface, for example, has been completely redesigned in the Super Mario colours. For this limited edition, the watchfaces have been reinterpreted with Super Mario special versions, four dials revisited to include special details associated with Super Mario.
The Timekeeping watchface has been reskinned using retro elements from the 1985 version of Super Mario Bros with Mario, all in pixels. Also, two versions of the Heuer 02 watchface were created exclusively for this edition: a fun rendition using Super Mario’s iconic red and blue colours, and a more classic one with subtle touches of Super Mario’s red cap. Lastly, the Orbital watchface had its neural network replaced by Super Mario’s iconic elements rotating in a beautiful and mesmerising movement.
The TAG Heuer Connected x Super Mario comes with references to the iconic Mario and is limited to 2,000 pieces.
On the exterior, the bezel graduation, push buttons and crown logo are filled with Super Mario’s famous red cap’s lacquered colour, making the watch instantly stand out from the core Connected collection. The bezel features three iconic symbols at the three, six and nine o’clock positions, in a nod to the Super Mario objects included in the dial animations that the user can unlock and discover only when achieving goals throughout the day.
The new-look steel case also comes with two novel interchangeable straps, both featuring the signature Super Mario red colour: an elegant black leather on red rubber and a sporty alternative in matching red perforated rubber. The M symbol of Mario is engraved on the strap buckles and on the crown.
The TAG Heuer Connected x Super Mario Limited Edition is presented in a packaging designed exclusively for this collaboration. It also comes with a travel case in Super Mario red. Limited to 2,000 pieces, it is now available in selected TAG Heuer boutiques and website in certain regions.
