Chifeng City, China is now home to a Guinness World Record for the largest gathering of people dressed as the Nintendo character Mario.

In an event organized by the New Weekend of North News and Chifeng Animation Association, 230 students dressed up as the iconic videogame character, enough for Guinness World Records  Adjudicator Angela Wu to label the gathering as record setting.

519 participants took part in the event altogether, and, as seen in the picture, some chose to dress as Wario and Luigi in addition to Mario. It's unclear if all 519 entrants dressed as Mario-themed characters and 230 specifically dressed as Mario, but in the end, what does it really matter.

August seems to be the month for video game championships, first Tetris and now Pokémon with its Senior World Champion in New Jerseyan, Ray Rizzo.

The Pokémon World Championships were held on August 14-15 in Kona, Hawaii. Ray Rizzo beat Yasuki Tochigi in the Senior video game division. 25 countries competed for the championship titles which included representatives from Canada, the United States and Japan. Read More

We've talked about cheats and walkthroughs before but this guy's solution really does take things to a whole new level. It seems this gamer got bored with poor ol' Mario and decided to add a little bit of Ninja Gaiden to the game by adding Ryu Hayabusa who totally destroys every level. Hmm... I think that's probably considered cheating but hey, it's still inventive!

Via Break

Think you have what it takes to create a mini-game for the Nintendo DS? If you can make a microgame and get it accepted by Nintendo, you could end up going to E3.

Nintendo is holding a contest revolving around the recently released Warioware D.I.Y. for the DS. The game allows users to create their own games and upload them to a database where other players can try them. The contest comes in on the official Wariorwar D.I.Y. site where players must create a game with the theme of creatures, sports or animals. There are two ways to enter, either by uploading your finished game through the D.I.Y. system on the DS or submitting a concept in words and sketches on the web site.

The contest runs through May 16, and offers the winner a trip for two to E3 in Los Angeles this year, complete with airfare and hotel.

We don't normally talk about new games on these pages unless they have a novel twist. And yess we have seen Guitar Hero peripherals for the DS. So indulge me when I show off this intersting little product that will teach you piano basics on your Nintendo handheld.

Called Easy Piano, the game comes with a 13-note full octave keyboard and comes with 36 songs ranging from pop to classical. It started shipping last week from Valcon Games and is being sold in Wal-Mart, Toys 'R Us and on Amazon.com for $39.99.

Players can learn the piano by playing mini-games or choose from 10 actual piano lessons. The game also has a record mode where players can save any 3-minute composition.

If your parents insist on you taking piano lessons, then see if you can get this to assist with your studies.

We've known all along that our friendly Italian Plumnber is more than he appears. According to "an analysis"  a few years ago, Mario is the epitome of Communism.

Clarent posted the above video on YouTube to drive the point home. In his post, he said:

Based on that silly Rumor saying mario had subliminal communist propaganda. My 3rd flash, done in 2 weeks, lots of experimenting in this one. The hammer was used because he had one in Donkey Kong, also it aided to the style.

Definitely an amusing take on an old rumor.

Last week, we read about the rare NES video game that went for more than $13,000 on eBay. This week, we get another game related eBay auction, but for considerably less money.

A St. Peteresburg, Fla., woman put up an unopened box of the Nintendo Cereal System, a limited edition cereal concocted by Nintendo and Ralston. The auction garnered 22 bids, with the bid starting at $20 on Feb. 13. A week later, when the auction closed, the bid was $207.50.

From the auction description:

THIS IS AN ORIGINAL NINTENDO CEREAL SYSTEM FROM 1988 WITH TWO DIFFERENT CEREALS IN IT, SUPER MARIO BROS ACTION SERIES AND ZELDA ADVENTURE SERIES.

COMPLETLY SEALED IN THE BOX. IT IS IN VERY GOOD CONDITION FOR BEING A 22 YEAR OLD THIN CARDBOARD BOX. ONLY ONE DISCLAIMER IT WOULD NOT BE WISE TO EAT THE CONTENTS OF THIS BOX EVEN THOUGH I NO YOU WILL WANT TO. I THOUGHT ABOUT IT MENY TIMES MY SELF.

The fruity Super Mario Bros. cereal side included Marios, Goombas, Koopa Troopas, Bowsers and Mushrooms. The berry Zelda side contained Links, Hearts, Keys, Boomerangs and Shields.

For a real kick, check out this ad for the cereal on YouTube.

CNN Money's web site has an interesting Fortune interview with Nintendo President Reggie Fils-Aime, talking about Nintendo's goals and competition and its continued growth.

The interview, part of Fortune's Tech Talk series, picks Fils-Aime's brain about mobile gaming, how the Wii price cut will spur an increase in casual video game players, and how Nintendo looks at games being developed for its platforms by third parties.

Fils-Aime seems relaxed as usual when he talks Nintendo's company line, but the Fortune interviewer seems a bit stilted, even refering to him as "Reginald" in the welcome. And while Reggie's last name is a bit unusual, the video and the web site misspell his name as "Fis"-Aime. Seems a bit lax for a site as reputable as CNN Money and Fortune magazine.

Faux pas aside, the brief interview was an interesting look at Nintendo, as well as Reggie's revelation that he is currently playing Scribblenauts and looking forward to the new Zelda game that is scheduled to come out on Dec. 7.