The 35th anniversary of Super Mario Bros. gave us Super Mario 35, Super Mario 3D All Stars, and a Switch version of Super Mario 3D World with an entirely new game attached. So if Nintendo did all of that for the 35th, surely Mario's 40th anniversary is going to be massive... but the Nintendo Direct came and went with only pricey Galaxy ports, a Switch 2 Edition update for Mario Wonder, and a new tennis game. Some assumed that Nintendo still had one massive Mario announcement in the bag, and it turns out they were right. It is a massive Mario. As reported by Business Wire, Nintendo and Macy's have announced that Mario will be a part of the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, in its 99th year. For those outside of the US like myself, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is the one day a year the US summons their greatest creation, Snoopy (and other characters, turkeys, etc.), to float above New York, and worship him, and pay tribute to him in balloon form (I mean he's not there every year, but he's appeared at most Macy's parades since his debut). Despite the likes of Sonic, Goku, Pokemon, and Angry Birds appearing in the skies of New York in the past, Mario has never made his way into the parade despite being one of the most iconic characters of all time. "Having Mario join this iconic holiday tradition is an incredible way to honor the 40th anniversary of Super Mario Bros.," said Devon Pritchard, EVP of Revenue, Marketing & Consumer Experience at Nintendo of America. The producer of the parade, Jordan Dabby said, "We're thrilled to partner with Nintendo to welcome a new Mario balloon to that tradition," and says the event is "sure to have fans everywhere cheering 'Wahoo!'" 40 years later, Mario is still the ultimate gaming mascot: "He's got that Mickey Mouse effect" How well do you know the Super Mario series? Mario is a sports star, doctor, and has even fought Sonic – 40 years after Super Mario Bros, it's the plumber's sheer versatility that's been the secret to success There's been a mockup of the Mario balloon showing him floating through the air in a pose apparently inspired by Super Mario Galaxy. Joining Mario this year is Buzz Lightyear and Shrek's onion carriage, with more balloons undoubtedly still yet to be announced. Including Snoopy. All hail Esnupi. Super Mario Bros speedrunner is now just 11 frames away from the absolute perfect playthrough of the 40-year-old classic, after beating the world record for the third time this year