Toys 'R Us and Nintendo know holiday shopping isn't always jolly, so they are doing their part to cheer up their customers. Mario is appearing at the giant Toys 'R Us in Times Square to entertain and interact with shoppers during the busiest time of the year. In fact, the plumber already made his first appearance today! The Nintendo mascot appears on a large LCD screen, and people may talk to him via a nearby microphone.

Nintendo fans can meet Mario and Wario (voiced by Charles Martinet, of course) through December 20th, and possibly beyond. His weekly schedule (Eastern Time) is roughly as follows:

Sat-Sun: 12-5:30pm

Mon-Fri: 12-1pm, 5-6pm

Mario has made special appearances at E3 and elsewhere for years through the magic of Mario in Real Time (MIRT), created by Mike Fusco of SimGraphics Engineering. However, this time the presentation is different: Charles Martinet is hosting from home in California.

Using his own home computer he connects to a computer in New York and speaks into his microphone. The remote computer setup in New York then displays Mario (or Wario), interpreting the received audio stream to move the character's mouth. Charles can also control the camera remotely. This new setup means Mario can visit anyplace in the world with a broadband connection. And since Mr. Martinet speaks multiple languages, Mario could become quite the traveler!

If you drop by the New York mega-store, be sure to say hello to Mario and tell him that Planet GameCube sent you!