So here is an April Fools' work of art from the company that, to many minds, just might deserve righteous laughter. For here, purportedly, is the launch of Google Maps 8-bit for the Nintendo Entertainment System.
According to Google's Lat Long blog, this is something that the world desperately needs.
"Our engineering team in Japan understood the importance of maps on retro game systems. With the power of Google's immense data centers, and support from Nintendo and Square Enix, we were able to overcome the technical and design hurdles of developing 8-bit maps," wrote Google Maps software engineer, Tatsuo Nomura.
He goes on to wax with some lyricism about "beautiful low-res graphics; simple and intuitive controls; and a timeless soundtrack." He also promises a mobile version for Game Boy.
Yet even more enchanting is the deadpan performance of the actors in the promotional video. Their faces straighter than a Google engineer's on a Monday morning, the Japanese family waits for this technical revolution to reveal itself.
The father even blows on the cartridge to "fix bugs."
Accessing the 8-bit map is easy. Use Google Maps as you normally would to search for cities or landmarks, then click on the “Quest” picture icon in the right area of the screen to view the map as large colored pixels.
Another April Fools’ tease: When you load the map, you may see this joking response: “Your system may not meet the requirements for 8-bit computations.”
Last year, Google pranked the interwebs by introducing a faux new feature called Gmail Motion that would let users type emails by using gestures. The Institute of Creative Technologies later brought the concept to life.
What do you think of Google’s April Fools’ Day prank? Would you like to use this map every day of the year? Tell us in the comments.
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