On Friday, January 11, I was invited to a super-secret Nintendo Wii U event at The Redbury hotel in Hollywood. Some of you may recall last year’s 24-hour 3DS video challenge, which resulted in some pretty memorable videos, like a hipster Zelda musical. This year, Nintendo decided to extend the time limit to 48 hours (sleep is usually a good thing) and put 12 YouTube filmmakers into three teams to make some Mario videos worthy of premiering at the one and only Sundance Film Festival.

Last year, Nintendo hand-selected 50 YouTube channels to create films showcasing the Wii U and some of its games. Each channel was given a Wii U system, some games, and enough time to show off their skills for a place in the 48-hour video challenge.

“It’s a fun full circle. I always wish I could travel back in time to little me playing Super Nintendo, and tell him ‘you’re going to actually promote Nintendo in the future!’” said Andre Meadows from Black Nerd Comedy, a returning participant.

The event was surprisingly informal, taking place at the hotel’s outdoor patio with select few attendees. Unfortunately, the weather was uncharacteristically freezing for usually sunny Los Angeles. When I wasn’t busy bringing the warmth back into my fingers, I had the chance to chat with David Young, Assistant Manager of Public Relations for Nintendo, about StreetPass and Nintendo’s E3 jitters (no spoilers, unfortunately). Later, during his speech, Young elaborated on what Nintendo hopes to get from this event.

“What we want to do with the videos today is really show how this game is different, how it’s new and exciting, how Mario has really grown over the years,” Young said. Mario is now a quarter century old, but this is the first time he’s been featured in high definition and, as Young said, Nintendo is eager to “show how the Wii U really brings Mario to life in brand-new ways […] Mario is Nintendo’s greatest treasure, this is our key mascot.”

The official kickoff was fun, and surprised everyone with this year’s twist: each team would pick a New Super Mario Bros U. game case at random and open it to reveal which mode they would have to include in their film—Coin Battle, Challenge, or Boost Rush. After a lot of cheering, yelling, and joking, everyone circled up for one last huddle, jumping up and shouting "one, two, three, let’s-a go!" before running off to their suites/workspaces.

“Nintendo gave us so much to work with, it’s really great. The other thing that’s cool is collaborating with everyone, it’s like everyone has their own things that chime in so it’s exciting to do whatever we can,” said Frank Howley from the YouTube channel Frenk Hooley.

Teams received film equipment, a van and driver, a small prop budget, and access to a professional editor, if they so chose. Most participants brought things from home: props, costumes, even a whole desktop computer in one case. Teams were also trained in using all the equipment to equal the playing field, and Young visited everyone to answer any questions.

Overall, it was a great way to spotlight Nintendo’s new system while getting fans in on the action. The final videos, finished on Sunday at 4:00 p.m., will premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in the Nintendo Lounge. The lounge opens to the public on January 21 and will feature upcoming and recent games for play on both the Wii U and 3DS.

Photos by Kristine Keller.