Saturday, March 31, 2012

Google Maps Adds an 8-bit NES Button



It is now April 1st in some parts of the world. That being so - we now have the best Google Maps April Fool ever - an NES button on Google Maps.



Go to Google Maps and use the Quest button and you can actually browse Google Maps as it would look on an 8-bit NES.

The map even has some great detail.



Check out Sydney Opera House, Alcatraz, Buckingham Palace, the Egyptian Pyramids, aliens at Area 51 or the Eiffel Tower.

I also found a Dragon at the centre of the world. This Reddit thread is doing a great job of listing all the great finds in the Google 8-bit map, including Dragon Warrior enemies dotted throughout the world.

There is even an 8-bit version of Street View!



Another Google Maps related April Fool comes from Google Australia. Who are today claiming to have started collecting Google Street Roo imagery.

They say that "more than a thousand Big Red kangaroos will be equipped with a 360-degree head camera ... (and) ... solar panels stitched into the back pocket of custom-made roo jackets."

6 comments:

Alan said...

The link to the Pyramids is broken for me. (Takes me to Buckingham Palace again)

Keir Clarke said...

Thanks - fixed!

Anonymous said...

This this is cool, well, it is, but so is the 8-bitversion of Mad Men:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nW5mZey1iXw

Anonymous said...

found a little dragon/monster here:
54.990419,-3.144493

Unknown said...

This may be a cool toy but I don't see a quest button and can not find any 8bit maps. Did they take this down already?

Keir Clarke said...

You're a year too late Richard. It only lasted a few weeks after April 1st. It will be interesting to see if Google keep this year's treasure map as part of the API.