Gamification, or the concept of breaking down everyday tasks or goals into interactive game elements, has become a major force in recent years in a variety of fields, including education, gene sequencing, and gig work. But one of the most common areas of gamification is fitness training. As smartwatches become more popular as workout trackers, it’s only natural to use gamification in smartwatch training programs, and with TAG Heuer’s latest Connected release, the brand has taken the next logical step with that mindset. While a collaboration between the Swiss luxury watchmaker and the world’s most famous fictional plumber may seem completely absurd at first glance, the new TAG Heuer Connected x Super Mario Limited Edition brings the fun and quirkiness of Nintendo’s flagship video game series to the world of high-end smartwatches, giving the Connected a playful new look while also providing a surprisingly clever interactive workout partner.
aBlogtoWatch recently had an exclusive interview with TAG Heuer CEO Frédéric Arnault about the TAG Heuer Connected x Super Mario Limited Edition, where Arnault spoke passionately about the watch itself and its potential to help shape the brand’s future. Arnault said the partnership with Super Mario was a natural extension of the Connected line, stating: “Our partnership with Nintendo was about bringing gamification to our connected watch products. Two years ago, we were brainstorming features for the connected watch and thinking about possible collaborations that would make sense for our product lineup. We felt that partnering with Mario would allow us to bring an element of gamification with a focus on fun, surprise and especially wellness. This is a digital product living in a digital space and we felt it would be great to partner with an iconic brand from this world. And what clinched it for us wasn’t just Mario’s international and intergenerational appeal. Mario is the ultimate hyper-active character, who gets through any situation with his tenacity and tenacity.” When asked about the brand’s future partnership with Nintendo, Arnaud was optimistic yet modest, saying, “I was asked if our mechanical products will partner with Nintendo or if this is a fully connected product and my answer is that the door is not closed. This is just the first step!”
The TAG Heuer Connected x Super Mario Limited Edition starts with the standard 45mm Gen 3 Connected case in stainless steel. As with the standard model, the overall shape of the case is inspired by the Carrera series with its characteristic sharply chamfered tapered lugs and wide contrasting polished chamfers. The pushers are also familiar elements here, with their wide-angle design and contrasting red central stripe, but most of the remaining hardware on the case is unique. The crown at 3 o’clock no longer has the classic TAG Heuer shield emblem, instead featuring Mario’s distinctive capped “M” logo in vibrant red lacquer. Similarly, the thin black-plated bezel also receives a Mario-themed nod, with Super Mario’s iconic mushroom, warp pipe and star items replacing parts of the minute scale at 3, 6 and 9 o’clock, respectively. The case back features a Limited Edition engraving around the Connected’s central sensor array. The TAG Heuer Connected x Super Mario Limited Edition is water resistant to 50 meters, which is plenty for a smartwatch.
In addition to the standard Connected’s touchscreen dial design options, the TAG Heuer Connected x Super Mario Limited Edition adds four exclusive Mario-themed dial designs to its list of options. The first and simplest of these is a modified version of the standard Connected’s retro digital timekeeping dial. This new version replaces the simple white graphics with the pixelated brick motif from the 1985 original “Super Mario Bros.”, reskinning various elements as coins, score counters and power-ups, and adding a miniature retro-style Mario motif at the 2 o’clock position. The Connected’s dynamic, minimalist and futuristic orbital dial design also incorporates some Mushroom Kingdom-inspired flair, replacing the moving neural network detailing that surrounds the standard model’s bold Arabic numeral digital display with an ever-changing pattern of pixelated stars, mushrooms and green Koopa shells. Finally, the Carrera Heuer 02-inspired dial design gets two distinct Mario-themed refreshes. The first has a more subdued design, featuring a primarily monochrome black and grey approach with red highlights on the chronograph subdial hands and a smiling Mario head design on the small seconds subdial at 6 o’clock. The second takes a brighter, more animated approach, with Mario’s signature red and blue primary colors dominating the design and an animated Mario figure taking up the entire subdial at 3 o’clock. These new dial designs are currently only available on this limited edition, but TAG Heuer has mentioned the possibility of adding them to the standard Connected at a later date.
But the most extensive and vibrant change to the TAG Heuer Connected x Super Mario Limited Edition yet is the new gamified fitness tracking suite, which works in tandem with the onboard sensor suite, including a heart rate monitor, compass, accelerometer, and logged activity tracker. Once a daily step tracking goal is set, each day the watch is worn, the wearer is greeted with an animation of Mario removing his hat before the watch face switches to a standard display. Once 25% of the step goal is reached, another animation on the watch face plays in which Mario receives a Super Mushroom and grows larger. At 50%, the wearer unlocks another animation sequence in which Mario descends into the iconic green warp pipe, and at 75% complete, another sequence plays in which Mario picks up a Super Star, flashes rainbow colors for a short time, and becomes invincible. Finally, once the wearer has fully met their daily step goal, Mario appears for a final animation in which he climbs the Goal Pole, a feat often seen at the end of each level in Super Mario Bros. By adding these playful and familiar game elements to everyday fitness tracking, the TAG Heuer Connected x Super Mario Limited Edition is likely to make reaching your athletic goals much more exciting and satisfying than the more generic, bland “close the rings” approach. In addition to these new features, the Google Wear OS operating software on the Connected x Super Mario Limited Edition enables the full suite of smartwatch features, including a chronograph, daily weather forecasts, Google Maps, Google Pay integration, voice-activated Google Assistant and Google Translate capabilities, message notifications, email integration and a full calendar.
Like the standard model, the TAG Heuer Connected x Super Mario Limited Edition uses the Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 3100 smartwatch processor. The Snapdragon Wear 3100 offers 20 hours of rechargeable battery life under normal use, including an hour of dedicated sports tracking app usage. However, extended use of the sports app will drastically reduce this figure, and TAG Heuer claims that battery life is only 6 hours with continuous use of apps such as GPS tracking, heart rate monitor, and music playback. However, the relatively short full charge time of 1.5 hours mitigates the battery life issue to some extent. TAG Heuer offers two bespoke strap options for the Connected x Super Mario Limited Edition: a black leather strap backed with bold red rubber, and a red rubber strap with rally-style perforations. Both of these straps use a quick release system and a custom folding clasp engraved with Mario’s “M” emblem.
While the partnership may seem unlikely on paper, the new TAG Heuer Connected x Super Mario Limited Edition cleverly expands and enhances the gamification concept of fitness-oriented smartwatches while simultaneously heralding a potential shift in luxury. Moreover, the new design injects vibrancy and childlike fun into this typically youthful segment of the TAG Heuer line. Only 2,000 TAG Heuer Connected x Super Mario Limited Edition watches will be made and available in select TAG Heuer boutiques from July 15, 2021. The MSRP for the TAG Heuer Connected x Super Mario Limited Edition is $2,150. For more information, please visit the brand’s website.
