Game developers need to cut loose at some point, right? Who are we kidding, being a game developer has got to be a pretty fun job, especially if you are the legendary Shigeru Miyamoto. During his trip to California to attend the Spike Video Game Awards, Mr. Miyamoto made his way to seek out the life-size Mario Kart built by West Coast Customs.

The extraordinary mind behind Nintedo's biggest franchises was spotted this past weekend at the Topanga mall in Canoga, California. Who wouldn't want to check out their own work come to life, especially if it is an actual working model? The non-retiring head of Nintendo looks, by the size of his smile, like he was thoroughly impressed by the work done.

Two life-size go-karts (pictured below) were engineered by the celebrity custom car joint, West Coast Customs. The assembly of the karts was a part of the L.A. Auto Show last month. Nintendo teamed up with WCC to build these life-size karts to help promote the release of Mario Kart 7. Any gamer who is signed up for the GameStop PowerUp Rewards program and who had bought Mario Kart 7 was eligible to claim the karts in a grand prize giveaway. The lucky winner will be announced in February. (The giveaway is still going on see here for details.)

Check out Miyamoto next to the life-size Mario Kart and West Coast Custom's Luigi Bumble V Kart (click on the images to enlarge):

Also, for your enjoyment, and in honor of Mr. Miyamoto's genius, a really fun Mario Opera was created by Legolambs who have done their fair share of opera dubs for a number of classic movies.

The finale is just spectacular — these guys really know their way around composing really nerdy operas.

Watch Mario: The 8-Bit Opera below:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpXPtAVdMIY

Get your copy of Mario Kart 7 for the 3DS on shelves now!

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Source: Destructoid & Joystiq

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