Microsoft Easter Egg Pairs Konami Code With Ninja Cat To Celebrate 8-Bit Day, Super Mario Bros.

It appears that Microsoft has found a new mascot that it wants to stick with. About a week in advance of the Windows 10 launch, Microsoft released a couple of gifts to Windows Insiders that came in the form of some humorous wallpapers. In one, Ninja Cat is riding a narwhal, which happened to pierce two delicious strips of bacon; in another, it's riding a T-rex equipped with hand grabbers; and finally, no Ninja Cat adventure would be complete without a ride on a fire-breathing unicorn.

It now appears that Ninja Cat's presence isn't halting just because Windows 10 is out the door. Yesterday, Microsoft decided to pay homage to "8-bit Day" by hiding an Easter Egg on its homepage. By typing in the famous Konami code - up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, b, a - what you see below would appear.

I say "would", because it appears to have been just a one day thing, unless my browser is flaking out and not allowing it to run. According to comments, it also seems like the Easter Egg might have been exclusive to the US version of Microsoft's homepage. After inserting a coin into this massive slot, Microsoft gave a quick history of gaming, and also presented a "Happy 8-bit Day" message with 8-bit characters.

8-bit Day coincidences with the anniversary of the release of Super Mario Bros. for the NES. Yesterday actually marked the 30th anniversary of that happening (feeling old?). As we discovered just the other day, as simple as that game was overall, its design process was anything but.