Super Mario Cereal is totally a real thing, and each box is an amiibo card

Remember the days when video game mascots were on cereal boxes? Well, this December is going to feel like a blast from the past, because Super Mario Cereal is 100% a real thing coming to your local grocery store. Nintendo announced its team-up with Kellogg's earlier today, calling it a "fun way to kick off the day" in a press release.

Super Mario Cereal won't be a permanent addition to the cereal aisle, mind you - these boxes are considered to be limited edition. Nintendo didn't specify how long they'll be around, but did note that you can start finding them beginning December 11.

Aside from the inherent value to collectors, each box also acts as an amiibo accessory. Tap the cereal box to your Nintendo Switch and you can earn coins or a heart in Super Mario Odyssey. Note: the amiibo is part of the box itself, and is not a figurine like you'd find in a store. Super Mario Cereal may bring back memories of the good old days when boxes of cereal contained full-fledged toys, but that's not the case here. It's also not clear what's to stop people from just tapping cereal boxes to their consoles but not buying the sugary grains.

Interestingly enough, this isn't the first time Nintendo has made a bid for your breakfast table. From 1986 to 1989, it partnered with Ralston Cereals to produce Nintendo Cereal System - boxes of which now sell for upward of $100 if they're in good condition. So maybe hold onto these for a couple... er, decades, and who knows!

Oh, and try not to be too weirded out if you see Switch owners roaming your grocery stores this December, pressing their systems to cereal boxes.