I’d seen the game Tetris running on most things up till now, but it wasn’t until today that I saw the famous rotating block puzzle game running on a chicken nugget. Yes, you heard that right. Tetris, running on a chicken nugget.
Well, I (and now you) have got McDonald’s to thank for that, who has just launched what for gamers is surely the motherlode of tie-in toy promotions, as reported originally by retrododo.
The Tetris-playing plastic nugget toy, which comes with its own dedicated carry case emblazoned with—you guessed it—more chicken nuggets, is roughly four times the size of a real, edible, chicken nugget and comes packing a small LCD screen, as well as series of control buttons.
The nugget also plays Tetris’ classic theme tune out of tiny speakers and, based on the logos on the back, is officially licensed. This is no cheap knock-off but the full fat Tetris experience. On a chicken nugget.
Why Tetris on a chicken nugget? Well, it is the 40th anniversary of the humble McNugget, which launched in 1983 and, um, Tetris was launched a year after that in 1984. Yeah, so, both products kinda launched near each other. I guess that tenuous link was good enough to greenlight the promo at McDonald’s HQ, not that I or many other gamers will be complaining.
According to the legal detailing on the official McDonald’s China website, the region where the Tetris nugget toy is currently an exclusive, 400,000 units are being made available in mainland China restaurants, with a further 100,000 units available through a Chinese food delivery app.
The official price for the Tetris-playing nugg is 30 yuan, which converts to $4.24 / £3.41. However, as you would expect, due to the nugg’s current exclusivity to mainland China, the toy is already being made available and resold at online auction sites for notably more than that.
The lowest pricing I found on eBay US, for example, was $20.45, while things were no better on eBay UK, with the cheapest Tetris nugg going for just over £17.
To me, this would be an instabuy if I could get it for RRP in my local McDonald’s. I think it’s kitschy in just the right way, with the nugget’s own carry case the deal maker for me. However, I also think you’d be out of your mind to pay over five times its RRP from a reseller. My advice to those outside of mainland China? Wait 6 months for the promo to blow over and then pick one up for a more sensible price once the hot new thang bubble has burst. Or the Tetris McNugget gets a local region launch.
I’m sure by that time some PC modder will have already got classic Doom to run on the nugget as well, meaning you could potentially have twice the game library to enjoy.
Want a closer look at the McDonald’s Tetris nugg? The unboxing video below, as recorded by YouTuber user SuiBianChiChiChi, shows the device from all angles, as well as running a version of the classic game itself.