Help Nintendo post a profit by eating these Super Mario Happy Meals

Just days after Nintendo said it would consider its options for licensing its famous stable of characters, McDonald's in the UK has announced that it will shortly begin a season of Super Mario Happy Meals.

Children and slightly inebriated twentysomethings will likely be able to pick up the Mario-branded meals from March, Nintendo Life reports, with the promotion coming complete with a range of Mario toys.

McDonald's and Nintendo have enjoyed a long-standing relationship over the years, with the company running promotional campaigns way back in the Super Mario Bros. 3 era. McDonald's even partnered with Nintendo in Japan to train staff in the art of burger making via the Nintendo DS.

Licensing Nintendo's famous characters, such as Link, Donkey Kong, Yoshi, will not adversely affect Nintendo's central hardware-software business model, Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata explained last week, and said that the company would explore "many options" to do so.

Iwata also confirmed that he would not rule out mergers and acquisitions if it allowed Nintendo to return to profit after a string of disappointing financial results. "If there is something that others are doing that we feel would leverage Nintendo’s strength, we will incorporate that into our business," he said. "Of course, incorporating a business model in the same way as other companies is not Nintendo’s usual way, so it would depend on the situation."