Mario Kart 64 Box Discovered After Being Hidden For Years at Toys R Us

Even though the Toys 'R Us store chain is no more (in the U.S., at least), there will always be the memories. Not to mention strange hidden gems that remind us how great the stores used to be in their heyday. In this case, an employee finding a box from an earlier era of gaming.

According to GoNintendo, said employee was cleaning up in a store as it was beginning its markdown phase some time ago. To his surprise, he managed to find an interesting relic -- a Mario Kart 64 display box.

Said box had shown its age being hidden under a shelf for well over a decade. As you can see, it's got all sorts of dirt and dust covering it where you can barely make out Mario and Wario and the gang racing behind the wheel of their karts. Nevertheless, it's an interesting find.

But what's odd is how GoNintendo noted, "The one bit of good news is that the box itself was empty!" But...wouldn't you like to find a game inside? I mean, sure, the box has had it, but it's protecting whatever's inside it, right? I'd like to think that finding a game itself would be like finding hidden treasure. Especially those that have an N64 and could use a little racing.

So why was the box there? Well, in the past, Toys 'R Us had been known at using display boxes to attract the attention of players. Granted, they did have the ticket system where you could simply take up a slip and grab your game from one of the cashiers up front. But that doesn't mean the company didn't do its work on promotion, meaning that they could've lined up boxes next to an N64 demo unit to advertise Mario Kart. It just makes sense.

Again, it would've been nice to find a game inside to give the employee a little reward for their effort. But at least they have this to remember Toys 'R Us by, since there's really little else now that the U.S. locations have closed down for good. Farewell, Geoffrey. We'll always have our late night Sega Genesis cartridge runs…

(Hat tip to GoNintendo for the scoop and image!)