New Gmail Themes Include One That They Won't Call "Nintendo," But I Will

Mg Siegler

MG Siegler is a general partner at Google Ventures and a columnist for TechCrunch, where he has been writing since 2009. Previously, MG was a general partner at CrunchFund. And before TechCrunch, MG covered various technology beats for VentureBeat. Originally from Ohio, MG attended the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI. He’s previously lived in Los Angeles where he worked... → Learn More

Friday, September 4th, 2009

high_scoreThe Gmail blog has a post up right now that’s interesting for a few reasons. First, it was posted around midnight of a Friday (this is supposed to be my no-news quiet time, Google). Second, it’s written as a chat exchange between two Google employees. And third, it has a kick-ass new Nintendo-esque theme.

Truth be told, the Nintendo-like theme (called “High Score”, undoubtedly to prevent any trademark lawsuits), makes Gmail nearly impossible to read — at least at night, when the background is all black (below). But it’s awesome having a Mario-esque backdrop and Space Invader-like guys are your buddy chat indicators.

There are three other new themes as well (the first Gmail has launched since themes launched in November). They are: “Orcas Island”, “Turf”, and “Random”. The first two are rather ho-hum compared to High Score. The random one is kind of cool if you like change, which, as I just explained, I do.

This still isn’t quite as good as FriendFeed’s interactive Duck Hunt theme, but it’s close.

screen-shot-2009-09-04-at-14131-am

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