The Konami Code has been a helpful part of gaming and a fun trick for pop culture for over 30 years at this point. It first made its appearance in Gladius according to the Wikipedia page but was probably best-known thanks to Contra, even earning the name “Contra Code” at one point. It was practically necessary to beat Contra with and soon spread to dozens of games over the years with varying degrees of secrets, tricks, and Easter eggs. Outside of gaming, entering “up up down down left right left right B A” also grants access to several secrets around the internet too, spreading to sites like ESPN, Facebook, and Google over the years. But usually, it’s a little too cute for a government website to use.
That was before Canada started to have fun with their web presence. PC Gamer points out that the Library and Archives Canada site released a joke “leak” about James “Logan” Howlett last year, enjoying a little fun with Marvel’s most popular X-Men before Hugh Jackman’s film departure. Now it seems that the Bank of Canada is celebrating some Canadian heritage alongside the release of their new $10 note and they’re using the Konami code to do it. Enter the iconic sequence at the Bank of Canada’s website about the new note and you’ll hear the sweet sounds of Canada through your computer speakers while being showered with cash. Motherboard reached out for an answer to this Easter Egg and found that the reason was simple:
“Konami code seemed like a fun way for the web team to celebrate Canada’s [150th anniversary],” a spokesperson wrote me in an email.
And, the spokesperson wrote, the folks over there “love Nintendo and 8-bit music.”
Not bad, Canada. Not bad. This certainly makes up for the terrible beer and Nickelback but does nothing to make up for Alex Trebek and his insatiable thirst for knowledge.
(Via PC Gamer / Motherboard)