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New games and products unveiled for Mario’s 35th anniversary

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Nintendo, in a Mario-themed direct, announced a litany of games, products, and in-game rewards around the company’s mascot for his 35th anniversary. The biggest announcement was Super Mario 3D All-Stars, which packages Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario Galaxy into one game. The titles will receive a makeover with improved HD resolutions and 16:9 aspect ratios. The package will release on September 18, but will only be available in physical and digital formats until April 2021. It seems Nintendo will no longer make the game available for purchase after that date.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Nintendo is getting in on the battle royale craze with Super Mario Bros. 35, coming from the team that put together Tetris 99. Thirty-five players will compete in a never-ending, procedurally generated Super Mario Bros. level. Enemies defeated in one person’s game will spawn in another, and players can use special items to try and get a leg up on the competition. The game will be available for free via for Nintendo Online members starting on October 1, but will only be playable until April 2021.

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Super Mario All-Stars, packaging the Super Mario Bros. trilogy and Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, is available now for free for Nintendo Online members and comes with no such limited release stipulation.

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One of the last Wii U holdouts, Super Mario 3D World, is finally getting ported to the Nintendo Switch as Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury. It adds online multiplayer, as well as a new expansion, Bowser’s Fury, although details on that were not provided. The game will be available on February 21, 2021.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Nintendo also announced two physical products. Mario Kart: Home Circuit comes in either a Mario or Luigi variation and is a small kart remote-controlled by a Nintendo Switch. The players will place gates on the floor to create a track. Using a camera built into the kart, they will be able to view its perspective via their Switch, which produces an augmented reality track with other racers and items to pick up, the kart reacting to the virtual elements. It will include local multiplayer with other physical karts and will be available on October 16 for $100.

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The other physical product is a new Game & Watch, which was Nintendo’s first handheld console, predating the Game Boy. It comes with Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels installed, and will only be available for Nintendo Online members to order, releasing on November 13 for $50.

In addition to all the new products, Mario themed in-game events and rewards such as furniture in Animal Crossing: New Horizons and a tournament in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate will be releasing over the coming months.

Knowing how much Nintendo has struggled with working from home during the coronavirus pandemic, it’s very possible the above Mario titles will be the company’s big holiday release, especially as 3D All-Stars will only be available through the first quarter of 2021.

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Tom Caswell
Tom Caswell
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Professional video producer and writer, gaming enthusiast, and streamer! twitch.tv/greatbritom
Don’t miss these Easter eggs from The Super Mario Bros. Movie’s new trailer
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Nintendo and Illumination debuted a second trailer for The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which debuted Anya Taylor-Joy's Princess Peach and Seth Rogan's Donkey Kong. It also included way more Easter eggs than the film's first clip, including references to Mario Kart, Super Mario Bros. 3, and more.

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Nintendo’s mobile games don’t get enough credit. While Nintendo had some undeniable hits like Pokémon Go and Fire Emblem Heroes, many consider the rest of its mobile efforts fairly underwhelming and even somewhat disappointing for a video game company of Nintendo’s stature. While nothing ever quite reached the high bar Pokémon Go set in 2016, Nintendo’s mobile games are a bit more influential than they get credit for.
Over the past few years, games like Pokémon: Let’s Go! Pikachu and Eevee, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe have built upon their mobile counterparts. Then, during the September 13 Nintendo Direct, Fire Emblem Engage’s announcement and main gimmick cemented that Nintendo isn’t just viewing mobile games as a mostly failed side experiment. While they might not be the most successful games out there, their DNA is creeping into the Nintendo Switch’s bestselling titles.
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Nintendo’s mobile gaming efforts kicked off in the mid-2010s. Niantic created the AR game Pokemon Go, which quickly became a smashing success in 2016. In the six years since, the game has generated around 678 million installs and $6 billion in player spending, according to data from Sensor Tower.
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Meanwhile, other games like Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, Mario Kart Tour, Dr. Mario World, and Dragalia Lost launched, and while they’ve still made lots of money for Nintendo, most haven't matched the success of the most popular mobile titles. The biggest exception to this is Fire Emblem Heroes, a gacha game where players can summon classic Fire Emblem characters. It’s had over $1 billion in player spending alone as of June 2022 and is Nintendo’s “flagship title on the [mobile} platform,” according to Sensor Tower.
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The legacy of Nintendo’s mobile games could also be felt in the September 13 Nintendo Direct. The showcase’s first announcement was Fire Emblem Engage, which is turn-based strategy game where the main gimmick is being able to summon classic Fire Emblem characters with a ring. While it doesn’t look like Fire Emblem Engage goes full gacha, it’s clear that Nintendo recognized how people liked collecting and using classic Fire Emblem characters in a new adventure, so the developers drew and expanded upon that idea for Fire Emblem Engage.
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