When Nintendo held its Nintendo Direct to showcase the Nintendo Switch 2 earlier this month, many assumed a mainline Super Mario Bros. game was a given. After all, the last time we received a full 3D Mario game was with 2017’s Super Mario Odyssey. Even if you want to include Bowser’s Fury, which launched as a side game to the Switch re-release of Super Mario 3D World, as the most recent 3D Mario game, that title came out nearly four years ago. Though Donkey Kong Bananza looks to fill the 3D platformer space in Nintendo’s launch-window lineup for Switch 2, and Nintendo’s primary mascot and his friends will be well-represented through Mario Kart World, the absence of the Super Mario Bros. franchise was surprising.
Speaking with CNN earlier this month, Nintendo of America President Doug Bowser didn’t reveal much when asked about Mario’s absence, but he did deliver what could be perceived as a tease. “Stay tuned,” Bowser told CNN. “You know, we have a long, long catalog, and a long list of (intellectual property) that I’m sure will make its way to the platform.”
Obviously, it would be absurd to imagine a world where Switch 2 never gets its own Mario game, so you could interpret Bowser’s potential tease as simply stating the obvious. Looking at the calendars in past years, Nintendo has traditionally delivered a Nintendo Direct detailing the games of the second half of the year in late June, then another in the fall/holiday time frame. With Nintendo Switch 2 launching June 5, it’s possible Nintendo wanted to use the Switch 2 reveal Direct focus on the near-term titles like Mario Kart World (launching June 5) and Donkey Kong Bananza (launching July 17), in addition to previously announced titles like Pokémon Legends: Z-A and Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, while saving new announcements for this holiday season for a later presentation.
Super Mario Odyssey arrived the same year as the original Nintendo Switch, while Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury came to Switch in 2021. In the meantime, we received an all-new 2D adventure in 2023 in Super Mario Bros. Wonder. Still, many fans are curious about the future of the 3D side of the Super Mario series. Perhaps we’ll learn more in the coming months if Bowser is in fact teasing this.
[via IGN]
Were you surprised we didn’t get a 3D Mario game during the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct? Do you anticipated we’ll learn about one before the end of 2025? Do you think it’ll be more like Super Mario Odyssey or Bowser’s Fury?
