Nintendo's trying to make new 3D Mario games less complicated, according to Shigeru Miyamoto

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"We want to make it easy for even first-time players to have fun"

Super Mario Odyssey
(Image credit: Nintendo)

Shigeru Miyamoto says the next 3D Mario game should allow the series to "expand further."

Speaking at Nintendo's latest investor presentation (via VGC), Miyamoto was asked about the differences between 2D and 3D Mario games. In response, he explained that more recent Super Mario titles have had a specific focus on accessibility for new players which older games hadn't had.

"Let me explain by describing the background for the development of [...] New Super Mario Bros Wii, which was released in 2009. At the time, it felt like each time we created a new instalment in the Super Mario series - which by then had expanded into 3D - it became more complicated. After the release of Super Mario Galaxy in 2007, the goal was to develop a more accessible 3D Super Mario game." 

"When we develop software, we strive to incorporate new elements, but at the same time we want to make it easy for even first-time players to have fun. Recently, people of all generations have been enjoying [...] Super Mario Odyssey, so for 3D Mario going forward, we want to try expanding further in new ways."

The success of Super Mario Odyssey means that more 3D Mario is a pretty sure thing, but there's no word on when we might expect the follow-up. The only Super Mario game released since Odyssey was this year's Bowser's Fury, but that was a re-release of the Wii U's 3D World, so hopefully a brand new game isn't too far away.

Ali Jones
Ali Jones
Managing Editor, News

I'm GamesRadar's Managing Editor for news, shaping the news strategy across the team. I started my journalistic career while getting my degree in English Literature at the University of Warwick, where I also worked as Games Editor on the student newspaper, The Boar. Since then, I've run the news sections at PCGamesN and Kotaku UK, and also regularly contributed to PC Gamer. As you might be able to tell, PC is my platform of choice, so you can regularly find me playing League of Legends or Steam's latest indie hit.