DuringGDC 2011 Nintendo made official its plans to make a core Super Mario for to the just-launched 3DS. There’s been little news since then, until Mario’s creator Shigeru Miyamoto had an interview with French site Gameblog.fr. It was there Miyamoto let loose this juicy quote:
"I promise to do everything to deliver your new Mario this year!"
Or at least that’s how Babblefish.com translated:
"Je vous promets de tout faire pour vous livrer le nouveau Mario cette année!"
Just to be clear that’s not a promise, nor is it an official announcement of a release date, but we can all agree it’d be really awesome were it to actually happen. We’ll eventually get to see the game in action at this year’s E3, when the date will hopefully be announced as well. But based on the last decade of Mario releases, I’m slightly pessimistic about a 2011 release. Think about it: GameCube didn’t get Mario Sunshine until a year after its launch, and the same thing happened with Galaxy on Wii. GBA never got an original core Mario, while DS got New Super Mario Bros 18 months after launch. Not since N64 has a Nintendo system launched in the same year as a “real” Mario game.
Above: At the very least we’lllearn what that tail is about at E3
Enough cynicism! Perhaps the devs, the same ones behind Mario Galaxy 1 and 2, have gotten so good at making Mario games they can pull it off, and Super Mario 3D will be ready for Nintendo’s traditional Thanksgiving week release date. Out of the collection of possible Holiday flagship titles, it’s a strong candidate. Sure, Nintendo could go with Mario Kart, Animal Crossing, or Star Fox 64, or maybe the publisher will shock us with E3 announcements of 3DS Fit or 3DS Sports (please God, don’t let that happen). Out of all those contenders, which would you rather be playing X-Mas day? I know my answer.
Apr 21, 2011
