In what is perhaps the best example of Nintendo making some of its games and hardware artificially scarce, it looks like the Japanese gaming giant still plans to stop selling all of the games linked to the Mario series’ 35th anniversary.
While this includes Mario battle royal game Super Mario 35 and the special edition Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros., Nintendo will also stop selling Super Mario 3D All-Stars, including uninspired but still solid re-releases of Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine and Super Mario Galaxy.
In fact, Nintendo will not only stop producing physical copies of the game but will also entirely pull the anniversary collection from the eShop at the end of March. The company recently reiterated the decision to stop selling the games in a tweet from its official Japanese Twitter account.
In an interview with Polygon, Nintendo of America president Doug Bowser said that the company is discontinuing the games because they were only intended to be part of the 35th anniversary of Super Mario Bros.
Later on in the interview, Bowser emphasized that this won’t be a common strategy utilized by Nintendo.
With this in mind, if you’re eager to jump back into Nintendo’s classic 3D Mario titles on the Switch, play Super Mario 35 or buy the elusive Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros., you should do so before March 31st. Additionally, the 30th-anniversary Switch port of the original Fire Emblem will also only remain available until March 31st.
While Super Mario 3D All-Stars is a relatively basic port, all three titles perform excellently on the Switch and have aged remarkably well. For more on the Mario anniversary package, check out my story focused on the game from back in September.
