Doug Bowser, president of Nintendo of America, explains the company’s strategy around celebrating the 35th anniversary of Super Mario Bros.
What will happen from March 31, 2021 at Nintendo? We know that that day ends the fiscal year and that it will also be at the end of that day when the celebration of the 35th anniversary of the first Super Mario Bros. is concluded. Works such as Super Mario 3D All-Stars, Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light and Super Mario Bros. 35 on Nintendo Switch, or Super Mario Maker on Wii U, will disappear from the eShop. Doug Bowser, president of Nintendo of America, has spoken about it.
In a meeting with Polygon, the president of the North American division was initially very clear when asked about the logic of this move. “Yes, I think I will use only one word: celebration,” he begins by saying. “This is a celebration of Mario’s 35th anniversary. And we wanted to celebrate it in unique and different ways; We have done it with works such as Super Mario 3D All-Stars, and we will continue to do so through future releases such as Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury ”, he adds.
Super Mario 3D All-Stars
“I can’t talk about our plans beyond the end of March”
The president talks about other examples such as Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros. and Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit, which experiment with the concept of entertainment without losing sight of the main character. “We are celebrating Mario’s 35th anniversary in various ways. With some of those titles, we felt like we had the opportunity to release them for a limited time. And they have worked very, very well ”, he acknowledges, assuming that the tactic is to arouse buying interest more in the short term than in the long term; advance a possible acquisition knowing that it will not always be there available.
“Super Mario 3D All-Stars has sold 2.6 million units in the United States alone […] Clearly, it is a strategy that we are not going to be using in an extended way, but it is one that we consider unique for the current anniversary ”, he emphasizes. Bowser concludes by being very clear to the question: “I can’t talk about our plans beyond the end of March.”
Monster Hunter Rise, Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury, Bravely Default II, Persona 5 Strikers, No More Heroes III and more are the confirmed releases for Nintendo Switch in 2021 for now.
