If you haven’t bought Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario Galaxy from the Nintendo Switch eShop already, that’s what you want to start with. Nintendo removes Super Mario 3D All-Stars – the bundle of those three games – on March 31, 2021. People who buy those games before can still access them, but there’s no way for anyone else to buy them afterward. Physical copies may still stick with retailers, but Nintendo said it will stop shipping new units.
The multiplayer Mario battle royale Super Mario Bros. 35 will disappear entirely on March 31.
Nintendo gives, and Nintendo takes away.
But why? In an interview with Polygon, Nintendo of America president Doug Bowser said it’s simple: these Mario games were added as part of a party. It was meant to be a special, unique moment for the 35th anniversary of Super Mario Bros.
“And with some of these titles, we felt it was an opportunity to release them for a limited time,” Bowser said. ‘They have done very, very well. Super Mario 3D All-Stars has sold more than 2.6 million copies in the US alone. And it is clear that consumers have been able to jump in and enjoy it. “
But what about players who buy a Switch in, say, June 2021? When asked about that, Bowser said, “Yes, at this point the decision was really made around that festive feature and aspect. I can’t talk about plans after the end of March. “
Like the eShop games, the Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros. handheld released as part of the anniversary will also have limited availability. Nintendo only sells a few and will stop shipping them to retailers by March 31.
Fans in particular still find it odd that Nintendo made the decision to sell these items – especially the games – for a limited period of time. But on that, Bowser said it is not a strategy that will be widely used, but “one [Nintendo] thought was very unique to the actual anniversary. “