'Super Mario 3D All-Stars' and More Still to be Removed by Nintendo in March
It's March 2021 and Nintendo fans may want to snatch up some of the recent Mario releases before they are gone.
As you might recall, Nintendo announced some exclusive game releases to celebrate the 35th anniversary of Mario last September. These included the re-release of some of the plumber's greatest 3D games in Super Mario 3D All-Stars, the (sorta) battle royale Super Mario 35, and the Super Mario Bros. Game & Watch console.
However, the announcement came with an interesting caveat. Nintendo announced that gamers won't be able to purchase the above Mario games/products after March 2021 ends.
And now that the time has come, the official Nintendo account released this reminder for how the games/products will be affected when the calendar turns to April.
"The Super Mario Bros. 35th Anniversary campaign will end at the end of March 2021. With the end of the campaign, the production, sales and services of some products will also end," Nintendo wrote on Monday.
The company also linked to a page with more details on how the games and products will be affected.
「スーパーマリオブラザーズ35周年」のキャンペーンは2021年3月末をもって終了します。キャンペーンの終了にともない、一部商品の生産・販売・サービスも終了します。くわしくはこちらをご覧ください。#スーパーマリオ35周年https://t.co/37dTGdpJkP
— 任天堂株式会社 (@Nintendo) March 1, 2021
So, how long until you can buy and play some of these Mario games?
According to the site Nintendo linked to, certain products and titles will stop being manufactured after March 31. Other games will stop being supported altogether when April comes around. Here's a breakdown of how the deadline will affect certain games/products:
SUPER MARIO 3D ALL-STARS
Nintendo confirmed that physical copies of the Mario re-release will stop being produced at the end of March. Also, the downloadable version will be pulled from the Nintendo eShop at midnight on April 1 in Japan.
Gamers will still be able to play the game after March 31, and if you've already purchased the title digitally you can re-download it after the deadline.
"Download cards" that present the game as a gift will still be redeemable for a digital copy of Super Mario 3D All-Stars even after March 31, as long as the card is valid.
SUPER MARIO 35
The digital-only title Super Mario 35 will be pulled from the eShop on April 1. The servers that run the game will also stop at the deadline. However, because of the time differences, there may be a period in which you can play the game after the service ends.
Even if you start up the software after the service officially ends, some modes like "35 Battle" and "Special Battle" will not be available.
SUPER MARIO BROS GAME & WATCH
The miniature version of the Game & Watch console will stop being produced at the end of March.
If you want to get your hands on this limited edition console, which is a great nostalgic gift for Nintendo fans, you'll want to try for one now.
How do you feel about the deadline Nintendo imposed on its Mario products? Let us know in the comments section.
