2020 marked the 35th anniversary of the first Super Mario game, and in honor of the milestone Nintendo released Super Mario 3D All-Stars. The collection saw the first three 3D Mario titles, Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario Galaxy, packaged together in one convenient bundle. While the collection's announcement was met with much fanfare, it quickly turned sour after it was later revealed the game would have a limited-time release. Unfortunately, Super Mario 3D All-Stars' sales window will soon be closing, as the collection will no longer be available for purchase after this month.
Super Mario 3D All-Stars has been a hit for Nintendo, but it was never intended to be available for long. The collection, as well as other special 35th anniversary releases like Super Mario Bros. 35 and Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros, were always meant to be Nintendo's way of celebrating Mario's 35th anniversary. Nintendo of America President, Doug Bowser, has already stated that the company does not plan on making limited releases a common thing and that it was simply meant to make the anniversary a little more unique.
According to Nintendo's 2020 earnings report, Super Mario 3D All-Stars sold 8.32 million copies, so it seems the limited release yielded some good results for Nintendo. It'll be interesting to see how much that sales number might grow as the collection's sales deadline quickly approaches, and, although March 31st will be the last day to purchase 3D All-Stars digitally, fans may still be able to purchase the game after that date.
All of the games released in honor of Mario's 35th will be scrubbed from the Switch's e-Shop on April 1st, but some stores will likely still be carrying the game. Supplies may be limited depending on the store, but shipments of the game will continue to go out through the collection's March 31st deadline. So there are sure to be stores carrying 3D All-Stars after March 31st, but supplies will likely be limited, especially if there is a large push to buy the game before the end of the month. Luckily, fans may still get the chance to play the original 3D Mario games some time in the future.
3D Mario Games May Release Individually After March 31st
The 3D All-Stars collection gave fans their first opportunity to experience the original 3D Mario games on the Switch, but it may not be their last. Since it was initially revealed 3D All-Stars would be a limited release, many have wondered what might come after its release window. The limited release, as well as Super Mario Galaxy 2's exclusion from 3D All-Stars, has led some to believe the games could each be released individually for the Switch. Nintendo has not confirmed the idea yet, but they also haven't officially denied it either. In an interview with Polygon, when asked about those who purchase a Switch after 3D All-Stars' release window, Doug Bowser stated, "I can’t speak to plans beyond the the end of March.” This is the exact type of non-answer that makes it seem like Nintendo has something up its sleeve.
To put it simply, the company has made a lot of money off 3D All-Stars and they could make even more if each 3D Mario game was released individually. This is especially true for Mario Galaxy 2, seeing as many of the people who purchased 3D All-Stars may still be itching to play the one game that was kept off the collection. Nintendo is too smart to not know what it has with these games and it will likely try to get as much money off them as it can. So while March 31st will be the last day for people to purchase Super Mario 3D All-Stars digitally and in some stores, the collection may eventually be released individually at a later date.
Source: Polygon
