There are many reasons why Mario is one of the most enduring icons in all of video games, selling countless copies of games on consoles like the Nintendo Switch. The first and most obvious is that his games are not just accessible to those of all ages and gaming levels, but they’re fun, something that sometimes gets lost in the world of gaming at times. Secondly, he has a look that everyone can recognize because it’s so simple and “human.” The third reason is that not unlike certain other characters, his franchise isn’t rooted in one thing. His brand has led him to many different genres, even within the platform scene.
While Mario did start off as a 2D platformer solely, he soon became a 3D platformer, a race car driver, a Smash Bros main, proficient in virtually every major sport known to man, has been in the Olympics multiple times and even got to be made of paper. The man is very versatile. But for many, the “quintessential Mario” is that of the 2D platformer Mario. The Nintendo Switch has honestly only had two games of that variety. We don’t include Paper Mario The Origami King in this one because that’s an RPG technically.
We had Super Mario Maker 2, and Super Mario Bros U Deluxe. The former is a “create your own Mario level” title that sold very well, and the other was one of a long line of Wii U ports. But that one did well too. Now though, a Nintendo insider is saying that an all-new 2D Mario title is coming to the Nintendo Switch soon enough.
Zippo wouldn’t drop a lot of details, but the ones he did drop were interesting. Such as how the game was apparently very far in development, could feature online multiplayer on some level, and might have a new art style. As for a potential release date, he only noted that it could arrive in 2023 or 2024 depending on development and what Nintendo wants to do.
So, do we believe this report? Not entirely. Not that it couldn’t happen, but rather, we can’t solely trust this report. Zippo has a habit of making a LOT of claims about what Nintendo is doing, or not doing, and as of late, his reports haven’t been that accurate.
That being said, there is reason to believe that Nintendo is working on a new Mario title. Mainly, they haven’t had an original 2D Mario platformer on the Switch in its purest form. They might want to fill that gap and make a lot of fans very happy in the meantime. Also, 2023 is looking pretty light right now in terms of big titles, so dropping this in a rumored Nintendo Direct might just make people happy.
Source: ComicBook.com
