Hot off the heels of recent reports that a remastered trio of 3D Super Mario favorites will be making their way to the Nintendo Switch, it appears that an upcoming Switch port of Super Mario 3D World was possibly just leaked by Best Buy. If this growing collection of Mario rumors prove true, it seems that Nintendo may have rediscovered its winning strategy of giving the people what they want.
Super Mario 3D World was a criminally underrated blend of classic, level-based side-scrolling Mario and the handsome open-endedness of later 3D titles, unfairly cast aside by the few gamers who tried it due to the resounding commercial failure of the Wii U. However, that console at least had Virtual Console ports of franchise favorites dating up to Super Mario 64, whereas Nintendo Switch Online access only lets players reach as far as the SNES’s Super Mario World. Should recent gaming industry whispers be coming to fruition, Nintendo might be acknowledging the growing fan demand for classic series like the plumber’s to finally start showing up on its three-year-old console.
Trustworthy leaker Wario64 shared an intriguing retail morsel with Mario fans today: a Best Buy listing for Super Mario 3D World. Though to be taken “with a grain of salt,” he theorizes “it’s likely this game is coming,” with an active SKU and industry standard price tag of $60 being attached to the accidental listing. It could be possible that the listing was made in complete error and that the believably high price tag (by Nintendo’s standards) is merely a placeholder, but Best Buy and other retailers use a placeholder SKU in such cases, not unique ones.
The listing is not activated but there’s a listing for Super Mario 3D World for Switch at Best Buy. SKU # is 6352130. It has a price tag of $60 currently.
Take it with a grain of salt but given the Mario rumors from a few weeks ago, it’s likely this game is coming pic.twitter.com/VZ3qFx1FZs
— Wario64 (@Wario64) April 20, 2020
This is excellent news for the largely underappreciated and little-played Super Mario 3D World if true, as a Switch release could give it a new lease on life. This move makes even more sense when considering that it’s the defunct console’s only critically acclaimed first-party game to still not have made the jump from the Wii U, as was done with Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. If a Super Mario 3D World port and 3D Mario remaster bundle do come to the hybrid console, it’s a little concerning to imagine what an even greater increase in demand would mean for the Switch’s current production shortage problem, which is already being exacerbated by scalpers.
If push comes to shove and the rumored trove of Mario titles drop on the Nintendo Switch before the COVID-19 crisis subsides, players have demonstrated that they’re willing to build their own damn consoles if it means they get their hands on one. Hopefully not many are driven to that point and Nintendo does sort out its logistical kinks, though, because playing Super Mario 3D World would be a great way to break in a fresh-off-the-line Switch.
Source: Wario64
