Where is the Nintendo Switch 2’s Mario platformer game? That was one of our first thoughts after watching Nintendo’s recent showcase, which featured a huge array of titles. But one is likely in the works, based on a teaser from a top Nintendo exec.
In a recent interview with CNN, Nintendo of America President Doug Bowser hinted a new Mario game is coming, as spotted by Nintendo Life.
“Stay tuned,” Bowser said when quizzed about the currently missing plumber. “You know, we have a long, long catalogue, and a long list of (intellectual property) that I’m sure will make its way to the platform.”
In the Switch 2’s initial line-up, Donkey Kong Bananza is the closest we have to a first-party Mario-style game. It’s a 3D platformer in which you can destroy and dismantle large parts of the game world.
It’s out on July 17. But it’s not a Mario game. The anticipated release among many Nintendo Switch fans is the Switch 2’s true follow-up to 2017’s Super Mario Odyssey. It came out around seven months after the console itself and arguably hasn’t been topped since.
Super Mario Odyssey was developed by Nintendo Entertainment Planning & Development (EPD), the rather sterile name for the internal development studio behind many of Nintendo’s most creative games.
In 2021, Nintendo Life reported Donkey Kong Bananza was in the works at Nintendo EPD. Does this mean we’ll have to wait years for a full 3D Mario game, because the team has been tied up with Donkey Kong Bananza all this time? Not necessarily.
Nintendo EPD is made up of a fistful of development teams, variously responsible for the Zelda, Splatoon, Pikmin and Metroid games, among others. And while the core 3D Mario team, dubbed Production Group No. 8, seems the most obvious fit for Donkey Kong Bananza, it’s also possible the game was a co-production with another developer, internal or external. Nintendo has not cleared up the specifics of Donkey Kong Bananza’s development.
Are we mostly willing that a new 3D Mario game is just around the corner here? Absolutely, but Bowser’s words to suggest such a title may already be in a Nintendo planning document right now, just waiting for the right Nintendo Direct show in order to be revealed to the public.
The Nintendo Switch 2 will be available from June 5, although at present most major UK retailers list their pre-order stock as sold out.
