The Nintendo Switch 2‘s launch lineup currently features a new Kirby Air Ride, a new Donkey Kong, a new Mario Kart and more. However, one thing that was absent that a lot of fans expected Nintendo to reveal in the Switch 2 Direct was a new 3D Mario game. So, it’s not surprising that the topic would eventually be brought up to Nintendo.
Sure enough, CNN asked Nintendo of America president Doug Bowser about this very thing. When asked why there isn’t a new main Mario game on the Switch 2, Bowser simply said to “stay tuned. You know, we have a long, long catalog, and a long list of (intellectual property) that I’m sure will make its way to the platform”. The response isn’t all that surprising, but it may offer some hope to those who were hoping to get a successor to Super Mario Odyssey on the Switch 2 very soon.
I’m pretty sure it’s going to be called Odyssey 2.
“I’m sure the next one is going to be called Odyssey 2” 2025
“I’m sure the next one is going to be called Galaxy 3” 2016
“I’m sure the next one is going to be called Sunshine 2” 2006
“I’m sure the next one is going to be called Mario 128” 2000
this is 50% true lol
mario 128 was a thing technically and gamers couldnt play sunshine cuz too hard so nobody wanted sunshine 2.
You completely missed the point. We didn’t “Sunshine 2” NOT because “poor widdo gamers find it too hard,” but because Nintendo were done with that idea and preferred to move on. We got a Galaxy 2 on Wii, but we didn’t get a “Galaxy 3” on Wii U or Switch… instead Nintendo moved on from the Galaxy idea and made something else entirely. They ALWAYS move on to an entirely new concept when entering a new console generation.
Yet SOMEHOW, people are so sure of themselves that THIS time, Nintendo’s going to break from this and make a direct sequel to Super Mario Odyssey after 8+ years. If “Odyssey 2” was ever going to be a thing, it would’ve already been a thing on Switch 1. Sorry… that ship has sailed.
Whatever Nintendo’s cooking for Switch 2 is going to be an entirely new concept. NOT a direct sequel to an old one.
Yeah I remember how people were expecting Super Mario 6D World on Switch
We all know it’s coming, just like all nintendos top sellers like Zelda, animal crossing, smash etc, it’s just when.
Nintendo will need a new big system seller at Christmas so it’s a pretty high chance new main Mario will be a 2025 q4 release.
I know Mario kart world will be a system seller, but it will be 6 months old by then and I think a Mario platformer will be the way to go, unless this game potentially needs more time in the oven and prime 4 release is up in the air until this is certain as a full in.
*fill
MK8D is still a holiday seller
This next Mario game is gonna be a rough one for me. The first one without Martinet voicing Mario. I almost don’t want it to happen.
You didn’t Play Mario Wonder?
Super Mario Continents is an open world Mario game, will be released December this year………. I think
I heard someone drop the insane idea that they’ve been sitting on Donkey Kong Bananza for a while, just polishing it, and that in 2 or 3 years we might see a brand new 3D Mario they’ve already started development on. Could you imagine? Omfg…
I mean, rumors of a 3D DK date back a couple years… and there’s a chance they split the dev team with each getting support from MonolithSoft internally after that acquisition… omg…
One pattern that I noted with Mario releases like a mainline 2D or 3D title is that they release in October. The window might have already passed for an announcement and maybe it will release next year, or they could announce it in a June direct and promise it this year. Would be hype, but maybe that would be unrealistic. Would be a surprise, though.
Not always. It was really only the last two that aimed for October launches.
Super Mario Sunshine launched in August of 2002, Galaxy 1 released in November 2007, Galaxy 2 released in May 2010, 3D Land released November 2011, 3D World released November 2023, Odyssey released October 2017, and Wonder released October 2023.
I would imagine that 3D Mario isn’t coming this year because Donkey Kong Bananza has already ticked their “3D platformer” box for the year. That, and if this game is indeed an open world 3D collectathon… we’ve already got a Mario Kart game that involves exploring an entire open world.
As much as I myself want 3D Mario to be this year (especially with Mario’s 40th anniversary), I feel like they’d prefer to stagger their releases a bit more… especially when 2025 is already looking pretty good as is. They don’t “need” 3D Mario to be this year.
Plus, they could release it next year to tie in with Mario movie 2.
True. I’m also wondering if this new Mario is an Odyssey 2 which made me start thinking if it was teased back in August 2019 with Nintendo’s summer tweet. I’m assuming the new Mario started development shortly after Odyssey so the 8 year mark is almost approaching.
They did Zelda 3d and Mario 3d in the same year, so not too concerned about spacing out big titles, though DK is closer to Mario than Zelda is.
DK is much closer to Mario in terms of gameplay style. Not to mention the fact that, while it’s not officially confirmed, rumors point very strongly to the EPD Tokyo team developing DK Bananza, the same team that developed Super Mario Odyssey and all prior 3D Mario games dating back to Super Mario Galaxy. Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey were very different games and were much more distinct in terms of gameplay.
Furthermore, Nintendo were in a very different position back with the original Switch. They NEEDED the Switch to succeed at all costs because they were coming off the massive failure that was the Wii U. Not only do they already have a pretty decent 2025 lineup for Switch 2, there’s a pretty healthy amount of content to play on Switch 2 thanks to backwards compatibility, the upgraded “Switch 2 Edition” games, and their entire classic library on NSO. A lot of people forget that NSO didn’t even exist when the original Switch launched and there was NO backwards compatibility with Wii U at all.
3D Mario needs to be a 2026 release. This year is already stacked
Stacked with what? Two first party games?
It’s OBVIOUSLY Sunshine 3. What? You think I’m delusional??? yeah… yeah I am…
I meant 2 now I sound even more delusional…
No, you’re right. Nintendo is going to release Sunshine 2 this summer, and then Sunshine 3 will be Fall 2026. All the Sunshine love in Mario Kart World is proof of this. Nintendo is killing it!
We get a new 3D Donkey Kong game after nearly 30 years. This will be only the second 3D Donkey Kong game in over 3 decades, but people keep bitching about, that we haven’t got a new 3D Mario after 8 years. 🤦♂️
I mean… because 3D Mario is usually expected with each new console as the company’s primary mascot, and because it’s been 8 years since the last 3D Mario. That’s an unusually long time between tentpole Mario games… especially when you consider the fact that the very last game that the 3D Mario team, Yoshiaki Koizumi’s team at Nintendo EPD Tokyo, hasn’t put out a single original standalone title since 2017.
3D Mario also tends to be part of the story when it comes to the launch of any new Nintendo system… even if 3D Mario doesn’t always make the launch window. Nintendo showed Super Mario Sunshine off back in 2001 even though the game launched the following year, same thing with them showing an early version of Super Mario Galaxy in 2006, along with the Super Mario Odyssey tease in the October 2016 reveal trailer for the original Switch.
I’m not sure what claim you’re making. Is it just “Nintendo will release a 3D Mario game within the next few years?” If so, I don’t think anyone is arguing the other side.
If instead you’re suggesting the game will come out during calendar year 2025, IMHO you need to account for:
1) While the EPD team hasn’t RELEASED a standalone title since 2017, that streak is scheduled to end in a few months with the new DK game. What is your theory for how the team could develop both games for a release window only months apart? Do you think the DK game is from a different team despite the evidence to the contrary?
2) 3D Mario being “part of the story” around the console launch is so vague I again struggle to understand the claim being made. For the GameCube the Mario game came out 9 months later; for the Wii a year later; for the Wii U a year later; and for the Switch 7 months later. All of those windows would put the new game into 2026. Also we only have to go back to the Wii U for when 3D Mario was in no way part of the console launch since, IIRC, 3D World wasn’t announced or previewed until early 2013.
3) Finally, any 2025 launch means November (or October which is even more challenging). So when exactly is the game going to be announced to make that window, and how does that fit onto the existing schedule without bumping something else? Note the only reason to not announce the game now is to avoid cannibalizing software sales, which pretty means just means the DK game given the timing and the genres in play. DK comes out mid-July, so the Mario game could be announced, at the earliest, in early August. Does it really seem credible that Nintendo will release their flagship title with two months’ notice and in the same 3-month window when they have to release the new Warriors game, Pokémon Z-A, Drag x Drive, Air Riders, and Metroid?? I get all of those games aren’t huge titles, but I struggle to put together any sort of timeline that makes sense. If anything I can see them pulling one or more of those titles up into August.
I’d love to be wrong on this. Pre-direct I thought they would announce a Mario game. But the DK game sure looks to me like it took that space in the calendar. Holiday 2026 seems much more doable if we optimistically assume the DK game was mostly complete on Switch 1 and the team just shifted over to it for a year or so and is now back to Mario.
I was responding to someone else, perhaps you didn’t see the above comment.
EPD Tokyo is comprised of two teams, or at least they were prior to EAD and SPD merging to form EPD in 2015 after Iwata’s passing. But also, I think it’s very possible for EPD Tokyo to pull double duty on two different games when it’s been EIGHT YEARS since their last title. If what you’re suggesting is that DK Bananza is the result of eight continuous years of development… well, I have my doubts. Open-ended 3D Marios of the past have only taken anywhere from 1.5 to 3.5 years to develop (with Odyssey taking 3.5 years), so even if we account for the fact that this team is making a bigger, more expansive game that takes advantage of a much more capable system… I don’t think the team “needs more time” after eight years.
I have no idea what the confusion was here. This was in response to the above comment which asked why people were bitching about the lack of Mario when DK hasn’t had a 3D game in nearly 30 years. Nintendo has a history of REVEALING their next 3D Mario whenever they unveil the new console. Super Mario Sunshine was unveiled in 2001 months PRIOR to the GameCube’s launch. Super Mario Galaxy was revealed at E3 2006, several months PRIOR to the Wii’s launch. Super Mario Odyssey was teased alongside the Switch reveal in October of 2016 and was fully revealed in the January 2017 full Switch unveiling. This time, Nintendo had NO news for a new tentpole 3D Mario game like they did with all the prior generations of consoles I mentioned. THAT’S what’s weird about it, and that’s why people are “bitching” about it.
I’m not arguing that 3D Mario is coming this year. I’ve already accepted that DK is their 3D platformer this year. Plus, with an open-world Mario Kart, I think having a 3D Mario that’s ALSO open-world (which is what things seem to be pointing to, even if it’s not officially confirmed) would be overkill for the same year. I’m willing to bet that the game is pretty much done and they’re intentionally trying to pace their releases. Mario being pushed to next year wouldn’t be the worst thing, anyway. It’d be a good way to tie it in with Mario movie 2.
Up to this point, Nintendo have essentially ignored Super Mario Bros’s 40th anniversary. Sure, Mario Kart is coming out, but they haven’t tied this game to Mario’s 40th anniversary at all. They will do something. Whether it’s a new 3D platformer, it seems less likely with the existence of Donkey Kong Bananza. But they will do something.
“Koopalings, stand back and stand by”
..who care about Nintendo money grubbing bastards
Considering what these characters look like now, since Illumination (the Mario movie) got their hands on them (Nintendo has developed an unhealthy obsession with brands involving Minions and Rabbids), I don’t think I want anything from this franchise now (other than a price drop, and to leave modders/retro gamers alone).
It’s been a roller coaster: Illumination Mario/Chris Pratt, girlboss Peach, Illumination Donkey Kong, Martinet retiring, Kevin Afghani, Princess Peach Showtime!, the first look at “Mario Kart Switch”, the actual reveal of Mario Kart World, Donkey Kong Bananza, $449.99 (possibly more).
I’m running out of reasons to stay with this franchise beyond gateway game exposure. At least I know what Nintendo wants the future of Mario to look like. I’ll be saving my money.
“girlboss Peach”
What an absolute loser lmao.
“Martinet retiring”
The hell are you expecting? The dude’s almost 70, you really expect him to be wheeled into a recording studio on his death bed?
(And no, he didn’t say “I want to voice Mario until I drop dead,” that’s an incomplete quote. He said “I want to voice Mario until I drop dead. If someday I think I am no longer capable of doing it, I will tell Nintendo to look into finding someone else.”)