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Nintendo Celebrates Mario's 35th Birthday in Style

by Jordan Rudek - September 3, 2020, 9:51 am EDT
Total comments: 8 Source: Nintendo

Who predicted a new Game & Watch handheld in 2020?

In among the bigger titles and announcements during today's Super Mario Bros. 35th Anniversary Direct, Nintendo shared details on a number of smaller Mario-themed promotions, including:

  • Game & Watch Super Mario Bros., a standalone handheld featuring Super Mario Bros., The Lost Levels, and a Mario-themed Ball game
  • A Super Mario 35th Anniversary pin set from MyNintendo
  • A Super Mario Kart event in Mario Kart Tour
  • 35th Anniversary merchandise at the Nintendo New York store and Nintendo's own online store
  • A Splatfest between two Mario power-ups in January, with keychains as a MyNintendo reward available closer to the event
  • Super Mario-themed furniture coming to Animal Crossing New Horizons in March of next year

Did you get your Mario fill from today's presentation? Let us know in the comments below!

Talkback

AdrockSeptember 03, 2020

No part of me needs another way to play Super Mario Bros. yet I’m eyeing that Game & Watch.

Ian SaneSeptember 03, 2020

Instead of this Game & Watch why not make a Game Boy Classic?  This has an LCD screen and can play Super Mario Bros so surely similar tech could handle Game Boy games.  This is just a novelty, a Game Boy Classic is an obvious product with some real practical functionality that compliments the NES and SNES Classic and could fill demand for more Classic systems, particularly since there isn't going to be an N64 Classic.

jarodeaSeptember 03, 2020


Don't care
Don't care (unless I can waste platinum points on it)
Don't care
Don't care (unless this includes the pretty cool real life Mario Kart RC car)
Don't care
Don't care

Quote from: Ian

Instead of this Game & Watch why not make a Game Boy Classic?  This has an LCD screen and can play Super Mario Bros so surely similar tech could handle Game Boy games.  This is just a novelty, a Game Boy Classic is an obvious product with some real practical functionality that compliments the NES and SNES Classic and could fill demand for more Classic systems, particularly since there isn't going to be an N64 Classic.

When they first showed it I thought it might be a Game Boy Mini or whatever, and hoped it was.

AdrockSeptember 03, 2020

Quote from: Ian

Instead of this Game & Watch why not make a Game Boy Classic?

I imagine Nintendo only released the NES Classic Edition and SNES Classic Edition because it needed the revenue what with Wii U........... being Wii U. Nintendo can always go back to the well to make its fiscal year look a little better. With Switch cleaning up, we didn't get a Nintendo 64 Classic Edition which seemed like an obvious release in 2018 with or without Rare. To answer your question: Because Nintendo doesn't need to. If the Switch successor is just "Wii U: Part II - The Reckoning", maybe we'll see a Game Boy Classic Edition (and Nintendo 64 Classic Edition for that matter).

This Super Mario Bros. Game & Watch is also $49.99 for two 35 year old games. As stupid as this thing is, it's going to sell out. I mean, I want one, and I have no need for it. Nintendo could sell that forever and never lower the price.

I absolutely do NOT need that expensive Game & Watch Super Mario Bros. product but I will 100% be obsessed with buying one until I have it in my hands.

Also, that announcement of a pin set, and keychain rewards from MyNintendo next year made me log back into MyNintendo and collect Platinum Points for the first time in what's gotta be two years or something.

UncleBobRichard Cook, Guest ContributorSeptember 03, 2020

I want two of those Game and Watches. 🤣

That said, I don't understand the decision to remake Ball (again) for this release.

Nintendo litterally released a Super Mario Bros. Game and Watch in 1986.

As far as Game and Watch games go, it's pretty cool.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=arsXiTHt8cU

Game and Watch Ball again?  I can't imagine anyone is excited for *that*.

Someone would be excited for SMB G&W.  Me.

AdrockSeptember 03, 2020

Quote from: UncleBob

I don't understand the decision to remake Ball (again) for this release.

Nintendo litterally released a Super Mario Bros. Game and Watch in 1986.

Shoot, that's actually a really good idea. Why didn't Nintendo think of that? It was probably a similar amount of effort too.

I used to have the Super Mario Bros. Game & Watch. It was hella difficult. I don't know what happened to my unit. I think my mom may have given it away. If I knew how hard it would be to find again, I probably would've been more protective of it.

I would have expected a bit more then just ports (with upscaling and some aspect ratio changes). Especially when Super Mario All-Stars was shown right before it and casts a bit of a shadow. That said, I'm happy to have Sunshine finally free of the GameCube. Even if it is still everything that Sunshine has to offer

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