Super Mario will not die on March 31
On March 31, Nintendo will stop the sale of some Super Mario themed products launched on the occasion of the 35th anniversary and which as known would remain on the market until the end of this month. Nothing strange then, except that a strange theory has taken hold on Twitter related to the death of the famous character.What will happen on March 31st? Super Mario 3D All-Stars and the Game & Watch Super Mario Bros will no longer be on sale, the Nintendo World Store will remove all celebratory products from the shelves and the Super Mario Bros 35 servers will be closed. It will also no longer be possible to share levels created with Super Mario Maker on Wii U, to these events we also add the removal of Fire Emblem Shadow Dragon & The Blade of Light from the eShop, although obviously it has nothing to do with Super Mario .
These are business and marketing choices, as recently reiterated by Doug Bowser of Nintendo of America, who underlined the celebratory nature of Super Mario 3D All-Stars and the precise desire to sell the game only up to at the end of the celebrations for Mario's thirty-fifth birthday.
On Twitter, however, there are those who push hard for the death of Super Mario, scheduled for March 31st, complete with the hashtag "Mario Dies" entered trend and Google searches shot up. This is a bizarre theory that obviously will not find any feedback, Mario will not die at the end of the month, you can rest assured, and Nintendo has confirmed that non-anniversary games such as Mario Kart Live Home Circuit and Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury will continue to be sold regularly.
Mario ‘dies’ next week: Here are the games leaving the Switch on March 31
Nintendo’s one-year-long Super Mario birthday celebration is almost over. On March 31, Nintendo officially shuts down the festivities in an unorthodox way. It’s removing select games from the Switch eShop entirely. That decision has frustrated players all year, and now they’ve turned it into a meme. Fans have now declared March 31 the day Mario “dies.”
Mario will not actually perish at the end of the month, but the joke does provide an important PSA for Nintendo fans. Those looking to pick up certain games will need to act fast before the month is up. Here’s what games are leaving Switch, as well as information on when you need to redeem digital codes by.
What Mario games leave Switch on March 31?Two Mario games leave the Switch eShop on March 31: Super Mario 3D All-Stars and Super Mario 35.
Super Mario 3D All-Stars isn’t just leaving the eShop that day — Nintendo will stop producing physical copies of the game as well. While retailers might have extra stock to burn through after March 31, it’ll eventually be impossible to buy the game from a traditional retailer.
NintendoThe situation is worse for Super Mario 35. The digital-only Nintendo Online freebie will simply disappear forever. With the multiplayer game’s servers shutting down, fans won’t even be able to emulate it in the future. Those who want to try it will need to do so before the end of the month or live with the FOMO.
The special-edition Nintendo Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros. console will also cease production at the end of the month. Like 3D All-Stars, retailers will likely have a few units floating around this spring until stock fully sells out.
While not Mario-related, it’s worth noting that Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light will also cease to exist after March 31. Nintendo will remove the game from the eShop and stop producing the game’s limited physical edition.
Can I still redeem Super Mario 3D All-Stars after March 31?Those who have bought the game but have yet to redeem it will still be able to do so after March 31. In an interview with Video Games Chronicle, Nintendo confirmed that retail codes will still be valid even after the deadline.
The game can be redownloaded once bought, so players don’t have to worry about losing it forever if they delete it. Buying a physical or digital copy will ensure players have access to it after the deadline, for now.
When will these games be available again?
Those who are hoping that this is short term might want to prepare for the worst. At the moment, there’s no plan to reprint these games once they’re gone. Super Mario 35 will likely never be playable again, which is a troubling thought for games preservationists.
Fans speculate that the three games featured in Super Mario 3D All-Stars will be sold individually on the eShop down the line. Nintendo has not confirmed that rumor, so operate under the assumption that these games won’t be onthe Switch again. Those who want to get their hands on these games need to pull the trigger in the next few days.
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