It's safe to say that the Super Mario franchise has seen huge success during the Switch's lifespan. Fans of the franchise have been treated to some of Mario's biggest and best games on the Switch, with critically-acclaimed titles such as Super Mario Bros. Wonder and Super Mario Odyssey. Moreover, the franchise has more recently seen revivals of several dormant series, from Mario Strikers to Mario & Luigi, cementing the Switch as the ultimate console for all things Super Mario.
After such a momentous run on the Switch, it can be hard to figure out what comes next for the Super Mario franchise. And yet, 2025 could quite easily become one of the franchise's biggest years in its history, as Super Mario reaches a huge milestone. Combine that with the huge anticipation for the upcoming Switch 2, alongside the need for new titles in some of the plumber's more successful subseries, and Super Mario fans could have a lot to look forward to in the year ahead.
2025 Is Mario's 40th Anniversary
Nintendo Could Be Doing Something Huge To Celebrate
In 2025, it will have been 40 years since the original Super Mario Bros. first released in Japan. The NES classic remains one of the best games of all time and one of the most important games in Nintendo's history, helping to propel the company to huge success during the latter half of the 80s and revitalizing the video game industry as a whole. Such a significant title is deserving of recognition, and the upcoming anniversary serves as the perfect opportunity to celebrate the legacy that Super Mario Bros. has made for itself.
Nintendo has made efforts to recognize and celebrate these momentous occasions in the past. Most recently, the 35th anniversary of Super Mario Bros. was full of major releases, including the long-awaited re-release of Super Mario 3D World, and Super Mario 3D All-Stars, which put the plumber's most iconic 3D outings in one collection. With this in mind, it's fair to assume that Nintendo will be cooking something to coincide with the 40th anniversary.
It's also worth noting that 2025 looks to be a huge year for Nintendo in general. With a reveal for the Switch 2 coming by March 2025, players could finally get their hands on the new console at some point in the same year. The Switch 2 will certainly need some heavy-hitters upon launch to ensure the new console sees huge success, and with Super Mario being Nintendo's most popular franchise, the launch seems like the perfect opportunity to both broaden the appeal of the company's new console, while also celebrating the anniversary of Super Mario Bros.
What New Mario Games Could Celebrate The 40th Anniversary
The Time Has Come For Some Major Releases
The 40th anniversary could be the perfect time for some Mario subseries to receive new entries after years of waiting. Despite the consistent support that the Super Mario franchise received from the Switch in general, some subseries have been without new titles for years. For example, it's been over seven years since Mario's last major 3D adventure in Super Mario Odyssey. While the Bowser's Fury expansion included with the Super Mario 3D World re-release certainly helped to tide fans over, there's still a need for a fully-fledged entry that builds on the previous titles and crafts a new path forward for the 3D Mario games.
Mario Kart has also been in desperate need of a new entry for years at this point. While Nintendo has given players plenty of additional content, from the release of Mario Kart Tour, to the Booster Course Pass DLC that doubled Mario Kart 8 Deluxe's racetracks, it's not quite the same as a brand-new main console entry. Additionally, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, despite starting as a Wii U title, remains one of the best-looking games on the Switch, making the prospect of a new entry on more powerful hardware even more tantalizing.
It's still unknown whether plans are in place to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Super Mario Bros., and what those plans could entail. However, given Nintendo's previous celebrations, and given how significant this milestone is to the company's history, it would be incredibly surprising to go the entirety of 2025 without any sort of acknowledgment. Plus, with many of Super Mario's subseries in need of new entries, 2025 could end up being one of the franchise's biggest years in gaming to date.
The classic that launched an entire franchise, Super Mario Bros. is an action-adventure platformer released for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1985. Players take control of brothers Mario and Luigi in the game as they run, jump, and stomp across eight worlds to save Princess Toadstool from the nefarious King Koopa.
Custom image by Katarina Cimbaljevic
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