New 3D Mario Reportedly Hitting Wii U in 2013

[Sarah LeBoeuf]

New 3D Mario Reportedly Hitting Wii U in 2013

Nintendo is planning to release "a succession of Wii U titles" in the second half of 2013 to revive interest in the console.

The first few months of Nintendo's newest console haven't gone CVG [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/123500-Nintendo-Misses-Profits-Forecast-By-50-Percent], a new 3D Mario game will be out by October, which will join Pikmin 3 and The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD to potentially increase Wii U sales just in time for the holiday season.

A new 3D Mario title was mentioned during a Nintendo Direct presentation [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/121663-New-Mario-Kart-Wii-U-Playable-at-E3] in January, though no release window was given. During the same presentation, it was revealed that the next game in the Mario Kart series would be playable at E3 2013, which is just a few weeks away.

Though Nintendo hasn't confirmed the 2013 3D Mario release, a UK representative for the publisher did promise a big Wii U push in the second half of 2013. "From July onwards we will launch a succession of Wii U titles and we will promote these extensively until the end of the year. Marketing activity will include TV, print, online and PR as well as comprehensive experiential and social media campaigns," she said.

Normally, I'd expect to hear more about Nintendo's upcoming Wii U releases at its E3 press conference, but the publisher isn't holding its traditional showing [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/123519-Nintendo-Ditches-its-E3-Press-Conference] at this year's event, which takes place in Los Angeles in June. The company has been using Nintendo Direct presentations to broadcast news to fans more and more this year, and it's possible we'll hear more about these games--and the rest of the Wii U's 2013 line-up--in the next few weeks.

Source: CVG [http://www.computerandvideogames.com/404493/nintendo-plots-wii-u-resurgence-with-3d-mario-by-october/]

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[OldNewNewOld]

IIRC they did say on one of the early Directs this year that Mario Kart, 3D Mario and Wind Waker HD will be playable at E3 2013. So I did assume it would release this holiday season.

 

[Scribblesense]

Pretty much what everyone was expecting. Nintendo is in boss rush mode now, and they'll have to be if they want to steal attention away from PS4 and Nextbox. If they can get Mario Kart U out before Thanksgiving they'll have a pretty good chance at surviving the holidays.

It does make sense that Nintendo would wait to activate their trap cards until the second half of 2013. They held off on advertising the thing for the past six months because they figured the Nintendo faithful would adopt it early, and they didn't want to risk not posting a profit. They sneaked by that threshold by $100 million, which would have bought a good-sized marketing campaign but there's no way they'd recoup that loss.

The Wii U will have the strongest library this fall, not counting 360/PS3 which I'd imagine will still sell well. PS4 and Nextbox will be mega-hyped but I don't see them gaining a lead outside the hardcore market. They'll be expensive, only have a handful of titles between them (many of which will be ports), and won't have fully-functioning and optimized hardware and software. That will scare the general audience away and might even push some towards Nintendo.

This is going to be the most crowded gaming season in history - three home consoles, five if you count last gen (Wii is a non-factor at this point), two handhelds, plus tablets, smartphones, PC, and social games. All competing for consumer attention and a limited market. It's nerve-wracking just thinking about it. If we don't see good performance from all sectors its going to be a train wreck that the industry will have a difficult time recovering from.

All in all I feel it's Nintendo's game to lose.

 

[Aiddon_v1legacy]

why am I not surprised? We all knew the following year for the system was going to have an ONSLAUGHT of first party content, so why did so many try to write it off? A lot of the Wii U's critics are going to have to write apologies come fall for jumping the gun.

Anyway, it'll be interesting to see what a 3D Mario on the Wii U can does. I wonder how they'll implement the gamepad, if at all.

 

[Andy Shandy]

More proof they just should have just waited to release the Wii-U till next Christmas.

And put it straight up against the PS4/NextBox? I know things aren't exactly great now, but it would've been even worse for them if they did that.

 

[Terramax]

why am I not surprised? We all knew the following year for the system was going to have an ONSLAUGHT of first party content, so why did so many try to write it off? A lot of the Wii U's critics are going to have to write apologies come fall for jumping the gun.

Yet another Mario Kart, yet another so-called 'New' Super Mario, and a HD release of a decade old game is going to have critics write apologies? Eh, I don't think so somehow.

 

[Covarr]

3D Mario, eh? I can dig it. 3D Land was good, Galaxy was great, and Galaxy 2 was amazing. Assuming this game is also done by Nintendo EAD's Tokyo team (which has been responsible for every 3D Mario platformer since Galaxy) and not Software Development Group 3 (NSMB series, among other things) this should be every bit as good. Wikipedia says EAD Tokyo 2 is doing it, but there's no citations, so I dunno how accurate that is.

P.S. Thanks

 

[OldNewNewOld]

Anyway, it'll be interesting to see what a 3D Mario on the Wii U can does. I wonder how they'll implement the gamepad, if at all.

I more interested in how Nintendo plans to top Galaxy 2. I don't think that's possible, but knowing Nintendo... I never dismiss them for good.
Also, since Nintendo always designs the console to fit the idea of games they already have, I know they will use the controller for something interesting.

And 3D Mario's are done by Nintendo EAD and not some smaller teams. So... yeah, I can't wait to see how they are going to surprise us again.

 

[Andy Shandy]

More proof they just should have just waited to release the Wii-U till next Christmas.

And put it straight up against the PS4/NextBox? I know things aren't exactly great now, but it would've been even worse for them if they did that.

Are those even coming out this year?

PS4 showed a Holiday 2013 at the end of their reveal presentation, so barring any problems, they will be and Microsoft...well we'll just have to wait until their reveal presentation to find out =P

 

[mattttherman3]

Keep playing that same tune Nintendo. Just keep playing. I wonder if the Wii U was named say "Nintendo Maximus", that it would sell more units.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

Awesome! Looks like I can expect a new Mario in time for Halloween...hopefully not another Galaxy title...I want to like them but vertigo and dizziness and...sickie feelings in my stomach and head...

Really can't wait for the HD Wii-Wiilease of Wind Waker. Definite day-1 purchase and possible pre-order if anything cool is on offer alongside it.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Yet another Mario Kart, yet another so-called 'New' Super Mario, and a HD release of a decade old game is going to have critics write apologies? Eh, I don't think so somehow.

Ironically that HD release is the only thing that's sotra kinda maybe swaying me over to perhaps purchasing a WiiU. The rest I honestly really couldn't give a crap about.

 

[ShipofFools]

Looks like I'm going to need a new console this year.

I never really cared about Xbox or Playstation, all I want from my console is to race karts, fling plumbers around increasingly mad obstacle courses and beat up cartoon characters with other cartoon characters.
The PC is where I play most of my so-called hardcore games. (Is Call of Duty REALLY more hardcore then Mario? CoD never made me throw controllers around the room...)

And hey, it's backwards compatible. Revolutionary, I know.

 

[Guffe]

Wil pick up WindWaker nad Pikmin
most likely the kart game too
Aaaaand in the end alo the Mario game...
Then the new Zelda and Metroid, and I have been waiting long enough for the next StarFox game already!!

 

[Shinsei-J]

I feel bad for Luigi, this was meant to be his year...
How could you do this to your brother again Mario.

 

[Aiddon_v1legacy]

I more interested in how Nintendo plans to top Galaxy 2. I don't think that's possible, but knowing Nintendo... I never dismiss them for good.
Also, since Nintendo always designs the console to fit the idea of games they already have, I know they will use the controller for something interesting.

And 3D Mario's are done by Nintendo EAD and not some smaller teams. So... yeah, I can't wait to see how they are going to surprise us again.

True, the Galaxy games had some of the most brilliant level design ever seen. Nintendo actually uses hardware power upgrades for more than making things shiny; you couldn't do the Galaxy games on the GC due to how exotic the level design was.

 

[Covarr]

And 3D Mario's are done by Nintendo EAD and not some smaller teams. So... yeah, I can't wait to see how they are going to surprise us again.

Even EAD is divided into smaller teams. Both the Tokyo teams and Software Development Group 3 are the EAD divisions that seem to be making the best stuff. The NSMB games, Big Brain Academy, and Wii Music were also developed by EAD, but by other less-talented groups within EAG.

P.S. Thanks