News: 2006
News archive
December 22nd, 2006
Super Mario Bros. on Virtual Console 01:21:05 AM CT [Deezer]
The NES classic Super Mario Bros. will finally be available for download from the Wii Shop Channel on Christmas. Just like all other NES titles in the Shop, SMB will cost 500 Wii Points.

Link: NOA's Media Site
December 19th, 2006
European release dates for Q1 2007 01:49:51 PM CT [Deezer]
Europe finally gets a release date for WarioWare: Smooth Moves: January 16th. Mario Party 8 will ship in March, close to its US release. Mario Hoops 3-on-3, known there as Mario Slam Basketball, will release February 16th. Finally, Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis starts marching on March 9th.

Links:
Wii dates
DS dates
November 17th, 2006
Release dates for Q1 2007 11:52:32 PM CT [Deezer]
Mario Party 8, the first and probably not last Mario Party for Wii, ships on 3/5/07. WarioWare: Smooth Moves now has a release date of 1/15/07 instead of 1/17/07 — Nintendo's press site was adding two days to every release date since September or so.

On the DS front, Wario: Master of Disguise ("Thief Wario the Seven" in Japan) is due out 3/5/07 (1/18/07 in Japan). Diddy Kong Racing DS ships 2/5/07.
November 13th, 2006
Yoshi's Island DS released in USA 06:06:35 PM CT [Deezer]
Yoshi's Island DS is delivered to stores across the US today. The long-awaited sequel to Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island was developed by Artoon, who also developed Yoshi Topsy-Turvy for Game Boy Advance.
October 31st, 2006
Virtual Console launch line-up announced 11:35:13 PM CT [MegaByte]
Today, Nintendo announced the launch line-up of Virtual Console games for the Wii.  Before the end of December, the following Mario games will be available for purchase and download in North America and Europe: Mario Bros., Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., Wario's Woods, and Super Mario 64.  Japan gets those games as well as Super Mario Bros., Super Mario World, Donkey Kong Country, and Mario no Super Picross.  Several other games featuring Mario cameos will also be available.  NES games cost 500 points, SNES games cost 800 points, and N64 games cost 1000 points, and 2000 point cards can be purchased for $20/2000Â¥.
October 17th, 2006
Mario Kart Arcade GP 2 announced 08:06:13 AM PDT [MegaByte]
Flyers of a second Triforce-powered Mario Kart arcade game have recently surfaced.  Waluigi and and a character from the Tamagotchi series are the latest drivers to enter the grand prix.  More wacky weapons and avatar customizations are also included.  In addition, the collection of an "M" logo item will transform drivers' karts into custom vehicles similar to those found in Mario Kart DS.  Like the previous game, the full setup will feature 4-player seating.  There is no word yet on a release date.
October 4th, 2006
Yoshi's Island 2 renamed 09:24:37 PM PDT [Deezer]
Today, Nintendo of America revealed that Yoshi's Island 2 has been renamed Yoshi's Island DS. In this sequel to Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, Baby Mario, Baby DK, Baby Wario, and Baby Peach team up with the Yoshis to find Baby Luigi, who has been captured by Kamek. Yoshi's Island DS will release in the US on November 13.
September 29th, 2006
Itadaki Street DS announced 10:27:06 AM PDT [MegaByte]
First, Square-Enix combined Mario and Final Fantasy characters in Mario Hoops 3-on-3.  Now, Mario and company will join Dragon Quest characters in Itadaki Street DS.  Itadaki Street is a long-running game series in Japan similar to Monopoly and created by Dragon Quest designer Yuji Horii.  The two most recent editions of the game prior to the DS version featured Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest characters.  This is the first Itadaki Street game on a Nintendo console since Itadaki Street 2 on Super Famicom.  So far, Mario, Luigi, Slime, and Jessica (Dragon Quest VIII) have been shown as playable.  There is no word yet on release dates or release regions outside of Japan.
September 25th, 2006
Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2 released in USA 03:50:26 PM PDT [Deezer]
Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis marches onto stores shelves across the US today. Pauline, Mario's first damsel in distress, makes her first appearance since Donkey Kong (GB) in 1994.
September 14th, 2006
Wii launch details, Mario Party 8, Super Paper Mario 01:21:15 PM PDT [Deezer]
Earlier today, Nintendo released launch details for Wii a mere two months before its US release of November 19, 2006. One confirmed launch title for Japan is Odoru Made in Wario (WarioWare: Smooth Moves), releasing along with the system on December 2.

Also announced was Mario Party 8, which appears on Nintendo's Japanese software lineup.

Finally, it's official: Super Paper Mario and Donkey Kong Bongo Blast, two games originally announced for GameCube, have moved to the Wii for 2007.
September 11th, 2006
Mario Hoops 3-on-3 released in USA 11:54:29 AM PDT [Deezer]
Mario Hoops 3-on-3 swishes onto store shelves across the USA today. Developed by Square Enix for the Nintendo DS, Mario Hoops is Mario's first basketball game.
August 23rd, 2006
Mario Strikers Charged announced 12:50:19 PM PDT [Deezer]
Mario Strikers Charged for Wii was officially announced and playable today at the Games Convention 2006 in Leipzig, Germany. IGN has gameplay footage of this sequel to the GameCube's Super Mario Strikers.
August 6th, 2006
XXIV annual Golden Joystick Awards final nominees 12:20:23 AM PDT [Deezer]
Of the 17 categories in this year's Golden Joystick Awards, something from the Mario series appears in nine of them. Mario Kart DS, which has a whopping six nominations, is joined by New Super Mario Bros. in the Ultimate Game of 2006 category. In addition to NSMB's three nominations and Super Princess Peach's two, Mario himself is up for the Favourite Character Award. Here are all of the Mario-related games in the running:

Girls Choice Award: Mario Kart DS, Super Princess Peach
Handheld Game of the Year: Mario Kart DS, New Super Mario Bros.
Nintendo Game of the Year: Mario Kart DS, New Super Mario Bros.
Nuts All-Nighter Award: Mario Kart DS
One to Watch 2007: Super Mario Galaxy, Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Online Game of the Year: Mario Kart DS
The Sun's Family Game Award: Super Princess Peach
Ultimate Game of 2006: Mario Kart DS, New Super Mario Bros.

Voting is open to everyone at GoldenJoystick.com. The award ceremony will take place on October 27th in London, and will be webcast live on ComputerAndVideoGames.com.

Link: Golden Joystick Awards
July 27th, 2006
NGamer magazine DVD content 12:56:23 AM PDT [Deezer]
NGamer magazine launches in the UK today, replacing the long-running NGC Magazine. In the first issue, NGamer goes Mario-crazy with a DVD chock-full of Mario goodness, which includes some of our Super Mario Galaxy E3 footage!

Link: Future Publishing
July 25th, 2006
Yoshi's Island 2 USA date 08:42:26 AM PDT [Deezer]
Nintendo of America announced release dates for its fall lineup today, slating Yoshi's Island 2 for November 13. YI2, the long-awaited sequel to Yoshi's Island, was unveiled at this year's E3.

Source: NOA
July 21st, 2006
ACWW special Mario items 12:50:45 PM PDT [Deezer]
Animal Crossing: Wild World owners in the US can pick up six exclusive Mario-themed items at all Toys "R" Us stores nationwide. Available at the Nintendo DS Download Stations from July 23rd through July 29th, the 1-up mushroom, star, fire bar, goal flag, question box, and pipe are perfect for the Mario fan in your virtual town.

Source: NOA

May 22nd, 2006 11:58 pm (CDT)

Nintendo's New Super Mario Bros. podcast kicks off tonight with an interview with Shigeru Miyamoto. Every Monday between May 22 and June 12, Nintendo will release a new video episode about NSMB or the DS Lite.

  • May 22 - The first episode to kick-off the series is an interview with legendary video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, the man responsible for creating Mario, Zelda and countless other popular Nintendo franchises.
  • May 29 - A review of New Super Mario Bros. for Nintendo DS. The classic Mushroom Kingdom action gets revamped classic look, and Mario shows some sweet new moves.
  • June 5 - An interview with the one - the only - Mario. What makes this guy tick? How does he pull off his cool moves? And what's the deal with Princess Peach getting kidnapped all the time?
  • June 12 - A review of the lighter, brighter Nintendo DS Lite, which hits stores on June 11 priced as low as $129.99 at retailers throughout the United States. It has two super-bright screens to make all your DS games look good.

Visit http://feeds.feedburner.com/NewSuperMarioBrosPodcast to subscribe to the free feed.

May 15th, 2006 1:36 am (CDT)
New Super Mario Bros. jumps onto store shelves across the US today. The US is the first to get NSMB, followed closely by Japan on the 25th, then Australia on 6/8 and Europe on 6/30.

May 10th, 2006 9:25 pm (CDT)
Tonight, behind closed doors, Shigeru Miyamoto revealed Super Smash Bros. Brawl for Wii, in which Wario will make his debut, as well as Pit (Kid Icarus), Solid Snake (Metal Gear series), Zero Suit Samus, and Meta Knight (Kirby series).

Update: Check out our forum thread for links galore, and our screen shots page for 26 screen shots!

May 9th, 2006 12:58 pm (CDT)
Earlier today, Nintendo officially announced new Mario titles for Wii, GameCube, and DS during their E3 press conference and through their press site. Click the game titles for screen shots!

Wii
Super Mario Galaxy (temporary name) - TBA
WarioWare: Smooth Moves - TBA

Nintendo DS
DK King of Swing DS - TBA
Mario Hoops 3-on-3 - 9/11/2006
Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis - 9/25/2006
Yoshi's Island 2 - Q4/2006

GameCube
DK Bongo Blast - Q4/2006
Super Paper Mario - Q4/2006

We'll have more on these games soon. In the meantime, check out e3.nintendo.com for the scoop!

May 7th, 2006 11:48 pm (CDT)
TIME magazine's exclusive Wii coverage in their May 15 issue confirms that a new WarioWare game is in development for Nintendo's next console. Will we see it at E3 this year? Only two more days!

April 4th, 2006 10:23 pm (CDT)
As we reported on March 31st, http://mario.nintendo.com/ showed New Super Mario Bros. "coming May 21, 2006." The graphic has now changed to show its previous release date of May 15th. Phew.

March 31st, 2006 11:45 pm (CST)
According to http://mario.nintendo.com/, New Super Mario Bros. will now release in the US on May 21st. This is NSMB's second, and hopefully final, release date change.

February 27th, 2006 2:33 pm (CST)
Super Princess Peach ships to store shelves across the USA today. Peach's first starring role has her searching Vibe Island to rescue the Mario Bros. and Toads in the first Mario-related platformer on the Nintendo DS.

February 24th, 2006 7:59 pm (CST)
According to GameBrink, Taiko Drum Master 8 (Taiko no Tatsujin 8) will include the Super Mario Bros. theme and a background design based on the 8-bit classic. Taiko Drum Master 8 should be arriving in Japanese arcades around the middle of March.

Thanks to Cary Woodham for the tip.

February 21st, 2006 1:15 pm (CST)
As seen in the latest issue of Nintendo Power, New Super Mario Bros. appears to finally have a US release date: May 7th! Assuming it isn't delayed, this means NSMB will hit stores a couple days before this year's E3 starts, which seems to be an odd time to release a game.

January 10th, 2006 2:04 pm (CST)
Tetris DS, announced today for Nintendo DS, marks Mario's first return to Tetris since its NES incarnation in 1989. To quote Nintendo's press release, "Each of the six modes of play features a theme based on a classic Nintendo game, such as Super Mario Bros.®, The Legend of Zelda® or Metroid®." No doubt Nintendo will release more information about the themes as we near its March 20th release date.

Source: NOA