With Mario popping pipes on the 3DS this week, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata recently commented on working on two 2D titles at the same time.
New Super Mario Bros is heading to two titles this calendar year - one of 3DS and the other on Wii U - leading fans to wonder whether this might become a more regular affair like Mario of old, or your conventional sports title. The man behind all things Nintendo spoke to Kotaku this week, exclaiming how the formula still has a "special existence in that it really is part of the fundamental DNA of gamers".
Iwata said that the company only "create a New Super Mario Bros. title one per platform" and admitted that it was a "challenge" to create two games in the same year, ensuring that they were "two very unique and separate titles… I wouldn't say that I'm super-worried that people are going to be confused".
It wouldn't prevent other 2D Mario titles from being created under a different franchise name or style perhaps. The latest 3DS installment, New Super Mario Bros 2, will be getting its own set of expansions through paid DLC - and Nintendo doesn't want consumers to feel that "feel that they have been cheated or deceived". The company's policy is to not "create a full game and then say, 'let's hold this back for DLC.'"
New Super Mario Bros 2 is out now on Nintendo 3DS, and received a solid score in Adam Riley's Cubed3 review.