Nintendo has announced New Super Mario Bros 2, a side-scrolling platformer for 3DS due in Europe this August.
The game, which Nintendo says has been "created specifically as a pick-up-and-play experience that can be instantly enjoyed by players of all skill levels," was unveiled by company president Satoru Iwata at the end of Saturday's Nintendo Direct web stream.
Iwata confirmed the inclusion of Mario's raccoon, or Tanooki suit, which returned for the first time since NES classic Super Mario Bros 3 in last year's Super Mario 3D Land. It means flight will feature in a 2D Mario game for the first time since SNES launch title Super Mario World.
As the few released screenshots show, it's not much of a departure from its DS and Wii predecessors, but that was probably the idea. After all, the DS game, which launched in summer 2006, had sold 18 million copies by March 2009; New Super Mario Bros Wii sold 10 million in its first eight weeks on shelves.
While New Super Mario Bros 2 will struggle to eclipse sales of the Wii game - which was released to a worldwide installed base of over 34 million - it is well positioned to beat the sales of its DS predecessor. When the original New Super Mario Bros launched, worldwide DS sales stood at 6.6 million - by the end of 2011 3DS had sold 15 million units worldwide.
Those concerned that Nintendo's "pick-up-and-play" line suggests a low difficulty level shouldn't be concerned; Iwata said much the same about the Wii version, which was a stern test at times. In 2009, Iwata said that New Super Mario Bros Wii, Wii Sports Resort and Wii Fit Plus were developed "with the goal that they would satisfy everyone, from veteran games to novice players."
Source: Nintendo Gamer
Comments
4I am a bit apathetic about this. Looks nice, but I suspect it will play to the casual audience, like 3DS Land, which will likely limit it's appeal to Mario veterans.
I would much rarther see a version of Super Mario Galaxy on 3DS, with a deeper use of the 3D feature that is meant to make this console stand out from the crowd. The 3D feature is pretty well used in Super Mario 3DS Land, but seems barely noticable in Mario Kart 7 :-(
I really enjoyed the Galaxy games but Super Mario 3D land was perfect and I'd say that did pretty well at appealing to everyone. Basically if you sucked you were just given invincibility which allows them to have challenges while giving newbs a way out. As long as they keep that sort of thing going on, I'll be more than happy to buy this/
I'm pretty sure the next 64/Sunshine/Galaxy/2 experience is being reserved for Wii U. Which is a wise choice if you ask me, as it gives Nintendo veterans a hefty reason to look forward to the new console. I feel games like NSMB are perfect for handhelds, as you can play it for ten minutes or three hours.
I would like to see a "New Super Mario World" sometime though...
That last secret level of Mario 3D was hardcore enough for me anyway!