{"id":1175624,"date":"2026-02-13T21:59:15","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T21:59:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/?p=556302"},"modified":"2026-02-13T21:59:15","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T21:59:15","slug":"the-nintendo-switchs-worst-game-trend-games-with-expiration-dates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/the-nintendo-switchs-worst-game-trend-games-with-expiration-dates\/","title":{"rendered":"The Nintendo Switch\u2019s worst game trend? Games with expiration dates"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Mario
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Nintendo celebrated Super Mario Bros.<\/em>\u2019 35th anniversary with appropriate levels of enthusiasm<\/a>. The company released a collection of 3D Super Mario games from multiple console generations, new hardware in the form of a Game & Watch<\/a> handheld that played the original Super Mario Bros.<\/em>, and even a battle royale version of the 8-bit NES classic.<\/p>\n

But in one of the stranger moves Nintendo made in commemorating Mario\u2019s 35th birthday, it released the products for a limited time, effectively putting expiration dates on the celebration of Super Mario Bros.<\/em> <\/p>\n

You can no longer play Super Mario Bros. 35<\/em><\/a>, the 35-player take on the classic platformer, and you can no longer purchase Super Mario 3D All-Stars<\/em><\/a> at retail or from Nintendo\u2019s own eShop. If you want to purchase the All-Stars collection that includes Super Mario 64<\/em>, Super Mario Sunshine<\/em>, and Super Mario Galaxy<\/em>, you\u2019ll pay well above retail prices for the privilege. Complete copies of Super Mario 3D All-Stars<\/em> go for $80 to $100 (or more) on eBay<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Nintendo\u2019s justification for the decision to limit how long Super Mario Bros. 35<\/em> and Super Mario 3D All-Stars<\/em> stuck around wasn\u2019t very convincing. Nintendo of America president Doug Bowser told Polygon<\/a> at the time, \u201cThere are various ways that we\u2019re celebrating Mario\u2019s 35th. And with some of these titles, we felt it was an opportunity to release them for a limited period of time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bowser continued, \u201cThey\u2019ve done very, very well. Super Mario 3D All-Stars<\/em> has sold over 2.6 million units in the U.S. alone. And so clearly, consumers have been able to jump in and enjoy that. And it\u2019s not a strategy that we\u2019re going to be using widely, but it\u2019s one we thought was very unique for the actual anniversary.\u201d<\/p>\n

I will say it worked on me. I still have a sealed copy of Super Mario 3D All-Stars<\/em> that I purchased as soon as it was released.<\/p>\n

Granted, Super Mario 3D All-Stars<\/em> was a lackluster collection of two great games (and Super Mario Sunshine<\/em>), and Super Mario Bros. 35<\/em> has superior battle royale peers in Tetris 99<\/em> and F-Zero 99<\/em>, but the games\u2019 manufactured scarcity was a lousy precedent to set \u2014 and one that we hope doesn\u2019t continue on Switch 2<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Considering the staggering number of games that become unplayable over time, either because of cancellations of live-service games, studios folding, or rights changing hands, it\u2019s distressing that Nintendo would intentionally make the availability and preservation of games in its most marquee of franchises so limited. Those decisions are, hopefully, an anomaly.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the potential good news: Super Mario Bros.<\/em>\u2019 40th birthday happens later in 2025, the same year that Nintendo is launching a new console. Maybe we\u2019ll get new, better collections \u2014 show some respect on Super Mario Galaxy 2<\/em>, please \u2014\u00a0and a chance to return to Super Mario Bros. 35<\/em>, only now against even more players.<\/p>\n

Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nintendo celebrated Super Mario Bros.\u2019 35th anniversary with appropriate levels of enthusiasm. The company released a collection of 3D Super Mario games from multiple console generations, new hardware in the form of a Game & Watch handheld that played the original Super Mario Bros., and even a battle royale version of the 8-bit NES classic. But in one of the stranger moves Nintendo made in commemorating Mario\u2019s 35th birthday, it released the products for a limited time, effectively putting expiration dates on the celebration of Super Mario Bros.  You can no longer play Super Mario Bros. 35, the 35-player take on the classic platformer, and you can no longer purchase Super Mario 3D All-Stars at retail or from Nintendo\u2019s own eShop. If you want to…<\/p>\n

Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1175625,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1175624","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-polygon"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Nintendo Switch\u2019s worst game trend? Games with expiration dates | Arcader News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Nintendo celebrated Super Mario Bros.\u2019 35th anniversary with appropriate levels of enthusiasm. 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