Even with 2020 marking the thirty-fifth anniversary of the beloved franchise, excited Nintendo Switch gamers might have to wait little bit longer for their favorite plumber to make it onto their portable screens. Initially claimed by Nintendo insider Nate the Hate, the Mario Switch remasters could be facing a delay due to complications with the COVID-19 pandemic.
These rumors (originally reported by VGC) also come from fans that suggested and hoped that Nintendo would be releasing collection of Mario based games as a part of the 35th-anniversary celebration. In this same rumor, this collection was supposed to feature games like Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, Super Mario Galaxy, and Super Mario Galaxy all for Nintendo Switch. According to the original leak, the collection was supposed to be announced with June’s E3 showcase and launch in September (along with the Mario themed park in Japan) to match up with the original Super Mario’s release date, but that was pushed aside due to E3 2020 being canceled.
However, according to reputable podcaster and leaker Nate the Hate (who recently also outed both the Indie World Showcase and the Nintendo Direct Mini), the remasters are now looking at a release date somewhere around the holiday season. As Nate says in one of his most latest podcasts,
I think it’s going to be postponed more as a holiday game than as they originally planned. Then we’re potentially looking at [the] 3D collection being early October or the 3D collection is goingi to come out in November and be positioned s a prime holiday title, with a Mario themed console, dock, and all of that. Then I think you’re going to see 3D World Deluxe get delayed out of the 35th anniversary party and it’s going to come out in January 2021.
Even with these rumors, it’s safe to assume this route as Nintendo has held back on the marketing of its game announcements in 2020 since the complications that come around remote working. They also did not hold June Nintendo Direct this year, and there hasn’t been a full Direct event since September 2019. The most recent of their announcement streams has been the Nintendo Direct Mini event, which, happened on the day of its announcement. As of now, the only confirmed release date for any game from Nintendo is Pikmin Deluxe, which was announced in August via a press release (and not through the usual Direct announcement).