This year marks the 35th anniversary of the Super Mario Bros. series, and while Nintendo has remained fairly quiet to this point, it pulled out all the stops this morning, announcing Super Mario 3D All-Stars, Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury, Super Mario Bros. 35, and more to help usher in its flagship franchise’s major milestone. However, the fun won’t stop with those announcements, as Nintendo has several in-game events planned across many of its most beloved titles.
To celebrate, various games ranging from Super Mario Maker 2 and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate to Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Splatoon 2 will feature in-game events centered around Super Mario. You can check out the list of announced in-game events below.
Special Super Mario Splatoon t-shirts available to purchase
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons will begin offering Super Mario-themed furniture in March 2021.
- Mario Kart Tour will host a Super Mario Kart Tour event featuring special appearances by SNES versions of Mario and Donkey Kong Jr. from the original Super Mario Kart game. This event will run from September 8 to September 22.
- A special Splatfest themed around the Super Mario franchise will happen in Splatoon 2 in January 2021. The Splatfest will ask players which Super Mario power-up they prefer between the Super Mushroom and the Super Star.
- Super Mario Maker 2 is adding special 35th anniversary Ninji Speedruns in November.
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is holding an in-game tournament featuring Super Mario series fighters, stages, and items later this year.
In addition to these in-game events, Nintendo is also offering various real-world merchandise, including historical Super Mario items for sale at its Nintendo New York store and store.nintendo.com in November, the Puma RS-Dreamer Super Mario 64 basketball shoes launching tomorrow, a new line from Black Milk Clothing available on October 5, and other toy and board-game products, including the previously announced Monopoly Super Mario Celebration, Jenga Super Mario, and the Lego Super Mario collection. Special Super Mario missions are now available on My Nintendo, allowing fans earn rewards, including a special pin set, through March 31, 2021.