Citing anonymous sources who are “close” to discussions between Nintendo and executives within the company’s retail chain, CVG is reporting that The Big N is planning to release a new 3D Mario game for the Wii U by October. The untitled Mario game is said to be part of a wider initiative to launch a “number of blockbuster Wii U games” between July and the end of 2013.
According to the unconfirmed report, Nintendo will kick off the marketing campaign for the new 3D Mario title at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) this June, at the latest, and plans to have both it and a new Mario Kart for the Wii U playable on the show floor.
Nintendo themselves confirmed that both a new 3D Mario and Mario Kart are in development for the Wii U during a Nintendo Direct presentation last January. At that time they also promised to show both games at E3 this year, which lends some small amount credibility to these sources.
Nintendo’s UK PR director, Shelly Pearce, also confirmed the later 2013 Wii U game blitz to CVG, saying:
“From July onwards we will launch a succession of Wii U titles and we will promote these extensively until the end of the year. Marketing activity will include TV, print, online and PR as well as comprehensive experiential and social media campaigns”.
“We have a strong line up planned for Wii U in the second half of 2013 including the likes of Pikmin 3, Wonderful 101, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD Wii U.”
One of the sources listing in the report also claimed that Nintendo could have launched several of their planned Wii U titles during the first half of 2013 (Pikmin 3, The Wonderful 101, and Wii Fit U), but the company intentionally held them back so that they could first update the Wii U’s operating system to improve performance. This bit of information was apparently contradicted by a separate source, so take it all with a grain of salt.
Whatever the case, it is good to hear that Nintendo is planning to flood the Wii U with games during the back half of 2013. In particular, the launch of a new 3D Mario in October could help them hold some ground against the PlayStation 4 and next-gen Xbox — which are speculated to also be launching around that time.
Assuming the rumors are true, we should be getting some official information on the 3D Mario for the Wii U in the near future. As soon as Nintendo starts talking we will let you know.