Today is the last day to buy Super Mario 3D All-Stars on Switch [Update: Nintendo statement]
If you've been planning on buying Super Mario 3D All-Stars on Switch but haven't taken the plunge yet, you should know that you're quickly running out of time to pick up a copy. As announced back when Super Mario 3D All-Stars first released, this is the last day Nintendo plans to offer the game, which means that by tomorrow it'll be de-listed from the Switch eShop and new copies will stop being shipped to retailers.Super Mario 3D All-Stars was released as part of Super Mario's 35th Anniversary. It bundles together ports of Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario Galaxy – three absolutely excellent games from Super Mario's past – but unfortunately, they're packaged together without much in the way of extras. There is a music player included in Super Mario 3D All-Stars, but in our review, we were disappointed that there weren't more extras that gave us a look into the creation of these games.READ MORE: Super Mario 3D All-Stars Review
The review also took issue with Super Mario 3D All-Stars' limited-time availability. Nintendo has done this a few times in the past without really explaining its motivation. Nintendo is clearly hoping that making these releases time-limited will increase demand and therefore sales, but that can't exactly be described as a consumer-friendly reason.Super Mario 3D All-Stars isn't the only game that will be going away after today. The free-to-play Super Mario Bros 35, which is essentially a battle royale spin of the original Super Mario Bros, will be disappearing from the Switch eShop as well. With both of those games being de-listed, it seems safe to say that the festivities for Super Mario's 35th Anniversary are coming to a close.
At the time of this writing, Super Mario 3D All-Stars is still listed on the Switch eShop. We don't know the precise time the game will be removed, but we've reached out to Nintendo to see if we can get some more specific details. We'll update this article if we hear back, so stay tuned.
Update: Nintendo of America has given us a statement about Super Mario 3D All-Stars, saying, "As previously announced, the physical version of the Super Mario 3D All-Stars game will not be shipped to retailers beyond the Super Mario Bros. 35th anniversary period, ending March 31, 2021. Units shipped during the anniversary period will remain available for purchase at various retailers, while supplies last. In-store availability should be confirmed with each retailer."
Unfortunately, that doesn't answer our question about when, specifically, Nintendo plans to de-list the game from the Switch eShop – in fact, it doesn't even mention the digital version at all. So, if your plan is to buy the game before it disappears from the eShop, you might want to do that sooner rather than later.