Over the last few console generations, Nintendo's online services haven't been received all too well. Starting on the immensely popular Wii, Nintendo's first true foray into the world of online gaming was pretty lackluster, especially compared to its Xbox Live and PSN at the time. The Wii U's online functionality didn't fare much better, with constant latency issues plaguing every game. Unfortunately, Nintendo Switch Online's service isn't much better, suffering from the same technical issues as its predecessor. However, Nintendo Switch Online made huge strides with its title offerings, including games like Mario Party now.
One of the key selling points of Nintendo Switch Online when it first released was the decent selection of free NES and SNES games on the service. A few months ago, Nintendo released an Expansion Pack for the service, which added N64 and Sega Genesis games to the mix, albeit for a much higher price tag. Over time, the N64 offerings have expanded quite a bit, with the latest Nintendo Direct confirming that GoldenEye, Pokemon Stadium, and the original Mario Party trilogy are heading to Switch Online's Expansion Pack, but this might have an adverse effect on the future of Mario Party Superstars.
Future Mario Party Superstars DLC Needs to Take a Different Route
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Releasing in October of last year, Mario Party Superstars is a celebration, and collection of the best that the Mario Party series has to offer. All five of Mario Party Superstars' boards come from the first three Mario Party titles, originally released on the Nintendo 64. Each of these boards has been remade from the ground up, including the same layout, spaces, and special events as the original, but bringing it into the modern age of gaming with updated visuals.
Mario Party Superstars' mini-games, however, come from across the expansive history of the series. Superstars features over 100 mini-games in total, with a good portion of them also coming from the original Mario Party N64 trilogy. Though Mario Party Superstars is a celebration of the series as a whole, it's clear that it mostly focuses on that original trilogy.
In the most recent Nintendo Direct, it was announced that Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack subscribers would soon be able to play both Mario Party 1 and 2 on the service, with Mario Party 3 set to be joining the line-up at some point next year. While these will all be the original forms of the titles, with their classic graphics, this could still pose an issue for Mario Party Superstars' future.
Though it isn't always the case, Nintendo will occasionally release DLC for a Mario title, especially if it's been as well received as Mario Party Superstars. Though no official announcement has come out, it's more than possible that Mario Party Superstars receives some kind of DLC in the future, most likely adding new boards, mini-games, and characters to the game. However, with the original Mario Party trilogy now coming to Switch Online's Expansion Pack, any potential Mario Party Superstars DLC would need to change tack and go in a different direction if it wants to stand out.
Rather than take any more boards or mini-games from the first three Mario Party titles, which will soon become readily available to Switch Online subscribers, any future DLC should remake some boards from the later Mario Party titles, such as those on the GameCube and the Wii. With these titles being harder to find and play nowadays, any DLC that remade those boards would stand out a lot more than any more content from Mario Party 1, 2, or 3.
Mario Party Superstars is available now for Nintendo Switch.