2020 marks the 35th anniversary of Nintendo's flagship Super Mario series, and it appears as though the Big N plans to celebrate in style. A new report claims that Nintendo is planning to release several new Super Mario games in 2020, including a brand new entry in the long-running Paper Mario franchise.
This is according to a report by VGC, citing multiple unnamed sources. Apparently, Nintendo planned to reveal the new Paper Mario game and the other new Super Mario titles at E3 2020, but the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has thrown a wrench in those plans. It's unclear when exactly Nintendo will make the announcement now, but these games are apparently set to launch in 2020, so fans should be able to expect proper reveals in the coming months.
It remains to be seen exactly what form a new Paper Mario would take. Some of the more recent games in the series have been criticized by fans, who felt they were too casual or gimmicky compared to Paper Mario on the Nintendo 64 or the revered Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door on the GameCube.
As for what the other Super Mario games could be, that also remains to be seen. However, the same report that leaked the existence of Paper Mario for the Switch also claim that Nintendo plans on remastering "most" of Mario's "back catalogue." This could just be referencing the mainline Super Mario platforming games, but it could also mean that the Super Mario spin-off games will be getting some attention as well. So maybe Nintendo Switch owners can look forward to some Paper Mario remasters in 2020 as well, though that's just speculation at this time.
Nintendo appears to be going all-in on the Super Mario content for the franchise's 35th anniversary, which is no doubt exciting for fans of the franchise. Beyond video games, Nintendo is also said to be providing more details on what the Super Mario park at Universal Studios will entail, and will also show off some of the Super Mario animated movie that's currently in production. With E3 2020 being canceled due to the coronavirus, though, it's unclear exactly how Nintendo plans on making these announcements, but perhaps it will still come at some point in June.
In the meantime, Nintendo has released a statement about the leak of its E3 2020 plans to VGC, stating that it "does not comment on rumor and speculation."
Paper Mario is rumored to be in development, exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.
Source: VGC