The announcement of Super Mario 3D All-Stars, a compilation of three of Mario's best 3D adventures made as part of the series' 35th anniversary, was initially met with jubilation from fans. But for many, that excitement quickly soured when Nintendo revealed that the game will no longer be distributed physically or digitally come March 31, 2021.
The decision was met with widespread criticism, even more so when Nintendo announced it will be doing the exact same thing with the re-release of Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, the very first entry in the series that was initially only available in Japan.
Doug Bowser, president of Nintendo of America, in an interview with Polygon, defended Nintendo's decision, at least regarding Super Mario 3D All-Stars, by saying that it was done specifically because of the anniversary and that Nintendo wants to celebrate it in different ways. He did add, however, that limited releases won't become a widely used strategy and it's unique for the anniversary.
While Bowser mentions that the game has been a financial success, the limited release has no doubt played a part in that, with many people having a fear of missing out and afraid that the games won't be available again. There have been whispers that Nintendo intends on releasing the three games in the compilation individually after March 31 (Bowser even refuses to speak about any plans for after that date), but there has been no official word on this from Nintendo.
Judging by some fans' responses, Bowser's answer has done little to change minds, with some saying that he fails to explain how the decision is at all consumer-friendly and that he just provides a non-answer.
This isn't even the only controversy Nintendo is having to deal with as of late. Last week, the company came under fire for striking music from its games off of YouTube. While it was in its legal right to do so, fans criticized the move because YouTube is one of the only ways to actually listen to Nintendo music, as Nintendo itself doesn't offer any official alternatives.
And before that, Nintendo opted to shut down official Super Smash Bros. tournaments because of the organizers' use of third-party software, which adds online play to Super Smash Bros. Melee. The decision was met with near universal backlash from the competitive community and the outrage hasn't slowed down, with even the unrelated Indie World Showcase's chat being spammed with #FreeMelee comments.
Super Mario 3D All-Stars is available on Nintendo Switch.
Source: Polygon