Shigeru Miyamoto Reveals What’s Going on With the Next Mario Game
Shigeru Miyamoto says that Nintendo will share information on the next Mario game when the time is right.
Shigeru Miyamoto, the video game designer, producer, and game director credited for the birth of Mario and The Legend of Zelda franchises—among many others—recently spoke about the next Mario game, the future of the Mario franchise, and other Nintendo gaming franchises as well. According to GameSpot, the father of Mario, Shigeru Miyamoto, revealed that he’s always working on the Mario franchise and that Nintendo will share more information when the time is right.
Admittedly, this is a pretty vague statement considering that the most recent Mario game, Super Mario Odyssey, was released in 2017 as the world’s third-best-selling console, to great acclaim. However, it would seem that the work on the Mario franchise, as well as other Nintendo franchises, goes beyond the scope of video games alone.
But, first things first. Super Mario Odyssey was one of those launch games for Nintendo Switch, and it was a culmination of everything the fandom has seen and loved about Mario games that have been released up to that point. It was an open-world adventure that took players on an intergalactic journey.
It’s still one of the best platformer games that have ever been released, and fans aren’t wrong when they call Super Mario Odyssey the perfect Mario game.
That’s why fans have high expectations for the franchise’s sequel, as well as anything else Nintendo has in store for the Italian plumber. This includes the upcoming Mario film starring Chris Pratt, for which the fandom has very high expectations despite the horrible history between movies and the gaming medium. So, while those in charge of the franchise are continuing to develop it, Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo are reluctant to disclose any details about upcoming releases until the time is right.
Besides confirming that Mario is safe and sound, Shigeru Miyamoto also touched upon the upcoming film stating that Nintendo has a lot of gaming characters and that they shouldn’t be confined exclusively to video games. In fact, he strongly advocates for the implementation of Nintendo’s characters in media beyond video games. It’s a worthwhile business opportunity when done correctly, and Nintendo certainly has the funds and the talent pool to pull something like that off.
Let’s try and condense this a little bit with what we know so far. Shigeru Miyamoto stated that the development work on Mario never ceases, but the company hasn’t announced any upcoming games, seemingly focused entirely on the upcoming film. Super Mario Odyssey was released along with Nintendo Switch—the world’s most popular handheld console whose lifespan was extended by the ongoing semiconductor shortage, and major gaming titles like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
But that doesn’t change the fact Switch is already at the end of its lifecycle and that Nintendo hasn’t announced any new gaming hardware. Instead, Nintendo’s main focus right now, at least gaming-wise, is to complete and launch The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom—and extend the lifespan of its gaming hardware, increasing their chance to once again make history. So, while Shigeru Miyamoto’s statement stands, it’s highly improbable that we’ll see any signs of a new Mario game within the next 12 to 24 months.
