Nintendo of America president calls for ‘celebration’ of artificial purchase deadlines

In a recent interview, Nintendo of America President Doug Bowser was asked why some popular Nintendo games are only sold for a limited time. His answer? “[T]It is a party.

Earlier this year, Nintendo released Super Mario 3D All-Stars to coincide with the 35th anniversary of Super Mario Bros. original for the NES. The worn collection Super Marios 64, Sunshine, and Galaxy to the Switch for $ 60, but it also came with a major caveat that fans could only buy it until March 31, 2021. It was a confusing decision that seemed to be modeled after something like the Vault System. Disney’s past that would limit the sale of older films to create scarcity and increase their value. It sucks, especially for anyone who might buy a Switch after March 31.

“Yeah, I think I use a simple word: celebration”, Bowser Told Polygon asked about the decision. “That’s right – it’s a celebration of Mario’s 35th birthday. And we wanted to celebrate in a unique and different way, and we did that through games like Super Mario 3D All-Stars, or we will in future versions, such as Super Mario 3D World + Bowser Fury. “

He continued:

We are celebrating Mario’s 35th birthday in different ways. And with some of these titles, we felt it was an opportunity to release them for a limited time. They did very, very well. Super Mario 3D All-Stars has sold more than 2.6 million units in the United States alone. And so clearly, consumers were able to jump in and enjoy it. And it’s not a strategy we’re going to use widely, but it’s a strategy that we thought was very unique for this anniversary.

Based on the 2.6 million copies sold, the strategy seems to have worked well for Nintendo. The company takes a similar approach with Super Mario Bros. 35, the free-to-play Switch Online Battle Royale platformer, and Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light, the $ 6 port of the original game which had previously only been published in Japan. Nintendo also relied on the “celebration” line when asked about this deadline to buy.

“Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light is the first Fire emblem game in the beloved franchise, which turns 30^e anniversary until March 2021, ”said a Nintendo spokesperson Kotaku back in October. “We are delighted to offer the game localized in English for the first time to commemorate the occasion.” Coincidentally, March is also the end of Nintendo’s fiscal year. Fire emblemThe actual anniversary of ends in April.

Polygon’s Russ Frushtick followed up during his interview to try and get a real answer, but the Nintendo of America boss didn’t bite.

“Yeah, at this point the decision was really made around that feature and that aspect of celebration,” Bowser said. “I can’t speak to the plans beyond the end of March.”