I wouldn’t have anticipated Mario tossing his trademark hat into the ring for the most divisive release of 2010, but here we are. The 25th Anniversary Edition, which essentially wraps a book and CD around the SNES release of Super Mario All-Stars has produced equal shares of grumblings and indifference from some acquaintances this week, while at other places, Eurogamer comes to mind, you can hear people rustling pitchforks over the release and review.
Odd as it may sound, at no point did I stop to consider this a game release, or something that was reviewable – just a commemorative grab that made it to North America in time for the holidays and potentially prettied up the shelf. All-Stars simply fills the inside of the box to justify the package getting space on retail shelves – if it was just a random box of Mario swag, where on earth would poor Nintendo stock it after all?
In some ways the release could come across as something better suited to Club Nintendo, but then of course it would cost one hundred times more. In other ways the release could have offered more not only from the Mario library to create a truly commemorative game, but also as a videogame release, seeing as that is the medium Mario is celebrating his place as a founding institution of.
What say you sugarfiends?
Love my CE. The games on VC would run you $21 without updated graphics or sound so paying an extra $9 for the CD and Book is a steal. I even own the SNES cartridge from back in the day and I bought this. Plus, I got 70 coins for my Club Nintendo account for only $30!
Now I hope Nintendo does the same for Zelda since February 2011 is the 25th anniversary for the franchise. They MIGHT go with a variation of the limited edition GC Zelda disc since they’re ARE releasing Ocarina on 3DS but I would gladly pay $30 for Zelda I, II and III on a Wii disc with a booklet and soundtrack…
Comment by EdEN — December 19, 2010 @ 9:14 pm
Just to play the other side of the fence some more, a VC release of the Super Nintendo cart would be 800pts right?
I hope they do something good for Zelda. I think the main thing is that fans love these games so much that they want to see Nintendo put a little love and effort into anniversary products when they come. Obviously a company isn’t capable of love, but it could still stand to want to put the best possible product out to commemorate how successful its products have been.
Comment by Jamie Love — December 19, 2010 @ 10:00 pm
Yeah I agree here. I haven’t seen the release but if it boils down to just the SNES rom on a disc… I’d be a little upset if I was looking forward to this release.
Comment by Ujn Hunter — December 20, 2010 @ 2:08 pm
Well it’s cool for all the Mario lovers who can’t get enough! I still have my SNES hooked up and a copy of Super Mario All-stars however so I’m not interested at all. Maybe for $10 bargain bin someday. It would have been something I’d have grabbed if it did indeed come with all the “core” Mario games including Super Mario World, Mario 64 & Mario Sunshine seeing they’d all fit and it would make the package worth a repurchase for me even though I still own all those games on the original systems. Anyhow… it’s cool… it’s just not something I’d buy. :)
Comment by Ujn Hunter — December 20, 2010 @ 2:05 pm
The Soundtrack, booklet and packaging are already worth the $20 we usually pay for Limited or Collector’s Edition so I can live with paying an extra $2 over what the game would be price at the VC.
Comment by EdEN — December 20, 2010 @ 6:24 pm