Summary

  • Super Mario Bros. Is an incredibly successful and celebrated video game franchise, with over 830 million units sold and $1.36 billion in earnings from its recent motion picture.
  • The upcoming release of Super Mario Bros. Wonder is generating excitement among fans, as it brings back the classic side-scrolling perspective with new mind-bending mechanics.
  • Nintendo has a pattern of releasing 2D side-scrolling Mario games followed by a 3D entry, suggesting that fans may expect another 3D Mario game soon after the release of Wonder.

With over 830 million units sold across each game in the franchise and $1.36 billion in earnings from this year's motion picture based on the IP, it's safe to say that Mario's star still burns bright in the entertainment industry. Not only is Super Mario Bros. And its myriad of entries the best-selling video game series of all-time, it's also one of the most celebrated. Boasting aggregate scores that consistently land in the 90s and several entries often cited on "greatest of all-time" lists, Super Mario Bros. Is as much a pop-culture phenomenon as it is a fixture in the medium of video games.

The upcoming release of Super Mario Bros. Wonder gives plenty of cause for fans to be excited. Not only is it a return to the classic side-scrolling perspective of Mario's past outings, but it's shaking up the series' classic platforming with the introduction of several new mind-bending mechanics. Interestingly, the release of Wonder aligns with an established pattern from Nintendo, indicating that there may be even more to look forward to after its release. If historic precedent is to be believed, fans may be getting another 3D Mario game sooner than they might have expected given how Nintendo has previously approached the series' release schedule.

RELATED: Super Mario Bros. Wonder's Characters Break A Huge Series Tradition

The Super Mario Bros. Release Timeline & How Wonder Fits In

Super Mario Bros. Wonder Online Step Backwards For Nintendo
  • Super Mario Bros. (Famicom/NES, 1985)
  • Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels (Famicom, 1986)
  • Super Mario Bros. 2 (NES, 1988)
  • Super Mario Bros. 3 (Famicom, 1988/NES, 1990)
  • Super Mario Land (Game Boy, 1989)
  • Super Mario World (Super Famicom, 1990/SNES, 1991)
  • Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (Game Boy, 1992)
  • Super Mario All-Stars (+ Super Mario World) (Super Famicom/SNES, 1993)
  • Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (Super Famicom/SNES, 1995)
  • Super Mario 64 (Nintendo 64, 1996)
  • Super Mario Bros. Deluxe (Game Boy Color, 1999)
  • Super Mario Advance (Game Boy Advance, 2001)
  • Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2 (Game Boy Advance, 2001)
  • Super Mario Sunshine (GameCube, 2002)
  • Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3 (Game Boy Advance, 2002)
  • Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 (Game Boy Advance, 2003)
  • Super Mario 64 DS (DS, 2004)
  • New Super Mario Bros. (DS, 2006)
  • Super Mario Galaxy (Wii, 2007)
  • New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Wii, 2009)
  • Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii, 2010)
  • Super Mario 3D Land (3DS, 2011)
  • New Super Mario Bros. 2 (3DS, 2012)
  • New Super Mario Bros. U (Wii U, 2012)
  • Super Mario 3D World (Wii U, 2013)
  • Super Mario Maker (Wii U, 2015)
  • Super Mario Run (Mobile, 2016)
  • Super Mario Odyssey (Switch, 2017)
  • New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe (Switch, 2019)
  • Super Mario Maker 2 (Switch, 2019)
  • Super Mario 3D All-Stars (Switch, 2020)
  • Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury (Switch, 2021)
  • Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Switch, 2023)

After beginning as strictly a 2D, horizontally-scrolling platformer, the Super Mario Bros. Series' transition into 3D with Super Mario 64 was nothing short of a revolution. However, as a result of its mammoth success, the market quickly became flooded with other 3D platformers that heavily drew from its template. Nintendo's solution to this dilemma was to return Mario to his 2D roots, surprising fans with the excellent New Super Mario Bros. Since then, the Mario games have followed a somewhat predictable release pattern, with new 2D side-scrolling entries preceding a new 3D game followed by a remaster or collection of some sort, and then a spin-off featuring familiar side characters.

Taking a look at the Mario franchise timeline below and seeing where Wonder lands (along with the several new ancillary titles announced at the recent Nintendo Direct) may help to point to what's in store for the series' future. At the very least, it can serve as a reminder that the Switch is not wanting for an excellent library chock-full of classic and modern Mario titles, as the system has most of the iconic plumber's adventures available via either physical and digital retail releases or the Nintendo Switch Online service and its classic game collections.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder will be released on October 20, 2023 for the Nintendo Switch.

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