Reports are emerging from Japan that the epic SNES compilation title, Super Mario All-Stars is finally on its way to the Wii. However, it appears as though this won’t be in the form that you might think.
Rather than being added to the Virtual Console catalogue, it appears as though the game is actually set to be a budget price disc release. Originally reported by Andriasang, Japanese retailers have apparently been briefed on a title called Super Mario Collection Special Pack (the original game was called Super Mario Collection in the territory), which has been given a release date of October 21st and a price point of 2500 yen, which equates to around £19.
Nintendo have subsequently confirmed the existence of the title, but offered no further information. The leaked report, however, gave details of the bundle including a book that charts the history of Mario from 1985-2010 and a soundtrack CD covering the same period.
The original Super Mario All-Stars featured all three Super Mario Bros games that were released for the original Nintendo Entertainment System in the west, as well as Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels, a rock hard version of the original that was actually released in Japan as Super Mario Bros 2. It’s expected that the updated collection will include all these titles, though if I may editorialise for a few seconds, it would be especially awesome if it was expanded to perhaps include the Super Mario World and Land titles. Just a thought…
Naturally, this release ties in perfectly with Nintendo’s recent Mario-focused advertising, featuring the tag line “Part of the Family since 1985”. At same the time, and much as I’d like to think otherwise, it also has nothing to do with the fact that I’ve been banging on about them re-releasing SMAS for the past 4 years.
