However, both the Wii U and 3DS still have solid lineups

Jan 5, 2015 09:56 GMT  ·  By

Nintendo of America's Director of Product Marketing Bill Trinen revealed that there would be no new Mario game released during the course of 2015.

In a recent interview with Reno Gazette-Journal, the executive stated that Mario is not an annual franchise, and that, although entries in the Mario series are released much more often than other titles, we wouldn't see one in 2015.

Nintendo EAD, the studio that developed Super Mario 3D World, was said to be working on a new installment in the series, but it looks like they won't be ready to ship anything this year. That could actually be a good thing, as the Wii U already has that title to fall back on, and good-quality games take time to put together, so we might see a truly exciting entry in 2016.

However, Mario fans won't be disappointed by 2015, as Mario Maker will enable them to create their own exciting levels, fashioned in the style of the classic NES game, to sate their thirst for platforming and plumbing.

Mario Maker takes a page from LittleBigPlanet's very successful business model, essentially allowing talented community members to function as level designers for free. There will be terrible remakes of some of the levels, but we'll surely see brilliant adaptations of other video games as well.

The Nintendo Wii U home console and the 3DS handheld gaming device still have a lot going for them this year, with entries in the popular Zelda, Star Fox and Xenoblade franchises expected, as well as a ton of exciting new stuff such as Splatoon, the colorful multiplayer shooter, so Mario won't be missed.

On future plans and region locking

The interview revealed a ton of exciting information, including Nintendo's unique philosophy about video game development, starting out with small ideas and gradually fleshing them out and experimenting, citing Captain Toad as a good example of this.

The game initially started out as a side project for Super Mario 3D World, but because the team had fun working on it and playing it, the decision to make it a full-fledged game was a no-brainer.

Trinen also addressed the widespread criticism that Nintendo periodically rehashes its existing games, by stating that there are always big gaps between entries in the most popular franchises, pointing to the seven-year interval since the last Super Smash Bros title.

On the topic of region locking, his response was a bit evasive, stating that Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata initially saw it as a solution to a number of development and publishing challenges, but that the issue would have to be further discussed, and some other solutions found.

He also revealed that, although at the time there were no plans to give other existing IPs the Mario Maker treatment, depending on the community's reaction, other franchises might also be considered for this.

Nintendo games (5 Images)

No new Mario this year
Wii U home consoleSuper Smash Bros is a pretty big hit
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