Mario DS Delayed Again
We've been waiting years for another Mario platformer. A week longer can't hurt...can it?
It's hard to believe but handheld gamers haven't had a brand new Mario platform game since the days of the original Game Boy. Considering this, the frothing demand for New Super Mario Bros is perhaps understandable. The faithful are going to have to be patient, though, as Nintendo has quietly pushed the game back another week in the US.
The original early May release date has suffered a second delay and has become late May, according to Nintendo's official New Super Mario Bros page. It's possible that the game is going through last minute testing, but there are far more interesting rumours blazing across the Web.
GameSpot speculates that the delay is so that the game can launch alongside the Nintendo's new DS Lite. The handheld doesn't yet have a firm release date yet outside of Japan, but late May would coincide with what many insiders are whispering.
The DS Lite is still the hot item in Japan; the handheld is consistently the best selling hardware there week after week, often selling more than the rest of the platforms combined. A delay for Mario would give Nintendo another week to crank out more DS Lites.
New Super Mario Bros will be out for the DS in North America on 21 March.
Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games