Did Nintendo Do SMB40 Dirty?

Source: https://nintendoisgreat.substack.com/p/the-super-mario-bros-40th-anniversary?utm_source=substack&utm_campaign=post_embed&utm_medium=web

Recently came across this post from Nintendo Is Great, a Substack blog thing that talks about how great Nintendo is… except in this case where the author explains how Nintendo has not given the 40th anniversary of Super Mario Bros – that Nintendo game from 1985 – the proper respect with a celebration worthy of the occasion. Is this really the case?

For those who don’t know, Nintendo used the occasion to announce a number of Mario-related projects. The title of the next Super Mario movie is “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” due in 2026. They also announced a new Super Mario Galaxy combo pack collecting both games in one cart (though you can buy both games separately digitally), a new Mario Tennis game, a Switch 2 version of Super Mario Bros. Wonder (with exclusive content) and a new Yoshi game. There’s also some minor notes on amusement park attractions that I will never get around to visiting and thus are not worth mentioning here.

I don’t know. Seems like a fair amount of Mario content being released… except for the fact that it’s content that probably would have seen release regardless of anniversary. If anything, Nintendo is using the 40th as an excuse to announce a bunch of Mario games that would have been out one way or another and nothing was done to truly celebrate the game that got the ball rolling. They did that for the 35th anniversary with the amazing (and long defunct) SMB35 battle royale game and the release of a new Game & Watch unit that housed OG SMB and the Lost Levels… that was pretty sweet too.

Maybe something like that would’ve been a worthy celebration of the 40th. Bring back SMB35… but now it’s SMB40 where you can play against 39 other players. Honestly, that would have sold me on a Switch 2 if they had gone that route… but they didn’t and nothing that they’ve announced has me clamoring for a next-gen Switch any time soon.

I don’t know, folks. There are those who would probably feel stronger about this than I do. I’ve seen the Direct, I’ve heard their announcements, and I came away shrugging and moving on with my life. At this point, major anniversary milestones being underwhelmingly undersold is the bare minimum expect from these people. And with Star Trek turning 60 next year, I’m expecting an equally placid celebration next year.

The Bubsy Collection

In case anyone isn’t aware, yes, they made a Bubsy collection of all those old games that you hated back in the day.

And before anyone else asks – because at least one person did – yes, I did get the collection. I have no problem buying the Bubsy collection because I’m genuinely curious about these Bubsy games that I’ve only played a couple of. And no, I’m not particularly baffled by this. Bubsy may not have been a beloved mascot, but he has a following of sorts… enough that they did put out a couple new games over the past few years with another on the way.

Hell, there’s a compilation of games based on old Nick stuff like Guts or Rocko’s Modern Life. I don’t recall those games being fondly remembered classics, but there you go. They’re being brought back.

It’s like I said before… if they’ll bring back Plumbers Don’t Wear Ties, then they’ll bring back anything.

Whatever the case, expect some Bubsy content in 2026… as soon as I get the Valis stuff out of the way, which will also be in 2026… maybe.

I just want to get this year’s output out of the way first.

A Couple PPVs This Weekend… I’m Watching Neither.

WWE has the Wrestlepalooza PLE coming up featuring the Punks going up against the Lynches. AEW has the All Out PPV featuring Hangman Page defending his Men’s title (his words, not mine, but technically correct) against somebody and other stuff happens, I guess. One is going to be three hours of a couple matches, ten thousand vignettes, and twice as many commercials, while the other is eighty hours of great wrestling featuring guys that I used to care about, but now don’t because the stuff they’re doing from a story perspective is uninteresting.

That, along with the fact that watching a WWE PLE requires a Netflix subscription, which I’m not keen on getting at the moment, while an AEW PPV costs 60-70 Canadian dollars, which I could spend on essentials like drug prescriptions.

On the other hand, the WWE Vault recently uploaded that Wrestlefest show from 1997… you know, the one where Bret Hart wrestled Terry Funk in what was allegedly Funk’s last match (good one, pal!)… you know, the one where Dennis Stamp got booked. It’s on Youtube. And it’s free.

Yeah, I know what I’m watching this weekend.

Have fun, kids.

Guts? YES!!! – An Ericmansuper Vintage Video

So they recently announced the Nickelodeon Splat Pack, which includes GUTS as one of the games being released. The very first thing that came to mind upon hearing that was this video by former Youtuber ericmansuper. Now people can find out for themselves whether this game still sucks. Whether that’s a good thing or not is another story entirely.

I miss that guy. Hope he’s doing well nowadays.

WCW Monday Nitro (Sept. 18th, 1995) – Easily Digestable Slurry

The show opens with Gene Okerlund interviewing Kevin Sullivan and the Giant… and yes, there was a time where they tried to pass off Giant as the son of Andre The Giant – hence the similar looking singlet… except Paul Wight is obviously not French. Harlem Heat somehow lose the tag titles to the American Males (Bagwell fell on top of Booker for the win)… don’t worry, the Heat would get them back eventually. After another Ric Flair promo taunting Arn Anderson, Paul Orndorff, somehow looking 80 years old despite being half that age, defeated Johnny B. Badd in a nothing match.

Randy Savage refuses Flair’s help with Lex Luger, which draws out Lex Luger so they can go at it verbally. This is followed by a replay of some WCW show where Hulk Hogan’s motorcycle is run over by the Giant’s monster truck… see, because they’re gonna have a monster truck battle at Halloween Havoc. And finally, Ric Flair defeated Brian Pillman via submission in the main event that lasted a little over five minutes, but it was fun while it lasted, I guess.

Three shows in and the matches are starting to feel less big time than the did initially. For what it’s worth, it wasn’t a bad show… but it also wasn’t all that important unless you really want your American Male fix.