A handful of Nintendo games are about to be gone forever

Today is a dreaded day for Nintendo fans and Mario lovers, as a handful of limited-time releases are about to hit their expiration date. Perhaps most notable is Super Mario 3D All-Stars that packages together a set of classic 3D Mario releases onto the Switch with some basic enhancements such as higher resolutions. Also up on the chopping block is Super Mario Bros. 35, an interesting take on the battle royale genre but with a classic Mario flare. We’ve also got Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & The Blade of Light which brings the original Fire Emblem to the Switch and the handheld device Game & Watch Super Mario Bros. which has ceased production. Online services for Super Mario Maker on the Wii U is also coming to an end.

All of this is happening due to a “Disney Vault” style system Nintendo has decided to controversially implement whereby some of their releases are only available for a limited time. The games, mentioned above, were always only intended to be purchasable up until March 31st, 2021. It’s a decision that has confused and annoyed many, and we still don’t really have much clarification from Nintendo as to why this is all happening. Artificial scarcity is the obvious reason, but whether or not that pays off for Nintendo is still yet to be seen.

For those Nintendo fans who are desperate to get their hands on one or more of these releases before they are gone, I’d definitely start shopping around immediately. Physical stores may still have copies of some games lingering around through April but there have even been reports of instructions being sent out to have these removed from displays and not for sale for customers.

It’s an interesting decision from Nintendo and possibly a sad day for some consumers who are unable to find these games before they’re gone. What do you think? Are you likely to buy in due to the artificial scarcity or does it just annoy you too much?