Mario is getting two licensed controllers, ahead of expected 35th Birthday celebrations

Nintendo Switch is set to receive two officially licensed Super Mario controllers next month, ahead of expected celebrations for the mascot’s 35^th anniversary.

As reported by our network colleagues at Nintendo Life, peripheral firms Hori and PowerA will release the two controllers ahead of Super Mario Bros.’ 35^th Birthday on September 13.

The Horipad Mini arrives first on September 1 and is designed for younger players, with artwork featuring Mario and Bowser. It will release for $24.99 USD and pre-orders are now open.

Next the enhanced wired controller from PowerA is designed for extended gaming sessions and features a red and gold design with imagery from the Mario series. Pre-orders for this controller are live on Amazon and it will also cost $24.99 USD.

Nintendo has already unveiled two flagship licensing deals planned to commemorate Mario’s 35th anniversary: a special interactive Lego Mario set and a range of Uniqlo clothing, the latter of which is specifically branded for Mario Bros.’ upcoming Birthday.

And last month’s special Super Mario versions of Monopoly and Jenga released.

Earlier this year VGC reported that Nintendo was planning to celebrate Super Mario Bros.’ 35th anniversary with several major releases, new and old.

Sources indicated that as part of its anniversary celebrations, Nintendo would reveal plans to re-release most of Super Mario’s 35-year back catalogue this year, remastered for Nintendo Switch, including 1996’s Super Mario 64, 2002’s Super Mario Sunshine and 2007’s Super Mario Galaxy.

Nintendo also planned to release other Mario titles in 2020, we were told, including a Deluxe version of 2013’s Super Mario 3D World and a new instalment in the Paper Mario series (later officially revealed as The Origami King).

Further reading

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Nintendo has big plans for Super Mario Bros.’ 35th anniversary

Celebrations will see Mario's 35-year back catalogue remastered for Switch

Nintendo’s marketing plans have been significantly disrupted this year due to the pandemic, including its original plans to hold a Mario-themed event at E3 2020.

The company did not hold its traditional June Nintendo Direct either and currently, it only has one first-party game publicly announced for the rest of the year (Pikmin 3 Deluxe).

However, Nintendo’s Shinya Takahashi said in June’s shareholder Q&A that the company does not expect software delays unless there is a second wave of the coronavirus.

According to sources, Nintendo could hold a Nintendo Direct next week.