The ongoing pandemic has confined billions of people all over the world to their quarters. Many of us now work from home, shop from home, have fun at home – especially because everything from the pub on the corner to the fancy restaurant you have to book a table at weeks in advance is now closed.
Hopefully, you were prepared for the lockdown, hopefully, you’re done comparing office and gaming chairs and were prepared for the lockdown with all your gear in order. Now is the time when – after you found yourself having some spare time since not having to commute to work – you can play with all the games you’ve been putting off for so long.
If so, be prepared to dust off some of your childhood memories because these classic console titles will have news for you soon.
Mario
Japanese arcade legend Shigeru Miyamoto created Mario, the blue-collar (or rather “red-collar”, considering his attire in the game) Italian saviour of the Mushroom Kingdom, back in 1985. He jumped right into everyone’s hearts – the original Super Mario Bros. became one of the best-selling video games in history and spawned countless spinoffs and sequels.
Now, Nintendo seems to have some great news in store for the fans of the sturdy plumber. According to several sources (albeit none of them official, so you may want to take this news with a grain of salt), Nintendo is now preparing for the release of several new and remastered titles in the Mario universe on its popular “Switch” platform. Rumours speak of an upcoming Super Mario 64 (from the N64), Super Mario Sunshine (from the GameCube) and Super Mario Galaxy (from the Wii).
The occasion? The Mario franchise reaches the respectable age of 35 this year, and this calls for a celebration. The games should have been revealed at this year’s E3 but the event was cancelled due to the pandemic.
Sonic
The fastest hedgehog in the universe finally found its way to the silver screen this year in a movie that had a rocky start, to say the least. Sonic’s original look in the movie has creeped everyone out – not just the fans of the game, mind you – so the designers returned to their drawing tables and made him look a lot more like the original. Finally, Sonic’s family-friendly adventures hit the screens this January, getting generally positive reviews and generating decent revenues.
Sonic is younger than Mario – he is 29 this year. Next year, it’s his 30th anniversary – and SEGA wants to use this occasion (and the media attention generated by the movie, probably) to hype up the fans. Back in January, the developer promised to keep the fans in the loop by the means of a dedicated site until the end of the year, when it plans to announce a major new title to celebrate.
Sonic should’ve played a big part in the iconography for the upcoming Olympic Games – the Games were postponed, though. So, we’ll have to keep an eye out for the news about the supersonic hedgehog’s plans for the future from other sources.