Mariohas never been one to shy away from spin-off games, with the red plumber trying his hand at racing games, party games, puzzle games, and even the Olympics. But one of the first spin-off games that Mario ever received wasMario Golffor the Nintendo 64 in 1999, the first of many sports that would later come.
Through the years, gamers later gotMario Tennis, Mario Superstar Baseball,Super Mario Strikers, and much more. As the years went on, Nintendo eased up a bit onMariosports games with the Wii U only getting one sports game featuring the plumber in the console’s entire lifespan. And so far on the Nintendo Switch,Mario Tennis Aceshas been the only sports game to be featured, but was quite a big success.
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That may very well change soon, as it was recently rumored thatCamelot has been working on anotherMariosports gamefor the platform with a 2021 release window in mind, but the question now is, which sports game will this upcoming title be. Will it be one of the classicMariosports such as golf or soccer? Or will it be a follow-up to a less popular series like basketball, or something entirely brand new? Here are some of the possible sports games that fans should expect to see.
Golf
Mario Golfis the oldest of all of theMariosports spin-off games, and is also one of the most beloved. ThoughMario Tennishas received more entries and is arguably the more popular of the two, both sports games have historically received new entries back-to-back, makingMario Golfthe most likely of the sports games to come to the Switch in 2021.Mario Tennis Aces, which released for Switch in 2018, was incredibly successful and is considered to be one of the best entries in the franchise. Because of this, it would be odd for Nintendo to not develop a newMario Golffor the Switch, considering how popular both Mario spin-off games the Nintendo Switch itself currently is. It’s undeniable that, if a newMario Golfwere to release for the hybrid console, it would be a big financial win for the company.
The other major piece of proof that points towardsMario Golfas the next sports title is the fact that the recent rumor stated Camelot was developing it. Camelot has been the developer of bothMario TennisandMario Golfsince the first entries on the Nintendo 64, so it would only make sense that they would be developinga newMario Golf. Given that it’s been six years since fans got a new game in the series, now seems like perfect timing.
Soccer
Other than golf and tennis,Super Mario Strikershas arguably the biggest followingout of all of theMariosports games. First starting on the GameCube,Strikersgot a follow-up entry on the Wii in 2007 and has yet to return on any Nintendo platform. Fans of the soccer series have been wanting a new game for years, and the Switch would probably make for the perfect platform for it. TheStrikersgames have always had a ton of personality and felt very unique toMario’s other sports games, so a new game feels entirely justified and warranted.
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Baseball
Like theStrikersgames, theMariobaseball games only ever got entries on the GameCube and Wii withMario Superstar Baseballin 2005 andMario Super Sluggersin 2008, respectively. Both of these games can be a great bit of fun with family and friends, and are yet anotherMariosports gamethat shouldn’t be left overlooked.
Though there doesn’t seem to be as big of a fan base for this particular sport, a new baseball game could be awesome, considering how long it’s been since Nintendo fans have seen one. A new entry could potentially introduce some new ideas to the series, like a story mode akin toAces' single-player campaign and online play. IfMario Tennis Aceshas taught Nintendo anything, it’s that there’s still plenty of steam left in what many might consider old ideas.
Basketball
The basketballMariosports title was released way back in 2006 for the Nintendo DS and never got any sort of sequel following it. It was Mario’s take on basketball, with three-on-three matches as the title suggests and utilized the DS’s dual screens to quite good effect. The game looks and plays very well for being on such limited hardware, and is somewhat of a hidden gem on the platform.
Nintendo apparently hasn’t forgotten about the title either, as it got a re-release on the Wii U’s virtual console. Some sort of follow-up or sequel to this game could be amazing, and could really expand upon the foundation set by the DS original. Unfortunately, this doesn’t seem very likely, but stranger things have happened. It’s worth noting that basketball did technically return as a featured sport in 2010’sMario Sports Mixon the Wii alongside volleyball, dodge ball, and hockey, but it would arguably be much more interesting to see the sport return again by itself as a more fleshed out experience.
Something New
If none of these sports end up getting new entries for the Switch, it could be possible that Nintendo is working on something entirely different and brand new. There are a few sports like American football that have yet to be Mario-ified, and Nintendo is notoriously unpredictable so anything is possible.
Nintendo could also be planning a thirdMariosports variety game, as a follow up toMario Sports MixandMario Sports Superstars. The latter was released in 2017 for the 3DS, so a sequel to it doesn’t necessarily seem very warranted at the moment. On the other hand,Mario Sports Superstarswas also developed by Camelot so it’s quite possible that the developer could be making a new entry to that sub-series. Regardless of whichMariosports game is in development, fans are likely in for a big surprise soon. With the Switch knocking it out of the park with its exclusive titles in recent years, this nextMariosports game is looking to be no exception.
