Nintendo has announced two new bundle packages to celebrate 25 years of Super Mario Bros. Set for launch on October 29, the New Super Mario Bros Wii pack contains a red Wii, a red Wii Remote Plus and a red Nunchuk. The set is complete with three games: New Super Mario Bros Wii, Wii Sports and the original Donkey Kong, which will be pre-installed on the console, 'in homage to Mario's first ever appearance'. That's a tad incongruous as Kong was actually launched 29 years ago, but there you go.
Meanwhile, the New Super Mario Bros Nintendo DSi XL Special Edition Pack features a red console with some character icons emblazoned on it, plus a copy of New Super Mario Bros. It's out on October 22.
Last week, Nintendo also announced the Super Mario All-Stars – 25th Anniversary Edition, a new Wii compilation featuring Super Mario Bros, Super Mario Bros 2, Super Mario Bros 3 and Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels, a Western re-lease of the Japanese version of Super Mario Bros 2. It also comes with a booklet featuring the full history of Super Mario as well as a music CD containing tracks from various Mario games. That's hitting shops on December 3.
In short, Mario fanatics need not complain that they are being overlooked by Nintendo this Christmas – although some potential Wii purchasers may be put off by the fact that the colour, plus the golden crest in the top right of the box, make it look a bit like a Manchester United Wii...
Anyway, are there a few of the plumber's lesser known adventures that you'd like to see exhumed as part of these ongoing celebrations?
