We can complain about its limited availability or half-hearted porting job all we want, but Super Mario 3D All-Stars has become a big sales success for Nintendo.
The compilation was the No. 2 best-selling game in the U.S. in September, according to The NPD Group. It is also already the No. 10 best-selling game of the year so far. Super Mario 3D All-Stars launched for Switch on September 18. It includes Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario Galaxy.
“Super Mario 3D All-Stars launch month physical dollar sales rank as the 6th biggest for a Nintendo-published title in U.S. history,” NPD video game industry analyst Mat Piscatella noted. “Super Mario 3D All-Stars trails only Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and Pokémon Stadium in physical launch month dollar sales.”
For whatever reason, 3D All-Stars will only be available for purchase until March 31. That forced scarcity could be what is driving up these launch sales numbers.
Or people could just be happy to have three classic 3D platformers on their Switch. Now that Nintendo knows these games can sell, maybe we’ll get Super Mario Galaxy 2 on Switch.