Super Mario All-Stars, a limited-edition package commemorating the 25th anniversary of Super Mario Bros., is now available in North America. The package includes the Super NES game Super Mario All-Stars on a Wii game disc, a soundtrack CD with 10 music tracks and 10 SMB sound effects, and a 32-page booklet titled Super Mario History: 1985-2010, all for $29.99 MSRP.

Link: NOA press release

Yesterday, Donkey Kong Country Returns launched in North America, the first region to receive DK's return to 2D platforming. Australia will get the game next, with a release date set for December 2. The development team behind Donkey Kong Country Returns, Retro Studios, also made the critically-acclaimed Metroid Prime trilogy.

Almost two months after a Super Mario All-Stars special edition for Wii appeared on Nintendo's Japanese site, Nintendo of America's Super Mario Bros. 25th anniversary site has a "pre-order now" notice, finally confirming a U.S. release of the game. At the time of this writing, NOA's anniversary site links to five retailers' web sites, but it appears that only two are ready to take pre-orders: Amazon and GameStop.

According to NOA's press release, this version of Super Mario All-Stars is a limited run, launching on December 12 with a MSRP of $29.99. Similar to the Japanese and European versions, a CD soundtrack and history booklet will be packed in with the game.

Link: NOA press release

Nintendo of America confirmed today that the red Wii and DSi XL Mario bundles -- previously announced for Japan and Europe -- will be released in North America next month. New Super Mario Bros. Wii will be packed in with the red Wii, and the red DSi XL will include Mario Kart DS. Both bundles will launch on November 7.

Link: NOA press release

Later this month, Nintendo of Europe (NOE) will release limited edition Wii and Nintendo DSi XL bundles to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of Super Mario Bros.

Launching on October 29, the "New Super Mario Bros. Wii Pack" includes New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Wii Sports, a red Wii, and red controllers. It will also have Donkey Kong already installed on the system. NOE is also giving away eight of these special Wii bundles to winners of their Super Mario Bros. 25th Anniversary Video Competition.

The red Super Mario Bros. 25th Anniversary Nintendo DSi XL comes with a copy of New Super Mario Bros. and will launch in Europe on October 22.

Link: NOE news

On the 3rd of December, Europe will commemorate the 25th Anniversary of Super Mario Bros. with the release of Super Mario All-Stars: 25th Anniversary Edition for the Wii. Like the Japanese version, it will come with a Mario history booklet and CD soundtrack. The price was not announced.

Link: NOE news

On their Japanese website, Nintendo has revealed the Super Mario Bros. 25th Anniversary special edition Wii. The console and controllers are colored red, and the Wii Remote has Wii MotionPlus built in. It will release in Japan on November 11.

Also included is a "25th Anniversary" version of Super Mario Bros. already installed on the system. In this version, the "?" on each gold block has been replaced with a "25."

Link: http://www.nintendo.co.jp/mario25th/wii/index.html

Nintendo's latest conference wrapped up in Japan a few hours ago. Perhaps the most exciting announcement was the confirmation that the Nintendo 3DS will have its own Virtual Console service that will offer classic Game Boy and Game Boy Color games for download. So far, Nintendo's website only shows screen shots for Super Mario Land and The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX.

A Super Mario Bros. 25th Anniversary edition DSi XL was also announced for Japan, and will be released there on October 28.

Nintendo's conference website has new screen shots and release info for 24 upcoming games. Here's a list of the Mario titles along with their Japanese release dates:

3DS:
* Paper Mario (tentative title) - TBD
* Mario Kart (tentative title) - TBD

Wii:
* Mario Sports Mix - 11/25/2010
* Donkey Kong Country Returns (titled Donkey Kong Returns) - Winter

DS:
* Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem! (titled Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Assault! Miniland) - 12/2/2010

The Nintendo 3DS will launch in Japan on February 26, while North America will have to wait until sometime in March.

Link: Nintendo Conference 2010

The official Super Mario Collection Special Pack website (Japanese) has launched with pictures of the packaging, booklet, and CD soundtrack included with the game. The Wii port of Super Mario Collection, which is called Super Mario All-Stars in the U.S., will be released in Japan on October 21 for ¥2,500 (about $30).

Super Mario Collection Special Pack is one of several Mario games that Japanese gamers can register on Club Nintendo for a chance to win special Mario merchandise. To celebrate the Super Mario Bros. 25th anniversary, Nintendo is giving away a total of 2,000 tote bags, 3,000 T-shirts, and 5,000 sets of playing cards. The Super Mario 25th Anniversary Campaign website has pictures of the prizes and more details.

Links:
Super Mario Collection Special Pack website
Super Mario 25th Anniversary Campaign
Nintendo Co., Ltd. news release

Today, Nintendo of America announced release dates for several upcoming games, including two that will feature Donkey Kong.

Donkey Kong Country Returns, in development for Wii by Retro Studios, will bring DK back to his 2-D platforming days when the game is released on November 21. Mario and DK will square off once again on the Nintendo DS in Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem, which is set for release on November 14.

Link: NOA press release

It appears that the battle for the "King of Kong" continues to rage: Billy Mitchell now holds the high score for both arcade Kongs.  On August 7, 2010 at Boomers-Grand Prix Arcade in Florida, Mitchell set record scores of 1,062,800 on Donkey Kong and 1,270,900 on Donkey Kong Junior.  How long before Steve Wiebe attempts to retake the crown is anyone's guess.

Source: Twin Galaxies

The Wii Games: Summer 2010 Event begins July 16, 2010 in New Jersey.  Competitors at various locations may win a trip to the nationals in Los Angeles, CA.  Other prizes include a team cruise, flat screen TV and surround system, a black Wii, and Nintendo Wii games for a year.  At the time of this announcement the home download kit wasn't available, but you can start practicing the featured games now.  Even if there's not an event in your area you can still enter the sweepstakes on July 16th for a chance to participate in the finals in Los Angeles, CA.  For more information visit www.wiigames2010.com or check out the press release.

During their E3 press conference earlier today, Nintendo revealed Mario Sports Mix and Donkey Kong Country Returns for Wii. Mario Sports Mix is currently set for a 2011 release.

On the portable side, a new Mario Kart and Paper Mario are being developed for Nintendo 3DS, the upcoming DS model that features glasses-free 3D gaming. For the current DS model, Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem is scheduled for a "holiday" release.

Mario returns to outer space in Super Mario Galaxy 2, out now for Wii in North America. Super Mario Galaxy 2 will be released next in Japan on Thursday, May 27.

You can visit Nintendo's official Super Mario Galaxy 2 website at SuperMarioGalaxy.com.

Nintendo's latest DS bundle combines the white DSi with Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story. The bundle has a MSRP of $169.99 -- the same price as a Nintendo DSi by itself -- and is set for release on April 25.

In North America, the Nintendo DSi launched on April 5, 2009, and Bowser's Inside Story was released on September 14, 2009.

Link: NOA press release

1UP.com is running an interesting feature called Fan's View: Inside the World of Fansites, which looks at fansites from different perspectives.  1UP took some time to talk with the staff of several fansites, including TMK.  For a glimpse behind the scenes of this site, you can find our interview here.

Super Mario Galaxy 2 will hit the U.S. on May 23, Nintendo of America announced today during their media summit in San Francisco. The official press release also revealed that WarioWare: D.I.Y. Showcase is finally set for March 29.

Link: NOA press release

According to Nintendo's latest financial report, New Super Mario Bros. Wii sold 10.55 million copies worldwide in 2009. The game, first released in Australia on November 12, only needed seven weeks to pass the 10-million mark. The first New Super Mario Bros., released in May 2006 for the Nintendo DS, ended 2009 with lifetime sales of 21.39 million units.

The report also provided life-to-date sales figures for three other Mario titles:
- Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story: 2.62 million
- Mario Kart DS: 17.28 million
- Mario Kart Wii: 21.22 million

Source: http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2010/100129e.pdf (PDF)

Have you ever found yourself sitting in front of your computer at 3:33 A.M. and thinking, "Gee, I wish I could watch some Mario cartoons right about now"?

Your sleepless nights may be over -- Jaroo.com is streaming Super Mario Bros. cartoons on their website right now.  They claim 28 episodes are available right now, with more to come in the coming weeks.

(That's what they say, at least.  We can't find any more than six...)

All the cartoons appear to be taken from the Super Mario Bros. Super Show.  Captain N: The Game Master episodes appear to be listed in their site database as well.

Site: http://jaroo.com/watch/super-mario-bros