Nintendo announced today that a limited edition Wii version of the 1993 SNES release
Super Mario All-Stars would be coming to U.S. retail on December 12 after a similar collection saw strong sales in Japan.
The $30 release will include graphically and aurally updated versions of four Mario NES releases -- the original
Super Mario Bros.,
Super Mario Bros. 3, and the starkly different American and Japanese versions of
Super Mario Bros. 2 -- as well as a 32-page retrospective history booklet and a CD of Mario music.
Super Mario Collection, a nearly identical Japanese release, saw
market-leading sales of over 300,000 units in its first week of availability in the country.
The news comes as Nintendo celebrates
the 25th anniversary of the original Super Mario Bros.. revealing that the
Mario series has sold 240 million units worldwide to date since the release of the original side-scrolling title on the NES.
To tie in with this, Nintendo also recently announced
Mario-themed Wii and DSi bundles, available in North America November 7.
