Alongside Super Smash Bros and Mario Kart, Mario Party is one of the titular plumber's most popular ensemble series. The gameplay is easy to pick up, the boards are a joy to play, and the minigames will keep players coming back for more. Ever since its inception, players have fallen in love with all that Mario Party has to offer, and the franchise is showing no signs of slowing down. However, recent developments may put the next Mario Party game in a bit of a tough spot.
The Nintendo Switch has seen countless exciting titles over the years and has played host to almost every single major Nintendo franchise. Mario Party has had a very strong presence on the console, but the studio has done little to support the newest titles with post-launch content. Both Super Mario Party and Mario Party Superstars have been seemingly abandoned, and that gives players little reason to buy into the next one.
Mario Party Fans Have Been Scorned Too Many Times
After a couple of controversial titles during the Wii and Wii U era, Mario Party fans did not know what to expect from the franchise. NDcube had changed up the formula with unneeded additions like Mario Party 9’s car mechanic, and the minigames were not as fun as they used to be. Luckily, it seemed like the studio was listening to the fanbase when it released Super Mario Party, but things were not as great as they seemed.
Super Mario Party was a fantastic return to form for the franchise with a few new additions that helped shake up the core gameplay in good ways. However, the game had less content than some of its predecessors. While it felt like the studio was going to expand it with post-launch content, the title was swiftly abandoned three years later. Mario Party Superstars brought the franchise even closer to its roots and served as a celebration of what came before, but it would go the same way as Super Mario Party. While there is still a chance that Nintendo has plans for DLC, there has been no news about future content for two years now.
Rumors are circulating that the next Nintendo console is on the horizon and that will likely mean a new Mario Party that takes advantage of the hardware will follow. While new games are always great to see, fans may want to be a bit weary. If Nintendo is not going to release post-launch DLC then there is no reason for players to buy into it. The game will just be swiftly abandoned like the last two, and some players may feel like they wasted their money again.
While there is no news on a new Mario Party, there is a strong chance that one is in development right now. If the studio wants its fanbase to buy into then it needs to ensure that it actually supports it this time around. Consistently abandoning games will lead to a scorned fanbase and could impact the future success of this franchise considerably.
Mario Party Superstars is available now on Switch.
