The first Nintendo Direct of 2022 brought some surprise announcements, including a new Mario Strikers game. Mario Strikers: Battle League will be the first installment in the series in over a decade and looks like a great reintroduction of the franchise. Between new skills, modes, and gameplay it already has a lot to offer fans, and Mario Strikers: Battle League’s arrival on the Nintendo Switch will make it a fun time pretty much anywhere. Another thing that Mario Strikers: Battle League might bring with it though is the possibility of a new Mario Baseball game.
While Mario Baseball wasn’t the Mario sports title featured in the February Nintendo Direct, the announcement of Mario Strikers: Battle League could point to another installment in that series as well. A lot of Nintendo franchises tend to have their release cycles fall into patterns, and series like Mario Strikers, Mario Golf, Mario Tennis, and Mario Baseball have all fit a certain pattern in the past. Previous installments in each of these series have all come out in similar spans of time that stretch out over a few years or so, meaning that a Mario Baseball game would make sense.
Following Nintendo Patterns
All the Mario Tennis games and Mario Golf titles have had considerably frequent releases with Mario Strikers and Mario Baseball games tucked between their different titles. For a while, this guaranteed fun Mario-themed sports games, and in the mid to late-2000s, there were ample options even without the inclusion of the Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games series. Recently, the frequency at which these games have been released has slowed considerably, as Mario Strikers and Mario Baseball have both gone over a decade without any new releases.
With more Mario sports titles being released recently, though, this has started to change. The announcement of Mario Strikers: Battle League isn’t the first Mario game of its kind in recent years, with Mario Tennis: Aces and Mario Golf: Super Rush both having released in 2018 and 2021, respectively. With the proximity of these two games to the release of Mario Strikers: Battle League, it looks like the Mario sports games have kicked off a new cycle. If the past patterns that had these titles releasing within a few years of one another continues this time around, it’s possible that a new Mario Baseball game could be announced sometime in the next year or so.
This might seem relatively soon considering fans were just treated to the announcement of Mario Strikers: Battle League, but it’s still feasible. With a February announcement and release date of June 10, 2021, there would be plenty of time separating Mario Strikers: Battle League from a new Mario Baseball reveal in early 2023. Since both games focus on different sports as well, while it might increase the number of Mario sports games on the market, there wouldn’t necessarily be an over saturation as each series brings its different style and gameplay to the table.
This would also work with the current trend of sports-themed Nintendo franchises getting new additions. Along with the announcement of Mario Strikers: Battle League at the most recent Nintendo Direct, fans witnessed the reveal of Nintendo Switch Sports. This title is a new installment in the classic Wii Sports series that started with the Wii and saw new installments in its franchise through 2014 with the release of Wii Sports Club and Wii Fit U. Featuring revamps of classic games and the introduction of new ones, Nintendo Switch Sports rounds out a trend of sports titles on the Nintendo Switch that haven’t been in the spotlight much since the peak of the Wii’s popularity.
With the return of these franchises as well as the proximity of the Mario-themed sports titles to one another, it seems likely that a new Mario Baseball title could be in the works. This doesn’t mean that fans should expect it to be announced in 2022, but rumors of its development could start to circulate as time goes on. If such a game does become more tangible, though, it would likely remain out of the public eye for much of 2022, with the first or second Nintendo Direct of 2023 being the most likely time for it to be announced.
Mario Baseball's Switch Potential
The revival of Mario Baseball could work incredibly well on the Nintendo Switch. The last installment on the Wii, Mario Super Sluggers, was released almost 14 years ago. This puts almost a decade and a half worth of hardware advancements at Mario Baseball’s disposal, and the Nintendo Switch’s focus on fun group play and party games is a philosophy that could suit the Mario Baseball series.
The advancements that have already been seen with the new Mario Strikers: Battle League title that was just announced also offer a lot of options for a new Mario Baseball game to adopt as well. The online play in Mario Strikers: Battle League already looks like a game-changer, and it could benefit a new Mario Baseball title in the future. The use of the online club mode could help the game develop a strong community that’s able to last for at least a few years, making it a solid investment on Nintendo’s part.
The indiscriminate violence in Mario Strikers: Battle League, as well as over-the-top skills, also bode well for a future Mario Baseball game. Being as extreme and cartoonish as possible is one of the best aspects of Mario for sports games to explore and being able to capitalize on the unbelievable adds a lot of vibrancy to them. The foundations of sports like baseball and soccer are still prominent, but if a Mario Baseball game does follow Mario Strikers: Battle League soon, it should continue its trend of being as over the top as possible.
Of course, whether Mario Baseball will return as a series is speculation. While Mario Strikers: Battle League, Mario Golf: Super Rush, and Mario Tennis: Aces could be following a pattern, there’s still the possibility that the decision to leave Mario Baseball behind has been made. This could be a two-pronged decision that would open up more calendar space for future releases, but it would also leave a classic series behind despite similar products being well received by fans. For now, all fans can do is hope the trend continues.
Mario Strikers: Battle League releases on June 10, 2022, for Nintendo Switch.