Eagle-eyed baseball fans recently spotted a Mario ad that could add more support to the latest Super Mario game leak. Last month, rumors started to spread that Nintendo is working on four new Mario titles, including a new mainline 2D Super Mario game, a remake of the fan-favorite Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, and two sports-related spin-offs. The first of these two is said to be another Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games title, while the second is believed to be a new Super Mario Baseball game.While Mario had already stepped up to the plate as a guest character in Baseball for the original Game Boy way back in 1989, he and the rest of the Mushroom Kingdom would make their diamond field debut in the aptly-named Mario sports title Mario Superstar Baseball in 2005. A follow-up was released on the Nintendo Wii in 2008 titled Mario Super Sluggers, which added nine playable characters and motion controls to the frantic party-style gameplay of the original. However, the series has spent the following years in the dugout, with the closest thing to another installment being a baseball minigame in 2017’s Mario Sports Superstars for the Nintendo 3DS.This might be changing soon though, as ComicBook.com reports that fans who attended the latest Seattle Mariners game were greeted with an intriguing Super Mario-related tease. As can be seen in a video from Twitter user and Peacock pitching analyst Rob Friedman, there is a billboard ad of Mario holding his bat from the Mario Baseball series positioned near the pitcher’s mound. Naturally, many Nintendo fans have taken this as a sign that a new Mario Baseball game is in the works, though others have pointed out that it could just be a generic promotional image as Nintendo happens to be a partial owner of the Mariners.
This sign and May’s Mario leak aren’t the first potential hints at a new Mario Baseball game, as many have speculated that Nintendo could start a new wave of Mario sports titles in the wake of Mario Strikers: Battle League’s release last year. This theory gained support in February thanks to rumors of a Mario Baseball sequel for the Nintendo Switch, one that could branch out from the Super Mario series and include guest characters like Pac-Man.
With the surprise success of The Super Mario Bros. Movie still fresh in the public’s mind and rumors of another Nintendo Direct being held next month, the timing could be just right for a wave of new Super Mario game announcements like the ones hinted at in last month’s big leak. A new Mario Baseball title could be included in that list, at least if the latest sighting of Nintendo’s favorite plumber at the recent Mariners game is indeed an omen of things to come instead of a simple sports-based promotion.
Source: ComicBook.com
