Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 - Development and Release

Development and Release

Super Mario Bros. 3: Super Mario Advance 4 was first announced on a European release list, then titled Super Mario Advance 4. It was first revealed at the 2003 E3 conference for the Game Boy Advance. Its graphics and engine are based on the Super Mario All-Stars version of Super Mario Bros. 3, the original version for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was designed by Mario series creator Shigeru Miyamoto. It adds Mario's trademark voice acting as contributed by Charles Martinet, and features the Mario Bros. mini-game contained in other Super Mario Advance remake series. It introduces compatibility with Nintendo's e-Reader device, allowing players to add or view various things, including power-ups, stages, upgrades, and demonstration videos. It also allows players to create their own videos, with the game automatically recording players' progress through each level, erasing whatever is not saved. As of its reveal, it was slated for a September 11, 2003 release in North America. While Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka were less involved in earlier Mario remakes, they became involved as producers and supervisors with this game.

It was shown at several video game trade shows, including E3, the Nintendo Gamers Summit, the Games Conference, and the European Computer Trade Show, It was once announced for a North American release on September 22, 2003, but was delayed. It was first released in Japan on July 11, 2003, and later in Europe, North America, and Australia on October 17, 2003, October 21, 2003, and February 23, 2004 respectively. The release of Super Mario Advance 4 was accompanied by series of e-Cards, which numbered four, with only the first two series released outside of Japan due to the failure of the e-Reader. The game was bundled with two e-Cards, and an exclusive promotion held by Wal Mart early in its release in North America offered anyone who purchased the game five additional exclusive e-Cards. The fact that the stages from the e-Cards are not stored on the game but on the cards themselves, IGN speculated that Nintendo would be able to expand the game indefinitely.