So we’re coming up on March 31, when a ton of Mario games are going away. And it’s a pretty delicate situation, to be sure.
I’ve had people write in asking for all sorts of clarification, and we’re slowly getting it at a snail’s pace. One such thing that seemed incredibly obvious, but doesn’t hurt to know about, is whether or not retail codes will still work for Mario 3D All-Stars after April. The answer is yes.
Speaking to VGC, Nintendo of Japan confirms that if you have a retail code for the game, you can redeem it on the eShop’s backend “after April” (meaning, after April 1, when the switch is flipped). Note that you can still buy download codes right now even this close to the end of service/vault date. They also reconfirm that you can redownload the game if you already own it, something they clarified in the past.
I can see a weird scalping market rising up out of this. Folks will no doubt be in different financial situations after March 31. Perhaps they were holding out on Mario All-Stars for all this time, and can finally buy it after that date. Or, they didn’t know it existed, and they want it at all costs. Welp, retail codes are flying around!
It’s weird all over. I mean, Nintendo will likely bring it back for another Mario celebration of some sort? But for now, we’re pretty sure they aren’t going to go back on their promise.
Mario 3D All-Stars’ digital version will still be available after April via retail codes [VGC]
Source: Destructoid Nintendo confirms you can still redeem Mario 3D All-Stars retail codes after April