Nintendo sent out an odd tweet yesterday that has many people theorizing on a variety of possibilities all linked to a new possible game in the Mario series. Specifically, Nintendo’s choice of words has people wondering if Nintendo is hinting at a sequel to either Super Mario Odyssey or Super Mario Sunshine.
The tweet features a picture of Mario eating watermelon and wearing a Hawaiian shirt that he doesn’t seem to have ever worn before, with the tweet itself reading “Even Mario needs a little #Summer vacation! No matter where your summer odyssey took you, we hope it was filled with sunshine!” It is possible that the tweet carries no real significance, and is just something cute that Nintendo threw together to tip their hats to the end of Summer, but many Nintendo fans aren’t convinced that it’s so innocent. Fans have pointed out that a tropical theme for the game may have been teased at Nintendo’s showing at Gamescom recently, with the random placement of tropical fruits in several shots in Nintendo Treehouse videos.
Even Mario needs a little #Summer vacation! No matter where your summer odyssey took you, we hope it was filled with sunshine! pic.twitter.com/rq5DK4XCr9
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) August 22, 2019
These murmurings have been compounded by an additional rumor that a Nintendo Direct is possibly slated for September based on leaks through GameStop, which may mean that something serious for the Mario series could be being teased for said Direct, perhaps in an announcement similar to the announcement for the upcoming sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
The likelihood of a Nintendo Direct coming up soon seems to be somewhere in the middle, and the announcement of a major Mario title seems much less likely considering there were no significant announcements made by Nintendo at either E3 or the more recent Gamescom. However, the company did just recently air an “Indie World” presentation made specifically to showcase upcoming indie games on Nintendo Switch, so perhaps they were making room in a possible Direct for more mainstream, in-house titles by doing so. All of this is still up for speculation, but it’s something exciting to think about nonetheless.