With Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD releasing the Switch this summer, Nintendo is repeating history in a telling way. While it can be easy to read too far into such things, there are noticeable trends in how and when Nintendo has chosen to release certain titles. It’s no surprise why Mario and Zelda titles come early in the lifespan of the company’s consoles, if not at launch. This isn’t so much a trend as it is simply a wise business move. Mario and Zelda are household names that are sure to generate sales of both the games and the new hardware.
What about the end of a console generation, when Nintendo is already working on the titles that will lead the new era? For example, Kirby games traditionally came near the end of a console’s life. Kirby’s Adventure was released on the NES three years after the release of the SNES console, just as Kirby’s Dreamland 3 hit stores over a year after the release of the Nintendo 64. However, Kirby Star Allies broke with that trend, releasing one year after the Switch’s debut. The remastered Luigi’s Mansion 2 may be an indicator that a new Nintendo console is coming soon.
When the Switch was released in March 2017, it was clear that Nintendo’s 3DS console would be winding down. The 3DS, however, had a massive user base that would still be a viable market for Nintendo as its new hardware was rolling out. A remake of 2001’s Luigi’s Mansion was a perfect end for the aging handheld. The remake came upgraded with new features and became the third highest-selling 3DS title of 2018. Interestingly, 2013’s Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon, a follow-up to the original, was conceived by Shigeru Miyamoto while working on a 3DS test model of the first game.
As the Switch nears its retirement, Dark Moon will find a second life, launching in June as Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD. Not much is known about the upcoming Luigi’s Mansion 2 other than it will be visually upgraded for Switch specs. Whether the game will come with new features and content is yet to be seen. Regardless, Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD launching as rumors are swirling over a new Nintendo console highlights the parallel between its own release and the original’s port to the 3DS. It’s possible that ports of older titles may be the company’s endgame strategy for the Switch console.
Indicators that a new console may be imminent go beyond just Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD. Just as Kirby was once a hint of a generation’s end, Wario and Pikachu may have picked up that mantle. WarioWare: Move It! and Detective Pikachu Returns, both released in the latter half of 2023, just as Switch 2 rumors were picking up. WarioWare Gold and Detective Pikachu both dropped in 2018 and were two of the last marquee titles to be released on the 3DS. The highly anticipated remake of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is another example of a classic returning late in a console’s life.
As Nintendo has made no official statement regarding a new console, there is no way to know if Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD is truly a signifier that new hardware is forthcoming. Remasters and remakes of classic titles have become a common and lucrative staple in modern gaming, and such titles are released throughout a console’s life. However, considering how well the port of the original Luigi’s Mansion performed on the aging 3DS system, Nintendo may have good reason to be repeating its own history with Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD.