Here we go: all the news about Super Mario Bros. Wonder

There’s a very good chance that this will be the last year where the Switch is Nintendo’s main piece of hardware. While rumors of a Switch successor have persisted for years, recent reports suggest that an upgraded device is not only coming but will be here relatively soon, with a potential 2024 launch. If that is indeed the case, it seems that Nintendo isn’t content to let the device go out with a whimper — in fact, 2023 has been one of the Switch’s strongest years to date.

Just look at the company’s biggest properties. This year, we have both a new mainline Zelda in Tears of the Kingdom and a classic Mario title with Super Mario Bros. Wonder. The last time the company released a major Zelda and Super Mario in the same year was 2017, which just so happened to be when the Switch debuted. (Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey have since gone on to sell more than 50 million combined copies.) Tears of the Kingdom, in particular, really feels like it’s pushing the upper limits of what the Switch is capable of — just look at some of the physics-defying creations players have come up with inside of its giant open world.

After months of speculation, conspiracy theories, and false alarms, we finally know the name of Mario’s new voice actor: Kevin Afghani. On Friday, Afghani announced the news on X (formerly Twitter), saying, “Incredibly proud to have voiced Mario and Luigi in Super Mario Bros. Wonder. Thanks to Nintendo for inviting me into the Flower Kingdom!”

Nintendo confirmed the news in an email, saying simply, “The voice actor’s name is Kevin Afghani.” The news comes after iconic voice actor Charles Martinet stepped away from the role in August to become a Mario ambassador.

After weeks of wonder (heh) and speculation, Nintendo is finally giving longtime Mario voice actor Charles Martinet a proper send-off. Nintendo released a short video featuring Martinet and Nintendo executive Shigeru Miyamoto in which the pair take a fond look back at Martinet’s time in the role.

It’s a short, sweet video, Martinet is his typical enthusiastic self, dropping iconic lines from the Mario characters he voices. He also finally explains exactly what the hell a Mario ambassador is (something he apparently wasn’t too clear on himself not that long ago, based on comments he made at a convention.)

Nintendo’s going to let us figure out who the next voice of Mario is on our own. In an interview with IGN, Nintendo of America’s president, Doug Bowser, said that the company doesn’t plan on revealing Charles Martinet’s replacement until folks roll credits on Super Mario Bros. Wonder.

“I think people have recognized this when they see Super Mario Bros. Wonder, they’ll hear a different voice,” Bowser told IGN. “And we’ll let that play out and that’ll be within the credits, and people will learn who the new person is at that point in time, but we don’t plan to make any announcement in advance of that.”

As people eagerly await Starfield reviews and rev up their Xboxes for the game’s early access opening, Nintendo decided that it would not be left out of today’s video game news. During today’s interestingly timed Mario Direct presentation, Nintendo shared roughly 15 minutes of gameplay from Super Mario Bros. Wonder and announced a new Mario-themed Switch OLED.

Despite Nintendo’s traditional wholesomeness, I cannot shake the feeling that the thesis of Super Mario Bros. Wonder is just, “What if this time, Mario and all his friends just got super high?” In the gameplay presentation, the flowers talk now, the new Flower Kingdom seems a bit more wacky than other Mario locations, and with the power of the Wonder Flowers, Mario can get up to all kinds of interesting, mind-bending shenanigans.

At its most recent Nintendo Direct, the company showed off some fresh gameplay for the upcoming platformer Super Mario Bros. Wonder. But we also got a look at some new hardware — or, at least, a new color for the OLED version of the Nintendo Switch.

The tablet is getting a Mario makeover to coincide with the game, with a slick red color scheme, complete with a Mario silhouette and some coins hidden beneath the back panel. It’ll be available on October 6th, just ahead of Wonder’s launch on October 20th, though it’s already available for preorder from Amazon, Nintendo, and Best Buy.

Charles Martinet, the voice of Mario for over 25 years, will no longer be voicing the iconic character, according to a tweet from Nintendo. Martinet has voiced the character since the ’90s, appearing in mainline Mario titles like Super Mario 64, Super Mario Odyssey, and Super Mario Galaxy as well as countless spinoffs.

“Charles is now moving into the brand-new role of Mario Ambassador. With this new transition, he will be stepping back from recording character voices for our games,” Nintendo’s statement reads. “It has been an honor working with Charles to help bring Mario to life for so many years and we want to thank and celebrate him.”