Nintendo is offering a free set of limited-edition Mario pins to players who buy Super Mario 3D All-Stars. The upcoming Nintendo platformer bundle packages together Super Mario 64Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario Galaxy, remastered for the Switch and optimized for Joy-Con gameplay. Super Mario 3D All-Stars launches on September 18th and, inexplicably, will only be available until March 31st.

It's been a very big day for Mario fans. In celebration of the legendary plumber's 35th anniversary, Nintendo has unleashed a flurry of news about new titles and products. While Super Mario 3D All-Stars is arguably the most significant new title showed during today's Mario Direct, it was far from the only one. Nintendo also showed off a new Mario-themed Game & Watch model, a re-release of Super Mario 3D World packaged with a mysterious new title called Bowser's Fury, a new Mario Kart experience using remote-controlled model go-karts, and much, much more.

Related: Super Mario Galaxy Doesn't Require Motion Controls On Nintendo Switch

To keep the hype train rolling, Nintendo is also offering a special promotional quest to Super Mario 3D All-Stars owners. As announced on the My Nintendo website, anyone is eligible to undertake a series of small "missions" on the site; completing any four of these missions, as well as a fifth mission titled "Purchase the Super Mario 3D All-Stars game," will render one eligible to receive a set of five commemorative pins. Each pin depicts Mario with an item (or a Yoshi) associated with one of the plumber's classic adventures, including Super Mario Bros. 1-3, Super Mario World, and Super Mario 64. The missions are mostly simple affairs like visiting the official Super Mario website or taking a web-based Mario quiz. Fans can start in on most of these missions now, but they won't be able to earn credit for buying Super Mario 3D All-Stars until the game is actually available.

Super Mario 3D Nintendo Switch

It's pretty obvious that Nintendo is desperate to push sales of Super Mario 3D All-Stars. By giving even the digital version such a limited release window, the company is trying to create a sense of urgency and exclusivity that will drive Mario fans to buy the game in greater numbers. By offering them a shiny set of pins to sweeten the deal, Nintendo is poised to give sales another little push. It's unclear why Nintendo is so frantic, though; Super Mario 3D All-Stars is already a pretty exciting product, and likely would have sold perfectly well without the strange limited release.

There are surely plenty of fans out there who've already pre-ordered Super Mario 3D All-Stars. Most of these fans probably didn't need artificial scarcity or a bunch of pins to get them to do it, either. Nintendo's limited run has already drawn a lot of ire from players, and there's even a chance that it will negatively impact the success of the game. Still, for players who are excited about Super Mario 3D All-Stars, this is a pretty easy chance to get some cute Mario pins for free, and that, in and of itself, isn't really a bad thing.

Next: Mario Kart Gets Real With New Nintendo Switch Game

Super Mario 3D All-Stars releases on Nintendo Switch on September 18th, 2020.

Source: My Nintendo