Mario Day 2026: Nintendo Turns 40th Anniversary Into a Month-Long Blitz — With a Galaxy Movie on the Way
MAR10 Day landed Tuesday with a level of corporate ambition that made previous celebrations look like a warmup act. Nintendo didn't just mark the occasion — it used it to launch a full campaign built around forty years of Super Mario Bros. and a sequel film arriving in three weeks.
What Is Mario Day 2026 and Why This Year Is Different
The date has always been the joke: March 10, written as MAR10, reads like the plumber's name. But this year's MAR10 Day doubles as a 40th anniversary celebration for Super Mario Bros. while also building momentum for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, which hits theaters April 1.
Nintendo dropped the film's final trailer on March 9 with the line, "It takes a lot of star power to save the galaxy." The studio confirmed Donald Glover is voicing Yoshi, with Luis Guzmán taking on the role of Wart. This is Illumination's second crack at the franchise — and Nintendo is treating it like a franchise launch, not a sequel.
Mario Day 2026 Deals: Up to 90% Off Through March 15
The commercial side of MAR10 Day is impossible to miss. Nintendo is offering deals reaching up to 90% off select titles, though most marquee discounts land closer to 50%. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door and Mario & Luigi: Brothership are each $30, down from $60. Mario Kart World drops to $65 from $80. Super Mario Party Jamboree Switch 2 Edition is $60, its lowest price yet.
Physical game discounts at retail — including Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury and Super Mario Odyssey at $39.99 each — run March 8 through 14, while supplies last. Digital deals on the My Nintendo Store and eShop extend through March 15.
Classic Titles, In-Store Events, and Sweepstakes
Nintendo unlocked three vintage titles for subscribers Tuesday. Players with an active Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack membership can now access Mario vs. Donkey Kong on Game Boy Advance, plus the Virtual Boy titles Mario Clash and Mario's Tennis. For anyone who has never seen a Virtual Boy title, these are genuinely obscure additions.
Mario himself appeared for meet-and-greet photos from 5 to 7 p.m. ET at Nintendo New York and from 4 to 7 p.m. PT at Nintendo San Francisco. A Mario Tennis Fever Tournament follows at both store locations on March 14, with Warp Pipe Pass registration open now.
A sweepstakes running through May 31 gives fans a shot at a family vacation to SUPER NINTENDO WORLD at either Universal Studios Hollywood or Universal Orlando Resort, entered via My Nintendo Platinum Points.
Mario Kart World Gets Three Weeks of In-Game Events
The newest title in the franchise isn't sitting out the celebration. Nintendo Switch Online members can earn 310 My Nintendo Platinum Points by participating in any of three in-game Mario Kart World events — available to everyone in the Americas — with a free 7-day trial offered to non-members.
A Lunchables Deal That Extends to June
Lunchables is partnering with Nintendo to feature Mario Kart World, Donkey Kong Bananza, and Pokémon Legends: Z-A on select varieties through May 31. Each pack carries a QR code for a chance to win a Nintendo Switch 2 system and a digital game download. It is an unusually long promotional window for a grocery tie-in — and a signal that Nintendo is treating spring 2026 as an extended commercial moment, not a single-day spike.
Nintendo is framing this year's MAR10 Day as a month-long event, not a one-day promotion, with activities running through the end of March.
