In less than two days, Nintendo’s highly anticipated addition to the Mario series, Super Mario Bros. Wonder, will make its debut on the Switch. Surprisingly, the Nintendo exclusive has already made its “unofficial” launch on PC, thanks to the power of emulation and piracy.
Earlier this week, we reported that the upcoming title had been leaked online, though at the time, there was no video proof of this, but we all knew it was just a matter of time. As expected, a gameplay video of Super Mario Bros. Wonder soon began making the rounds online, though the video has since been pulled from YouTube.
The now-deleted video showcased the side-scrolling platformer running in 4K at 60FPS on PC via the use of the Ryujinx Switch emulator. The game is also playable on the popular alternative emulator, Yuzu, giving PC players a choice in how they want to enjoy the Switch exclusive that isn’t out on Switch yet – bit much, innit?
Both emulators have a history of successfully running Nintendo games, often right from launch day. For those who might recall, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Pokemon Brilliant Diamond were also playable on PC before they ever landed on the Switch.
A major reason why Nintendo titles are able to run so smoothly on PC is due to Nintendo’s hardware approach. For the past two decades, Nintendo has thankfully not been chasing the high-end hardware game. Instead, it has focused more on perfecting its first-party titles on a gameplay and design level.
This decision, while great for creativity, means the Switch’s graphical processing power is now years behind the curve, which explains why the PC Master Race can easily emulate Nintendo games. Of course, the games still offering countless hours of entertainment and fun brings to question what the point of the hardware race even is, but we digress.
Fortunately, Nintendo does not need to do what PCs and consoles are doing to stay relevant. If anything, the Japanese company has proved that it is the indisputable king when it comes to first-party titles, a fact that was officially confirmed through court documents during the FTC hearings.
Titles from Nintendo have often outsold other console exclusives by a wide margin, which makes sense since many people who buy Nintendo consoles, especially the Switch, buy them for these exclusives specifically.
If you take a look at the top 10 best-selling Nintendo Switch games, you’ll notice that six of the games on the list are first-party Nintendo titles, including two of this year’s biggest Nintendo titles, Animal Crossing: New Horizons and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
In any case, Nintendo has taken steps to curb piracy and emulation by adding the anti-piracy software Denuvo to its Developer Portal. Though we doubt Nintendo itself will be using this absolutely horrendous malmiddleware for its own games, we’re certain third-party developers will not have the same reservations.
Though PC players might have already gotten a taste of Super Mario Wonder in high resolution, the true home of Mario remains Nintendo, no matter what anyone says. Super Mario Bros. Wonder is scheduled to release on October 20.
