I know I'm not the only one hoping that this will some day come our way. As much as I like the originals, I absolutely loved the 16-bit graphics, music, and sound from All-Stars. I also know all the arguments against it (cannibalize the sales of the NES versions, 4 games for the price of 1, etc.)

Do you think this is a NEVER going to happen game? Do you think it may be released IF sales of the NES ones ever slow down?

There are several ways that Nintendo could do this without hurting their other sales:

A) Only allow purchase of All-Stars for those that own the four originals already
B) Price it the same as the four others combined (2100) or maybe at a slight discount (1800?)
C) Break the game up into four seperate releases and charge full SNES price (800) for each one. (Is this a technical possibility?)
D) Wait until sales of the originals die down (probably never going to happen?)

Any other thoughts? ideas? hopes? fears?

EDIT - Fixed the price in B)...don't know what I was thinking...

I desperately want this one to appear on the VC, but here's how I see your four possibilities:

A) Not likely; they've never instituted a requirement of that sort for a download, and it would confuse purchasers.
C) Also seems unlikely, as they have a policy of exact replication of the original cartridges, so I don't seem them altering the menus of this in order to split it into separate games.
D) Those will never die down :/

So that leaves: B) This doesn't seem to be outside the realm of possibility, and I'd certainly pay a higher price for it than I would for any other SNES release. I'd guess that they might charge 1500, since that's a reasonable, rounded number and a moderate savings for buying a package of four.

I own it on the SNES, and to me, part of the charm of the originals were the graphics. With the new 16bit graphics, the games just didn't feel the same.

I think they will release it, but it's gonna be 2,000 points. I'm Ok with that because its a great game and people will buy both the originals and the allstar version anyway.

All-Stars with Lost Levels or SMW?
I don't see why this couldn't happen, there are already lots of versions of some games, Street Fighter 2 and Sonic for instance.
I found the controls for the original SMB games a little better in All-Stars but also slightly lacking in their original charm (especially SMB3). I can't see any harm in giving people the choice though.

They'll release it as a normal SNES release at some point. It'd be nice if it was a freebie for people who bought the original four games that are in Allstars. Anyway it will happen one day - I think they've released every major Mario game (bar Yoshi's Island) on Virtual Console now so it'll probably sooner than you think.

Don't jump the gun. Mario's Time Machine is still not out.

I'd say A.

They should make Super Mario All*Stars a special offer only to Mario fans who already own the four NES games. But Super Mario All Stars would still cost 800 points though. I'd buy it.

We still have alot of reasonable Mario VC releases to get through before Nintendo would even consider it.
Mario's Time Machine, Mario Is Missing, Mario Kart (SNES) are just a few of the titles we'd need to see released before we could even hope of this happening.

OP, I don't think C is possible since SEGA still hasn't released Sonic & Knuckles, because they can't figure out how to get a "lock-on" system working.

Perhaps All-Stars could be a Club Nintendo offer. That would be a lovely way to use those points I otherwise don't care about.

If they ever decide to release it, it will costs 800 points. I haven't seen any other bargains, or reasons to believe Nintendo would either drive up the price or hook up those who had already bought the seperate 8-bit versions. IMO, tho, All Stars is whack, and I'd rather not see it on the VC at all.

I can't see this happening to be honest, they would be too worried about its impact on the sales of the NES versions, maybe at the end of the wii's run, when they are about to replace it, but | would be hugely surprised if they did this any time soon.

@lockelocke
No, you haven't seen any bargains, but you also haven't seen any game collections, so it would be a special case if they for some crazy reason released it.

I've already voiced my opinion regarding the most likely action Nintendo will take on this if any, but I'd like to add my ideal resolution to the issue: make it a Club Nintendo reward, so that you can basically retrieve a download key (sort of like they use on Amazon now) for this title directly from the Club Nintendo site for some reasonable amount of points. Nothing on the current list of awards interests me much, and I'm looking to spend all those accumulated points I've built up.

@warioswoods

I'm a platinum ClubNintendo member, so I have no complaints with this idea! If I had 800 coins, I MIGHT spring for Game and Watch Collection... But I have 640, and I'm waiting for something mindblowing.

I wonder what our "free-gift" for our status from Ninty will be?

@Chatham

I'm in pretty much the same boat -- can't remember my exact point total now and don't feel like logging in, but it's around ~ 750, and I'm also holding out for better choices. Is there any set time period when this free gift is to be expected? I also need to check up on how the points resetting works, since I've heard that there is a point in the year when old points will be dropped if unused, or something like that.

Yea, I spent the points on G&W Collection just so I can trade it in or sell it or use it as a gift. I haven't even opened it (don't have a DS). Perhaps I'd have been better off saving them, but I certainly give Nintendo enough of my income that I'll have more points soon enough!

You have until June 30th to register stuff/do surveys to earn coins toward your status... the Club Nintendo 'year' ends on the 30th, and everyone's status is reset (though your earned coins will stay so long as their expiration date isn't up; they just won't count toward your status for the next year). That's when they're supposed to announce that year's prizes for those who achieved gold or platinum status during the year, and they're supposed to be shipped to you later on in the actual year.

Your coins will last for two full Club Nintendo years after you've earned them (the example in the FAQ is that if you earned them in March '09, they wouldn't expire until June 30th, 2011).

I had no idea we were even getting a free gift! Thanks for the details, Black Dragon.

Ooh, I like that idea.