Super Mario Party has been quite a hit on Nintendo Switch, even if we may not think of it in those terms. Nintendo's most recent figures put it at 7th in the system's best-selling games having shifted nearly 14 million copies, showing the appetite for multiplayer fun on the little system.
It's a strong entry in the series, though perhaps predictably its online play was underwhelming at best, limiting you to a small range of minigames to play with friends or strangers; it was a rather throwaway mode. Somewhat out of the blue, Nintendo has confirmed (on its Japanese website, hat-tip to ResetEra) and now released a big free update to significantly boost online play.
Here are the details [Update, equivalent information from Nintendo of America is live]:
- Three Modes playable online - Mario Party, Partner Party, Free Play (minigames). This makes boards playable online for the first time, and most importantly when playing online all characters and boards are available, regardless of in-game progress.
- You can choose Friend Match (playing with those on your friend list) or Private Game, where lobbies are password-protected. This seems to rule out random players in these expanded modes, which makes sense.
- Up to four players, but if there are two players on one system you can only connected with one other system. When it is one player per system up to four can connect.
- Supports the Invite Friend feature on the system.
- Free Play now allows you to play Vs. or co-op in 70 mini games.
Overall the update is significantly boosting the number of mini games playable online, but more importantly is allowing you to play boards with friends online for the first time.
Nintendo has also confirmed some Nintendo Switch Online promotions for Japan in the announcement, so we'll keep an eye out for equivalents in other regions.
The update is live now, so get downloading! Are you excited about playing Super Mario Party boards online?
[source topics.nintendo.co.jp]
Comments 118
New boards would be welcome as well Nintendo
Okay...?
A sequel is overdue though, ideally with support for up to 8 players locally.
Just in time with the pandemic preventing local play! Good job Nintendo. Swift and speedy as always.
Better late than never, I guess. Online play or not though, I doubt I'll ever touch the game again because it's just not that good. It's not Mario Party 9 or 10 levels of bad but still pretty bad. Would love to see a new game in the series developed by a different studio.
Maybe there's hope for Super Mario Party and MK8 Deluxe DLC after all. Super Mario Party went over 2 and a half years with nothing but a small bug fix patch and then suddenly this comes along.
Better (very) late than never.
I mean. Its late but its definitely a good thing
I mean the game is 2.5 years old at this stage, classic Nintendo.
@Duncanballs that is what i rushed too check out.
This game is in need of new content. I@d gladly buy a DLC with twice the boards at full price
I thought for sure this game was considered dead by Nintendo. So glad they added real online multiplayer. Now that just need to add some classic boards and mini-games from previous Parties and we're all good.
Better late than never lol
Some new boards would be a beautiful finishing touch.
@BenAV Funnily enough, this is the game that non-gaming partners want to play the most when we get together.
I don't disagree that it's both light on content and the minigames are mediocre, but I'm surprised at how often this (and Mario Kart) get brought up.
Also, does that mean I should circle 2025 for DLC?
Too little too late, sold the game ages ago due to no new boards and no proper online play.
I was excited to see whether people would still be complaining. Good news!
...what. Do i gotta buy the game now then.
Unexpected but welcome news.
Previous Nintendo consoles have had 2 or 3 different versions of Mario Party on them so a new game is possible. Perhaps they are releasing this online mode to test the potential for online on Super Mario Party 2...
thats.. actually pretty big. i dont know why they waited so late to add this in but i guess thisll bump SMP interest for some again
And it only took them 2 years
Nintendo, unpredictable as always!
Too late for me.
Sold the game over a year ago.
@JJ_Brum NDCube released Clubhouse Games last year so maybe next year for the next installment?
@shazbot I can understand how some non-gamers might enjoy it, for the same reason that I don't. The balance between luck and skilled feels way too skewed in the luck direction. The number of coins you collect are disproportionate to the costs of stars, items, etc. so actually being good at winning the mini-games doesn't matter as much as it has in past games. The smaller, simpler boards also limits the strategy and decision making aspects. I also hate each character having their own special dice, I much prefer having everyone start with an even playing field.
I don't think everyone realizes that the reason why they did this just now is likely due to the ongoing pandemic preventing people form playing together. Japan alone is still suffering from lockdowns. NDCube is probably ways away from making a new Mario Party game, so this was likely done to alleviate the inability to play with friends in the same rooms.
And before anyone asks "well why wasn't this like this to begin with?" it's likely because they felt they didn't need to at the time of release. The pandemic wasn't a thing in 2018-2019 and most people could just play together whenever they wanted. Times are different now, so this is a good change.
Great news! I just hope my friends still own a copy. I LOVE Mario Party (I'm one of the ''weirdos'' that adored Mario party 9 and 10 too though!)
@C-Olimar They had to make sure it was stable enough haha
Umm, okay?
This probably means no new Mario Party any time soon.
That’s a nice. Thank you so much
Just in time as per usual. /s
Sure it's late and should had been there from the start, but it's a decent update.
Going to let the family know!
Wow, didn't see that one coming! Nice! It'll probably run slower than Ganondorf in Smash but still, neat!
@roboshort
Very doubtful there will be a new Mario Party on Switch with such a big update to this game.
much confusion wow.
That being said a shame the river raft mode is excluded, so many ppl prefer the board mode but i prefer the raft mode.
Nintendo is the Internet Explorer of gaming, and this proves it.
New boards, new minigames pls
@BenAV I've not played it at all, so don't know if I'd enjoy it, but a bit of luck-based gaming doesn't go amiss when you're playing with young people.
This game sold 14 million copies? Wow. Goes to show that Nintendo fans will literally buy anything with Mario's name on it.
@westman98 Pretty much every other game NDCube has been developing since Mario Party 9 is a Mario Party game. Basing it off their history, their next game will be one as well, though it could be a smart phone game.
@Chamver The game sold that much because it's the first half-decent Mario Party in a good while and people were starved for such a thing. It was advertised as a return-to-form. Which, arguably, it probably didn't do a terribly good job of, but it's still a decent game regardless.
Fans don't buy anything with Mario's name on it. Most games, sure, but not all. Mario Tennis Ultra Smash, to name one.
Nice! My partner and I will definitely have to try the online modes out with my brother and his partner soon. Just hope they add a couple more boards to celebrate, would gladly pay for them
Great news, gonna dust off my copy and get online with my pals
Bit late now, that game got traded in almost as soon as it was purchased for me I'm afraid.
But still, it's a very good thing they finally did SOMETHING. Kinda loses it's impact so far down the line though dont'cha think?
This should've been in from the start but better late than never lol. A bit odd they decide to update this game now when they pretty much just released it and never touched it till now. Could this be a hint toward a new Mario Party or at least DLC for Super?
Wow, it took them 2 years or even more? 🤣 Nintendo discovered online gaming, clap clap.
What's even more interesting, can the "great" WiFi connection of the Switch hold a 45 minutes game without breaking up? 😂
Next time someone in these forums tries to make a stodgy, unimaginative comment saying that Nintendo is predictable, I'll remember this...
I am disappointed in some of the comments here. I mean, this is a free update, within the prime lifetime of the console...
@COVIDberry Who says they're predictable? Besides the comments that Nintendo only makes games from Mario, Zelda, and Pokémon, I mainly see people say that Nintendo can be really random and unpredictable at times. Unless I'm missing something
@TryToBeHopeful I guess for a lot of young kids that might be true. Personally I don't think I would have found it to be very engaging even when I was at that age though. I've always enjoyed having elements of luck in games as long as it's well balanced with elements of skill or strategy as well. Too much reliance on luck and I might as well be watching an AI play instead.
"Up to four players, but if there are two players on one system you can only connected with one other system. When it is one player per system up to four can connect"
This is actually a joke. I could name OG xbox games that had better combi play than this.
Is that it? This should have been standard at launch but overall I'm glad I borrowed this from a friend as it's easily one of the worst entries in the series. The mini games are good but the boards are just awful, this game is crying out for more of them and a far higher quality of them too
Well, that came out of left field...
Two and a half years after release, online multiplayer modes get added to a multiplayer game? Could only be Nintendo!
P.S. I actually really enjoy this game and had a lot of fun playing it with the family, but we've gone back to Mario Party 10 on the Wii U in recent months as we missed the excellent boss/miniboss battles from that game.
Who says they're predictable?
@Kirbo100 The sentiment is usually expressed in other terms. I agree with you, though, that many (like myself) see them as unpredictable. I've just read many comments along the lines of:
"Nintendo only does/doesn't..."
"Nintendo just wants..."
"Nintendo will follow x, y, z corporate reflex, they've no plan/imagination"...
This corporation can be surprisingly consumer-friendly one generation, and stingy like the Yamauchi era in the next. With moves like this, or the release of Cadence of Hyrule, I'll humbly say that I don't know what's next...
Is there any matchmaking with randoms online?
That's nice, but we need more boards
@C-Olimar They are not "Just in time", what...
Nintendo finally utilizing Online gameplay... ~15 years after most other companies, but hey, it's finally happening!
@COVIDberry Yeah, they can be pretty topsy-turvy with their business practices and how consumer-friendly/anti-consumer they are. Hopefully, they improve on some of their practices as I feel this Gen has made Nintendo fans the most hostile where most online discussions devolve into heated arguments and general negativity.
Sales were slowing so they updated the game to get some fence sitters to take the plunge.
@Enigk
Sales of Super Mario Party haven't slowed at all. In fact, the game sold more in 2020 than in 2019.
It still begs the question. What are they trying to do?
Nice. That should give players stuck at home more options.
I think they should add dlc and then bundle that dlc with new games instead of making a sequel. All the game needs is new mini games and a couple boards.
Was tempted to pick this up seeing this article
But £45 on amazon? Yeah, right.
Enough people i know own this game just to have some fun with their family. It was heavily bundled with Switch in the U.K so this update is actually the least Nintendo should have done. Hopefully this will mean they either continue to support it or any sequel comes with much better online options from the outset. They should just add a DLC boards pack and make the Base game a "Nintendo Selects" first wave game (along with MK8, BotW and Oddessey).
Man... this would have been so welcome a year ago. I’ll soon be able to get with my friends again cause we’ll all be vaccinated.
The game is 3 years old and these features were need day one!
I question the #7 place sales position, I know not one person who has kept this game after buying it. And I honestly would chalk that up to these features not being a day one thing. I bought 2 copies of it for Christmas so that my daughter and I could play from our homes in different states. Within 10 minutes of opening the game and realizing that we could not actually play the whole game together we decided to sell the games. So how many of this "14 million sold" are still in the hands of the buyer?
Hell yes. They finally did it.
@Ardisan my comment was sarcastic.
Yeah, hope they boost this for games-as-a-service with some DLC and more updates.
"It's a strong entry in the series"
Is it? I've heard people said it was okay, but nothing better. Or is it a case where the past 2 or 3 games were so bad people think it was good just in recent comparisons?
Is this the start of "games as a service"? (Furukawa - "We want to provide games that can allow communication between friends and families.")
The most interesting thing is they've added support for the Switch Invite feature, the first 1st party games to do so I believe. So I'm wondering if they might add it to Mario Kart etc too.
Very neat addition. It’s typically my non-gamer friends who don’t own Switch’s that want to play Super Mario Party (my gaming friends tend to gravitate to Smash or Kart) but this is still super welcome. I’ll have to give it a go some night to see how it runs... that’ll be the kicker cause, you know, Nintendo usually doesn’t do online right.
Also, I’m wondering if this rules out a new Mario Party for this year. Which is odd cause NDCube and Hudson were releasing them near-annually before. All good though, maybe we’ll see a bigger Mario title this Fall/holiday season!
Ok fine I’ll get it now
My biggest issue with this game were the boards. They were some of my least favorite in the series.
About time. Guess I'll give be playing this game again.
I actually quite enjoy Super Mario Party. it's pretty fun for a casual game night, but this game feels like so much wasted potential. I'd definitely buy an expansion dlc with more boards and mini games. But this game desperately needs a simple update giving more options: competitive mode where you can choose the specific bonus stars that will be given at the end (having "just the right ally"? What the hell is that??), and a speed mode. Seriously half the game time is spent watching tedious unskippable animations. I guess it's nice to finally have an online option, but seriously Nintendo, please fix this game. It could so easily be a great game.
Not the best in the series but still something to have some fun with a few people.
And who can complain when you get something for free!
(judging by the comments maybe some do!)
A surprise, to be sure, but a welcome one
Yes!!! All what Nintendo needs to do now is update Mario Maker 2 Online!
Nice. Maybe I will have to get my copy back out.
Is this...the first Nintendo game to support the online play invites feature they added way back in 2019? They really need to start implementing that into other older games and newer releases where it's warranted
Wow! Super Mario Party is FINALLY worth buying, I can finally buy the game with confidence and joy for playing multiplayer online the correct way! 🥳
It only took forever, but better late then never I suppose.
My biggest gripe with this game wasn’t the lack of online but the requirement for tv play - they need to go back and add button controls so it works nicely on the go
I mean very late, but I mean, I'm glad we got it at all, I'm happy, and it's better than getting a whole new Mario Party just for Online Play. Why did nobody else mention that?
This is a nice update, may have to check it out. I got the game on sale and was disappointed with the lack of options online.
Long after I sold the game. Just great Nintendo. Sigh.
This seemed to have come out of nowhere. I only played the online stuff a bit on this because for some reason it lagged a ton for me, more so than anything else I played online. Maybe the experience has been fixed somewhat since then. Cool that they did this though.
About #$%&ing time.
.....new stuff coming to this game!? That would be awesome! Just do some old school party packs and this game is golden.
@BenAV I really agree.
I've been having a ton of fun on Mario Party 5 6 and 7 with my friends recently. The way the game swings and everybody is still in feels so good. The bowser spaces, DK spaces and duels feel like they're meaningful and the items feel genuinely powerful.
In Super Mario Party the boards feel simple and uninspired. The items are absolutely pathetic. WOW I STOLE 5 whole coins. You only have 600 hundred left because the game dishes them out like everybody is a charity case. This is enough to drag it down. Battle minigames being absent is a wrong step too. And I've not even mentioned how pathetic lucky and unlucky spaces are. Or the final 5 turns? they don't mean ANYTHING in this one. In the others Bowser comes and spews 10 bowser spaces or every value is tripled or theres suddenly 5 stars on the board. It's wild in such a fun way.
However the minigames are stellar and the dice blocks are cool. Although I'd like to see more limitations on the dice blocks? maybe a cooldown since some characters have SUCH an advantage. But I like the uniqueness it adds to character choice.
@westman98 Fair enough. That's what happens when you assume.
I'm guessing there's got to be some logistics reason for why this took so long to occur, and why it just seemingly pops out of the blue like this? Because at the moment, I'm left scratching my head trying to figure out why this update is appearing now of all times?
That said, if this is a precursor to more content (like boards), then I'm all for it (even if I have to re-buy the game to take advantage of it).
Still need more boards
Why the arbitrary 2 players per system or 1 player per system? There go my plans of playing remotely with my sister and also having my 2 kids play locally.
Finally!!! Fingers crossed for new boards
@Fleischyy they could simply just add a bunch of button only mini games as dlc and then let the user decide do they want motion play mini games or button based mini games.
@Toads-Friend You're not a weirdo for liking Mario Party 9 and 10. Trust me, I love those games just as much as you do, lol.
So I don't know who to be more pissed at, Nintendo for doing it or you for reporting it, but I'm mad as hell.
Thanks to this, rather then enjoying some of the blissful sleep I so richly deserve, I woke up 3 hours early to my wife jumping on me and telling me we need to play Mario party.
@westman98
I think this is one of those games where people don’t buy it until they feel a need to buy it.
It’s actually really fun with 4 players. I’m willing to bet recent purchases are people getting back together now and wanting something to do that doesn’t involve going out in public.
@C-Olimar Sorry its hard to see that as sarcasm because you'd expect someone to really say and mean that here. My bad.
Forgot I had this. This is great news. Will definitely check it out
"This seems to rule out random players in these expanded modes, which makes sense."
No, it doesn't make sense. At all.
Now they just need to improve the terrible online and maybe I'll be able to play it properly.
@RodSD64 does that mean it doesn't have online matchmaking?
@RodSD64 @Mr-Fuggles777 I'm reading this as I can't hop online and be matched with a few strangers for a board game. I've have to play with people from my Friend list. Can't understand the logic of that.
A surprise to be sure but a welcome one
@Burning_Spear it's the same as what they did with 3d world. Nintendo taking 1 step forward but still staying 50 steps behind everyone else when it comes to online infrastructure.
I would have likely picked it up if it had matchmaking and voice chat as I love a good online boardgame.
Imo, it might as well be the weakest game in the series. Absolutley 0 challenge in the mini games. The most wasted mins of my life trying it. Absolute bore fest.
@Burning_Spear @Mr-Fuggles777
Indeed. You can only play with friends, not with random players.
@RodSD64 You can play with randoms if you put in certain passwords. I found that 1 or 11111 seems to find some games. Just expect lag and many communication errors.
This will be fantastic news one year ago!
@GamerJJ64 We should play Mario Party online together!! M
I truly hope the lockdown opened Nintendo's eyes. Where are the multiplayer games with that Nintendo touch?! This update sure is nice but Super Mario Party is not a very interesting game. Although I have fun playing it now with my nephews. Now why this update and why now?! Animal Crossing i a huge succes, thanks to the lockdowns and thanks to the online mode. But there is also so much wasted potential. I opt for a Super Mario Party 2, with seamless online gameplay up to 8 players in any formation. 3 at my brothers house, two in my house and two separate friends that also hop in. Plus an option to save a long game and continue later. Plus diverse game modes. Plus a collection of adventurous boards. Nintendo can do it, Nintendo can serve the world in lockdown and make it a better place.
@Toads-Friend Yeah, that would be awesome. I wish there was a way to play the older Mario Party titles online though.
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