If you pre-ordered your copy of Super Mario 3D All-Stars you might find some bad news in your inbox. Across Twitter, Mario fans are reporting ‘delay’ emails from a variety of retailers around the world. This is in part due to a shortage in stock as the title is ‘limited time’ as well as delivery issues.
After March 21, 2021 fans will no longer be able to purchase the game physically or digitally, a fact which has created huge artifical desire for the game. This, coupled with the challenges of delivery in the coronavirus era, means you may not be able to get stuck into all the wonderful Mario goodness this Friday.
Amazon is one of the stockists caught up in the delay, but reports from the UK indicate other online retailers are facing a similar struggle. These reports indicate low stock allocations are mostly to blame, with claims Nintendo has not fulfilled all orders placed.
If you pre-ordered from Amazon Australia, you may see the following message in your inbox:
I’m curious how many other people just got this email from Amazon. Bummer. pic.twitter.com/AKGYLxHm1u
— Jamie Galea (@jamiemgalea) September 15, 2020
The text reads: “As we continue to adhere to guidance from local health authorities, some of our delivery times may be longer than usual and you might not recieve your item on release day. We realise this wasn’t what you expected when you place your order.”
Cancellations are being offered to those who don’t wish to wait.
As the coronavirus pandemic continues to impact global manufacturing, production lines and local delivery, delays like this are likely to become more frequent. In Australia, the postal service is already feeling the major shockwaves from coronavirus with Victoria largely being avoided in delivery chains. (You may notice your parcels heading through Queensland, rather than Melbourne.)
It appears retailers like JB Hi-Fi may already have stock in-hand with confirmation from several customers on Twitter for ‘click and collect’ services, but if you ordered your copy by post you may be in for a longer wait.
The availability of Super Mario 3D All-Stars in the future is also currently up in the air due to the ‘special’ nature of the release. If you haven’t pre-ordered, you may face local stock shortages. Stay tuned to your local games retailer if you’re looking to reserve your copy before time runs out.
Update 2:19 p.m. AEST 17/9: An Amazon spokesperson provided the following statement to Kotaku Australia: “As we continue to adhere to guidance from local health authorities, some of our delivery times may be longer than usual and some customers may not receive items on release days. We thank customers for their understanding during this time.” They also stated there were no local issues with stock.
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