Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door Remake Was Ready For Release Last Year

Summary

• It turns out that Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door was classified in June 2023, nearly a year before its release.
• This wouldn't be the first time this has happened, as Metroid Prime Remastered and Fire Emblem Engage were also classified well before launching.
• Nintendo's strategy remains mysterious - holding off releases may indicate a need for extra development time or a cache of potential releases.

Right now, thousands of Nintendo fans are going through Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. For some, it's their first time playing one of the GameCube's best games, and for others, they're replaying a classic. And, of course, there's the subset of people looking to get their hands on the limited edition GameCube cover art -- don't worry, we have you covered.

But as it turns out, the game could have come out a lot earlier. How much earlier? An entire year. That's if a classification on Germany's rating organization, which is better known as the USK, is to be believed.

Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door Understands That Toads Need Personality

The GameCube classic hasn't aged a day.

Taking to Twitter, pierre485_, who has previously reported on Nintendo rating classifications, shared that The Thousand-Year Door had been classified all the way back in June 2023. In other words, Nintendo seemingly had been sitting on releasing the game for an entire year.

Check it out:

This Wouldn't Be The First Time A Nintendo Game Was Classified Early

Avid Nintendo fans might remember that The Thousand-Year Door was announced in September 2023 during a Nintendo Direct. It received a release date in early March of this year, and then launched earlier this week on May 23.

This recent development isn't all too surprising, though. In fact, it's another trend when it comes to Nintendo games. Previously, in early 2023, it was revealed that Metroid Prime Remastered was classified by USK, the same board that classified The Thousand-Year Door, all the way back in July 2021. Prime Remastered launched nearly two years later in 2023.

Adding fuel to the fire is a similar situation involving Fire Emblem Engage. That game was also classified in 2021, according to reporting by My Nintendo News, by both the USK and Australian Classification Board. It later launched in January 2023.

It's hard to say why this has been the case for multiple Nintendo games. For one, Nintendo could have needed extra development time on either of those three titles before confirming a solid release date. On the other hand, perhaps Nintendo has built up a cache of potential releases that it holds until it's necessary.

Either way, it's an intriguing development. One that has us wondering what else Nintendo has in its back pocket. Is there a classification for a Wind Waker HD re-release that we don't know about? Here's hoping.

Seeing Pokémon Merch In The Wild Makes Me Feel Like Nothing Has Changed Since The ’90s

Pikachu, Squirtle, Bulbasaur, and Charmander still have a place on fans' t-shirts nearly three decades after Pokemon Red and Blue.