Super Mario Bros. 3DS confirmed

Work is underway on a new Super Mario Bros. game for the 3DS, Nintendo lynchpin Shigeru Miyamoto has confirmed.

Speaking in a new Iwata Asks interview on the platform holder's official site, Miyamoto announced, "In the interests of adopting new technology for the Super Mario Bros. tradition, I am now making a new Super Mario Bros. game for the Nintendo 3DS system."

No further details were offered but, referencing a comment from Mario co-creator Takashi Tezuka regarding how Mario games must always be family friendly, Miyamoto added that every entry series needed new elements. Presumably the plumber's 3DS incarnation will be no different.

"I think Tezuka-san is exactly right about making something that families can enjoy together," he explained, "but I also think it's important to always use the most advanced technology for Mario in order to create something no one has ever seen before.

"Of course, it's important to make sure people still say things like "Falling down the holes is the most fun!" but something new is necessary for other aspects of the games, and it's those new elements that make a Super Mario Bros. game what it is. "

Mario's last 2D outing, 2009's excellent New Super Mario Bros. Wii, successfully bolted cooperative and competitive multiplayer onto the series' core platforming formula, helping the game win a 9/10 from Eurogamer's Oli Welsh.

Miyamoto didn't reveal how long we'd have to wait to find out what the 3DS iteration adds to the franchise, but he seemed pretty pumped about it, insisting "I want to show everyone as soon as possible what the new Super Mario Bros. will be like on the Nintendo 3DS."