Super Mario Odyssey announced for late 2017 release on Nintendo Switch

Nintendo has unveiled Super Mario Odyssey, a sandbox-style 3D platformer for its new Nintendo Switch console. The game will launch in holiday 2017 for Nintendo's home-handheld hardware.

The announcement came at Nintendo's Switch bumper reveal, where it debuted a brief, colourful gameplay which showed the Japanese giant's mascot jumping around real world environments, with elements of previous Mario titles — both 3D and 2D — mixed into gameplay.

As well as a Mexican-themed level shown at the Switch's initial reveal in December 2016, the trailer (embedded below) also took Mario to a facsimile of New York City full of human passers-by, yellow taxi cabs and skyscrapers.

Other worlds appeared to show more traditional Mario-style environments, with other classic characters such as Princess Peach and Bowser popping up too. The overall gameplay appears to take cues from Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Galaxy, with other features — such as throwing around items — taken from the franchise's classic back catalogue.

Another new feature plays into using Mario's hat as a projectile, with his red cap seemingly doubled up as a companion character as well.

While initial speculation had pegged the next Super Mario game as a Nintendo Switch launch title, the title will miss the 3 March global launch and instead arrive in the summer months. The game will be able to be played both on the move and on a TV using the Nintendo Switch's unique hardware capabilities. More on the revealed features of the Nintendo Switch here.

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