Super Mario Bros. 3DS en route

Nintendo has already announced a number of expected first-party titles for the 3DS, its glasses-free 3D handheld device that is due for release in the US on March 27. Included among these titles are Kid Icarus: Uprising, Star Fox 64 3D, Paper Mario, Animal Crossing, Mario Kart, and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

One obvious omission from this list is its hallmark platformer Super Mario Bros., but that will soon be rectified. As part of a new "Iwata Asks" interview posted to Nintendo's official website, design guru Shigeru Miyamoto confirmed that he is at work on a new Super Mario Bros. title for the 3DS.

"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," Miyamoto told Nintendo president Satoru Iwata as part of the interview. "I want to show everyone as soon as possible what the new Super Mario Bros. will be like on the Nintendo 3DS."

Unfortunately, Miyamoto did not provide a more specific time period for when Super Mario Bros. 3DS will be formally unveiled.

After 25 years on the market, the Super Mario Bros. franchise hasn't lost any of its vigor. As part of the company's blundering fiscal report last week, the publisher said that New Super Mario Bros. on the DS sold 3.73 million units worldwide from April-December 2010, bringing its lifetime total to 26.21 million units. New Super Mario Bros. Wii exhibited equally impressive numbers, selling 6.58 million units during the quarter and 21.28 million units total.