Super Mario 3DS set for 2011

The 3DS may have launched with neither hide nor hair of mascots Mario and Link, but it seems both of Nintendo's iconic action heroes should appear on the system by the end of the year. Nintendo has already dated The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time 3D for June 19, and renowned designer Shigeru Miyamoto this week told Edge that the first Mario 3DS game is "coming this year."

It is not the first time Miyamoto has talked about Mario's 3DS debut, but it is the first time the project has been given a release window. In February, he confirmed that he was working on a new Super Mario Bros. game for the 3DS. The following month, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata used his Game Development Conference keynote address to confirm that the game would be a 3D entry in the series, as opposed to one of the New Super Mario Bros. 2D revamps.

While Miyamoto didn't reveal much more about the game, he did tell Edge, "It's a combination of Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario on N64. It won't convey the message if I talk to you today, but if you play it at E3, that will give you more understanding of what I'm talking about."

The 2011 Electronic Entertainment Expo is set for June 7-9 in Los Angeles.