Nintendo is planning to kick the 3DS's sales into full gear over the next year with the release of a fresh Super Mario game and a steady stream of other hot titles throughout its 2012 fiscal period, running April 1, 2012 to March 31, 2013.

As detailed in Satoru Iwata's Third Quarter Financial Briefing, the Big N is building a “totally new” side-scrolling Super Mario game for the 3DS. Iwata also promised a higher consistency of top-tier releases, citing Kid Icarus, Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, Theatrhythm Final Fantasy, and Metal Gear Solid 3D Snake Eater as just a few examples.

“There will be more and more highly-anticipated titles for the Nintendo 3DS even in the U.S. and Europe where home console game systems lead the market,” he pledged. “In addition, we absolutely need to keep the vitality of evergreen titles and release new key titles seamlessly for the Nintendo 3DS in order to maintain the momentum of the platform throughout the year.”

Iwata offered no information about the new Super Mario adventure beyond the fact it would be a 2D title, however we can infer from title and Nintendo's history that there will be plumbers, stars, and possibly a princess in distress. Judging by Nintendo's news that Super Mario 3D Land has become the first game to sell over 5 million copies, we can also assume anything invoking the Mario name and/or image will also sell a ridiculous amount of copies regardless of its dimensions.