The Super Mario series may be the plumber's flagship series, but it's certainly not the sole reason why Nintendo's mascot character became the gaming industry's biggest icon, as the Mario franchise has supplemented classic platforming games like Super Mario World and Super Mario 64 with numerous sports and racing games, most notably the Mario Kart series.
Over the years, Mario, along with his friends and enemies, have put their differences aside to compete in a huge range of sports, including tennis, baseball, and golf. The franchise's sporting releases don't appear to be slowing down anytime soon either, as Mario Golf: Super Rush was recently released in 2021, while Mario Strikers: Battle League is set to hit stores in June 2022.
Considering how popular Mario sports games have been, Nintendo will likely be looking to expand the platformer's sporting skill set in the coming years to cover new sports. If Nintendo does decide to go that route, there are plenty of sports that would be perfectly suited to the cast of Mario characters. Although some of these sports have appeared as mini-games in the Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games series, they are yet to be featured as full releases.
5 Pro Wrestling
A Mario wrestling game was once close to being a reality, as Nintendo worked on a game that was set to be titled Super Mario Spikers in the mid-2000s, which would have featured a unique blend of wrestling and volleyball. Unfortunately, the ambitious game was canceled. Although this idea sounds like it could have been great, a game that introduces the Mario cast to the bizarre and over-the-top world of professional wrestling sounds even more tantalizing.
Professional wrestling is known for ridiculous moves, extreme match conditions, and larger-than-life characters, which all sound perfectly suited to the Mario universe. Moreover, wrestling video games have always been popular among people with no real interest in shows like WWE or AEW, as the Royal Rumble, Hell in a Cell, and Ladder matches are great fun with friends.
Although the cast of Mario characters can carry a pro wrestling game on their own, it would be great for both gameplay and marketing if characters like The Rock, Hulk Hogan, and John Cena were featured in the game.
4 Cricket
On the one hand, it's surprising that Mario Cricket hasn't become a reality, considering that cricket is the second most-watched sport in the world. Though on the other hand, it makes sense that Bowser hasn't tried to take Mario's head off with a bouncer yet, as cricket isn't popular in Japan or North America.
However, it's fair to say that people don't play Mario sports games because they want an accurate representation of their favorite sport, so if Nintendo believes that they can make a cricket game with Mario work, then it could be a major success for the sporting series and also help the sport reach new countries.
3 American Football
Football essentially has the reverse problem as Cricket, as the sport is very popular in the US but struggles to garner much interest elsewhere.
Along with football only being popular in the US, it's also a very stop-start sport, which could put a lot of people off in a Mario game, particularly kids. However, Mario recently found success with the turn-based strategy game Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, which is set to get a sequel soon, so there may still be hope for Mario to test his throwing arm yet. A Mario football game that leans into the strategy side of the sport could work very well, as it would differentiate the game from the many Mario sports releases that simply focus on nonsensical fun.
2 Rugby
If the stop-start nature of football is indeed an issue for Nintendo, then rugby could provide the perfect solution, keeping younger audiences engaged with its more fast-paced action.
Rugby removes the numerous stoppages and abundance of protective gear from football and lets players battle it out in a notoriously rough and fast-paced sport. Real-life rugby does, of course, have rules in place to make the game as safe as possible, though these can be thrown out of the window for an action-packed Mario rugby game, which has the potential to be hilariously, cartoonishly violent, and engagingly action-packed.
1 Skateboarding
Skateboarding and video games have always gone hand-in-hand well, most notably with the Skate and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater franchises. Not only is it great fun to rack up high scores by pulling off spectacular tricks and combos, but the Skate series' exploration, and the Pro Skater series' enjoyable mission objectives, have always led to great fun, especially with friends.
A Mario skateboarding game seems like a no-brainer, as being able to perform over-the-top tricks, complete side objectives, and freely explore levels inspired by some of the Mario universe's most iconic kingdoms, courses, and platforming levels seems like it could be a ton of fun and have high sales potential.