is a ''

Mario is a character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the ''Mario'' franchise and the mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creat ...

sports game A sports video game is a video game that simulates the practice of sports. Most sports have been recreated with a game, including team sports, track and field, extreme sports, and combat sports. Some games emphasize actually playing the sport (s ...

developed by

Camelot Software Planning (doing business as Camelot Software Planning) is a Japanese video game developer established in 1990 under the name Sega CD4, but quickly renamed to Sonic! Software Planning. Named after Sonic the Hedgehog, they were closely involved with Se ...

and published by

Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles. Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...

for the

Nintendo 3DS The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo. It was announced in March 2010 and unveiled at E3 2010 as the successor to the Nintendo DS. The system features backward compatibility with Nintendo DS video games. As an eighth-generatio ...

. The game was developed by

Camelot Camelot is a castle and court associated with the legendary King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and, since the Lancelot-Grail cycle, eventually came to be described as th ...

, the company that produced most of the previous ''

Mario Tennis ''Mario Tennis'' is a 2000 sports video game developed by Camelot Software Planning and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. Following ''Mario's Tennis'', it is the second game in the ''Mario Tennis'' series. The game is known for being ...

'' titles. The game was first released on May 20, 2012 in North America and in other regions the same month. It was later released as a downloadable title on the

Nintendo eShop The Nintendo eShop is a digital distribution service powered by the Nintendo Network for the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS, and by a dedicated online infrastructure for the Nintendo Switch. Launched in June 2011 on the Nintendo 3DS, the eShop was en ...

in late 2012 and

Nintendo Selects ''Nintendo Selects'' (formerly ''Player's Choice'') was a marketing label used by Nintendo to promote video games on current Nintendo game consoles that have sold well. ''Nintendo Selects'' titles were sold at a lower price point (usually $19.99 ...

in 2015/2016. Like the earlier ''Mario Tennis'' titles, ''Mario Tennis Open'' incorporates characters, settings, and scenarios from the ''Mario'' franchise. Players can engage in standard

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

matches but also play special variants with different rules and objectives. Twenty-four distinct

playable character A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters that are not contr ...

s are available, each with special qualities that are used to the players' advantage. ''Mario Tennis Open'' is also the first ''Mario Tennis'' game to feature simultaneous

online play An online game is a video game that is either partially or primarily played through the Internet or any other computer network available. Online games are ubiquitous on modern gaming platforms, including PC game, PCs, Console game, consoles and ...

. ''Mario Tennis Open'' received mixed to positive reviews, gaining aggregate scores of 69.54% on

GameRankings GameRankings was a video gaming review aggregator that was founded in 1999 and owned by CBS Interactive. It indexed over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 video games. GameRankings was discontinued in December 2019, with its staff bei ...

and 69 on

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

Gameplay

''Mario Tennis Open'' features variants of tennis matches, played either in singles or doubles. Different shots (lobs, slices, and dropshots) can be executed with different

button A button is a fastener that joins two pieces of fabric together by slipping through a loop or by sliding through a buttonhole. In modern clothing and fashion design, buttons are commonly made of plastic but also may be made of metal, wood, o ...

combinations or by selecting them from the Nintendo 3DS touch screen. In addition, the player can use the 3DS gyroscope to turn the in-game camera by rotating the entire console during gameplay. ''Mario Tennis Open'' does not feature any RPG elements, unlike the previous

handheld A mobile device (or handheld computer) is a computer small enough to hold and operate in the hand. Mobile devices typically have a flat LCD or OLED screen, a touchscreen interface, and digital or physical buttons. They may also have a physical ...

games ''

'' and '' Mario Tennis: Power Tour''. ''Mario Tennis Open'' features twenty-four playable ''Mario'' characters, with four being unlocked by accomplishing specific tasks, and eight more being unlocked by scanning certain QR codes. Each character possesses a pre-determined skill, such as advantages in speed, offense, or defense.

Mii A Mii ( ) is a customizable avatar used on several Nintendo video game consoles and mobile apps. Miis were first introduced on the Wii console in 2006 and later appeared on the 3DS, Wii U, the Switch, and various apps for smart devices. Miis c ...

characters saved in the Nintendo 3DS Mii Maker are also selectable. Unlike the ''Mario'' characters, Mii characters' skills vary and are customizable, determined by the tennis gear the player equips. The gear options are purchased using coins that are awarded after playing each game mode. However, costumes are obtained by completing certain objectives. ''Mario Tennis Open'' supports both

online In computer technology and telecommunications, online indicates a state of connectivity and offline indicates a disconnected state. In modern terminology, this usually refers to an Internet connection, but (especially when expressed "on line" or ...

and local wireless

multiplayer A multiplayer video game is a video game in which more than one person can play in the same game environment at the same time, either locally on the same computing system (couch co-op), on different computing systems via a local area network, or ...

, allowing up to four players to play simultaneously on separate Nintendo 3DS consoles. When a player's Nintendo 3DS console comes in contact with another via

StreetPass SpotPass and StreetPass are communication systems first introduced in the Nintendo 3DS. SpotPass was later incorporated into the Nintendo 2DS, models of the New 3DS and New 2DS, and Wii U game consoles. SpotPass delivers content from the Interne ...

, he will be able to play against a computer-controlled opponent whose play style mimics that of the other player, provided that the other console also contains ''Mario Tennis Open'' save data.

Reception

''Mario Tennis Open'' has received mixed to positive reviews, with aggregate scores of 69.26 percent on

and 69 on

. ''

Nintendo Power ''Nintendo Power'' was a video game news and strategy magazine from Nintendo of America, first published in July/August 1988 as Nintendo's official print magazine for North America. The magazine's publication was initially done monthly by Ninten ...

'' scored ''Mario Tennis Open'' 7.0 out of 10 in its May 2012 issue.

Game Informer ''Game Informer'' (''GI'', most often stylized ''gameinformer'' from the 2010s onward) is an American monthly video game magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of video games and associated consoles. It debuted in August 1991 w ...

gave the game an 8 out of 10 while Nintendo World Report gave it a 7.5 out of 10. As of August 12, 2012, the game has sold 280,000 copies in Japan. As of March 31, 2013, the game has worldwide sales of 1.11 million.

References

External links

''Mario Tennis Open''
American site

Japanese site
''Mario Tennis Open''
Australian site
''Mario Tennis Open''
European site {{Authority control 2012 video games Camelot Software Planning games Video game sequels Nintendo 3DS games Nintendo 3DS eShop games Nintendo 3DS-only games Nintendo Network games Mario Tennis Tennis video games Video games developed in Japan Video games scored by Motoi Sakuraba Multiplayer online games Multiplayer and single-player video games