Remembering Nintendo's Disastrous 'Year of Luigi'
It's not easy being a younger brother, especially when the elder sibling is the biggest icon in gaming history. But Luigi tries his best, and while he may always be outshined by his older plumber brother, he's not without his fans, or his own series of great video games. Along with appearing in all of Mario's mainline titles for the past few decades, Luigi is the star of his own Luigi's Mansion series, which sees the green-clad plumber use his skills to bust some ghosts. Nintendo doesn't always give Luigi the spotlight, but when it does, it does so in style.
In February 2013, Nintendo announced that for the next 12 months, the "Year of Luigi" would be celebrated. While the initial announcement was met with a decent wave of fan appreciation for the often overshadowed brother, Nintendo's "Year of Luigi" happened to begin just a few months after the release of the Wii U, culminating in a year of record loss for the company.
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The idea was simple, Luigi had been appearing in games since 1983, so 2013 marked his 30th anniversary. To celebrate this pretty big milestone, Nintendo announced during its February 2013 Direct that the "Year of Luigi" was upon gamers, and that over the next 12 months, Nintendo would release a wide range of Luigi-themed merchandise, DLCs, and full video game experiences.
Over the course of the 37-minute Nintendo Direct, a few games featuring Luigi were previewed. Shigeru Miyamoto previewed the upcoming Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, while Mario & Luigi: Dream Team and Mario Golf: World Tour were both announced and shown. The Direct also saw the reveal of New Super Luigi U, an expansion pack for New Super Mario Bros. U that
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