Between 1992 and 2006, Nintendo released exactly zero 2D Mario sidescrollers. In that 14 year span, the only new 2D Mario platformer content was a set of expansion levels for Super Mario Bros. 3, which were only accessible by scanning cards with a barcode reader. Not all the cards were available worldwide.

These new Super Mario Bros. 3 levels, dubbed “World-e” were made available to the world with the Wii U port of Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3.