A few weeks ago, I logged on to Spotify just like I do any other morning. I queued up my music for the day — titled, blandly, “Work Playlist” — and got to writing and editing documents. As with any effective work playlist, mine is filled with a mix of soothing and stirring instrumentals from across movies and games. From A Short Hike to Shawshank Redemption, my playlist is 4,000 tracks strong and counting, and it’s helped me navigate even the most stressful or mundane days.
But there’s one music maker who’s noticeably absent from my Spotify festivities. They’ve been absent for years, and I always reckoned they’d continue to be absent for many years to come. I’m talking, of course, about Nintendo.
Playing Hardball
Japanese game publishers have always been a bit reticent to include their original soundtracks on major streaming platforms, but none play hooky quite like the Big N. Whereas Sega, Bandai Namco, and even Square Enix have all come to release their albums on everyday platforms listeners use when riding a bike or bus, Nintendo has made a rather long and arduous point of distributing music on its own terms.
Most recently, this resulted in Nintendo Music: a smartphone app dedicated to the Kyoto-based company’s greatest hits. Launched in October 2024 and available only to Nintendo Switch Online subscribers, the app has (slowly, painfully) grown its catalog but remains a clunky way to experience the sounds of Mario, Zelda, and so many other classic franchises. There’s no desktop version, for instance, and any fan who dares upload to YouTube risks a DMCA takedown from Nintendo’s legal team. The app interface itself is serviceable, but the lack of any integration with Spotify or Apple means the music is stranded on a different app and relegated to different playlists. The dream of listening to Nintendo together with the rest of your music catalog is just that: a dream.
At least, that was the case until I checked Spotify in late April to find, to my utter shock, a Super Mario Galaxy advertisement at the top of my desktop app.
Prepare for Takeoff
The banner ad itself is rather barebones. The header reads “Prepare for Takeoff,” followed by an announcement that the Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2 soundtracks are available in a combined playlist for a limited time as part of Nintendo’s 40th anniversary. While not explicitly mentioned, it’s also an obvious tie-in with the Super Mario Galaxy Movie.
In an April 24 announcement blog, Spotify confirmed the collaboration and shared some color behind it:
Nintendo and Spotify are welcoming fans to the Super Mario Bros. 40th anniversary and the release of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie with new playlists and a special in-app experience.
To coincide with the movie’s release this month, Spotify is introducing two new playlists.
Nintendo Game Music Official Playlist: Through official soundtracks from these beloved games, Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2, listeners can relive memories of adventures, characters, and stages on this playlist, experiencing the world of the games on Spotify.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie Official Playlist: A cinematic-worthy audio experience, this playlist features the complete soundtrack from The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. It brings the film’s vibrant energy and emotional depth straight to listeners’ ears, with the heroic anthems and dramatic scores that bring the latest big-screen chapter of Mario’s story to life.
The magic isn’t limited to the music, however. As the songs play, the beloved character Luma will appear directly on the playback bar within the Spotify app for Premium subscribers. It’s a delightful detail designed to deepen the connection between fans and the Super Mario universe.
[…]
Whether fans are OG gamers or younger newcomers to Mario’s adventures, there’s never been a better time to power up headphones and explore the musical galaxy of Super Mario on Spotify.
I can’t speak to the Luma experience (it doesn’t show up on my desktop app, though I assume it’s similar to the lightsaber Spotify added to Star Wars tracks). But the important part of this experience — the music — is very much available. Even now, as of mid-May 2026, you can click into Spotify, listen to Nintendo’s curated playlist, or even add individual Galaxy 1 and 2 tracks to your own work/study/chill playlist of choice.
It’s a welcome change of pace for a company that otherwise seems committed to gatekeeping decades of iconic video game music. As I write this piece, I’m listening to the whimsical “Egg Planet” and conjuring memories of soaring through space, defying gravity, and collecting those wonderful little star bits only to blast them at unsuspecting enemies. Next up: “Rosalina in the Observatory,” a gorgeous backdrop to Galaxy 1′s hub world and fitting introduction to the now-ubiquitous Rosalina.
Now, I can bob and weave from Mario to Final Fantasy to, heck, The Beatles if I really want to. It just feels right. I know Spotify isn’t exactly a saint of a company, but in a world of many evils, I’ll take this collaboration as a slight silver lining. Which begs a question that I’ve been pondering for the past several weeks…
Why “for a limited time”? Why can’t we have one nice thing, Nintendo??
Seriously, Nintendo, Don’t Do This
I know I’m shouting into the ether with this complaint, but I’ll shout nonetheless. Nintendo has this ridiculous tendency to time-cap the silliest things, most often related to its various Mario-related products. I’m fed up with it, and I seriously wish they’d stop.
Take Super Mario 3D All-Stars, a 2020 title that combined Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario Galaxy onto one convenient Nintendo Switch cartridge. The compilation should have been a slam-dunk PR move for Nintendo and its flagship Italian mascot. Instead, it brewed controversy from the moment Nintendo announced that the bundle (devised to celebrate Mario’s then 35th anniversary) was a limited-time offering that would go out of print following the anniversary celebration. Sure enough, Nintendo was true to its word, and you’ll have trouble finding it online for less than $75, let alone at or below sticker price.
The addition of Super Mario Galaxy to Spotify shares similarly icky energy to the Super Mario All-Stars announcement. Both coincide with anniversaries, both involve rekindling nostalgic memories, and both have “blink and you’ll miss it” stipulations. Nintendo continues to manage its vault as if it were the Louvre, and the company treats fans like we’re all out to rob the Mona Lisa. It’s absurd. What’s next? News that Universal’s Super Nintendo World will only run until 2030? Amiibo that’ll disintegrate in your hands?
I love Nintendo games, but I especially love Nintendo music. Nothing beats the reflective tranquility of Ocarina of Time, the trance-like allure of Metroid Prime, or the “if hold music was good” phenomenon that was Wii Sports. I’ll begrudingly break out Nintendo’s phone app to listen to these hits, but I’d much rather have them where I already listen to 99.9% of my other music. As of last month, Nintendo now has an opportunity to do something good.
I look forward to seeing how they fumble this.
David is the founder of The Punished Backlog. He has a problem finishing games he starts.
Just beat: Yakuza 0, Sleeping Dogs.
Working on: Ys VIII.
Can't wait for: GTA VI.
Follow David on Twitter at @David_Silbert to keep up to date with all things The Punished Backlog.
