Nintendo drops free Switch games in the My Mario line for kids

Nintendo quietly released two free Switch games to expand its My Mario line aimed at young children who are the potential Switch gamers of the future. Hello, Peach! and Hello, Luigi! are now available on the Nintendo eShop for the Switch, and both are free to download.

As the names suggest, each game is built around a single character in the Mario universe. Players use the Switch touchscreen to interact with Princess Peach or Luigi, which keeps things suited to the youngest audience. There are no complicated controls to learn, so kids can pick up the console and start tapping right away.

The new releases follow Hello, Mario! and Hello, Yoshi!, which Nintendo launched earlier, bringing the My Mario series to four games in total. The lineup is clearly meant as a gentle first introduction into gaming rather than a full Mario adventure like the platformers and kart racers the company is better known for.

One detail parents will probably appreciate is that neither game needs an internet connection. Once downloaded, they can be played offline, which makes them handy for car rides, flights, or any place where Wi-Fi is spotty. It also means there is no online interaction to worry about, which is a sensible choice for a product aimed at kiddos.

Nintendo also plans to bring the games to iOS and Android at a later date. That is a notable move for a company that has traditionally kept most of its software tied to its own hardware, although it has dabbled in mobile before. There is no release window for the mobile versions, though, so it is not clear how soon families that have not shelled for a Switch on Amazon will be able to try them.

Nintendo has not said whether more characters are on the way, but with four games out already, a larger My Mario universe may be in store relatively soon, hopefully all for free.