Super Mario 3D All-Stars received a new update—1,567 days after being removed from sale. After nearly four years and four months, the new update optimized the game for the Switch 2.

Over 152 million Switches have been sold. In just over a month, the Switch 2 has sold over 5 million consoles. Meanwhile, the Super Mario game was only allowed to be sold for six months, and reached around 9 million copies. That leaves a lot of Switch owners without access to the trio that started Mario’s 3D journey. 

Updating the game years later proves it wasn’t removed because it couldn’t succeed long term, but because being limited upped the stakes. Buy it now, or forever hold your peace.

It’s one of the clearest examples of false scarcity built in at every level of the gaming industry. 

All-Stars isn’t even Nintendo’s only instance of creating hype in such a way. Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light was released on the Switch for the first time outside of Japan for its 30th anniversary. That game, too, was only available for about four months.

The world has gone past limited release physical and special editions. Entire games are disappearing; not even digital editions are available to purchase.

It’s a model for the industry that doesn’t benefit consumers. The fear of missing out leads to impulsive and panic purchases in a time when people’s finances are stretched thinner than ever.

The false sense of scarcity isn’t limited to just the game as a whole.

More and more games are implementing seasons and battle passes. Free-to-play games are especially reliant on limited-time cosmetics. If you want to build the character the way you want, or fit in to the current themes, you’re expected to spend regularly just to keep up.

Certain games allow you to go back and buy older cosmetics, but not all of them. The Finals, a free first-person shooter, adds previous season battle passes alongside the current. It’s a nice gesture, but it’s also just another money-sink for items that aren’t actually necessary to play the game.

Without those cosmetics, it’s obvious who spends money for the extra content and who doesn’t. Most of the better players do tend to have premium content for their character, and those using base characters feel judged for not looking unique enough.

“In many ways, modern day FOMO is similar to the long-time phenomenon known as ‘Keeping up with the Joneses’ — the pressure of having to meet or exceed your neighbor’s social status, wealth and popularity,” according to the Cleveland Clinic.

I’ve fallen victim to it.

While playing The Finals and seeing others in their fancy gear, I bought a premium loadout for my character because they had a limited time offer on a set of clothes that fit my vibe, followed up by a retro-techie battle pass.

Some physical releases may justify limits. But this is the digital age, and big releases have zero reason for time limits of four to six months before potential customers are turned away.

Now, even game delistings are announced ahead of time, not just as a notice to consumers, but to pressure them: get our game now or you never will. It’s another marketing tactic to boost sales on a game that may have lost popularity over time.

Publishers now have more power than ever to prioritize consumers and preserve access to their creations. Instead, there are more ways than ever for corporate greed to take directly from our pocketbooks.