It looks like Nintendo might have something in store for everyone's favorite gaseous anti-hero. A set of trademarks were filed by Nintendo's Japanese branch that include some of the games shown in the most recent Nintendo Direct. Among those trademarks was something for "Wario Land." While not much other details are known, this is the second new trademark filed for the name Wario Land this year.
The trademarks were filed specifically for "downloadable video game programs" according to Japanese Nintendo. This lines up with what was shown in the Nintendo Direct. Octo was another filed trademark, no doubt in reference to Splatoon 2's upcoming octopus-themed DLC. The Virtual Console remakes of Luigi's Mansion and WarioWare also show up on the trademark list. By this logic, it seems that this new Wario Land will be downloadable in some way.
There are, however, some additions that seem to break the chain. Metroid Prime and Smash Bros. trademarks were filed as well, probably for the announced Nintendo Switch iterations of those series. If that is true, those wouldn't strictly be downloadable games. Huge titles like Metroid and Smash Bros would get physical releases in addition to virtual ones. So maybe this trademark just refers to the versions of the games that will be available for download on the Nintendo eShop.
The other question is what platform this alleged Wario Land would appear on. The trademark list includes games that were announced for both Switch and 3DS. So really, all eager fans have to go on right now is that Wario Land has a trademark. Actually, two trademarks. This might be a brand new Switch Wario Land, a downloadable rerelease of the old Wario Land on 3DS, or even a Wario Land mobile game. The only thing Wario fans can do now is wait for a future announcement, and moan at the lack of any Waluigi trademark.
As E3 fast approaches, gamers will no doubt be seeing many of these speculative quasi-announcements. Nintendo and the other video game companies will do all they can to keep people from probing their secrets, and people will try even harder as a result. If you like surprises, you might want to browse your favorite gaming sites carefully in the coming weeks. But if you want more of these peeks behind Nintendo's curtain, stay tuned.