Howdy, hoopers! Welcome to another edition of Box Art Brawl.
Before we check up for this week’s one-on-one, let’s remind ourselves what went down last time. It was an East vs West battle, as we matched up two covers from the GameCube’s Tales of Symphonia. Alas, it was not a close one. The European / North American design pulled in a whopping 85% of the vote, leaving Japan with the remaining 15%.
This week, to celebrate the arrival of MAR10 Day (and Bam’s historic NBA performance), we’re checking out Mario Hoops 3 on 3 — or Mario Slam Basketball, for those in Europe. This cracking little hooper launched on DS back in September 2006, meaning we’ve been waiting almost 20 years for a sequel now. Sigh.
There are just two covers to choose between this week, so let’s dribble down and meet them.
Oof, talk about covers that go hard. The North American design wastes no time showing us what this one is all about. We’ve got Mario dunking on DK, Luigi showing off some slick shell handles in the background, and… is that Peach with a bomb? All of that on a lush beach court. What’s not to like, eh?
The European and Japanese covers are a little more stripped back, by comparison, but there’s something eye-catching about their simplicity. A slightly different Mario dunking model still takes centre stage, though the NA court has been replaced by a block red background. Giant “M-A-R-I-O” letters adorn it, each containing a different Hoops character to flex the game’s roster.
Which region got the best Mario Hoops 3 on 3 box art? (21 votes)
North America67%
Europe / Japan33%
Thank you for voting! We’ll see you next week for another edition of Box Art Brawl!
Although rumours about a new expansion for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt have been swirling about, don’t expect to hear anything from CD Projekt’s other game, Cyberpunk 2077.
In response to a fan asking about future DLC, the official Cyberpunk 2077 social media account has ruled out “additional DLCs or expansions”, mentioning how there are “no plans”. However, if “anything changes” in the future, the team would be sure to provide an update. Admittedly, it’s not first time it’s said it’s done with this particular game.
“We have no plans for additional DLCs or expansions. If anything changes, we will inform you all!”
So, to be clear, you’ll just have to make do with what’s already on offer in Night City in the foreseeable future. In saying this, CD Projekt already has more projects in the pipeline for the Cyberpunk universe, including a sequel, but it won’t be showing up any time soon.
This update about Cyberpunk’s future follows previous reports about a Cyberpunk expansion that was supposedly cancelled.
Cyberpunk 2077 finally got a Nintendo release last June, alongside the launch of the Switch 2. This Ultimate Edition comes with the base game and the Phantom Liberty expansion. In our review here on Nintendo Life, we called it a superb port of an incredible RPG.
Have you taken a trip to Night City yet? How would you feel if this is it for Cyberpunk 2077? Let us know in the comments.
Remember how the Japanese accessory maker HORI released racing wheels that were compatible with the Switch title Mario Kart 8 Deluxe? Well, a Mario Kart World ‘Deluxe’ model and ‘Mini’ model will be released later this month for the Switch 2.
According to online retailer listings, both of these wheels will go on sale on 23rd March 2026. The Deluxe model will be around $130 USD and the Mini model will set you back $80 USD (or your regional equivalent), with pre-orders now available.
While they might not look much different to the Switch versions, which are already compatible with the Switch 2, these slightly updated wheels now have a ‘C’ button for GameChat (previously the ‘assign’ button on the existing models). There are also Mario Kart World logos included on each wheel!
Here’s the description of the Deluxe and Mini, along with a look:
Hori Mario Kart Racing Wheel Pro Deluxe for Switch 2
“Go big in racing with the HORI Mario Kart Racing Wheel Pro Deluxe for Nintendo Switch™ 2. The larger deluxe version of the Racing Wheel Pro is ideal for Mario Kart World, and compatible with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and other racing game titles. The ergonomic wheel design with textured rubber grips, pedals and paddles, and convenient onboard controls are built to create an immersive racing experience. Adjust the Dead Zone and 7 levels of sensitivity for smoother handling. Switch between 270- and 180-degree steering outputs. Assign functions to the programmable buttons with ease. Includes the C button for GameChat (*Internet, Nintendo Account and Nintendo Switch Online membership (sold separately) may be required for chat features). Compatible with Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch – OLED Model.”
Hori Mario Kart Racing Wheel Pro Mini for Switch 2
Enjoy speeding through Mario Kart World with the HORI Mario Kart Racing Wheel Pro Mini for Nintendo Switch™ 2. It is also compatible with Mario Kart 8 and other racing games. The compact ergonomic wheel features, pedals, racing paddles, and convenient onboard controls for an immersive racing experience. Assign functions to the programmable buttons with ease, including the Item button – the Mario “M” mark – in the center of the wheel. Includes the C button for GameChat (*Internet, Nintendo Account and Nintendo Switch Online membership (sold separately) may be required for chat features). Compatible with Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch – OLED Model.
Of course, like the existing Hori wheels for Switch, these latest ones for the Switch 2 should also be compatible with other racing games on the Switch 2. And as noted in the description above, the wheels are compatible with the original Switch and OLED model.
What are your thoughts about these products returning for Mario Kart World? Do you already have the original wheels? Let us know in the comments.
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Amazon’s M5 MacBook Pro sale delivers steep discounts on multiple configurations, from the standard model for $1,399 to the upgraded 1TB spec for $1,499.
March MacBook Pro deals are in full swing, with the standard M5/16GB/512GB spec discounted to $1,399.99, reflecting a $200 markdown off MSRP.
Prefer more storage? The 1TB M5 model with 16GB of memory is marked down to $1,499 — also a $200 discount off Apple’s new MSRP of $1,699 (and the lowest price ever).
You can also pick up a MacBook Air at a discount, with this closeout M4/16GB/512GB spec that’s down to an all-time low price of $1,079 while supplies last.
Apple shuttered its Grand Central Terminal store on March 13 for a surprise Alicia Keys concert, marking the start of 50th anniversary celebrations.
Apple CEO Tim Cook showed up with several senior executives. They transformed one of Apple’s most iconic retail spots into a temporary live music venue.
The company invited select media members, creators, and guests while keeping the performer secret until Keys appeared on stage.
Preparations began on March 12 with crews installing a stage, lighting, and audio equipment inside the retail space. Keys performed alongside her signature pink piano after the store was temporarily converted into a small concert venue.
Grand Central Station during the Alicia Keys concert – Image Credit: Apple
People inside Grand Central Terminal could catch parts of the performance from outside the store. It’s unusual for Apple to close one of its most famous locations, especially since they usually keep their retail spaces open during business hours.
Tim Cook and Apple executives attend the event
Cook attended the concert alongside Apple marketing chief Greg Joswiak, retail head Deirdre O’Brien, and hardware engineering chief John Ternus. The executives watched the performance inside the Grand Central location with invited guests.
Alicia Keys and Apple CEO Tim Cook at Apple Grand Central – Image Credit: Apple
The Grand Central store sits inside one of New York City’s busiest transit hubs and serves as one of Apple’s most visible retail spaces. The setting allowed Apple to host a private event while drawing attention from commuters and visitors.
Keys has appeared at several Apple-related events over the years. She performed at Apple Music Festival 10 in London in 2016 and later headlined Apple’s NYC Holiday Masquerade Ball in December 2022.
Alicia Keys in her Apple Vision Pro performance
The artist also appeared on Apple Vision Pro through the immersive performance Alicia Keys: Rehearsal Room, one of the early music experiences released for the spatial computing headset.
Part of Apple’s 50th anniversary celebrations
Apple announced that it plans to celebrate the company’s 50th anniversary over the coming weeks. Apple was founded on April 1, 1976, placing the milestone anniversary on April 1, 2026.
Alicia Keys performing at Apple Grand Central – Image Credit: Apple
Cook said the anniversary would recognize the “creativity, innovation, and impact” made possible by Apple’s global community of users and developers.
The Grand Central performance is one of the first public events connected to the anniversary. Apple has not yet detailed additional celebrations tied to the milestone.
Hello everyone, and welcome to this newfangled concept called ‘the weekend’. It’s a strange one, but we’re here for it.
Before we dive into what we’re playing, let’s see what’s been going on this week, hm? First of all, Nintendo joined hundreds of other companies in North America in suing the government for its extensive use of tariffs. The lawsuit has since been paused, but only pending the results of another case from the Court of International Trade.
Finally, it’s been announced that Goro Abe, long-time WarioWare director at Nintendo, has left the company in favour of a role at the Osaka Electro-Communication University.
Gonçalo Lopes, Contributor
I got both Resident Evil Requiem and Planet of Lana II on their home stretch and both are current personal GOTY favourites. One week late Pokémon Pokopia finally showed up and I’m scared on how many hours disappeared on my first play… I might need to take this one on carefully. The rest of the weekend will be spend debating if I should get a new gaming desktop. Things are gonna get really bad out there thanks to this RAM crisis and I want to make sure that I get a future-proof, no compromises work/play environment at home. Game of the week is Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection. While the main branch grind fest of the Monster Hunter series was perfectly fine for a college student life, at this particular point of my professional life I simply can’t take on such activities. Capcom kindly streamlined the whole thing into a more traditional JRPG series, so I consider the “Stories” spin-off much more manageable. Plus, we get new cool amiibo along with it. Add another excellent Capcom game on Switch 2.
Gavin Lane, Editor
Having finally finished up Star Trek: Voyager – Across The Unknown, I’m tempted to start another journey, but I must resist and crack on with something else. Top of the list is Terminator 2D: NO FATE, a hulking great Collector’s Edition of which was very kindly sent my way a couple weeks ago courtesy of Reef, a good excuse to finally catch up with it. Elsewhere, the NS2 Edition of Hollow Knight is tempting me to push up my 86% completion stat, and I still need to get back to Skate Story. Love that soundtrack.
All of the above is liable to go by the wayside, however. Following the barnstorming success of Katamari Damacy with my kids, I took a cheeky look at the eShop to see if We Love Katamari was on sale. Turns out I already own it, possibly due to a previous sale. So that’s the weekend — and potentially the rest of 2026 — dusted. Have a good one, folks.
Kate Gray, Contributor
Pokopia.
I was not expecting this game to be so fascinating, game-design-wise. You can absolutely see where it’s borrowed ideas from other games — the blocks of Minecraft, through the filter of Dragon Quest Builders, of course; the social dynamics of Animal Crossing (and the SFX, too); the tone of Pokémon Mystery Dungeon… but it all comes together in a really clever, original way. That’s great game design! Good artists borrow, great artists steal, right? And they be stealin’. But in a really smart way. It makes me want to be more brazen about stealing ideas for my own game design — not in an evil way, but as a collaborative process. We’re all just trying to make great games for each other, and we can share that knowledge and creativity with each other to further the medium!
Also it’s just a really good dopamine machine. Hence why I haven’t slept a whole lot lately.
Ollie Reynolds, Staff Writer
I’m playing a lot of Pokémon Pokopia at the moment, and I’m absolutely loving it. I genuinely think you could make a strong case for this being the best Switch 2 exclusive right now – it’s just so polished and engaging.
This apparently didn’t offer up enough cosy vibes, however, so I’ve been playing Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar on the Switch 2. It’s so lovely! Like Pokopia, all of its core mechanics feel very polished and pleasantly streamlined, and it’s a joy to play.
Alex Olney, Video Producer
It’s hard to imagine being able to peel myself away from Pokopia this weekend, but if I do, I’ll almost certainly be having another pop at Blue Prince. Frankly, there are too many games these days, Nintendo. Please eliminate three.
Those are our plans for the coming weekend. Now it’s your turn to tell us yours, so make sure to get busy with our poll, and let us know all about your weekend gaming plans in the comments!
The final design of the C Button — Image: Nintendo
In the end, the ‘C’ button on Switch 2’s Joy-Con was revealed as a way of communicating and chatting with friends and family members.
Now, in a newly translated article via Nintendo Everything, Nintendo has apparently explained why it gave this function a “dedicated button”. It was to make communication as simple as possible, and a dedicated button meant only a “single action” was required to start a conversation.
As for the icon and the final name of this button, apart from being associated with words such as “chat”, “communication” and “conversation”, the ‘C’ was selected to harmonise with the “existing A and B button layout”. Nintendo has even shared a look at some of the other icons it considered before the ‘C’ button was selected:
Icon design proposals in place of the C Button — Image: Nintendo
To make use of the Game Chat feature on the Switch 2, you’ll need to have an active Switch Online subscription. In saying this, Nintendo is currently running a “GameChat Welcome Offer”, so until 31st March 2026, you can use GameChat features for free.
Have you made use of this button and feature on the Switch 2 yet? Let us know in the comments.
Making this particular IP one of the main titles for the Switch 2’s launch window was arguably a risk for Nintendo but it’s paid off, with the title shifting more than 4 million units worldwide and becoming the second best-selling Switch 2 title to date. It’s also received a bunch of awards since then.
Inevitably, it’s led to the questions about what’s next for DK. While producer Kenta Motokura can’t share “any specifics of future plans” for Donkey Kong right now, he mentioned during the same chat with Game Informer, how relieved he is, as “seeing people have fun once again with the character” (and the success of Bananza) has reminded him of the “potential” of DK, and proves fans will welcome back the king of the jungle with open arms whenever he returns.
Game Informer: It seems that reception for Donkey Kong Bananza has been largely positive from my perspective. How has the reception been for you, and does this indicate that we might not have to wait so long for another mainline Donkey Kong game?
Kenta Motokura: I guess maybe what stands out to me is the idea, first of all, that Donkey Kong, as a character – and this is true for Mario as well – really are a part of Nintendo. And so, for us, it’s almost like we’re borrowing them to create software with. For me, being able to see people have fun once again with the character of Donkey Kong helps me communicate the potential for that character. I have a sense of relief knowing that’s something that people can enjoy in the future as well. Unfortunately, I can’t talk about any specifics of future plans at this time. [laughs]
Although there are no signs of what’s next for DK, at the start of this year, Nintendo actually rolled out a surprise update for Donkey Kong Country Returns HD for the Switch, enhancing the experience on the Switch 2 and also adding Dixie Kong as a playable character.
Bananza also got a paid DLC expansion DK Island & Emerald Rush last year, which allows players to participate in regular in-game events.
What would you like to see next for DK and the rest of his pals? Have you played the Switch 2 exclusive Donkey Kong Bananza yet? Let us know in the comments.
Square Enix’s Octopath Traveler role-playing series, which originally started life as a Switch exclusive in 2018, has this week announced another massive sales milestone.
In a post on social media, the company confirmed the series has now shipped seven million copies worldwide. This combines the physical and digital sales. To celebrate this, the team has shared a special illustration by Maika Minami.
“The Octopath Traveler series hits 7 million copies shipped and digitally sold worldwide! Celebrating with a special illustration featuring a rainbow of the lucky number 7 by Maika Minami. Thank you, travelers.”
Image: Square Enix
The previous Octopath Traveler sales milestone of six million copies was announced on December 2024. So the series’ sales have been bolstered by the more recent December 2025 release Octopath Traveler 0 on the Switch, Switch 2 and multiple other platforms.
If you haven’t already played this latest entry, we called it a victory lap for the beloved series, awarding it nine out of ten stars. There’s even a demo where save data carries over to the full game.
Have you played Octopath Traveler 0 yet? What about the other entries? Let us know in the comments.
Although Nintendo’s focus is slowly shifting from the Switch, it’s still got some first-party titles planned for the original hybrid system. One of these games happens to be Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream, and it’s out next month.
Ahead of this launch, we’ve now got an official ESRB rating. Unsurprisingly, it’s been rated ‘E’ for “Everyone” (the same as the 3DS release) and contains “comic mischief” and “mild fantasy violence”. Apart from this, there’s also a rating summary, which gives us a little more insight into what to expect from this new experience.
Apart from the ability to create and customise Mii, and construct shops and landmarks, you’ll also be able to participate in minigames and turn-based combat against. This particular mention of fighting slimes mixed with “fantasy” themes already has some fans convinced an RPG-style experience (drawing on Tomodachi Quest, Miitopia, or at least something similar) is returning. There’s some toilet humour in there, too.
“Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream is rated E for Everyone by the ESRB with Comic Mischief and Mild Fantasy Violence. This is a simulation game in which players create, customize, and help Mii characters live and thrive on an island. Players can construct shops and landmarks, build relationships with other Miis, and complete various minigames. Minimal acts of cartoony violence are occasionally seen: fight clouds of character fighting; turn-based combat against a slime enemy. The game includes brief instances of bathroom humor: Miis emitting flatulence, accompanied by a cloud effect; a character near a toilet stating, “Ugh! I forgot to think before I sniff.”
So, now that we’ve got this rating it seems Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream really is on track for its 16th April 2026. If you want to find out more about what else is in this new entry, check out our guide here on Nintendo Life detailing new features such as Mii and island customisation as well as the Palette House.
Will you be getting this game when it arrives on the Switch next month? Let us know in the comments.
