Category: Nintendo News

Believe it or not, Pokémon is turning 30 this year. Truth be told, it kind of makes me feel a bit better about my own age; whenever I add yet another digit, I can at least take some comfort in the knowledge that Pokémon isn’t too far behind.

I must admit, though, I’m not on particularly good terms with Pokémon at the moment. Back in the late ‘90s and early ‘00s, I was obsessed. I bought each mainline game at launch (starting with Blue), watched back-to-back episodes of the anime, and collected the trading cards, storing the very best ones in a binder that’s sitting in my office to this day.

Throughout my college and university years, however, I just… lost interest. I still bought the games, but my time felt more limited than when I was 10, and so I struggled to keep up with the ever-growing list of creatures being added to the Pokédex. Fast-forward to today, and my time is perhaps more limited than ever, and this combined with my disappointment in both Scarlet and Legends: Z-A means that my interest is at an all-time low.

I miss it, though, y’know? I miss that sense of discovery and wonder that mainline Pokémon games so consistently delivered back in the day. And so when the opportunity arose to check out The History of the Pokémon Games from James Batchelor, I couldn’t refuse. Perhaps this would be the spark to reignite my interest in the series.

Spoiler: I think it might have worked. This is a great, 148-page book that wisely focuses on the mainline games first and foremost, but nevertheless spends a bit of time on every — yes, every — spin-off title that’s been released over the past three decades.

The book is split up into sections focusing on each generation. So, the first includes a handful of pages talking about the development, release, and impact of Pokémon Red, Blue, and Yellow, while the following pages briefly touch on every spin-off title released within the time period before Gold and Silver launched. That’s how each section plays out right up to the present day, with the last page detailing Pokémon Legends: Z-A along with a brief, speculative look to the future. Debates rage as to whether the Legends games are mainline or spin-off, but here at least, despite evidence to the contrary, they’re designated spin-offs.

Batchelor utilises his games journalism experience to great effect (you’ll likely know his name from his days as Editor-in-Chief at gamesindustry,biz), loading each segment with interesting quotes from the likes of Satoshi Tajiri and Junichi Masuda. The book is simply stuffed with background information that, while almost certainly well-known to passionate fans, will prove fascinating for newcomers who want to dive into its history.

Want to know why Pokémon faint instead of dying after battle? It’s all right here. How about the challenges faced when transitioning to fully 3D visuals with Pokémon X and Y? Check. You’ll learn the basics about lesser-known spin-off titles, too, like Pokémon Masters Arena for the PC and Pokémon Tower Battle for Facebook.

I do think the book would have benefited from a few more personal musings from Batchelor. The introduction notes that he didn’t actually start playing Pokémon until he was able to get his hands on the Transfer Pak for the N64, ignoring Pokémon Stadium completely to play the mainline games on his TV. This is great, and a bit more along these lines peppered throughout would have been nice. Including a forward from Ash Ketchum voice actor Veronica Taylor is a lovely touch, mind you.

In terms of presentation, I have little to no complaints here. Every single page has at least something to catch your eye, and the images included are almost exclusively in-game screenshots from each title. I’ve been guilty of lamenting the apparent lack of visual evolution in the series over the years, but it’s lovely to see at a glance just how much each game improves upon its predecessor. Overall, the book’s interior is clean and inviting, striking a nice balance between its text and images.

But let’s just mention the front cover. The main image here is a view of one of the many landscapes seen in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, and yes, it looks just as barren and janky as it does in the game (it looks like the publisher didn’t opt for a screenshot from the free upgrade on Switch 2). Granted, I like the way that the blue background blends seamlessly into the landscape’s sky, but gosh, there’s a reason so many people lamented the graphics for those games, so to use them as the main visual for the book is, well… a choice.

This is a nitpick, ultimately. The History of the Pokémon Games is a solid, enjoyable read whether you’re a veteran or a complete newcomer. As for me, while I certainly won’t be mainlining every Pokémon game in the near future, it’s inspired me to go back and revisit one or two of the original Game Boy titles; maybe I can recapture my past love for the franchise before it escapes me completely.

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Thanks to Pen & Sword Books for providing a copy of The History of the Pokémon Games for review. It’s available now in hardback from the publisher, and from other booksellers worldwide soon.

Google – a company so addicted to AI it’s pushing it into places it’s simply not wanted – has just lifted the lid on Project Genie, a new Generative AI tool which is able to create playable ‘gaming worlds’ thanks to the fact that it has been trained (without permission, on the most part) on the billions of hours of footage that has been uploaded by users to YouTube over the decades.

As was discovered when OpenAI released its Sora video creation tool a while back, it’s laughably easy to get Project Genie to spit out copyright-infringing footage.

As highlighted by Kotaku, The Verge’s Jay Peters – who has been given early access to the tool – has gleefully posted that he was able to “generate a bunch of Nintendo-inspired games. Including one featuring Link with a paraglider!” The footage, as you can clearly see, is so close to Breath of the Wild it’s almost funny.

The reaction online has been predictably negative.

Interestingly, Peters notes that there are guardrails present in Project Genie, and he wasn’t able to rip off any old video game.

“Project Genie wouldn’t generate a world that I prompted with the scenario of Kingdom Hearts,” he explains. “When I removed the specific names of characters and wrote descriptions of them instead, Project Genie generated a thumbnail preview of the world featuring characters that were dead ringers for Sora (the series’ protagonist), Donald, Goofy, Jack Skellington, and Cloud. But when I tried to generate the actual experience, Project Genie blocked me.”

He therefore quizzed Google on why the tool was perfectly happy to plagiarise Nintendo’s IP without permission but not Disney’s, and was told:

“Project Genie is an experimental research prototype designed to follow prompts a user provides. As with all experiments, we are monitoring closely and listening to user feedback.”

Peters adds that he was told that the tool is “trained primarily on publicly available data from the web,” which is almost certainly behind one of the big surprises in his Zelda video, as he explains:

“This probably partially explains why Link deployed his paraglider in my test, which surprised me. At a high level, the Genie model is constantly trying to predict the next frame, and I’m sure there are many videos of people jumping in Breath of the Wild and then gliding forward, which the model probably learned from.”

Peters also notes that “shortly before publishing this article, Project Genie stopped letting me generate worlds based on Super Mario 64 due to “interests of third-party content providers.”

Perhaps Nintendo’s legal team is already in touch, but it’s nonetheless amazing that a company like Google is prepared to risk a battle of that stature when it launches new products like Project Genie.

Well, folks, the day is finally upon us. Today is the last day that you can buy Switch Game Vouchers before Nintendo consigns them to the ‘Discontinued’ pile.

The Big N initially made the announcement way back in July 2025, but time has flown by since then, so we thought it was only right to give you one last nudge now that the day of reckoning is upon us.

You have until 11:59pm in your timezone to make any final purchases, and the vouchers will be valid for one year from the point you buy them — so any that you pick up today won’t expire until 30th January 2027. As ever, you’ll need an active Nintendo Switch Online membership to get the vouchers in the first place.

For those who have missed out on this offer until today, Switch Game Vouchers come in pairs and can be used on select first-party digital purchases — saving you a few quid in the process. A pair of vouchers costs £84 / $99.98, which, when used on two full-price Switch 1 releases, knocks £16 / $20 off the combined price. It’s a pretty sweet deal, we must admit.

While Game Vouchers cannot be used on Switch 2 exclusives, Nintendo has confirmed that it will continue to add Switch 1 releases to the scheme throughout 2026. Just yesterday, it was revealed that Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream is a part of the Voucher programme and new releases like Metroid Prime 4: Beyond and Pokémon Legends: Z-A are available in it too (both of which have a paid upgrade option to Switch 2, if you choose to do that down the line).

You can find the full list of eligible games on Nintendo’s website.

If you want to make the most of this offer before it’s gone, either head over to the Nintendo website and sign in with your active NSO account, or head to the ‘Nintendo Switch Online’ section of the eShop on your Switch / Switch 2 and select ‘Nintendo Switch Game Vouchers’. Do keep in mind that you can’t have more than eight active Vouchers on your account at once, so don’t go crazy out there!

So long, partner!

Will you be grabbing some last-minute Game Vouchers today? Let us know in the comments.

In case you somehow missed it, Nintendo’s next big Switch release Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream is launching on 16th April 2026.

Nintendo this week aired a special Direct broadcast to showcase all the new features from Mii customisation, island customisation to the Palette House, and it’s got us wondering how you’re feeling about the new entry at this point.

Is it a day one purchase, are you not completely sold yet, or is it just not your kind of game? So, vote in our poll and let us know in the comments.

And if you do need a quick recap on what exactly Nintendo announced in its latest Direct, be sure to check out our guide. It’s also shown off the official box art, confirmed the price (£49.99 / 59,99€ / $59.99), and has announced a handful of restrictions on image sharing.

One aspect of Pokémon Legends: Z-A we thought was “excellent” was the music. With this in mind, it’s been announced the game’s soundtrack will be getting a physical release in Japan on 17th April 2026.

It will include five CDs and a total of 148 tracks. The good news is this also extends to the game’s DLC expansion Mega Dimension, which launched at the end of last year. Along with this, it comes with a full-colour 36-page booklet, and as a purchase bonus, there’s a wire key ring featuring three acrylic charms.

“This is a complete version of 148 songs, including background music found in “Pokémon LEGENDS ZA” and “Pokémon LEGENDS ZA M-Dimension Rush,” as well as past songs used in the games!”

There’s no mention of a local release at this stage, but if we hear any updates (or pre-orders are made available elsewhere for local trainers), we’ll share an update.

If you haven’t already played Z-A or the Mega Dimension DLC, be sure to check out our reviews here on Nintendo Life. An update was also released for the title earlier this month, bumping the Switch and Switch 2 release up to Version 2.0.1.

Would you be interested in this physical version of the Pokémon Legends: Z-A soundtrack? What did you think of the music in this latest entry? Tell us in the comments.

The superhero comedy Dispatch is out on the Switch and Switch 2 this week and as we’ve already highlighted in our review, the ‘Visual Censorship’ toggle has been removed from the Nintendo versions of the game, meaning censorship is automatically activated with no option to change it.

We reached out to the developer AdHoc Studio earlier this week to ask what was up, and received the following response:

AdHoc Studio: “Different platforms have different content criteria, and submissions are evaluated individually. For our Switch release, we worked with Nintendo to adapt certain elements so Dispatch could be on their platform.”

Now, GoNintendo has got an official statement about “Dispatch’s censorship” after contacting Nintendo. Here’s what it had to say:

Nintendo: “Nintendo requires all games on its platforms to receive ratings from independent organizations and to meet our established content and platform guidelines. While we inform partners when their titles don’t meet our guidelines, Nintendo does not make changes to partner content. We also do not discuss specific content or the criteria used in making these determinations.”

As stated by Nintendo here, games on its platforms must be rated and meet its established guidelines. And while it informs its partners when titles don’t meet its guidelines, it does not make changes to partner content and also won’t discuss the content or criteria used to make determinations.

If there are any other notable developments, statements, or sudden changes, we’ll provide an update, but for now, these are the official responses each party has provided. Unsurprisingly, this hasn’t stopped fans and gaming communities from speculating about what else might be going on here. Some outlets have also shared theories that factor in local ratings boards.

Despite the removal of these “visual censorship” settings, Dispatch on the Switch and Switch 2 still had us hooked until the bitter end with the potential of its ever-changing arcs. You can find out more about the game in our full review, and read more about the removal of the toggle in our previous story.

Will you be checking out this game on the Switch or Switch 2 now that it’s out? Or has this changed your mind? Let us know in the comments.

Sega and Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio recently released a demo for Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties on the Switch 2 and multiple other platforms. As much as fans appreciated this early play test, it’s also drawn some criticism.

Some players had been highlighting “graphical issues” and other problems and in response to this, RGG has now shared an official message on social media, mentioning how the “graphical quality” and other issues in the demo are not representative of the “final experience”, with a patch to be made available at launch. Here’s the message in full:

We have heard concerns from players regarding graphical issues and other problems present in the downloadable demo for Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties.

Rest assured the graphical quality of the demo does not represent the final experience. We plan to have a v1.11 patch available at launch which will address the lighting issue and other quality concerns in the full game.

One specific example is the visual and lighting issues around the Kubochi River area in the Downtown Ryukyu area, which many of you have already pointed out.

This patch will include not just fixes for the issues identified above, but many other improvements. We look forward to sharing the final version of Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties with our global audience on February 12th.

We appreciate your continued support of the Like a Dragon & Yakuza series.

RGG Studio

As noted, the Version 1.11 patch will also include “many other improvements” although details about what exactly can be expected have not been revealed just yet. The rollout of this patch will also vary by platform. If you haven’t already tried out this demo, it gives you access to both Yakuza Kiwami 3 and Dark Ties. Check out our previous post for more details.

How has your experience been with this demo so far? Let us know in the comments.

Well folks, the Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream Nintendo Direct has won over many hearts, with its bizarre humour, huge amount of freedom and flexibility with customisation, and even a a dramatic romantic storyline.

We fell in love with Hugh Morris, the clown-like character from the Nintendo of America presentation (who doesn’t want to talk about monster trucks, sadly). But when we announced our love for him, a lot of people were quick to ask, “wait, who? What about Bubbles?”

Many readers were then quick to point out that the Nintendo UK version of the Direct had an entirely different set of characters and Miis, with slightly different storylines playing out between the cast.

Regional variants for Nintendo Directs are pretty common, but that’s usually for general Directs. Japan often gets trailers for games we don’t, and vice versa. And while the content in both the UK and US Directs is largely the same, the stars are sometimes very different.

Bubbles the Clown is one such example, but he’s not the only UK-exclusive character: Rosa is your best friend instead of Jess in the UK stream, and Forian is a gym rat in Blighty while Patrick loves the guitar in the USA.

Hey, Carlo’s in both of them! But he’s presented a bit differently depending on what Direct you’re watching: in the UK, he’s very nosy and active, while the US version is a barista. And at least Mocha the Bear remains intact on both sides of the Atlantic.

Other changes are a bit more subtle — the Hot Dog costume is featured in the American Direct, but a Wizard and Bee costume take centre stage in the UK. More grocery items are shown off in the US Direct, and different rooms and decors are highlighted in both versions. And instead of your best friend trying to get in on the romance in the ferris wheel, the UK version makes sure the alien is a part of the action.

Reader Suketoudara also pointed us towards a video by rockheadHD, comparing the localisation of both the US and UK versions of the game. And they’re pretty different!

The most-obvious place is during the News Report segment where the newsreader talks about the stories on-air in slightly different ways, depending on which version you’re watching. Whether this is the case in the full release, we’ll have to wait and see.

Otherwise, of the European streams appear to use the UK version (with subtitles, of course), but as you’re probably expecting at this point, Japan’s version was also slightly different to ours.

Once again, the cast of characters are very different to the English-language streams — we picked up on Rika, Daisuke (who plays guitar like Patrick), and another variation of Carlo, this time a painter.

The grocery store was where many of the biggest differences were, with food items like pizza, coffee, and escargot replaced by octopus, juice, and rice bowls.

The content of all three Directs we’ve highlighted is otherwise the same, bar these examples we’ve pointed out. And they’re all delightful and tonally weird in their own ways. We’ve only spotted a handful of small differences in all of them, and there’s bound to be tons we’ve missed, so let us know if you’ve spotted anything that stands out to you!

You won’t have to wait long to live the dream on Switch, as Tomodachi Life: living the Dream comes out on 16th April 2026.

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Share your favourite Direct moments in the comments below.

Update [Thu 29th Jan 2026, 9pm]: Oops, it appears to have been a little mix-up. Nintendo has told IGN that the image provided to Walmart “incorrectly” included art for Pikmin 2 and Metroid Prime 2: Echoes.

Here’s the brief statement from Nintendo of America:

“We recently provided a retailer with an image of Nintendo GameCube – Nintendo Classics titles that incorrectly included games that are not planned for release at this time. The image has been removed, and we apologize for any confusion.”

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Original Story: [Tue 27th Jan, 2026 04:25 GMT]:

If you’re wondering what could be on the way to the Switch Online’s GameCube library in the future, you might want to read on…

What appears to be official promotional material for the Switch Online + Expansion Pack ‘Nintendo Classics’ library has been discovered on Walmart’s website. Alongside multiple existing releases, there are two GameCube games featured that haven’t even been announced for the service.

This includes Metroid Prime 2: Echoes and Pikmin 2, which were both locally released on the GameCube in 2004. Here’s our own screen capture of this advertising material from the Walmart webpage. You can see Metroid Prime 2 towards the right corner of the top row, and Pikmin 2 is in the middle of the second row.

Nintendo has accidentally leaked upcoming NSO games in the past, so it wouldn’t necessarily be a surprise if this latest discovery led to the eventual release of these titles on Switch 2’s GameCube service. Of course, there’s always a chance this could be some sort of blunder on Walmart’s end.

There are currently eight titles available for the Switch 2’s GameCube library, with three others confirmed to be on the way. These upcoming releases include Pokémon Colosseum, Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness and Super Mario Sunshine.

Do you think we could see these games added to the GameCube library at some point? What other classics would you like to see join this paid service? Tell us below.

After a particularly packed Nintendo Direct, we’ve got our first glimpse at the official Switch box art for Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream (yes, it’s very cute) and the all-important price.

Let’s kick things off with the price tag, eh? The game is now available to pre-order from the UK, European and North American eShops for £49.99 / 59,99€ / $59.99, which is roughly what we’d expect for a first-party Switch 1 release. As a reminder, the game launches on 16th April, so you still have a little while to get your orders in.

Much like the 3DS original (for which we did a Box Art Brawl comparison a few weeks back), Living the Dream’s cover puts a whole lotta focus on the Miis, showing them getting up to all sorts of mischief. We’ve got a family enjoying a picnic, an art class, a gossiping alien, heck, there’s even one Mii being plucked to the skies by a giant hand.

All of this sits in front of the island backdrop, complete with its shops, houses and attractions. As revealed in the Direct, all of these Miis and the island itself are yours to customise as you please, so your game environment might end up looking rather different to the one that Nintendo’s showcasing on the box.

Enough chatter, here it is in all of its glory:

It’s pretty, right? The Direct filled us in on all kinds of information about Living the Dream, running us through character and island customisation, romance options, a huge variety of shops and much more. You’ll find the full rundown of every announcement in the article below.

What do you make of the Living the Dream price? Is it roughly what you expected? And how about that box art? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.