Category: Nintendo News

It’s that time of year again when millions of shoppers find themselves frantically searching online or running around stores to pick up gifts for their loved ones – or themselves. If you or someone you know is wanting a Nintendo Switch this holiday, this bundle could be a perfect option.

Available for the console’s standard retail price of £279.99, this Nintendo Switch console deal comes with a copy of the ultra-popular (and ultra-amazing) Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, the moustachioed plumber’s latest karting adventure. The game is included as a digital download code meaning you can simply hook your console up to the internet when it arrives, pop in the code, and you’ll have a shiny copy of the game waiting for you. Lovely.

The bundle has already appeared at some stores, and other retailers are expected to follow in due course. We’ll make sure to add any others to this list as we find them.

Please note that some of the links on this page are affiliate links. If you click them and make a purchase we may receive a small percentage of the sale which helps support the site. Please read our FTC Disclosure for more information.

Of course, this bundle is the ideal option for those not wanting to spend too much on their new gaming machine – Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has a recommended retail price of £49.99, so that’s some pretty serious saving.

Is this the type of bundle you’ve been waiting for? Let us know if you’ll be grabbing one in the comments below.

The iconic Japanese developer Treasure might be bringing another shoot ’em up game to the Nintendo Switch eShop in the near future. Based on a Twitter reply to a fan last month, Radiant Silvergun has been in consideration for the Switch for some time now. Here’s how it all unfolded in tweet form:

Radiant Silvergun was released in the arcade in 1998 and was ported across to the Sega Saturn not long after. It’s considered to be one of the greatest shmup and Sega Saturn releases of all-time. Like all good games from this genre, you must protect the earth by unleashing bullet hell on the enemy. One other interesting fact is the 2001 title Ikaruga is its spiritual successor.

Is this a game you would like to see released on the Switch eShop eventually? Do you have any other Treasure games you would like to see ported across to Nintendo’s hybrid device? Tell us below.

For quite a number of years now, Nintendo has not included physical manuals inside its game cases. Nowadays you’re lucky if you get a single instructional leaflet. The Japanese company has even gone as far as punching holes inside 3DS cases to make the overall production cycle more environmentally friendly.

While it does make a lot of sense to cut down on any excess materials as we enter an all-digital future, there are still plenty of modern video game enthusiasts out there who still have fond memories of the highly descriptive and colourful game manuals that used to be the norm.

With Super Smash Bros. Ultimate arriving later this week, one fan has taken matters into their own hands. Going by the Reddit username of OharaLibrarianArtur, the individual has created a 52-page digital manual for Smash Ultimate that can be printed out. It uses existing assets from the game’s official website and information from previous Smash announcements. The guide even includes character move sets, which the manual’s creator made special note of at the live demo events for the game.

Here’s a glimpse of the game manual in all its glory:

You can see every page over on Imgur or download a copy for yourself via the original Reddit post.

What do you think of this manual? Do you wish physical manuals were still the standard in 2018? Tell us below.

Spyro: Reignited Trilogy is now out available on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One and there’s still no official word about a Switch release. Even after multiple listings – including Nintendo’s digital storefront – there’s been no announcement. So, what exactly is going on? Not much, apparently.

The Toys For Bob producer Peter Kavic appeared on the Game Informer Show in November alongside art director Josh Nadelberg to discuss the recently released trilogy collection. Of course, during this segment, the pair was asked about the likelihood of the game appearing on other platforms. In response, Kavic said the attention was currently on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions and the rest of the decision-making was up to the publisher Activision. When questioned if the Switch could handle the latest Spyro release, the producer said he hadn’t even seen it attempted but thought there might be a chance.

If what Kavic is saying is true, it essentially means the development of the game on this specific platform was never underway in the first place, which would make sense considering there were no official announcements on Activision’s end. The statement provided to us by Activision in November also confirmed the company – at the time – had no plans to announce the game on other platforms.

What do you think? Would you like to see the Spyro: Reignited Trilogy eventually released on the Switch? Tell us below.

If the trailer above reminds you of the Dark Souls series by Bandai Namco, that’s because it’s basically the unofficial mobile equivalent. Originally released across multiple smartphone digital stores last year for a small sum, Animus: Stand Alone by Tenbirds is now making its way across to the Nintendo Switch.

According to existing reviews, it brings together the best of the Dark Souls series and transforms it into the perfect package for the mobile platform. This is also Tenbirds’ first time it has developed a game for a console platform before. Here’s the full statement the company provided alongside the eShop release date announcement:

This is our first foray into dedicated game consoles, so we are very anxious and super nervous. It took our team a long time, dedication and hard work, and overcoming unforeseen difficulties, and constant changes to get to this point. We send many thanks to all of the players for asking us to get this to the Nintendo Switch and for the encouragement…Stand Alone should be a great pick-up-and-go type of game for players looking for something similar. Thank you.

In terms of the backstory for this hardcore action RPG experience, it’s set in a broken world where humanity has been destroyed and disorder, death and silence have taken over. Of course, it’s your responsibility to slay everything in sight. The game is due to arrive on the Japanese Switch eShop on 6th December. Here in the west, Europe will receive it on 24th December and in America it will be made available next year on 3rd January.

Is this cheaper alternative to Dark Souls a game you would consider? Would you like to see more mobile games released on the Switch? Tell us below.

As 2018 winds down, Nintendo is still busy registering trademarks like there’s no tomorrow.

A week after the Japanese company secured smartphone-related trademarks for Kirby’s Dream Land, Art Academy and Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story, it’s now claimed three more – this time for Fossil Fighters, The Last Story and the Wii console. Once again, all of these reference ‘program for home video game machine’, ‘downloadable video game program’ and ‘program for smartphone’.

As we’ve noted on many other occasions, the mention of smartphones could potentially mean something big is on the way, or it’s simply business as usual for Nintendo as it continually renews trademarks to cover older franchises.

Fossil Fighters first started out on the DS in 2008, the Wii was launched in 2006 and The Last Story was released on the same system in 2011.

Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

If you’re looking forward to giving your fighters a boost in battle with hundreds of spirits when Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is finally released on the Switch, Nintendo Australia’s Twitter account has shared a fun fact revealing how you can acquire two of them sooner rather than later.

If you have save data for Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Let’s Go, Eevee! on your Nintendo Switch, you’ll be able to immediately unlock the partner Pikachu spirit and partner Eevee spirit. Fortunately, if you only own one of these games, or didn’t pick up either of the latest entries, you’ll still be able to unlock the spirits in-game by completing challenges.

As can be seen, both spirits will enhance your fighter’s abilities such as attack and movement.

For the uninformed, spirits are characters from all sorts of different Nintendo series, as well as characters created by many other publishers and developers. There are two different types of spirits – primary and support – and hundreds of them to collect. You can find out more about spirits in our special guide.

What do you think about Super Smash Bros. Ultimate using save data from other games to unlock content? Which Pokémon spirit partner will you be calling on? Tell us below.

As the holiday season is now underway, Nintendo’s television advertising within the US has steadily increased. According to GamesBeat and its partner iSpot.tv – a real-time television ad measurement company – Nintendo was the second highest most-seen video game industry brand from 16th October through to 15th November.

Nintendo gained 755 million impressions from 18 commercials which aired over 4,800 times. The Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Let’s Go, Eevee! spot was the most-seen, gaining 198 million impressions. Nintendo’s commercials predominantly targeted younger audiences during programs such as SpongeBob SquarePants and Family Guy, across networks including Nick, the Disney Channel and Adult Swim.

PlayStation once again took out the top spot, earning close to 1.5 billion impressions from 13 commercials that aired more than 3,200 times. The Red Dead Redemption 2 spot earned 694 million impressions, and top impressions came from sports networks including ESPN and Fox. Microsoft’s Xbox dropped to the fourth position, after gaining 404.2 million impressions from five advertisements that ran over 1,500 times. A spot for Fallout 76 was its most-seen, earning 318.3 million impressions primarily from sports networks.

Although no spending estimates for individual brands were provided, overall it was estimated the 29 brands spent roughly $78 million across 98 commercials that ran 18,900 times. Advertisement impressions also jumped from 3.2 billion in the previous period to nearly 4.5 billion.

One of the most memorable aspects of the Pokémon game series over the years has been the catchy soundtrack. The latest entries – Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Let’s Go, Eevee! – modernises the iconic tunes originally composed by Junichi Masuda in 1996.

If you would like to listen to the music in the latest Pokémon games on the Nintendo Switch and don’t always have time to actually visit Kanto, you can always opt with a digital version of the official Game Freak soundtrack. It’s now available on iTunes in both the US and UK and can be purchased for $9.99 / €9.99 / £7.99. In total there are 122 tracks covering the new games and also the 1998 Game Boy release, Pokémon Yellow.

You may or may not recall this is the same Super Music Collection we posted about back in September. In addition to this digital release in the west, a physical version has been made available in Japan for 3,500 yen. It contains two CDs featuring the new games’ full soundtrack, a luxury booklet filled with 60 full-colour pages and a special message from the original composer and also Shota Kageyama – who was responsible for the arrangement in the new games.

What did you think of the soundtrack in the new Pokémon games? Are you interested in a digital copy? Tell us below.

2018 has been an amazing year for the Nintendo Switch, every month this year we’ve seen some decent new games, with the addition of the fiendish Diablo III: Eternal Collection and the adorable Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Let’s Go, Eevee! last month, there really is something for everyone.

So, what’s on the horizon for Nintendo Switch fans for what’s left of 2018, then? We’ve compiled a list of all the good stuff coming out at retail in December and January next year, so feast your eyes and prepare your wallets – this could be painful.

Please note that some of the links on this page are affiliate links. If you click them and make a purchase we may receive a small percentage of the sale which helps support the site. Please read our FTC Disclosure for more information.

December’s must-have Switch game is not up for debate. Legendary game worlds and fighters collide in the ultimate showdown. Fighters, like Inkling from the Splatoon series and Ridley from the Metroid series, make their Super Smash Bros. series debut alongside every Super Smash Bros. fighter in the series ever.

Ultimate lets up to eight players square off in action-packed battles that are all about smashing beloved video game characters off the screen. You won’t want to miss this.

Fitness Boxing – 21st December (4th Jan – US)

If you fancy some Joy-Con waggling action this Christmas you might like to pick up Fitness Boxing for your Switch. Unfortunately, the US will have to wait until the New Year to duke it out with this one. Get off the couch and get moving with fun, boxing-based rhythmic exercises set to the instrumental beats of songs by popular artists. You can personalize your workouts by selecting from different fitness goals. Train your way, whether you’re on your own, with a friend, at home, or on the go!

If you never had the pleasure of playing this on the Wii U, then you are in for a treat. New Super Mario Bros. U is some of the finest 2D Mario platforming action known to man, so it’s a welcome addition to the ever-growing Switch library. Luigi’s first starring role in a platforming adventure, New Super Luigi U, is getting the deluxe treatment too, and comes packed in.

Hit the road in an all-new adventure with gaming’s most hardcore otaku assassin. Enter the world of the Death Drive Mark II, and hack and slash your way out of its various games. Pass a Joy-Con to a friend for local co-op, with special team-up charge attacks. You won’t want to miss this latest game from visionary director Suda51.

More Awesome Nintendo Switch Games

Aside from the highlighted games above, there are lots more Switch retail games which might take your fancy in December and beyond.

Awesome Accessories For Your Switch

We saw a whole slew of interesting accessories released for the Switch in the past few months, but more are on the way. Here are some tantalising accessories coming up in December and beyond, which we found for your consideration.

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So that’s it for December and January – did we miss anything? Let us know with a comment and also tell us if you’ve pre-ordered any of these goodies!