Timeline
Friday6th Dec 2024
News Graphic Hack 'N' Slash 'Tails Of Iron 2' Now Launching Earlier Than Expected On Switch
"Half Witcher, half Game of Thrones"
While we're used to delays around this time of year, it's not often a game gets moved forward, and that's exactly what's happening with the graphic hack 'n' slash sequel Tails of Iron 2: Whiskers of Winter. Although it was previously announced for a February 2025 launch window, it's now officially been shifted...
News Wario Land-Inspired 'Antonblast' Suffers Last-Minute Delay On Switch
Update: The new release date has been confirmed
Developer Summitsphere has announced that its upcoming Wario Land-inspired platformer Antonblast will be further delayed on the Nintendo Switch. Although the game is still scheduled to launch on Steam on 3rd December 2024, it's been determined that the Nintendo Switch version simply isn't quite up to...
Thursday5th Dec 2024
News Tabletop-Inspired RPG 'Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector' Gets January Release
Update: Roll the dice in 2025
While it was formally revealed for PC and Xbox around a year ago, developer Jump Over the Age and publisher Fellow Traveller popped up at this weekend's PC Gaming Show to announce that Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector will also launch on the Switch. What's more, it's been given a release window of early 2025. If the...
News Surprise! Nightdive's 'The Thing: Remastered' Is Out Now On The eShop
Update: European release coming "later this month"
Nightdive Studios' The Thing: Remastered has been sitting on a 2024 release date for a while now, and while a post from the developer yesterday confirmed that it will definitely be coming in December (it is the last month of the year, after all), an Xbox Wire line-up might have given us an even more...
Opinion Nintendo Needs To Let Us Block The Crap On Switch 2's eShop
Block and move on
It's been years now since Nintendo opened the eShop floodgates and started letting everything in. In stark contrast to the Wii U days when even established developers had trouble getting their games on Nintendo platforms, the weekly update is now filled with games that would have been unthinkable just one console generation ago...
Nintendo Download 5th December (North America)
Fitness Boxing 3! Power Rangers! Mythwrecked!
The latest Nintendo Download update for North America has arrived, and it's bringing new games galore to the eShop in your region. As always, be sure to drop a vote in our poll and comment down below with your potential picks for the week. Enjoy! Switch eShop - Highlights: Fitness Boxing 3: Your...
News Acquire Comments On Mario & Luigi: Brothership's Familiar Opening Cutscene
"Some coincidence, huh?"
If you’ve recently played Mario & Luigi: Brothership, then chances are you might have noticed something rather familiar with its opening cutscene. That is, of course, if you’ve also seen The Super Mario Bros. Movie from Nintendo and Illumination. You see, both the game and the movie feature our favourite platforming...
Japanese Charts Mario Party Jamboree Ends Dragon Quest III's Reign
Back for another star
After two big weeks of Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake dominance, Famitsu's latest look at the Japanese physical software charts has a new champion. Super Mario Party Jamboree has rolled back into the top spot, with an additional 56,032 sales pushing the latest board game bonanza past 500,000 total sales and ahead of Dragon...
PSA It's Your Last Chance To Get 'Sega Mega Drive Classics' On Switch eShop
Game to be delisted on 6th December
The end is nigh for SEGA Genesis / Mega Drive Classics on the Switch eShop, as Sega will be delisting the game from digital storefronts on 6th December 2024. Sega announced it would be taking the classic game collection down from the eShop — and other games across Steam, Xbox, and PlayStation storefronts —...
News Playtonic's New Trailer For Its Cosy Cowboy Farm Sim Is Brimming With Stardew Valley Vibes
Yee-haw!
Playtonic Friends, the publisher behind the Yooka-Laylee series, has announced that it is bringing the cosy cowboy farm sim, Cattle Country, to Switch in 2025. Developed by Castle Pixel, this one plants a lot of Stardew Valley-shaped seeds. In Cattle Country, you'll be settling down in the Wild West, working on a ranch and making friends...
"I don't want to get off Mr Sawyer's Wild Ride"
The king of theme park management sims is here. It’s not some godawful spin-off that bears the name but none of the fun, it’s not the great-but-not-as-good-as-the-first-two RollerCoaster Tycoon 3, this is the first and second games in the series stitched together and bundled with some modern...
Random Monolith Soft Showcases Piles And Piles Of Xenoblade Chronicles Scripts
Yeah, that's a lot
You really don't need us to tell you just how dense the Xenoblade Chronicles franchise is when it comes to plot and dialogue, so we're going to let developer Monolith Soft itself do the talking. In a recent social media post, the team has showcased the sheer wealth of script books accumulated from the series so far, and it's a...
News New Hand-Drawn 3D Platformer Is Bursting With Nintendo Inventiveness
Launching Q1 2025
A new hand-drawn 3D platformer is heading to the Nintendo Switch in Q1 2025, and by gum, it's looking rather lovely indeed. Ruffy and the Riverside comes from developer Zockrates Laboratories and looks to bring some of that iconic Nintendo inventiveness into a gorgeous world full of hand-drawn characters and assets. The general...
News London's Pop-Up Pokémon Center Returns In February 2025
Shop 'til you drop
Brace yourselves, folks, and prepare to splash some cash. The Pokémon Company has announced that the pop-up Pokémon Center will be returning to the 2025 Pokémon Europe International Championships in London. The store will be open throughout the event at the ExCel London from 21st-23rd February 2025. We don't know exactly what...
News New Switch Anime Fighter Due Out In 2025 "Refused Classification" Down Under
Déjà vu
The upcoming fighting game adaptation of the manga and anime series 'Hunter x Hunter' is due out on the Switch and other platforms in 2025, but it seems it's been refused classification in one particular country ahead of release. The country (and classification board) that's knocked back Hunter x Hunter: Nen x Impact is Australia. The...
News Capcom Fighting Collection 2 Switch Physical Pre-Orders Are Now Live (US)
Includes a special Capcom vs. SNK comic
Although we don't have a release date for Capcom Fighting Collection 2 just yet, the good news is physical pre-orders are already live in the US. This includes physical editions for both the Switch and PlayStation 4. There'll also be a 48-page Capcom vs. SNK comic (which we guess is similar to the one in...
News Ex-PlayStation Boss Questions Future Of Consoles, But Not Nintendo Hardware
"They live in their Own Private Idaho"
As the video game market continues to evolve there's once again talk about the viability of console gaming. In the same interview with Eurogamer, ex-PlayStation boss Shawn Layden shared his thoughts about this topic. While he has raised alarm about the whole "Xbox versus PlayStation" console market and...
News Power Rangers: Rita's Rewind Is No Longer Delayed For Switch
It will now arrive alongside other versions next week
It's that time of year when we often see multiple delays, and with this in mind, we've now got an "important update" to share about Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita's Rewind. Due to "unforeseen" circumstances, the Nintendo Switch release has been "slightly delayed". Instead of the original...
Wednesday4th Dec 2024
News Doronko Wanko Lets You Play As The Messiest Puppy Ever On Switch
Wan wan
Revealed at today's OTK Games Expo, Bandai Namco has announced that Doronko Wanko, a game which stars the most adorable pomeranian we think we've ever seen, is coming to Switch in Spring 2025. To the British people reading this, yes, okay, stop chuckling in the back. The game's name actually derives from わんこ Wan ko, which is an...
Random Breaking Fortnite's 'No Emote Zone' Rules Now Comes With Some Hefty Consequences
Dancing on air
Fortnite is changing all the time. Gone are the days of Dusty Depot, Tomato Town, and Fatal Fields (god, do we sound old?) as the map is shaped and reshaped each and every season, bringing in new mechanics, locations and unexpected crossovers. Diving into a game today had us looking around the place like that one John Travolta Pulp...
Talking Point Can Sony And Microsoft Really Compete With Nintendo In A New 'Handheld War'?
Come at the king, you best not miss
It’s safe to say that, 146 million sales later, Nintendo’s risk of launching a dockable handheld console in 2017 has paid off handsomely. After all, Sony’s PS Vita was all but dead by that point, and despite the 3DS managing to reverse its fortunes after a swift price drop in its first year, many claimed...
News Firaxis "Hadn't Expected" Civilization VI's Success On Switch
"But suddenly, it became a really huge thing."
Civilization VII is just a few months away from launch — we still have to pinch ourselves when saying that — and as you might expect, the success of Civilization VI on Switch has influenced a few of the design decisions for that game. What you might not expect, however, is that Firaxis didn't...
News Another Crab's Treasure Lands Performance Update On Switch, Here Are The Full Patch Notes
Holy crab!
We really wanted to love the delightful-looking Soulslike Another Crab's Treasure when it landed on Switch earlier this year, but pesky performance issues made the whole experience far from ship shape. Fortunately, developer Aggro Crab Games has now released a performance-enhancing update for the Nintendo hybrid, hopefully snipping away...
News Nintendo Considered Giving Up On 'Mario & Luigi' Before Approaching Acquire
Phew, close one!
After the sad closure of long-time Mario & Luigi developer AlphaDream, many fans had given up hope that a new entry in the franchise would see the light of day. Now, according to a new 'Ask the Developer' feature, it seems even Nintendo was close to throwing in the towel before approaching Acquire to commence co-development on...
News Tactical RPG From Danganronpa & Zero Escape Creators Gets April 2025 Release Date
The last line of defense
XSEED has revealed that it will be publishing The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy on Nintendo Switch, and that the game will be launching worldwide on 24th April 2025. The upcoming tactical RPG is from Too Kyo Games, the development studio formed by the Danganronpa and Zero Escape creators Kazutaka Kodaka and Kotaro...
News Movie Musical 'Wicked' Will Come To Switch Thanks To Funko Fusion DLC
I'm not that Funko
In case you've been living under a rock, Wicked is the movie event right now. John M. Chu's movie musical is smashing box office records right now, so of course it's going to appear in some video games — namely, Funko Fusion. The game — which has been out on PS5, Xbox, and Steam since September — comes to Switch on 6th...
Sting like a Wii
It’s been six years since the first Fitness Boxing was released, during which time we’ve had two main games and two spin-offs based on Fist of the North Star and Hatsune Miku. Now it’s time for the third proper entry in the series, and thankfully regular Fitness Boxing players will find some new stuff in here to freshen up...
News Nintendo Left Sony "Standing At The Altar" With SNES Disk Add-On, Says Former PlayStation Exec
PauseStation
Those with an appetite for Nintendo history likely will have heard of the 'SNES PlayStation' — a collaboration between Nintendo and Sony which was intended to bring CD-ROM gaming to the former's latest console. The partnership never materialised, naturally, with Nintendo announcing that it was pivoting to work with Phillips at the...
Dimengeon divers
Hironobu Sakaguchi needs no introduction. The “father of Final Fantasy” is an industry titan, arguably untouchable in the video game pantheon. But, since 2004, Sakaguchi has been at the helm at Mistwalker, his development studio which has a knack for slightly twisting the traditional turn-based RPG affair. Over the years,...
News 'Victory Heat Rally' Tears Up The Track In 2025 With A Limited Run Physical Release
The Switch eShop version is out next week
A week out from the arrival of Victory Heat Rally on the eShop, Limited Run Games has announced this retro-style arcade racer will be getting a physical Switch release. The catch is you'll have to wait until at least June 2025 to get your hands on it - with this hard copy estimated to ship between 1st -...
News Lollipop Chainsaw RePOP Switch Update Adds "Pin-Up Outfit" For Juliet, Here's A Look
Multiple bugs have also been addressed
Lollipop Chainsaw RePOP wasn't in the best state at launch, but the developer Dragami Games has rolled out multiple updates since then smoothing out some issues, fixing bugs, improving performance and even adding some bonus content. With this in mind, the latest update (Version 1.07) has now gone live across...
News Nintendo Postpones Retail Sales Of Its New Sound Clock Alarmo (Japan)
A late start
Nintendo's new sound clock Alarmo had a limited Switch Online rollout when it originally arrived in October, with the plan to eventually give it a wider retail release around the globe. Unfortunately, it seems this retail release has now been postponed in Japan. While Nintendo originally intended to release the clock to the general...
News Nintendo Expands Switch Online's Game Boy Library With Another Classic
Dixie and Kiddy return in Donkey Kong Land 3
Following the recent return of Donkey Kong Land and its sequel, Nintendo has now expanded the Switch Online Game Boy library with the third entry. Yes, Dixie Kong and Kiddy Kong return in Rare's 1997 Game Boy release Donkey Kong Land 3, and it's available to play right now as long as you have an active...
News Ubisoft Closes Two Studios And Will Reportedly Lay Off Hundreds Of Employees
The new free-to-play shooter 'XDefiant' has also been axed
It's been a tough year for the games industry with multiple studio closures and layoffs, and now as we enter December, Ubisoft continues the trend. As highlighted by Game File reporter Stephen Totilo, Ubisoft is shutting down its San Francisco production studio and Osaka, Japan office. It...
Tuesday3rd Dec 2024
Guide Best Retro Throwback Nintendo Switch Games - Modern Games With Old-School Style
Scratch that nostalgia itch with these Switch neo-classics
Ah, nostalgia — it's a tricksy thing. How many times have we gone back to revisit a treasured classic only to find that modern games have spoiled it for us? For all the brilliant aspects of retro games, the mod cons and performance we're used to now are pretty fantastic, too, and sometimes...
News Upcoming Pirate Metroidvania Mixes Hades-Style Visuals & Soulslike Combat On Switch Next Year
That's deep, man
Developer Mad Mimic and publisher Light Up Games have announced that the pirate metroidvania Mark of the Deep will be landing on Switch in January 2025. You might remember that this one was initially scheduled for an October 2024 launch — a date which, obviously, wasn't met — and while it's never ideal to see a nice-looking...
Round Up No One Does Switch Commercials Like Nintendo Australia
Tissues at the ready
Marketing is such an important part of making a console a success. Even Reggie Fils-Aimé stated in his memoir that the idea for the 'Wii Would Like to Play' campaign for the Nintendo Wii – which was initially shot down by Satoru Iwata – ended up being instrumental in the system's rapid success in the US. For the Switch,...
Poll After Three Quiet Months, Will We Finally Get A Nintendo Direct In December?
Show(case), don't tell
With December finally upon us, our minds have been drifting to the past 12 months, recalling what has been a surprisingly packed year of gaming. We've had surprise drops, indie hits and more than a few big names to tide over the Switch in its twilight year, but we can't help but feel that something has been missing: where were...
News 'Switch 2' Accessories Are Seemingly Already On Sale Via Chinese Vendors
Cases and screen protectors up for grabs
Nintendo isn't likely to reveal the highly-anticipated 'Switch 2' before the end of 2024, but that apparently hasn't stopped Chinese vendors from selling accessories for the console via wholesale platform Alibaba. As spotted on Famiboards and reported by our friends over at Eurogamer, the accessories can be...
News Nintendo Switch Online's Next Game Trial Is A Superb Strategy Sequel (Europe)
Groovy
This week, a brand new Nintendo Switch Online Game Trial drops in Europe, and if you've been on the fence about checking out Wargroove 2, now is the time to pick it up. From 5th to 11th December, Nintendo Switch Online subscribers will be able to check out Chucklefish's strategy sequel — which it co-developed with Robotality. We were big...
News Pokémon TV Is Making Its Grand Return As An Official YouTube Channel
Hosting episodes of the anime starting this month
Following its closure earlier this year, Pokémon TV is making its return this month as an official YouTube channel. As reported by Serebii, the new Pokémon TV channel will contain "full episodes, live streams, and compilations" of the Pokémon anime series, starting from 6th December 2024...
Random This Awesome Pokémon Build Transforms Porygon Into A Working Nintendo Wii
"PorWiigon"
We've covered the sweet work of tech wizard BigRig Creates on Nintendo Life in the past (this is the designer behind the world's largest working DS and its 3D counterpart), and this week he has caught our eye again with a colourful Pokémon-inspired build that has us looking at our bland Wii consoles i
News Sea Of Stars Dev Points To Nintendo As Its Biggest Source Of Inspiration
You go, Garl
Sea of Stars launched on Nintendo Switch last year and, after a beefy free update and with an even beefier free DLC on the horizon, it's safe to say that it's a banger. But what inspired the developer, Sabotage, to make such a gem? What studios sit on its mood board? Who is the go-to touchstone for all things game-making? According to...
News Bullet-Hell Shmup Refused Classification In The West Over 'Expression Restrictions'
It's out now in Japan, though
Japanese developer Outside has announced that its bullet-hell shmup Redneg Allstars Swing-By Edition will not release in the US or Europe, having being refused classification in both regions. As such, the game is now exclusive to the Japanese eShop (thanks, Automaton). When asked on social media when the game would...
UK Charts Mario Party Jamboree Hangs Tight As We Roll Into The Holiday Season
Dice another day
With Black Friday capping off last week, part of us expected the UK charts to be a little shaken up when we first peeked at the data this morning. But while there are some bumps in the later entries, the top ten remains as stable as ever... maybe we'll see the discount ramifications next week. Super Mario Party Jamboree is once...
News The Game Awards 2024 Players' Voice Nominees Have Been Revealed - Zelda, Sonic And More
Voting is now open
Ahead of The Game Awards next week, the 'players' voice' nominees have now been revealed. This is a "100% fan voted award" that takes place across three rounds. Round one requires players to vote for their 10 favourite games from a list of 30, and ends on 4th December 2024 (aka tomorrow). On the Nintendo front, The Legend of...
News Super Mario Land 2 Icons Now Available To Switch Online Subscribers
Get 'em while you can
Nintendo's Switch Online 'Missions and Rewards' program has today added a new wave of icons based on the Game Boy title Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins. As you can see below, there are icons featuring Mario and even Wario, and they'll set you back 10 Platinum Points each. These icons will be available between now and 6th...
News 'Nintendo Music' Adds New Switch Soundtrack, Here's Every Song Included
Listen to the tunes of Splatoon 2
When the Nintendo Music mobile application was originally announced, Splatoon 2 was one of the many games teased. In an update to the app today, the soundtrack has now been added. It includes 105 tracks and has a runtime of 3 hours and 34 minutes. This also includes the soundtrack for the Octo Expansion and as...
News Nintendo Expands Switch Online's NES Library With Another Classic Next Week
Tetris returns
Earlier this year during a Tetris Forever 'Partner Direct' trailer, it was revealed the NES version of Tetris would be joining the Switch Online service "this winter". Now, in a new update, it's been confirmed this classic will be returning next week on 12th December 2024. This game will be available to all Switch Online subscribers...
News Bandai Namco's Tales Series To Celebrate 30th Anniversary With Special Broadcast
Airing later this month
Ahead of the release of Tales of Graces f Remastered on the Switch next month, Bandai Namco will be hosting a special 30th anniversary broadcast. This Tales livestream will take place on 16th December 2024 and will celebrate the past 30 years of the series, while spotlighting the latest remaster due out early next year on...
