Zelda

It's that day of the year again. On the video game front, things are sometimes taken to another level when a joke turns out to be the real deal, and it seems to have happened once again this year, this time with Sega murdering Sonic the Hedgehog (seriously) and a few other amusing announcements.

Of course, there have also been many Nintendo pranks and we even joined in on the fun here on Nintendo Life with a video about the origin story of Alex's famous catchphrase and a "rumour" about the return of the infamous Phillips CDi Zelda games.

In addition to this, we've also rounded up many of the other best April Fools' Day jokes of 2023 on this page. If we see or hear about anything else - we'll update you.

The Round Up So Far...

The origin story of "Hello There Lovely People"

You've always wanted to know how our senior video producer Alex Olney came up with his famous catchphrase, so here it is:

Phillips CD-i Zelda Games Are Being Remastered For Switch

We'll forgive you if this one almost got you, but let's be honest, there's no way this is going to happen...

Zelda

Sega Murders Sonic The Hedgehog

Sega has been listening to fan feedback about the blue blur and has decided to kill him off. In all seriousness - this is real, it's free and it's quite fun!

Platinum Announces Next Instalment In "Neo-Classic Arcade" Series

The King of April Fools' Day Hideki Kamiya is back with his latest announcement. In the past, some of Platinum's reveals on this day have actually turned into proper game releases later down the line.

In other words, there might actually be a real game somewhere within this latest announcement. Here's the fake press conference, but we recommend you read the full story:

Special Edition Metroid Prime, Prime Hydration Drink Announced

Australian Nintendo website Vooks.net came up with a great joke this year - sharing an announcement about a Metroid Prime themed 'Prime Hydration Drink' by a pair of famous YouTubers. Now, where's the Super Mario G-Fuel collaboration?

There might not really be a drink, but one thing that wasn't a joke was the recently released remaster for Switch. Check out our Nintendo Life review for a full rundown:

Nintendo-Themed Dolphin Emulator Steam Achievements

Earlier this week, the team behind the GameCube and Wii emulator Dolphin announced a Steam Store release in Q2 2023. While this was a legitimate announcement, today they followed up with a joke about how the emulator would support 'Nintendo' themed Steam achievements.

Lechonk's Pokémon Takeover

We knew Lechonk was a popular pocket monster in the new games Scarlet and Violet, and now he's taken over the entire official website. In fact, The Pokémon Company is pretty much spamming him everywhere - there's events taking place in games, and even merchandise.

Lechonk
No, this isn't a photoshop. The website looks like this right now!

Yacht Club Games Launches "Simply Shovel Celebrations"

Yacht Club Games announced fans could hire Shovel Knight to celebrate special moments in their lives. He'll do weddings, birthday parties, social gatherings and is even willing to show up to corporate events.

Shovel Knight

Overwatch 2 Adds Googly Eyes

It didn't just joke about it, it actually did it. It's also released some crazy patch notes which you can find in the link below.

Overwatch 2

Blasphemous Gets A Retro Handheld Spin-Off

You've played this brutal action-platformer on all your modern systems, now travel back to the retro handheld past with 'Blasphemous Kid'. But seriously...check out the actual game when you get the chance, it's well worth a look.

PowerWash Simulator X Vampire Survivors

The developer behind PowerWash Simulator - the game where you clean everything in sight announced "PowerWash Survivors" - warning Vampire Survivors it was coming for its BAFTA. Be on the lookout for this one exclusively on the Ouya and Stadia platforms.

Sonic Speed Dating Announced

If a game about Sonic's murder wasn't already enough, how about one where you date him instead? Done by Sega Hardlight, we don't think this one is actually real...

Nintendo Adds Mario Movie Voice Actors To The Mario Games

In this pretend Direct by IGN, Nintendo announced it would be bringing the Mario Movie voice actors to all of its Super Mario video games:

Among Horse

The hit 'who killed who' game Among Us has turned the entire space crew into horses (again). Yes, the horse update returns but it's only around until April 2nd - so join in on the fun while you can. Learn more on Innersloth's blog page.

Night Trap Is Coming To Game Boy Advance, Pre-Orders Live

This is another joke, but it isn't. The physical distributor has actually gone to the extent of bringing Night Trap in video form to the Game Boy Advance and pre-orders are now live. It'll set you back $49.99 USD or your regional equivalent.

WayForward Unveils The Next Mighty Switch Force Adventure

WayForward is another company that's also had some real reveals on this particular day of the year. Last time it was at Cat Girl Without Salad: Amuse-Bouche. This year it's announced, Might Switch Force! Art Inspector. It's probably best to treat this as a joke for now.


These are just some of the jokes doing the rounds this year. Once again, if we see or hear about any others, we'll update this page.