Super Mario Party For Nintendo Switch Won't Support Handheld Mode

why is this game worth £50 again? smh

Is there a release date?

The "No portable play" subtitle is a bit of a misnomer don't you think? The game IS portable as the Switch itself is, but just can't hold it in your hands and play, which makes a lot of sense given the Joycon controls.

CLICKBAIT GARBAGE

You can play in tabletop mode on the go... just stop guys damn...

The headline sounds outrageous, but when you think about it, when would you play in pure handheld mode? It would have to be the single-player content, and only the mini-games with regular controls, which rules out pretty much everything.

So before the pitchforks come out, consider whether this is actually the scandal the headline suggests.

Super 'NO' Mario Party, NO Pro Controller, NO Handeheld Mode, more NOs are to be revealed later.

@Lnsx That exactly. Unplug the joy cons, put the Switch on a surface of your choice and play anywhere you want. How is that not portable? Weird.

Wasn’t that obvious from the beginning?
I don’t think there is anyone surprised by this.
The nature of the game itself doesn’t adapt well to single play, much less while in handheld mode.

This sucks for people who socialize outside of households. I would have been severely disappointed had this been in the case when I was in High School, because most of my multiplayer experiences were with schoolmates on the 3DS.

Tabletop mode it is then.

Not really a shock.

Already knew this. Still not going to buy the game anyway. Simply because I play handheld 90% of the time. And on TV I play with the Pro Controller.

And to me this makes the game worse than 9 or 10.

(I don’t use tabletop mode at all)

At first I thought you couldn't play it without a TV.... But then I was like oh yea handheld and Tabletop are two different things.
But I mean.... It makes sense for no handheld, the side joycon are required so yea, not really a surprise

@Obito_Sigma You can still bring it with you, the mode will just be tabletop instead of handheld mode. Not to mention Tabletop mode engages more people to see what you are playing and the joy-cons are an immediate way to share the experience. That's how I see it.

@Wesjedker and you’re cramped behind a screen that’s only a little bit larger than a smartphone. That’s how I see it.

Not shocked at all TBH. Most/all the mini-games seem to utilize the JoyCons quite extensively.

@sanderev You may not prefer the mode but the option is there for those who do.

I already have this pre loaded. It really looks like a return to form for Mario Party.

I legit cannot remember the last time I used my Switch in tabletop mode and as good as this might be, I'm really not going to play it enough like that to focus on this game right now.

Yeah, I expected this. We can still play without a TV, though! I'm super excited to play this with my fiance and her brother. Their family has a lot of parties, so I'll get plenty of game time out of it and it looks like the best Mario Party in years. Bring it on!

@BensonUii

This game actually has enough content to be worth the price though xD

@BensonUii

This game actually has enough content to be worth the price though xD

@BensonUii

This game actually has enough content to be worth the price though xD

It makes sense but I did expect Nintendo to find a way around it.

@BensonUii

True, I'm actually happy to have a reason for my Joy con collection now. Joy con boyz! xD

Silly article confirmed....can we have some actual news guys.

I’d assumed this much and really don’t mind. I mean, it’s designed around multiplayer and using individual joy cons. I’ll definitely be picking this up, been a long time since a decent Mario Party.

@oji should have went with "Super Mari-No Party" imo.

Makes sence considering the amount of use to the joycons motion controls... also im asuming it was the same situation with 1 2 switch? Also gusing that didnt suport the pro controler ither so this isnt a new thing thats happaning...

It has already been said that the game can be played in table top mode so I guess this headline is a bit provocative. That said you have to be a bit desperate to have four people cramming around a Switch screen to play mini games.

If Nintendo want us/me to buy this game and new controllers it better score a 9 or 10 which I don't think Party games do, otherwise it looks to be an expensive purchase for what it is.

It's odd that when Nintendo put 100 best party games on the DS it did not get a good review.

This is a game intended to be played table mode (aka portable) and tv mode. I am sure the developers have a reason for making their game working this way and -dare I say- I trust them.

No online multiplayer in 2018

Unacceptable

@mist It does have online multiplayer. It has already been advertised many times through commercials and the latest Nintendo Direct.

@zool

I don't really consider it to be all that expensive, but it depends if you're going to make a party out of it or not. For instance, if I only ever played this with like one other person, well, there are better two player co-op games for that. If I can grab three other people pretty regularly, though, I'll have a lot of fun with it!

Plus there's a lot of minigames, more playable characters than ever, and a good amount of modes. It doesn't seem to be lacking content.

Eek... No Handheld mode ?
(Listened from @BensonUii )
Aha...!
I heard it will be like 1-2-Switch style.
Now it sounds make a sense.

Another Nintendo franchise I never engaged in along with Pokémon and smash

Oh god how many times have I bloody cancelled and reordered this game? Time to cancel... AGAIN. I only play handheld, VERY rarely tabletop so this is probably the final dealbreaker. I really wanted this to be my first Super Mario Party since the one on the 64, but it isn't happening when they're doing screwing it up like this.

Just throw in a classic control scheme that doesn't have you flailing your blerping hands everywhere so everyone can enjoy it. I've written this before, but I have a disabled friend who is a huge fan of Super Mario Party, and he won't be able to play it because of this dumb bs. If there was a classic control scheme it'd be no problem.

@Cosats No. It doesn't. Mini games are not online Super Mario Party multiplayer. It's just a ridiculous excuse.

There's no proper online Super Mario Party multiplayer until they introduce full board game mode online.

So my wavebird won’t work

Honestly this doesn't bother me at all but it's nice to see that this site continues its decent into click bait hell. I didn't expect to be able to play a game like this in a mode that requires the Joycon to be locked to its side. Tabletop is as portable as possible.

However you should be able to play every mode online with whoever. They really have now excuse for that nowadays.

@Blizzia Please, watch again the commercials and the latest Nintendo Direct. The game features online multiplayer gaming as well. "Proper" is a subjective word. It may not be "proper" for you. That doesn't mean it is not "proper" for others.

@Dalarrun you may be right, it's just that these type of games are hyped up for months and then the reviewers play the full game and discover a lot of negative game play, it almost always happens, which then devalues the game. Maybe not this time.

@huyi
Yes sorry you thought you could use your joycons for motion and other controls whole still attached to your system

Nintendo Life or Nintendo Everything is copying each other's clickbaiting article, me thinks. Of course table top is considered portable mode as well. And it's Mario Party, you play the game simultaneously with others. You are not expected to hold it in your hands. How will the other players play if you hold it in your hands?

Meh, there have been 10 Mario Party titles so a bit of variety between gaming modes would've been nice. As it stands, this just looks like joy-con killers.

I'll just wait for SSBU.

@Cosats If it's not the full board game experience, it isn't proper. I don't care what others think, it's not super mario party online multiplayer. It's just multiplayer minigames, which defeat the purpose of the game.

Why's everyone acting so surprised? This game utilizes most of Joy-Con's motion control and the usage of a single Joy-Con, and from the many games that I've seen on YouTube, I don't see any reason using the Switch as a handheld for this game in particular.

Not sure if the game is for me, tho I guess I will get it bc I am such a fan boy. I have only played mine in handheld. Have not even hooked it up to my TV. Pretty lame if u ask me. It would have been cool to play this online.

fine

next will be no offline play lol

This is the one game I'd expect to be like this, because it's so dependent on the JoyCons. It's still portable because it still works without a TV; you just need to slide off the JoyCons. Personally I'll be playing it on the TV 90% of the time anyways, and I have no problems with the occasional tabletop mode.

I'm still angry with Nintendo for not letting me use my old N64 controllers with Wii Sports. How dare they decide how games work! What right do they have???

makes sense with all the minigames needing the joyscons sideways to play. who's gonna bust out single player mario party anyway

@BraveBiT What's a "joy con killer"

Watched the every minigame video the other day, and they are looked amazing and used the Joycon in unique fun ways, so this makes perfect sense, which I could get this day one, but spent the last of my money on nso, which I love the nes games.

@Lumine
No TV or table or something, where you can put your Switch on? How sad.😢

I don’t know why anyone is surprised by this. I’m still 110% into this Mario Party.

Imagine trying to play a minigame that requires a lot of shaking or movement? You'd never do well in handheld due to its mass, and might shake the console out of its rails - the locks are not very strong. Mario Party was designed for the lightweight JoyCons - not the bulky console. It really makes a lot of sense they don't allow handheld mode. Just detach a JoyCon, is that hard?

@Lumine
@Lumine
Seems an odd reason for not buying a game. But people apparently have generally odd reasons to not buy a game or complain about something.😕

Awesome! I ONLY play my Switch in tabletop mode so this is so great for me. Between this news & the double gold points offer, I’m pre-ordering right now!

If the headline were "Mario Party Can't Be Controlled With Only Your Mind" you lot would find a way to be both surprised and infuriated. Settle down and think these things through before blowing a gasket, maybe.

Oh no! The game that requires motion gidgets won’t work if I don’t unhook the joycons so that I can use the motion gidgets!!
Preorder cancelled! Pizza order cancelled! Ability to think things through cancelled!

What if I wanted to play Super Mario Party on those long bus rides?

Let's shout out loud enough so that ND Cube should patch support for Pro Controller and Handheld mode in!

Makes sense since a lot of the mini-games rely on a person moving the joy-cons around.

@StephenYap3 Is Mario Party really a good game for bus rides?

I have it pre ordered. I already assumed we wouldn’t be able to use pro controllers because the joycon are required to play the mini games. Still excited to play it with my husband. Time to see if this game will test a marriage the way it ends friendship.

Uh, have you seen how the series performed on the 3DS? Even when the thing was in its prime (shut up fanboys, it's WAY past its prime now), sales of Mario Party games on it totally tanked!

@Dalarrun You can say that again.

@CobraA1 Only if "bus ride" is some new euphemism.

@Cosats : I've noticed a lot of that recently. Whenever one site posts idiotic unfounded speculation, you can bet that the other site will also spread the same misinformation. It's maddening.

@pika677 The series has sold just under 40 million with the highest selling game of the franchise selling just under 9 million, which if it was on the Switch would make it the fourth best selling game on the system.

Wait, if Nintendo expects me to own FOUR pairs of Joycons, they can kiss my @$$. I hope I'm wrong and each individual Joycon is sufficient for every mini game.

thaaaaat's pretty lame, but I get why they did it

@Painkiller_Mike They are. You'd only need 2 pairs max for 4 players.

Uh, okay. Tabletop is fine. As long as portability isn't neglected altogether, than I'm still on board. (No, that wasn't meant to be a pun, please I will throw a scorching fireball at you if you attempt to be--ugh-- punny)

Went from a probably no to hard no. No online made me hesitant as I don’t have local friends who’d be into it (but I do have long distance friends who would). No handheld means I have to set it up in front of a TV (or at least on a table) to play alone. Not worth it to me.

@Mrtoad it has sold just over 40 million actually but thats not exactly impressive for a Nintendo IP thats been around for 20 years and has had 15 games in its time.

Also you need to consider that of that 41m, 18m came from two games on the Wii and DS. The franchise is really one of Nintendo's mid card players.

This isn't a surprise really but this game isn't gonna do too well, lets be realistic... We got games like Diablo 3, Dark Souls Remastered, CIV 6 and our very own Smash Bros on the way... This game is misplaced and quite frankly a totally pointless IP.

@Blizzia Please mind your language!

Almost cancel this pre-order until i saw tabletop. That not a problem since i have a stand ready to be use. Just gotta get use to the joy-con detach. Feel funny in my hand. Can't wait til Oct. 5.

You can't play 1-2 Switch in handheld mode either. Need an article about that too?

Wait, you'd only do that if NintendoEverything ran it first. Cause whenever they run a "no **** Sherlock" headline, NintendoLife is never far behind. Coincidence? You decide...

@Blizzia 40 mins into a game "connection unstable".

Plus people rage quit stuff like that. 5 min game doesnt matter so much. 40 min would suck.

I guess that is a “no” to this game for me now then. I really only have time to play my Switch when I am on the go (handheld mode). I have never even played the Switch on the TV or tabletop mode before. Not enough hours in the day sadly. Motion controls don’t go over well when there a lot of other people in the vicinity. 😄
I was hoping that the controls would be more like the 3DS version (or at least for that to be an option). Was thinking about picking this up but will most probably have to pass on it now.

Another Wii U to Switch downgrade.

Definitely not buying. I've had my Switch a year now and it's never once been in the dock or hooked up to a TV, because I bought this system solely for handheld gaming.

I’m still going to buy this game as it looks like it’s going back to its roots not like 9/10 so that’ll be good. Who know’s what if one day that release an update/patch that allows handheld mode and it has the games that don’t require gyro/motion controls.

@tseliot @CobraA1

I'm at a point in my life, where most of my weeks are spent on bus rides because I go from home to college to stores to such. Having the option to play any game portably is a must since I barely have any time to game at home nowadays. Alongside the removal of Pro Controller support (I swear, these mini games can easily accommodate with Pro Controllers since those have Gyroscope functionality in them), being unable to play Super Mario Party in portable mode is a big offender for those who just want to play the game, especially on those long bus rides.

Now, I would've accepted Super Mario Party for being a "TV" game, but after how amazed I was with Star Rush on 3DS, this came off as a huge tease for me since you don't even have the ability to play it on the go. My only hope is that ND Cube will patch in Pro Controller and Portable Mode support for the game since Super Mario Party can easily accommodate for those features.

@Juma009 October 5th, like two weeks from now

I wish there were some Mario Party DS boards, that game is so underrated. And I also agree with @StephenYap3 on the portable mode though!

Do somebody really expect to play Super Mario Party in handheld mode ? With the motion controls ?

Nintendo life your getting a little click bait in your article titles lately. Its not playable in handheld mode because of the motion controls. Why does your article title have to invite such hate. You could of made a better title that doesnt get endless hate from the community and ultimately just give the game a bad rep. Why dont you talk about the good instead of just churning out troll bait

@Razer “This isn't a surprise really but this game isn't gonna do too well, lets be realistic... We got games like Diablo 3, Dark Souls Remastered, CIV 6 and our very own Smash Bros on the way...”
Except for Dark Souls none of those are coming out in October and
only Smash Bros. has a similar target audience to Mario Party.
“... This game is misplaced and quite frankly a totally pointless IP.”
Where else do you place it? It’s the only new Mario game coming out this year (other than Mario Tennis), may as well just place it in the holiday season. There’s a lot more hype for this game than MP10 and that brought in 2 million in sales on the Wii U. It’s already in the top 5 in the US EShop and until Spider-Man came out it was in the top 10 and is currently no. 11 on Amazon.
While it’s almost certain to be in third place when it comes to Nintendo releases this fall/winter, it’ll still rake in a good amount of sales.

Just let me get this straight you release a game for a handheld console yet you can't play it unless you connect it to the TV. What will Nintendo do next start charging for online gaming on a handheld "oh wait a sec"

How surprising!

@wizzgamer You can play it in tabletop mode, which requires no TV.

I don't see the problem here.

@ Quarth ok well that's fair enough.

The game looks good and i have it preordered. But there seems to be a lot of 'well...' and 'but.....' tied to it. got some thinking to do if it should stay preordered

@Mrtoad well to be honest i don't think it will but let's wait and see.

@USWITCH64 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lrr_VVtyUA8

3 things, not everyone has the ability to set their system on a table, or some stable surface, even if some games are not good for handheld mode, I mean I don't know about everyong, but most people enjoy sitting back and relaxing on the couch, chair/recliner, bed, ect., being forced to set it on a stable surface to play it (or tv) is just too unreasonable, and try putting it sitting up on your lap or tummy....been there, not a go

most people are either not going to notice the fine print on the back, (and yes, it will be in a small box on the back, "most players can't play this game"), so when they get home and open the packaging and find out they cant play it handheld, they will be pissed because they can't take it back to the store, so it's popularity will die overnight

it might actually make the news, you can't play this game in normal mode and probably most of those who see this will not buy it

now maybe Nintendo will fire the dumb-butts who came up with that stupid idea, then pull all copies and re-release fixed copies

@subpopz I’m starting to think they need to do some spring cleaning amongst their writers.

It’s not a game i’m interested in, but it clearly relies heavily on detached joy con functionality - hence no Pro Controller or Handheld support. You can play it Tabletop with detached joy cons, where’s the story again?

That the game requires motion controls via detached joycons, it not surprising to me. Especially since we already heard it doesn't support the pro-controller.

this game went from a must have to forget-about-it! not having a handheld mode option is a no go for me and my wife. we mostly use our switch in handheld and we were both looking forward to this. we both loved the mario party series on the ds/3ds so this is a definate bummer. i suppose theres a slim chance we still might get it, but i doubt it.
No love for us handhelders i guess...sigh

@Ninja44X As most (or all?) of its mini games seems to be motion control based, was it really such a big surprise that Super Mario Party won't support handheld mode?

It's still portable though: you can play it tabletop.

@jhewitt3476 Keep on dreaming.

@Nukuleardawg This is not click bait at all. Yes, the whole 'SMP doesn't support pro controllers and handheld' makes sense. But there are tons of comments who apparently didnt't have the brain to think that a game with motion controls can't be used in handheld.

Aside from those who say it will support handheld: no, it doesn't. Yes, you can still bring your Switch everywhere, but you need to have a stable platform to put your Switch on if you want to play. Which also makes sense.

I don't see what NL does wrong here.

@BensonUii At this point NLife could run the headline "Retailers Confirm Taxes Will Be Applied to Nintendo Game Purchases" and you'd see 100 angry comments yelling at Nintendo.

@Saego What NintendoLife did wrong was assuming people on the internet bother reading before they comment.

I don't see how this is a big deal, its a party game ffs, its meant to be played on a TV, and you can still play in tabletop mode. Everyone makin a big deal outta nothing.

@Saego If it wasn't for dreams, we wouldn't have cool things like video game systems and the rockin ass titles made for them, so ok, I will "keep dreaming", dreams sometimes come true

@Trajan ragequit? Replaced by bot, game moves along at the same pace as before. No issues.

@huyi mostly because thats the price most people are willing pay for it.... Are you doubting this game is going to sell a LOT of copies?

@PhilKenSebben ignore and punsh

@Mew i see where you're going

@Blizzia True.

But you brought up another point. With no random voice chat you're basically playing against good bots anyway.

Are people serious right now ? Knowledge is power my boys, knowledge is power ~

@Trajan Excellent suggestion. Nintendo presses two buttons, et voila, voice chat is now possible with whoever u play with.

Is Mari Party single player? I don’t have friends so I’m not sure if I should buy this.

@Likethepear Yeah, you can play single player in every Mario Party game.

@huyi Because this game is going to be fantastic. And allowing something as trivial as no pro controller or handheld mode support ruin the game for you is both sad and pathetic.

It doesn't upset me too much since I don't play Mario Party too much but I really wanted to play this one. I have almost zero opportunities to play Switch games on tv with a baby and an almost three year old in the house. This is a definite letdown for someone in my position. Nintendo has completely understandable reasons, but still a letdown considering how much I liked the look of this newest entry.

No pro controller support? No handheld mode? Well, then I guess it's a NO purchase then.

I was going to buy this game but now it looks like I am not since I only know one person in my town that owns a switch

@Likethepear Can we find you some friends to play with?

No buy then!