Exclusive: Ahead Of Snooker 19's Switch Launch Next Week, We Find Out Why It's So Special

Snooker is pretty boring for me..... 😴
Gimme some Chibi Boxing games for Switch!

I was looking forward to this until I read reviews of versions on other platforms. Poor character animation (plus not being able to create your own character), gameplay issues like a flash of white screen after every shot.

@Anti-Matter Hey, don’t hijack the comments when these devs have given their time to an exclusive with NLife. They’re clearly happy with their game and have a love of snooker.

I was reading this thinking, "Is this a joke? What the heck is snooker? Sounds like something dirty."
Then I saw the Youtube thumbnail. I guess it's the word for pool/billiards for those of you across the pond...?

"Hey, you want to come over to my place and snooker?"

The ultimate snoozefest.

@FiveDigitLP same style of game but more complex rules, and i think the balls and pockets are smaller. I use to enjoy watching it on TV but not anymore.

@FiveDigitLP Its a different game to those two but yeah, similar - originated from British soldiers in India about 150 years ago. It was very popular in UK in the 70s and 80s (lots of tv coverage and prize money in international tournaments), fell out of favour a bit for a while but now very popular in China so there's a surge in popularity around the world. The phrase 'to snooker someone' comes from the game and means to put them in a difficult position that's hard to get out of' - safety play (leaving the ball in a position where its difficult for your opponent to play a non-foul ball) is a big part of the game.

Still waiting for a decent pool simulator (not snooker) for the Switch. We play pool at work on a daily basis and I wish I could get better with strategies but yet to find something good for the Switch. Bummer but it seems this one doesn't include a pool mode.

@nicols Interesting obscure fact - a lot of its popularity in the 1970s was due to Sir David Attenborough, now famous for his nature documentaries. At the time, he was working at the BBC's new colour TV channel and commissioned a snooker show because he thought the coloured balls would show the advantage of colour over black and white coverage of sports... and he was right as the show was one of the most popular on BBC 2 in the early years.

They could at least implement motion controls on Switch.

I can't imagine many video games being less fun than non-motion based snooker. I'd rather attend a venue that features the real thing (not that I play billiards).

And it's cute that they think they can turn this into an annual franchise (with a very FIFA style menu to boot!).

I'm a big fan of snooker so the official licensing of this makes it very tempting but I think I'll hang off for This Is Pool – Snooker Deluxe Edition. It's cheaper, has more content and should be the better game out of the two.

Mmm. Well I’m looking forward to this relax-em-Up! I’ll hang about for reviews plus id forgotten about This is Pool, so I’ll need to check that out. I like snooker but no one needs two snooker games

Oh and that's a bad miss....

@Tandoori I really wish they'd brought Mitchel and Webb in for the commentary... but then every other sports game I play gets an imaginary Alan Patridge commentary

@KIRO delayed to sometime next year I'm afraid

@nicols

"and for those of you who are watching in black and white, the pink is next to the green."

@Silly_G I can see why you might feel that way but I love these sorts of games on consoles... whilst they can never replicate the physicality of holding a cue, the aiming judging angles / rebounds captures the spirit of the game quite well - makes it feel a bit like a physics based puzzle game and I find that a relaxing way to play. Not sure motion controls would add much to the aiming, I guess you could replicate the cue action via the too joycons but I suspect it wouldn't be that accurate

Been a while since I went out to play snooker with friends. Looks interesting and will follow

@nicols : Perhaps I had been hasty in proposing motion controls, though it wouldn't hurt as an option separate to the core experience for the sheer novelty of it.

And your explanation of a snooker video game being akin to a physics-based puzzler has put this into rather intruiging perspective, and from that angle, I can better appreciate its appeal. But annual instalments for a game like this seems ridiculous.

On a similar note, I quite like board games and especially television game show games on Switch (of which there are currently very few) due to their ease of play and the fact that I can play them in the middle of another activity.

wow...i really love snooker. i was waiting for this game

@Silly_G Oh, I'm all for motion controls in many games, as long as they make sense - thinking about it, maybe giving the option to use motion controls to pan around the ball to check the angles might be a nice touch for example?

Annual updates - yeah, I can understand your scepticism. Most triple AAA sports games struggle with the annual update so a game like this (developed by a small team) would be a real stretch. Of course, sometimes its tied into the licence that they release a new version every year, for branding and marketing purposes. The ideal compromise would be a roster update as dlc with a new version every couple of years but I'm guessing that not popular with the accountants

And it has Pool, too, right? Because £30 just for Snooker.. .....!!?

"And for those of you who are watching in black and white, the pink is next to the green."

NintendoLife and their advertorials

I’ve never played a snooker video game which has been absolutely nailed authenticity wise. This is as close as I’ve seen to be honest, so I may have to dip my toes into the water. This is certainly a game for fans of the sport though, and not much else.

@FiveDigitLP No they are totally different games.... Snooker is played on a large table compared to billiards and the rules are totally different.