Nintendo's going to need to try harder than that to drag me back to MKW. This feels more pointless than the Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition weekly leader boards.
The Global Jam was enough to deter me from buying the game. The controls were just too inconsistent in my experience. Having your arms at a perfect angle to avoid fatigue is another hurdle, when all you want to do is plonk yourself down on the sofa and relax.
Gavin is right, this should have been included as part of an NSO subscription. Charging for it is likely going to harm how long the lobbies are going to be active for. Hell, even F-Zero 99 is struggling to get more than 20 players in most races now.
I doubt Nintendo owns the account, and it's more likely to be a chancer hoping for a quick pay day.
I've just realised that this site generally had more news that was actually related to games back in the Wii U-era. I'm sure a lot of that was down to Nintendo still supporting two systems at the time, but it's quite strange that the Switch 2 has only just been released and gaming news websites are hardly being given anything to report on Nintendo-wise. Obviously, this website has recently been doing more opinion pieces and talking points in the absence of actual gaming news.
I guess that says a lot about Nintendo having more control over its own news these days, with the few and far between major Directs and the Nintendo Today app.
I wondered who'd end up pulling the short straw on reviewing this. π As someone who's got no interest in adding a camera to my Switch 2, this has zero appeal to me. I'm struggling to imagine anyone buying this as a way to hang out with friends.
Did the training section and got fed up with it. Perhaps I need to find a better surface to use the joy-con on, as the controls felt inconsistent to me. I'll try again later. Maybe.
In all seriousness though, this isn't too surprising. Nintendo has been bowing to the shareholders a lot more since the post-Iwata/Switch-era. I'm honestly not such a fan of the overly corporate Nintendo we've been seeing recently, as it's seemed less about creativity and fans and more about keeping the shareholders happy.
Yes, every business is in it for the money, I just feel Nintendo has got the balance wrong in recent times.
Bithell has always struck me as one of the good guys in the games industry. I hope the studio survives these tumultuous times, and that those made redundant find new jobs in the near future.
I'm happily retired from the amiibo collecting game, thankfully. Sora finished the Smash Bros set and my nervous system has been in a much more stable place ever since.
A lot of games appealed to me in this presentation, which is more than I can say about the last couple. So no complaints here, other than finishing on a super rushed sizzle reel.
I think I'll pick this up digitally and buy the UFO Companion book to go with it. Looks like the EU Fangamer website doesn't have the deluxe edition, which makes things a bit easier for me. π
@Metazoxan Quite simply, I've found the Switch 2 to be quite the disappointment so far, and bar Bananza nothing has really justified my purchase of an S2. So, again, for me, there's a lot riding on this one, as I use my Nintendo consoles mostly for first-party and indie games. Anything else you want to try to convince me of?
I honestly don't expect Nintendo to do anything other than maybe a couple of limited discounts and some new NSO icons. There's more chance of Capcom celebrating the next Mega Man anniversary.
I'll either wait on a Switch 2 patch (currently locked at 30fps, apparently) or leave it. I'm not buying this at full price when it should be able to at least hold 30fps at the bare minimum on Switch 1.
I imagine the idea is to use Switch 1's price increase to offset money lost on Switch 2's profits due to the tariff stuff, as the last thing Nintendo will want to do is up S2's price any further while it's already deemed too expensive for many. And slowing down S2's sales by increasing its price wouldn't go down well with the shareholders.
Anyways, I'm surprised the comments are on for this one...
I'm struggling to see where the system sellers are outside of Bananza. Yes, yes, people love Mario Kart, but MKW is seriously underwhelming, not to mention incomplete, in my eyes. But this showcase was the opportunity to show some heavy hitter third-party AAA titles, which it failed to do.
Anyone who's not upgraded to a Switch 2 yet must be laughing all the way to the bank. I wish I'd waited to get mine.
Incredibly lame decision. Look how much better the Switch 1 box art looks. And now Square Enix have the audacity to ask for $230 for the collector's edition, which also features the Game Key Card.
Nothing in there for me really. Today's Hitman: Absolution announcement was the most exciting thing about today and it wasn't even in the Direct. I was hoping the Partner Showcase would give us a good insight into third-party support for Switch 2, but overall it was very disappointing.
I was so excited for this game when it first released on the 360, but was shocked by all the changes that were made. Saying that, I did end up appreciating for what it was. The Contracts mode was especially fun. I'll definitely pick this up when it's released.
I'm actually probably more interested in this than a regular Direct, as it'll give us an indication of how much AAA third-party support Switch 2 is likely to have over it's first 18 months or so.
@Ramouz Yeah, one of the pros of the Switch and Switch 2 not being region-locked. It's always worth double-checking just before you buy anything of the Japanese websites though. If you look on your regional eShop, you'll see all the languages each game supports under 'details', so if it supports English and Japanese you should be fine to buy it on Amazon Japan.
@Ramouz I believe the vast majority of games are both English and Japanese language on the eShop, bar some Japanese-only releases.
You can use eshop-prices.com to check if a game has any regional differences first though, and investigate from there. I can't think of one Nintendo AAA game that's Japanese-only though. π
So we're just going to forget about former NL contributor Martin Watts, who absolutely destroyed Mario Mart Wii's online competition with the Wii Wheel? π
Someone's looking for over Β£400 for a sealed copy of Tipping Stars on Wii U. What makes it even more ridiculous is that it's a code in a box release. π
Comments 2,006
Re: Mario Kart World Announces 'Summer Vacation Skill Test' Event
Nintendo's going to need to try harder than that to drag me back to MKW. This feels more pointless than the Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition weekly leader boards.
Re: Best Nintendo Switch 2 Third-Party TV Docks
"Best", yet none of them have been reviewed on here. Interesting.
Re: Review: Drag x Drive (Switch 2) - A Real Baller With Friends, But Is There Enough To Do?
The Global Jam was enough to deter me from buying the game. The controls were just too inconsistent in my experience. Having your arms at a perfect angle to avoid fatigue is another hurdle, when all you want to do is plonk yourself down on the sofa and relax.
Gavin is right, this should have been included as part of an NSO subscription. Charging for it is likely going to harm how long the lobbies are going to be active for. Hell, even F-Zero 99 is struggling to get more than 20 players in most races now.
Re: Best Pixel Art Nintendo Switch Games
The Axiom Verge games should be in here somewhere...
Re: Random: Oh Jeez, Now Palworld Has Its Own Rip-Off On The Switch eShop
It looks better than the new Lord of the Rings game at least.
Re: Could This Mysterious Super Mario 40th Anniversary X Account Be Legit?
I doubt Nintendo owns the account, and it's more likely to be a chancer hoping for a quick pay day.
I've just realised that this site generally had more news that was actually related to games back in the Wii U-era. I'm sure a lot of that was down to Nintendo still supporting two systems at the time, but it's quite strange that the Switch 2 has only just been released and gaming news websites are hardly being given anything to report on Nintendo-wise. Obviously, this website has recently been doing more opinion pieces and talking points in the absence of actual gaming news.
I guess that says a lot about Nintendo having more control over its own news these days, with the few and far between major Directs and the Nintendo Today app.
Re: Poll: So, Will You Be Getting The Switch 2's Next Exclusive 'Drag x Drive'?
I tried it over the weekend and it was cumbersome. Mouse controls might be Nintendo's most poorly implemented gimmick yet.
Re: Talking Point: Where On Earth Are The Switch 2 Soundtracks On Nintendo Music?
If Mario Kart World's OST was on Nintendo Music, I'd have even less of incentive to fire up that game again.
Re: Review: Chillin' By The Fire (Switch 2) - Novel Camera Integration, But Won't Set Your World Alight
I wondered who'd end up pulling the short straw on reviewing this. π As someone who's got no interest in adding a camera to my Switch 2, this has zero appeal to me. I'm struggling to imagine anyone buying this as a way to hang out with friends.
Re: PSA: Shoot Some Hoops With Drag x Drive's Dev Team This Weekend
Did the training section and got fed up with it. Perhaps I need to find a better surface to use the joy-con on, as the controls felt inconsistent to me. I'll try again later. Maybe.
Re: Nintendo's Share Price Is Now Double The Height Of The Wii Era
Who knew Alarmo would be such a hit?
In all seriousness though, this isn't too surprising. Nintendo has been bowing to the shareholders a lot more since the post-Iwata/Switch-era. I'm honestly not such a fan of the overly corporate Nintendo we've been seeing recently, as it's seemed less about creativity and fans and more about keeping the shareholders happy.
Yes, every business is in it for the money, I just feel Nintendo has got the balance wrong in recent times.
Re: Tron: Catalyst & John Wick Hex Dev 'Bithell Games' Makes "Majority" Of Staff Redundant
Bithell has always struck me as one of the good guys in the games industry. I hope the studio survives these tumultuous times, and that those made redundant find new jobs in the near future.
Re: Cronos: The New Dawn Gets A Deep Dive Trailer, And It's Looking Awesome
Not usually my type of game (I hate jump scares), but this video has definitely piqued my interest. It looks like it could be a very cool story.
Re: Talking Point: Nintendo Is Laser-Targeting Your Toddlers With This New 'My Mario' Line
I'm happily retired from the amiibo collecting game, thankfully. Sora finished the Smash Bros set and my nervous system has been in a much more stable place ever since.
Re: PokΓ©mon TCG Pocket Updates Card Art Following Plagiarism Allegations
Certainly not what I was expecting.
Re: Nintendo Indie World Showcase August 2025 - Every Announcement, Game Reveal & Trailer
A lot of games appealed to me in this presentation, which is more than I can say about the last couple. So no complaints here, other than finishing on a super rushed sizzle reel.
Re: UFO 50 Gets A Surprise Shadow Drop On Switch Today
I think I'll pick this up digitally and buy the UFO Companion book to go with it. Looks like the EU Fangamer website doesn't have the deluxe edition, which makes things a bit easier for me. π
Re: Metroid Prime 4, Elden Ring, Silksong All Playable At Nintendo's Gamescom Booth
I imagine AoI's absence probably points to it releasing in 2026.
Anyways... Why hasn't the most important news of the day been shared here yet? A Donkey Bananza Theme lyric video has been uploaded on Nintendo Today.
Re: Talking Point: Nintendo Indie World Showcase Predictions - What Do You Hope To See?
Tanuki: Ponβs Summer is now firmly on my radar!
Re: Apex Legends Switch 2 Performance And Resolution Upgrade Detailed
78.5GB?! Pass. EA? Double pass.
Re: Surprise! Nintendo Announces Indie World Showcase For Thursday 7th August 2025
@Metazoxan Quite simply, I've found the Switch 2 to be quite the disappointment so far, and bar Bananza nothing has really justified my purchase of an S2. So, again, for me, there's a lot riding on this one, as I use my Nintendo consoles mostly for first-party and indie games. Anything else you want to try to convince me of?
Re: Surprise! Nintendo Announces Indie World Showcase For Thursday 7th August 2025
@Metazoxan For me, there's a lot riding on this one. How are you going to argue with that?
Re: Surprise! Nintendo Announces Indie World Showcase For Thursday 7th August 2025
Well, there's a lot riding on this one.
Re: Feature: What We Expect From Nintendo For Super Mario Bros.' 40th Anniversary
I honestly don't expect Nintendo to do anything other than maybe a couple of limited discounts and some new NSO icons. There's more chance of Capcom celebrating the next Mega Man anniversary.
Re: Video: 13 Exciting New Games Coming To Switch 1 & 2 In August 2025
Shinobi and erm... Nope, that's it.
Re: Review: Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound (Switch) - A Gorgeous & Gory Return To The Series' 2D Roots
I'll either wait on a Switch 2 patch (currently locked at 30fps, apparently) or leave it. I'm not buying this at full price when it should be able to at least hold 30fps at the bare minimum on Switch 1.
Re: Upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 Games & Accessories For August & September 2025
Shuten Order (which isn't listed here) is my most anticipated game for September, currently.
Re: Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection Gets Proper Physical Release On Switch 2
That should have been "a huge (Ed) boon for physical collectors". π
It appears the Deluxe Edition is mostly cardboard tat, so I'll be avoiding that. The pre-order exclusive slipcases look decent though.
Re: Nintendo Switch Console & Accessory Prices Are Going Up In The US
I imagine the idea is to use Switch 1's price increase to offset money lost on Switch 2's profits due to the tariff stuff, as the last thing Nintendo will want to do is up S2's price any further while it's already deemed too expensive for many. And slowing down S2's sales by increasing its price wouldn't go down well with the shareholders.
Anyways, I'm surprised the comments are on for this one...
Re: Reaction: Switch 2 Needed A Partner Showcase With Pep; This Wasn't It
I'm struggling to see where the system sellers are outside of Bananza. Yes, yes, people love Mario Kart, but MKW is seriously underwhelming, not to mention incomplete, in my eyes. But this showcase was the opportunity to show some heavy hitter third-party AAA titles, which it failed to do.
Anyone who's not upgraded to a Switch 2 yet must be laughing all the way to the bank. I wish I'd waited to get mine.
Re: Octopath 0 Is A Game-Key Card On Switch 2, And Square Enix Has "No Plans" For A Switch 1 Upgrade Option
Incredibly lame decision. Look how much better the Switch 1 box art looks. And now Square Enix have the audacity to ask for $230 for the collector's edition, which also features the Game Key Card.
Re: Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase July 2025: Every Announcement, Game Reveal, Trailer
Nothing in there for me really. Today's Hitman: Absolution announcement was the most exciting thing about today and it wasn't even in the Direct. I was hoping the Partner Showcase would give us a good insight into third-party support for Switch 2, but overall it was very disappointing.
Re: Hitman: Absolution Sneaks Onto Switch 1 Later This Year, Switch 2 In 2026
I was so excited for this game when it first released on the 360, but was shocked by all the changes that were made. Saying that, I did end up appreciating for what it was. The Contracts mode was especially fun. I'll definitely pick this up when it's released.
Re: Mario Kart World Has Been Updated To Version 1.2.0, Here Are The Full Patch Notes
@USWITCH64 And organise the character select screen better.
Re: Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase Announced For Tomorrow, 31st July 2025
I'm actually probably more interested in this than a regular Direct, as it'll give us an indication of how much AAA third-party support Switch 2 is likely to have over it's first 18 months or so.
Re: Mario Kart World Has Been Updated To Version 1.2.0, Here Are The Full Patch Notes
I like that Nintendo put the lap-type courses change at the very bottom of the general notes, like it was super reluctant about adding it. π
Re: Animal Well Is Getting A Gorgeous New Physical From Lost In Cult
Switch 2 enhancement patch (1.09) notes:
"Visuals equivalent to "Best" settings on PC. Which means:
Back buffer is now upscaled to 1080p instead of 720p (handheld and docked)"
From the Animal Well Discord.
Re: Animal Well Is Getting A Gorgeous New Physical From Lost In Cult
From Lost In Cult's website:
"Approved, tested for our preservation guarantee - no internet or downloads required, with the up-to-date final version of the game"
Nice.
Re: Atari To Acquire 'SteamWorld' Dev Thunderful
Atari's been doing some wonderful stuff recently. I've got no doubt that this'll be a good thing for Thunderful.
Re: Every Nintendo Switch Online SNES Game, Ranked
Checks to see if Super Mario World is still where it should be
Ah... Good.
Re: Nintendo Expands Switch Online's SNES Library With A Mouse Game
That release video was great! I actually want to try out Mario Paint now.
Re: Review: Tales Of The Shire: A The Lord Of The Rings Game (Switch) - The Hobbit, Or "There It Crashed Again"
When was it delayed from, the GameCube-era?
Re: UK Charts: Donkey Kong Bananza Is A Hit, But Sells Less Than Half Of Super Mario Odyssey
@Ramouz Yeah, one of the pros of the Switch and Switch 2 not being region-locked. It's always worth double-checking just before you buy anything of the Japanese websites though. If you look on your regional eShop, you'll see all the languages each game supports under 'details', so if it supports English and Japanese you should be fine to buy it on Amazon Japan.
Re: UK Charts: Donkey Kong Bananza Is A Hit, But Sells Less Than Half Of Super Mario Odyssey
@Ramouz I believe the vast majority of games are both English and Japanese language on the eShop, bar some Japanese-only releases.
You can use eshop-prices.com to check if a game has any regional differences first though, and investigate from there. I can't think of one Nintendo AAA game that's Japanese-only though. π
Re: Random: DK Would Go Bananas For This Fan-Made Switch 2 Dock Cover
@Pillowpants It was just a joke because the Switch 2 looks a bit 'charred' in the photos.
Re: Random: DK Would Go Bananas For This Fan-Made Switch 2 Dock Cover
Looks like the creator set fire to their Switch 2 in the process. π
Re: UK Charts: No Prizes For Guessing Who Overtook Donkey Kong Bananza This Week
Code in a box titles appear to be doing better than Game-Key Card ones, if I'm reading it correctly.
Also, Mortal Kombat 11 is back in the top 10 and MK1 is nowhere to be found.
Re: Review: Nintendo Switch 2 Joy-Con 2 Wheel - Flawed, But Still Fun
So we're just going to forget about former NL contributor Martin Watts, who absolutely destroyed Mario Mart Wii's online competition with the Wii Wheel? π
Re: Doronko Wanko Trots Onto Switch Today
My Frenchie is a lil' wanko. Mainly because he does a lot of the dumb stuff that this game is promoting. π
Re: Best Donkey Kong Games Of All Time
Someone's looking for over Β£400 for a sealed copy of Tipping Stars on Wii U. What makes it even more ridiculous is that it's a code in a box release. π