KissMyFlapjack

I had it on Wii U and it was one of my favorites on that platform, so getting it on the Switch is a no-brainer for me.

I undertand people who did have it passing though. But I do feel this is truly marketed towards the 66 million people who have a Switch and didn't have a Wii U. The Bowser's Fury is a nice addition to give previous owners some extra content, but so few people owned it on Wii U (since so few owned a Wii U) that them not getting it again likely won't make much of a difference on if the game is a success.

Bowser and Little Nightmares II for me! Excited for both!

@BenAV Good reminder. People will talk about PS5 shortages now with good reason, but the Switch had a lot of shortages throughout the Spring and Summer as well where retailers were sold out and not restocked for months. Impressive numbers, especially when reminded of that.

@johnvboy "Destroyed" as in "owned" or "dominated". Not as in actually destroyed and/or ruined.

Good. Bring on some Switch discounts. Even if those are lame, too, they are at least more relevant than those.

I firmly believe that the price cut, along with the holiday releases of this game and Mario Kart 7, is what saved the 3DS.

Before anyone says "You can't believe what VGCHartz says!", the numbers will be close when its all said and done next time Nintendo releases numbers. With the kind of bonkers fourth quarter they've had, combined with Nintendo's last offically released numbers, this estimate is well within the realm of possibility.

And what's more impressive is the fact that the Switch has a small handful of revisions and limited editions, but I venture a ton of 3DS sales came from repeat buyers of the original model and two major redesigns, plus like 20 special editions, and 2DSes, etc.

I loved the 3DS. But these numbers for Switch are just amazing. And it isn't done yet.

Companies had to start doing this on some level because so many people are going digital. They are appealing to collectors and people who love nostalgia as opposed to anyone else. I've bought a few collector's editions for that very reason or else I would have just went digital on it entirely.

For fans of the game with these goodies, it tends to represent a treasure trove of goodies that most will appreciate. On the other hand, I think some also run the risk of being inflated just for the sake of having a "Collector's Edition" out there - packing a bunch of post cards and stickers does not make a CE that is priced at $60 or above.

I was going to comment how much money that was, but who am I kidding - I'll still buy them if available.

For those wondering, Family Video had most of their stores in the Midwest. My small town in Indiana had two, for instance. Really big in Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Ohio, etc.

One thing that helped Family Video last as long as they did is that most of their stores owned the land they were on as opposed to renting lots and buildings like Blockbuster and Hollywood Video. That, and they also rented adult movies, which accounted for up to 40% of their profit margin according to one of my friends who was a store manager for years there (even with the internet, haha).

@Kimyonaakuma Ah, that makes a lot of sense. I don't use Steam so I had no idea. Thanks!

I'm not familiar with how Steam works. Is it common to do kickstarter-like promos to be added to user's wishlists? What is the benefit of it? Can't they just be taken off then without penalty?

I would take a Maiden of Black Water port on Switch since I'm certain very few played it during the waning years of Wii U - especially as it was a large download only title in North America, but the mechanics of that game may make it difficult.

Fantastic article @Damo! Thankful for the reposting as I missed it the first time.

Its funny to read about Nintendo's arrogance in 1995. They surely didn't feel Sega was a threat because of Sega's missteps with the Sega CD and, especially, with the 32X leading into a bad launch of the Saturn.

But I wonder how honestly blindsided they were with the PlayStation.

I shudder to think what Nintendo's year would have been like without New Horizons. I love the game, but even for those who didn't, it still kept the Nintendo brand name afloat for many months in 2020.

What I want to know is what Nintendo's original plan was before the pandemic hit. They had a really thin spring lineup, relying on just one game basically to get them through, and that was planned before COVID changed things.

I can of course understand the slower release schedule in the second half of 2020, but the first half seemed very light. I'd love to know if Mario 3D World was originally planned to come out in 2020 as a their big holiday title.

@dartmonkey Happy New Year! Guide was very helpful.

Some of the pictures aren't lined up correctly in the guide chart. But I'm still excited for these items nonetheless!

Are they really forecasting 45 million units sold in 2020 alone?? That seems really, really high. I know it sold a lot due to the pandemic, but it was also sold out for a lot of the year, too.

While Mario Kart 8 is old hat for a lot of die hard Nintendo fans who owned a Wii U, it is a brand new game being offered for upwards of the 55 million people who didn't. I'd love to know a ratio of the 26 million who own Deluxe didn't own a Wii U and are new to MK8.

Anytime I saw someone buy a console for this holiday, I would overhear 90% of them asking for a Mario Kart game as their first choice. Mario Kart sells well and it was brilliant to have one out so early in the Switch's lifecycle.

That being said, I am surprised they haven't added any new DLC tracks to it because out of that userbase, a number would probably buy it and it would just add longevity to the title since it looks like they won't come out with an MK9 until the next console.

I voted for the Fireworks Shows. There wasn't much to do in comparison to other events, but there was something so neat and heartwarming about seeing all the animals so excited about them, and then their reactions as it was going on.

Good. That would have eventually devolved into a nightmare for Nintendo. A controversial situation would have no doubt arose due to something Kanye would have said or did and put Nintendo in some scenerio in which they would have had to "distance" themselves from.

Kayne may be a "hard worker", but he is clearly a loose cannon with bizarre behavior and polarizing opinions, as evidenced by his recent "run for president".

One of the best videos from this year, for me, was the one @Ziondood made early on during the lcokdown back in the Spring, checking in on us and our mental health - letting us know that we weren't alone in our fear, confusion, frustration and other feelings we were all having. It was extremely helpful and one I will never forget that he and NintendoLife did.

900 hours for me, up by more than double from 2019. They peaked in March and April, coinciding with the pandemic lockdowns and Animal Crossing. Although I love AC, my playtime would have been way up even without the lockdowns.

Top games:
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Monopoly for Nintendo Switch
Pokemon Shield

I know people are tired of seeing the same sales over and over, and some could be lower of course. But I don't mind them because they made decent business sense: the Switch is selling so well, there will always be new users looking for deals for these popular games.

I picked up Okami HD during a similar sale in the spring and I'll probably get Pheonix Wright this time out.

My local Target (in Washington State) has this game at $19.99 as a "clearance" price. Anyone looking for this physically may want to check their stores, too.

Immortals is also at $39.99 at retailers like Target and Best Buy in the US this week for those looking for a physical copy instead.

Looks pretty cool, and I like that they didn't show everything, leaving a number of areas for surprise - or at least until it opens.

I'm certain they will add more themed areas. Donkey Kong is rumored next, but given the popularity of Animal Crossing (and its very family friendly appeal), I would be stunned if they didn't do anything with that franchise. Their Pax East AC-themed booth was amazing and could easily be replicated at the theme park.

I spent many hours with Crazy Taxi on both Dreamcast and GameCube/PS2. Hearing that Offspring song will never not bring me instantly back to that game.

Razer is the type of guy who gets so worked up about his opinions and defensive when others don't agree with them. Most of his comments are negative and complaining, rants about EA and how no one should support their games no matter what, or how he is over some game despite the fact that there are people who are clearly not.

I find it funny that while their concerns were valid at the time, how the PS2 they were so worried about ended up being the best selling console of all time.

@Trajan Because it's great to see a system you love doing so well. It's good to see gaming as a whole doing so well.

And yes, there would be articles like that, and have been already. We lived through about four years of doom and gloom articles during the lowly Wii U era on an almost weekly basis.

"the seductively-named 1.02.38645M" made me actually laugh out loud.

This instantly got my attention. Looking forward to this one.

@Perryg92 I'm sure the pricetag represents no ads, like the Steam version. The mobile game is free but has ads that console versions won't.

The Ignition Factor looks very intriguing to me and looking forward to trying it out!

@drewtoo26 Nintendo uploaded a short YouTube video detailing that exact code and one other one.

People bad-mouthing an Indies Showcase because its not a regular Direct. Do people forget that it was in the last one in August where Hades was revealed? I mean, its okay to want a regular Direct, but these things have value and can hold some great surprises, too!

Wild World was a good game with a fantastic soundtrack. Overall, I like it the least, however, since it didn't have holidays such as Halloween and Christmas in it whatsoever.

@Cheez Why should he? People were asking why it could be so offensive, and that comment provided the exact reason why it has a history of being just that.

@wsli Exactly this. I remember growing up in elementary school and kids would taunt me saying and doing this down to the letter. This is going to come off as extremely over sensitive, but it was very harmful to hear as young kid who was just looking to make friends.

The people who say that this isn't racist or offensive have never had it hurled at them in this kind of way.

Fire Emblem and Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 for me. I'm one of the few who actually liked Fitness Boxing, but I feel FB2 this should have been DLC and not a full game.

That section of eShop New Releases should really be called "eShop - Mostly New Shovelware". haha.

This reminds me very much of the desk calendars that the old Club Nintendo used to offer as lower tier year-end rewards. I'm glad to see them making a somewhat comeback!

I'm glad Nintendo Life reposts these sales as they are about to end. Reminds me to pick up HLD since I had completely forgotten it was on a discount.

That's pretty neat. I saw a screenshot of this feature on Twitter the other night but had no context as to what it was or how to find it in the OS.

This was a great interview. Too bad that gets lost in all the comments complaining about not having a physical cartridge which, while valid, just gloss over how good this article/interview is.

"Wow, it's a minor update. That's worth a whole article."

I'll never understand why some people have to leave such rude comments.

Snipperclips for me. That was (and still is) a lot of fun as a simple multiplayer game. So many laughs.

Within the launch month, I also picked up The Binding of Isaac and Snake Pass.

Interesting so many people are complaining about the Switch port coming one week after the others. You know we are still waiting on Doom: Eternal, right? One week is actually pretty good considering how long we waited for ports like Spyro (and will be waiting for Crash Bandicoot 4).

The company behind Bump of Chicken (Toy's Games) claimed copyright infringement on Youtube which resulted in the instant takedown of any and all Pokemon streamer's reaction videos, including one from GameXplain among many others. Those same videos were then available again to view about an hour later. The Pokemon Company has been fairly friendly when it comes to YouTube streamers sharing their presentations, so I wonder if they get Toy's Games to back off.

Welcome Jon! I will miss you on those lengthy discussion videos at GameXplain, but am very happy for this new phase of your career!

@jump Wii Sports was not bundled with the system in Japan.

" In Japan, where the game was not included with the system, the game sold 176,167 copies in the first two days of release, a record for a seventh generation console game in Japan."