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RUMOR: A Nintendo game code-named 'Banquet' could be in development
Hopefully we'll see it in next month's Direct
Famed game-leaker Midori (@MbKKssTBhz5 on Twitter) has largely gained a following thanks to their accurate leaks about ATLUS games such as Persona 3 Reload and Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance, but, as of late, they’ve been sharing a bit of information on Nintendo. Last week, they shared that a game with the codename ‘Banquet’ was in development, and today they’ve added a couple new details:
NDCube is primarily known for developing every Mario Party title since 9. Super Mario Party, in particular, had SmileBoom’s assistance and the similar codename of ‘Buffet’, so it seems like we’re probably looking at a follow-up to their 2018 Mario Party title rather than 2021’s Superstars. Hopefully we hear more about this game soon, perhaps in the already-confirmed June 2024 Nintendo Direct.
Nintendo shares a Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door animated short
Could more be on the way?
With the Switch remake of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door right around the corner, Nintendo have started ramping up marketing for the game. As a part of that, they shared a 50-second animated short featuring Paper Mario and Bowser, which you can watch for yourself above.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder saw similar shorts before its release, so it seems likely we’ll be getting a few more over the next week.
In Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, the nefarious X-Nauts are after the treasure behind the Thousand-Year Door! With a map from Princess Peach, and the help of a few locals, Mario journeys through a colorful world made of paper to find them first. To prevail in this quest, you’ll have to level up Mario and his friends, master timing-based attacks and badges to impress the audience on the stage of combat, and make use of all the abilities that come with being made of paper, like folding into a plane to cross big gaps or turning sideways to slip through narrow openings. The GameCube classic finds new life on Switch next week, on May 23rd, 2024.
Monster Hunter series sales pass 100 million, Rise sales pass 15 million
The Switch-first Rise is among the series' most successful
Capcom’s classic Monster Hunter series has crossed 100 million total sales, the company announced today. Among its many games, Monster Hunter Rise, which launched first on Switch, is the second best-selling game in the franchise, with it having passed 15 million sales.
The series’ next game, Monster Hunter Wilds, has yet to be announced for any Nintendo platform. We can only hope that Nintendo’s next console is powerful enough to handle it.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom icons return to Nintendo Switch Online
The icons return right after the game's first anniversary
With the anniversary of Tears of the Kingdom hitting just yesterday, Nintendo have given Nintendo Switch Online subscribers a second chance to claim a Tears of the Kingdom-themed Switch icon for themselves. The first wave is available now, with another wave hitting next week.
As per usual, the character icons themselves are 10 Platinum Points, while the borders and backgrounds are 5 Platinum Points a piece. The current wave will be available until May 20th.
The Nintendo Switch is losing its Twitter/X integration next month (UPDATE)
Friend requests via social media are also going away
The Nintendo Switch will be losing its Twitter/X functionality on June 10th, 2024, the company announced, ironically via Twitter.
This’ll be affecting sharing posts in Splatoon 2, and, to a lesser extent, Splatoon 3, as well. Friend requests through social media will also be made unavailable. Here’s the full statement:
- The feature for posting screenshots and videos to X (formerly Twitter) from the Album in the Nintendo Switch HOME Menu will become unavailable.
- While posting screenshots and videos to Facebook will continue to be available, this service may also be discontinued at a later date.
- The ability to post Super Smash Bros. Ultimate screenshots from the Album in the Nintendo Switch HOME Menu to Smash World, in the Nintendo Switch Online smart device app, will also become unavailable.
- Posting features in the Nintendo Switch title Splatoon 3 will be adjusted. When posting from the mailbox in Splatsville, Inkopolis Plaza, or Inkopolis Square, you will no longer be able to post to X (formerly Twitter) or Facebook; the data will be sent directly to Nintendo servers. This change will allow users to make posts without one of these social media accounts, but images posted by players younger than 13 will not be visible to other players.
- The image created for the post will be copied to the Album in the Nintendo Switch HOME Menu. Images in the Album can be transferred to a smart device wirelessly or to a PC via USB cable.
- Posting features in the Nintendo Switch title Splatoon 2 will be adjusted. You will no longer be able to post to X (formerly Twitter) from the mailbox in Inkopolis Square. The characters that appear and posts that are displayed in the Square will be replaced by data already prepared within the game software.
- The feature for sending friend requests to social media friends via the Friend Suggestions menu on My Page, in the Nintendo Switch HOME Menu, will no longer be available.
- You can continue to use the friend suggestions feature from smart devices, Nintendo 3DS, and Wii U.
Unfortunately, it looks like sharing your Switch screenshots will be a lot harder for a lot of users. Hopefully some Twitter integration still comes to the next console.
UPDATE: Twitter/X has released a statement on this matter and you can read it in full below.
The gaming community is one of the largest and most vibrant communities on our platform, and we are dedicated to enhancing and supporting gaming-related features. As part of Nintendo’s planned discontinuation of sharing content to X from the Nintendo Switch, from June 11th, users will need to download Switch gameplay media directly to their smartphones and share it natively on our platform.
We worked together with Nintendo throughout this process to ensure API access for this integration, but ultimately it was a product decision made by Nintendo.
Our partnership with Nintendo remains strong, and we are working together to ensure a smooth transition for all users. We will continue collaborating with partners to bring new and exciting experiences to our global gaming community.
Four more characters revealed for Earth Defense Force: World Brothers 2 via a new trailer
The third-person shooter launches later this year
Another trailer has been shared for Earth Defense Force: World Brothers 2, the upcoming voxel-based entry in the popular Earth Defense Force franchise, showcasing 4 new playable characters. You can watch the trailer above to see them all in action.
In Earth Defense Force: World Brothers 2, players will have to fight off the Gaiark, monsters who come pouring out from inside the planet. This puts the future of Earth in great danger, and you’ll have control one of four new classes from Earth Defense Force 6 in order to save the planet. You can fight to restore peace to a voxel Earth when the game launches in the west this September, or in Asia, complete with English subtitles, on May 23rd.
WitchSpring R is launching on August 29th, 2024
The turn-based RPG is being ported from PC
Turn-based RPG WitchSpring R will be launching worldwide on August 29th, developer KIWI WALKS and western publisher PM Studios have announced via a new trailer. You can watch the trailer for yourself above to see the game in action.
In Japan, the game will be receiving a physical release in the form of both a 4,950 yen standard version and a 19,800 yen limited edition, both pictured below. There is no word on a western physical release.
Here’s an overview, courtesy of the developers:
WitchSpring R is a story-driven RPG combining elements of simulation, collecting & crafting, and battling. Play as Pieberry, a white-haired, bunny-eared witch growing up in a forest filled with monsters. To relive her childhood memories (eating delicious food!), she longs to venture among humans, but she can’t find a way to the outside world… until your story begins! A world of new experiences is waiting for YOU to explore with her.
Based on the existing Steam release, the game will likely retail for $34.99 USD.
Japanese commercial shared for Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door's Switch remake
The RPG remake comes out later this month
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is getting a lavish Switch remake in just a couple weeks, and marketing is ramping up. You can watch the first commercial shared in Japan to see 30 seconds of the game in motion.
In Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, the nefarious X-Nauts are after the treasure behind the Thousand-Year Door! With a map from Princess Peach, and the help of a few locals, Mario journeys through a colorful world made of paper to find them first. To prevail in this quest, you’ll have to level up Mario and his friends, master timing-based attacks and badges to impress the audience on the stage of combat, and make use of all the abilities that come with being made of paper, like folding into a plane to cross big gaps or turning sideways to slip through narrow openings. The GameCube classic finds new life on Switch next month, on May 23rd, 2024.
The second wave of Endless Ocean: Luminous icons has been added to Nintendo Switch Online
New waves will release throughout the month of May
Throughout the month of May, Nintendo will be releasing Endless Ocean: Luminous icons to celebrate the release of the new title. The second wave is available now, with 2 more waves to come; one per week throughout May.
This wave only features character and background combo elements, each for 10 platinum points a piece. The current wave will be available until May 15th.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is now Nintendo's best-selling game ever
That is, ignoring the technicality of Wii Sports
Nintendo recently dumped a load of new sales data in a recent investors’ meeting, and with it came the revelation that Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is not just the best-selling Switch game, but the best-selling Nintendo game of all time, with one caveat. Wii Sports has technically sold more, though, as that game came packaged with most Wii consoles, it’s hard to say that really counts.
An enhanced port of the Wii U’s Mario Kart 8, Deluxe launched on Switch around the console’s launch and went on to sell over 70 million copies, just shy of Wii Sports’ inflated 82 million sales. While it seems unlikely, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe may just become the uncontested number one, depending on how much longer the Switch lasts.
Endless Ocean: Luminous comes to Tetris 99 May 10th, 2024 (updated with trailer)
Play enough and you'll unlock the theme permanently
Tetris 99’s 40th Maximus Cup event is kicking off in a little over a week, and fans will be able to claim a theme based off of Endless Ocean: Luminous if they’ve earned at least 100 event points before it ends. We don’t have any footage of what the theme will look and sound like yet; when we do, we’ll be sure to update this post.
The Maximus Cup event will run from May 10th at 12:00 AM PT to May 13th at 11:59 PM PT. If you want the theme, don’t miss your chance!
DNF DUEL DLC character Nen Master announced
The season pass's final character will release this summer
Nen Master, the fifth and final character from DNF DUEL’s current season pass, has been announced as a new character in the popular fighting game via a short teaser trailer, which you can watch above.
Details are sparse, with no gameplay and a vague summer date. The fighting game based on popular RPG series Dungeon & Fighter first launched on Switch last year.
Powerful Pro Baseball 2024-2025 opening movie shared
The game is out this July in Japan
Powerful Pro Baseball 2024-2025, the next big entry in Konami’s massive, mostly Japan-only baseball series, is right around the corner, and, ahead of its launch, its opening movie, featuring the song ‘RELAY’ by Mikei Fujiwara and Naoyuki Sato, has been shared online. You can watch and listen to it for yourself above.
Powerful Pro Baseball 2024-2025 will feature all the content you’d expect from the series, alongside the special inclusion of now-defunct stadiums and teams. Experience the history of Japanese baseball when the game launches on July 18th, 2024.
Death of a Wish is getting a free randomizer mode
The mode will be added with an update next week
Action-RPG Death of A Wish launched on Switch a couple months ago, but developer melessthanthree has just confirmed that more content is on the way. A new randomizer mode will be added to the game via a free update on May 9th, allowing players to replay the game with randomized item and enemy placements, allowing for a fresh experience.
You can get the game right now to explore a bleak dream world where traumas come to life as surreal characters, encounters, and stories. Claim retribution against the theocratic Faiths as you master vicious hack-and-slash combat, as intended or with a new randomized spin.
Umbraclaw 'Story Trailer' shared
The game claws its way onto Switch later this month
INTI CREATES have released a new trailer for their upcoming side-scrolling action game Umbraclaw, focusing on the game’s story and new theme song, “A Partner’s Promise.” You can watch it for yourself above to see and hear the game in action.
The newest game from Blaster Master Zero director Satoru Nishizawa, Umbraclaw is a challenging game that promises to prove that cats are not just cute, but cool as well. As a cat named Kuon, fight your way through the underworld, or the Soulplane, to reunite with your owner when the title sees its release on May 30th, 2024. Pre-orders will go live tomorrow, alongside a 20% off pre-order discount for those who purchase the title before its release date.