Nintendo has favored the Nintendo Direct as a way to share news with fans and journalists, and last night the Japanese company shared its slate of games for 2022.
While fans waited for news of a sequel to “Breath Of The Wild” or a full-fledged “Metroid” game, fans still had plenty to celebrate.
The main titles announced during this live include a sequel to “Mario Strikers”, “Xenoblade Chronicles” and a new sports title.
‘Nintendo Switch Sports’ will be released on April 29 and is a new take on the hit ‘Wii Sports’ titles that helped the Nintendo Wii establish cultural dominance in the late 2000s.
Three new sports have been added to the original “Wii Sports” lineup, including football, and the boxed version of the game comes with a leg strap.
Players can attach the strap for football mode, which is like “Rocket League” minus the rocket-powered cars.
Badminton and volleyball have also been added to the traditional roster of sports, and of course bowling will be included.
The short-lived “Mario Strikers” series returns, with a new title in the series coming June 10.
‘Battle League’ will allow up to 8 players to play on the same Switch console, and is set to be the social event of the summer for gamers.
The idea of getting 8 friends together in the same room to play “Mario Strikers” is a big marketing sell, and it’s hard not to be excited about the idea.
Wednesday’s live gave us an in-depth look at the new Kirby game.
“Kirby and The Forgotten Land” appears to be inspired by “Super Mario Odyssey,” and the game looks like another Nintendo-winning platformer.
The focus has been on ports of existing games coming to Switch, with third-party titles such as “Portal” and “No Man’s Sky” games receiving Switch ports later this year.
Some old-school Nintendo properties will be moving to Switch, including the great “Advance Wars” games and the incomparable “Earthbound” added to the Virtual Console service.
“Xenoblade Chronicles 3” is now confirmed to have a September release date, with the cult series becoming a strong word-of-mouth hit for Nintendo.
Nintendo also announced new courses for the hugely popular “Mario Kart 8”, with remastered tracks from older “Mario Kart” games available as paid DLC by the end of 2023.
Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pass members will have access to all 48 courses.
While a new “Metroid” game didn’t surface during this Direct as many fans expected, fans of last year’s fantastic “Metroid Dread” can now enjoy a new update. game day aimed at casual and hardcore gamers.
Rookie mode reduces the difficulty of the game and the new Dread mode adds a one-hit-kill mode to the game for “Dark Souls” types.
Nintendo has much to celebrate as the Switch enters its 5th year of existence, with lifetime console sales having recently surpassed their hit Wii console and Sony’s original PlayStation.
Industry analysts are pointing to a possible 2024 release of a successor console to the Switch, but with the console still selling exceptionally well, this Direct is a vote of confidence for the console, and Nintendo doesn’t have one yet. finished with the console.