Agent 47 reports for duty, but if you have a slow connection this is a backlog week.

The big game for this week is Hitman 3 on all platforms - yes, including Switch, as the Cloud version comes out this week. I'm still not sure about how the introduction of Hitman 2016/Hitman II content would be handled on Switch if at all, but if you've got a smooth enough connection it's going to be the topic of conversation a lot this week.

For those wondering about the effect of returns on sales charts, the answer is "not much" apparently.

Nintendo finished 2020 with another triumph in hardware sales and a strong month of software sales in the US.

All data from November 29/20 to January 2/21 and are based on dollar sales unless noted. Most third parties contribute digital eShop sales to the survey, but Nintendo does not provide sales for its titles.

Less than a week's warning.

Hitman 3 will start work on the Switch the same day as other platforms.

The cloud version of the sniping sequel will be available on Switch this coming Wednesday, January 20. Pricing has not been disclosed.

As with Control, players will be required to test their connection prior to purchasing the game.

Hopefully unlike the original you won't be done when the calendar flips to May.

Pokemon's 25th anniversary celebration is kicking off in photographic style.

New Pokemon Snap, the Bandai Namco developed follow-up to the beloved 1999 N64 game, has announced a release date of April 30. The official Pokemon Twitter made the announcement along with a new trailer.

Originally announced last June and not seen since, New Snap will take place in the Lental region and task photographers with completing the Photo Pokedex.

Playing as Bowser Jr appeals to someone, right?

Nintendo has released a 7+ minute trailer for Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury to explain some of the items that were shown yesterday.

3D World has added a photo mode to the game, with filters and the option to use the stamps previously devoted to the shuttered Miiverse service. The 4 player online co-op was also confirmed.

So if you want to beat III first, you are officially on the clock.

The final exam for Class VII, much like most collegiate exams, will take place in April.

North American and European versions of Trails of Cold Steel IV will release on Switch April 9 (Oceania on 16 April). Preorders for a "Frontline Edition" of the game are still available.

The follow-up to last June's Trails of Cold Steel III is the final chapter in this aspect of Falcom's turn-based Trails series.

A lot of red and blue going on here.

The Switch is getting a Mario makeover.

Nintendo of America have announced a Mario-themed Switch set to launch on February 12 (with Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury), for the standard $299.99 MSRP. It will be available at "select retailers".

The system comes with a red dock, red Joy-Cons with blue rails, a red/blue carrying case, and a red bezel on the Switch proper.

One rescue from the Wii U, one revival from the DS.

Two games celebrating their anniversaries this year will be hitting the Switch in 2021.

Celebrating its fifth anniversary this year, Tadpole Treble will launch on Switch in an Encore version on January 21. Our review (written by Donald Theriault) from 2016 gave the original an 8.5.

Dreamrift's... Read more...

The mystery of Nintendo's first published game of 2021 will be answered.

UPDATE: The trailer is now live, showing a new world, a possible team up with Bowser Jr, and gigantic Mario and Bowser facing off. Original story is below the embed.

Nintendo is preparing to blow out Bowser's Fury tomorrow.

A new trailer for the February 12 release will be available tomorrow at 9 a.m. Eastern time / 6 a.m. Pacific / 1400 UTC. It promises that "Bowser's Fury will be unleashed".

In memoriam: Brian "JapaneseNintendo" Cooper

To begin this week, a word of condolence to a tireless person who we lost at the end of 2020: Brian Cooper, aka the person who ran the Japanese Nintendo site, passed suddenly on November 27. Our condolences to his family and friends, and we hope he's enjoying maining Toad in the big Smash game in the sky.

Joining Euden, the Haildom... Mega Man, Danganronpa...

Dragalia Lost has racked up some impressive crossovers, and the latest one might steal your heart.

A trailer was posted on Nintendo's mobile Youtube a short time ago announcing a crossover event with Persona 5 Strikers. More details will be posted on the game's website and in-game notifications in late January, though Joker and another character from Strikers will be available for completing an ingame event.

Ride 'em, hunter! *UPDATED*

The hunt will begin in Monster Hunter Rise soon.

At the end of today's Monster Hunter presentation, Capcom confirmed the special demo would be available overnight tonight (3 a.m. ET/midnight Pacific), and would be active until the same times on February 1.

The video also showed off a Wirebug... Read more...

We might be getting that demo pretty early in January...

Capcom is airing a worldwide Monster Hunter presentation this week.

The presentation will run on Thursday at 6 a.m. Pacific time/9 a.m. Eastern/1400 UTC and will be focused on March 26's Monster Hunter Rise. It will air on Capcom's Youtube and Twitch accounts.

It is expected - though not confirmed officially - that the demo for Rise announced last month would be made available shortly after the presentation or at least a date provided.

The big N starts 2021 by beefing up their North American operations.

The makers of one of 2019's hits and 2016's Game of the Year are coming in-house at Nintendo.

Nintendo have reached an agreement (PDF link) to acquire Vancouver, British Columbia-based studio Next Level Games. Expected to close on March 1 pending regulatory approval in Canada, the acquisition of the privately held company will give Nintendo a second North American-based subsidiary developer to go along with Retro Studios.

Starting the new year with a date as late as the calendar allows... look, there ain't shinola this week, I have to put SOMETHING pithy here.

The post image for this should almost be a tumbleweed, what with the complete lack of North American releases this week. As of go time there's seven, befitting a week where nothing new got approved, though there'll probably be some surprises for me Monday night after work... Anyway, the big game this... Read more...

Ring in the New Year with another mascot's racer.

Switch Online subscribers will Crash headlong into 2021 with some new racing.

The 2019 remake of the 1999 racing classic will be available for a Switch Online subscriber trial beginning on Wednesday (December 30) and running through 2:59 a.m. ET Wednesday, January 6. The offer appears to be confined to North America for now.

The last downloads of this hell year.

As we prepare to move into 2021, the final download list of the year is quite summery, in that it's full of *crickets*. After today (as of posting date), there'll be four releases confirmed for the rest of the week - and we don't know what one of them will be. The major release of the bunch is former... Read more...

The most unexpected aspect of Mario's 35th.

Splatfests will kick off 2021 in style.

As announced in the September Mario Anniversary Direct, there will be a Super Mario Bros-themed Splatfest running on July 15 (5 p.m. ET) for a full 48 hours. The two sides will be Pearl's Mushrooms against Marina's Super Stars.

The top 35 registered players in the Splatfest will also have an opportunity in North America to win a Super Mario 35th Anniversary coin.

Christmas: It's not the giving, it's not the getting, it's the loving... there, I said it, now get me out of here.

As someone whose favorite Christmas special is the first two thirds of the Grinch (before the heel turn), I'm probably not the best person to offer holiday wishes, especially this year. But whatever you're doing this week, do it safely.

This week had a grenade lobbed into it last Tuesday when Super... Read more...

So apparently we can't end the year in Nintendo with a Final Fantasy VII villain. Got it.

Nintendo is throwing one more video before settling down for the holidays.

A 15 minute video presentation will air tomorrow at 6 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. Pacific / 2300 UTC to show off Super Nintendo World (opening in Japan on February 4). It will show some of the items in the new attraction at Universal Studios Japan.