For us, it's the beginning of a break. For JAPAN...

OK, we've got to be slowing down, right? Or are we looking at another week of six shadowdrops before lunch on Thursday?

Well, there's nothing retail for North America, but Europe is getting Fitness Boxing as an early Christmas gift. Sundered's hitting Thursday, and we can finally stop making Jeopardy... Read more...

That's gonna be a busy week for platformers.

13AM Games's upcoming interdimensional platformer will be here early in the new year.

Double Cross will release on Switch January 10, for US$19.99. The first new title from 13AM since Runbow is inspired by Mega Man with some elements of Bionic Commando.

No longer will you dread the Challenger Approa... you probably unlocked everyone already, didn't you?

A new update for Super Smash Bros Ultimate aims to address a couple of complaints regarding the game.

Patch notes for the update 1.2.0 are now available, with the chief changes being to the difficulty of unlocking characters, an increase to the likelihood of online matches with preferred rules, and Battle Arena stability.

Related: Several staffers saw the ending of Dr. Mario today.

All territories received two SP titles with this month's Nintendo Switch Online NES update.

Dr. Mario and Metroid both received the special treatment this month. In Dr. Mario, the save picks up at a nearly-finished Stage 20 on the "Hi" speed, allowing for the viewing of a rare cutscene.

Metroid's... Read more...

It'll be a good old-fashioned Christmas down on the farm.

The long-rumored multiplayer update for Stardew Valley on Switch will come tomorrow.

All territories will get the update which enables support for 2-4 players both locally and online. Additional singleplayer features will be included, along with voice chat.

In multiplayer, which launched previously on the PC versions, players share their progress through the main story and money but have their own individual achievements and inventories.

Standard Smash warning applies

Super Smash Bros Ultimate will be getting another update shortly.

An ingame notice appearing tonight in Smash Ultimate indicates that version 1.2.0 of the game will be distributed "in the next week". Patch notes will be made available when the update is live.

As with Smash Bros for Wii U / 3DS,... Read more...

Stuff's still coming even in this post-Smash world.

I'm surprised the list is as big as it is this week. I mean, Smash is out.

There's still some big stuff, too. We've got Guacamelee 2 from Drinkbox today, Kingdom: Two Crowns tomorrow, then Gris from Devolver and Battle Princess Madelyn on Thursday. Basically, they're betting on a huge increase in Switch sales because of Smash, and they're probably not wrong.

An absolutely Direct-esque pace.

Following the spate of announcements Thursday night, Kinda Funny Games held a game showcase today that averaged more than an announcement a minute for more than an hour of video, with 27 Switch announcements.

The most immediate announcement is Mike Bithell's follow-up to February's Subsurface Circular,... Read more...

You didn't see it coming...

The first DLC character for Super Smash Bros Ultimate has been revealed.

"Joker", the protagonist of Persona 5 who is also playable in the recently released (in Japan) Persona Q2, will be the first character in the Fighter's Pass. No date was given for the launch of the character.

The voice of Joker in North America, Xander Mobus, is also the voice of the Super Smash Bros announcer.

Tell that fight stick to GET OVER HERE.

The heavily rumored Mortal Kombat XI will be hitting Switch next year.

Netherrealm have announced the follow-up to their long-running fighting franchise will release worldwide on April 23 for all platforms, including Switch. Further details will be announced at a community reveal event in January.

"Explain it as you would a child..."

Stranger Things will be coming to the Switch after all, even following the implosion of Telltale Games.

BonusXP, who have previously developed licensed Stranger Things games for mobile, have announced a new Stranger Things game that will follow from the events of Season 3. A 16-bit styled isometric adventure, the game will release on Switch.

"And the bandicoot came back, he just wouldn't stay awaaaaaaaay...."

The success of Crash Bandicoot N-Sane Trilogy on Switch has seen another adventure of the bandicoot hit Switch next year.

Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled, a remaster of the 1999 racer, will release on Switch June 21. The remaster is developed by Beenox. The title is similar to Diddy Kong Racing in having a story mode in addition to the multiplayer racing.

Tarot cards, rhythm, and more drugs than you can shake a stick at.

The developers of Year Walk have announced a new project exclusively for Switch.

Simogo will be the developers for Sayonara Wild Hearts, a rhythm title coming to Switch in 2019. Publishing duties will be handled by Annapurna Interactive.

The main character, known as The Fool, will race through a series of trippy environments in an effort to heal a brokenhearted young woman.

When they say Switch exclusive, there's a reason.

In a childhood-owning crossover, Nintendo and Marvel are joining forces in 2019.

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order has been revealed for a 2019 release. The sequel to the Wii-era cooperative action game is published by Nintendo, and developed by Team Ninja.

The first two Marvel Ultimate Alliance titles released on Wii in 2006 and 2009, respectively.

We can't quite call it a rule yet, but that's three second Wednesdays of the month in a row.

Patch Tuesday will now be followed by NES Wednesday.

The December additions to the NES subscription service - Wario's Woods, KoeiTecmo's Ninja Gaiden, and HAL's The Adventures of Lolo - have been tabbed for release next Wednesday, December 12. As with previous releases, this will likely be early in the morning in North America.

OK, we know the big one. But what ELSE is coming on the eShop this week?

So there's kind of a big deal on the eShop this week.

Yeah, I finally get to play the final version of Monster Boy, seeing as I played it what, a year and a half ago at PAX East?

Bigger.

Oh, like the Genesis Collection, that's got like 50 games in it? Or maybe Katamari Reroll, or maybe Carcassone?

Technically, it'll be Valve's first Switch title.

Winter may officially start in the northern hemisphere on the 21st of December, but there will be one last dose of fire before that.

Campo Santo have announced that Firewatch, their first title, will release worldwide on December 17. All eShops (North America, Europe, Japan, Australia) will see the adventure title on the same day.

They couldn't call it a Fire Emblem Festival, because that would be kind of awkward.

Fire Emblem will be holding a massive celebration next year in Japan.

Intelligent Systems have announced a Fire Emblem Festival will take place on the 4th of May. The event will be held at the Zepp Tokyo music hall, with tickets going on sale December 28.

More details about the festival will be announced in a livestream to air next Saturday (Japan time).

The Turkey Five been very, very good to them.

The Thanksgiving/Black Friday/"Cyber Monday" period for Nintendo has set numerous records.

Nintendo of America reported that according to their internal measurements more than a quarter billion dollars were spent on Nintendo products between November 22 and 26. The Switch sold more units in the... Read more...

"Now coming in from the bullpen..."

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night has brought in some experienced hands.

In an update on the game's Kickstarter page, producer Koji Igarashi confirmed that WayForward has been brought in to help "realize my vision for the game". The reason for the hire was not disclosed.

WayForward has produced... Read more...