It's a quiet week, unless you're into narrative adventures.

Things we missed last week: Roller Jammer is the Archives title.

It's not too busy a week - which after last week's 85 hours of JRPG is good for my free time if nothing else - though there are a few titles worth looking into. Frogun (which is also getting a Limited Run physical release) represents... Read more...

Nobody tell Marik that he's not going to have a monopoly on an army of Steves.

After an unexpected delay, we finally have a launch date for the delayed Steve and Alex Amiibo in the Smash line.

The blocky duo will launch on September 9 - the same day as Splatoon 3's launch. The two base characters were originally slated to launch alongside the Min-Min Amiibo (the first DLC of Smash Ultimate's second Fighters Pass) but was delayed for unannounced reasons.

Just don't crash into the Opera House, will you?

The second DLC wave for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is about to take the green flag.

Launching on August 4, the pack will include a brand new course for the series - Sky-High Sundae - that will be added to Mario Kart Tour later. It will be joined in a "Turnip Cup" by Mario Circuit 3 (Super Mario Kart), Kalimari Desert (Mario Kart 64), and Sydney Sprint (Mario Kart Tour).

The only store we ever ran sold branded merch as opposed to, y'know, copies of games we reviewed.

Things we missed last week: Redout 2 (racing sequel) and Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II (multiplayer RPG) dropped, and the Archives title was Taito's Chack'n Pop.

There's one game most people will really be feeling this week, as Xenoblade Chronicles 3 does a chain attack on your free time. However,... Read more...

Clearly the next step after S is to flip it on its side and make it infinite.

A "summer" update for Nintendo Switch Sports is coming soon.

The free update will release July 26/27 (Tuesday night/Wednesday morning) and will include expanded support for the Leg Strap accessory in soccer matches (4v4 and 1v1), plus new volleyball moves. Post-update, volleyball will include new "Slide Attack" and "Rocket Serve" moves.

And a game that launched at least one lawsuit.

Three more titles have been added to the Nintendo Switch Online NES and Super Nintendo libraries.

Pizza time comes earlier than we thought.

Although not originally dubbed so, 2022 has ended up with the Summer of Turtles.

Konami's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Cowabunga Collection, the compilation of pre-1995 TMNT games from 8/16 bit systems and arcades, has announced an August 30 release. The date was given in a new trailer released by IGN.

You happy now?

The first update for Mario Strikers: Battle League has added a couple of fan-demanded characters - and in one case, highly demanded.

Launching on July 21 at 9 p.m. ET, the update will add Daisy and Shy Guy as playable characters, new gear ("Knight Gear") with a focus on strength and shooting, and the Desert Ruins stadium.

The hammers will fall later in their respective months.

Nintendo has confirmed the final dates for adding funds and purchasing from the 3DS and Wii U eShops.

According to an update of the original Nintendo support article, eShop cards will no longer be available as a funding option directly on August 29, 2022 (Pacific time: the shutdown was announced... Read more...

You know, it IS technically possible to beat this week's big RPG before next week's drops.

Things we missed last week: Dragon Saber from Namco was the Archives game.

Time travel will be the order of the weekend next weekend as Live A Live - in its HD-2D remake glory - comes out on Switch Friday. If you're worried about the timing - specifically, "can I squeeze this in before Xenoblade... Read more...

A big month for soccer and soldiers.

The top of the hardware and software charts from the NPD Group seems unchanging, but there's a lot of action down below in this month's survey.

All data based on sales from May 29 - July 2 in dollars, unless noted otherwise. Digital sales for select third parties are included.

The Switch was... Read more...

A good way to still get the baseball fix in during the All-Star break.

Hot off the heels of Mario + Rabbids, the next Switch Online trial for North America will feature the boys of summer.

MLB The Show 22 will be available for free play for NSO subscribers tomorrow beginning at 1 p.m. Eastern, with the trial ending on July 22 at 2:59 a.m. ET. (Note that the download... Read more...

A rare example of an "acqhire" from Nintendo, since they're going in-house.

Nintendo has made a small acquisition in order to create an in-house visual content creator.

In a statement on the company's investor website released this morning (NA time), Nintendo announced the acquisition of Dynamo Pictures Inc.: when the deal closes (expected in October), the company will be renamed "Nintendo Pictures Co. Ltd." and focus on enhancing "the planning and production structure of visual content in the Nintendo group".

Grand Platinum opening, grand Platinum closing.

After a nearly five year wait, we finally have a date for the witch's Switch return.

A new trailer for Bayonetta 3 has confirmed the action game will finally launch on October 28, following its return in the general Nintendo Direct last September. Retail and digital preorders are both available now.

That's not very specific, though we can probably rule out the next couple of weeks.

Although it won't have a Mouthful Mode, Kirby's next Switch adventure will still involve mass amounts of eating.

Kirby's Dream Buffet is a 4 player (local and online) competitive game in which players race around food-themed environments collecting food in order to make their Kirby as big as possible. It will be possible to use larger Kirby to knock other players off the course.

Acronymphomania is running wild this week. (That doesn't work for me, brother - HH)

Things we missed last week: Apico, the beekeeping RPG, dropped at the end of the week.

The second of a couple of weeks before The Gauntlet 2022, it starts with a few interesting indie titles. Time on Frog Island is a good relaxation game, while there's a couple of smaller RPG entries with Pascal's Wager and XEL, or if you prefer quirky side-scrollers WayForward's Spidersaurs is coming over from Apple Arcade.

Match 'em, match 'em, gotta match 'em all...

The list of announced games may have been exhausted, but the N64 library for Switch Online's Expansion Pack has room for surprises.

Pokemon Puzzle League has been announced for a July 15 (likely night of the 14th Eastern time) release. The 2000 puzzle game is a branded version of Panel de Pon (present... Read more...

We'll see about that.

E3 has taken steps to return after three years away, along with some new help.

The show has announced an in-person return in the second week of June 2023 (likely referring to June 12-16) in Los Angeles, with assistance from ReedPop. ReedPop, the owners of Eurogamer and Video Games Chronicle among others, also runs the PAX conventions and the New York Comic-Con.

How to really stay fresh this fall.

Splatoon 3 is going to be getting a big push in hardware as well.

Nintendo have announced that a Switch OLED themed with Splatoon 3 will release on August 26. It will retail for the standard Switch OLED MSRP (US$359.99 or equivalent), and have a white dock with blue and yellow Joy-Cons.

A Splatoon... Read more...

This almost got delayed due to Seregios et al, but odd shooters and Klonoa won out.

Things we missed last week: Thanks to an (un?)expected Partner Showcase we got Portal: Companion Collection and Little Noah: Scion of Paradise.

It's definitely a quiet week to start the third quarter, but there were a few things I'm keeping an eye on. Jordan reviewed Yurukill: The Calumniation... Read more...