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Cameron Faulkner
Cameron Faulkner
RESIDE Nintendo Switch 2 VIL req.

Those aren’t typos indicating I should get my head checked. Rather, it’s how the design reads on the new $99.99 Resident Evil Requiem-themed Switch 2 Pro controller. The custom look adds $10 to the already pricey gamepad that lacks more durable TMR joysticks found in great options that are less than half the cost.

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Andrew Webster
Andrew Webster
Green means go.

As a reminder, now that the stream is over, Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen — remakes of the original games for the GBA — are now available on the Switch.

Andrew Webster
Andrew Webster
A battle royale.

The battle-focused spinoff Pokémon Champions has a launch date — or a month, at least. The Nintendo Switch version is out in April, while mobile players will have to wait until later in the year.

Charles Pulliam-Moore
Charles Pulliam-Moore
Nintendo’s making a mini Game Boy music player.

Sure, you can just pull up digital versions of the Junichi Masuda’s music from Pokémon Red and Blue. Or you can pick up one of the new Game Boy-inspired music players Nintendo is releasing along with 45 different cartridges that seem to play one song each.

Image: Nintendo
Andrew Webster
Andrew Webster
Some GameCube flavor.

As part of the Nintendo Classics line for NSO subscribers, Nintendo is bringing the GameCube cult classic Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness to the Switch 2. There’s no release date, though it’ll be launching some time in March.

The logo for the video game Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness.
Image: Nintendo
Andrew Webster
Andrew Webster
Gotta watch it all.

The latest Pokémon Presents showcase streams this morning, and given the fact that it also marks the franchise’s 30th anniversary, we’re expecting some good announcements. You can watch it right here.

Andrew Webster
Andrew Webster
Xenoblade Chronicles X for yet another console generation.

The epic sci-fi RPG, which debuted on the Wii U before being ported to the Switch, is now available in a Switch 2 edition. It includes technical upgrades like support for 4K and 60fps in TV mode, and if you already own the Switch version, it’s $4.99 to upgrade.

Andrew Liszewski
Andrew Liszewski
Nintendo’s Hello, Mario! app is now available outside Japan.

After debuting exclusively in Japan last August, the Hello, Mario! app is now available for the Switch 1 and 2, as well as iOS, iPadOS, and Android mobile devices. You can poke and tug on Mario’s face and select objects for him to interact with, but the app’s appeal is mostly limited to kids.

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A finger pulls on Mario’s mustache in the Nintendo Hello, Mario! app running on an iPhone.
Nintendo fandom can finally start with toddlers and the youngest members of your household.
Image: Nintendo
Cameron Faulkner
Cameron Faulkner
I just opened EasySMX’s new Switch 2 controller and I’m already impressed.

EasySMX’s S10 Lite claims to offer “native compatibility” with the Switch 2, and I found out what that means when I unboxed one today. There are no weird steps to enable remote wake-up (some require you to remove a Joy-Con while holding your breath — only a slight exaggeration), and you can customize the GL/GR rear buttons in the console’s interface. We’ll see after more testing if it earns a place in our buying guide to the best Switch 2 controllers.

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Image: Cameron Faulkner / The Verge
Animal Crossing started life as a dungeon crawler

One of Nintendo’s biggest success stories began as a very different game.

Keza MacDonald
Charles Pulliam-Moore
Charles Pulliam-Moore
Nintendo really wants you to spring for some new cardboard.

Though Nintendo initially made it seem like its upcoming Virtual Boy rereleases could be used with the Labo VR headset, the company now says that’s not “officially” the case. That “officially” kinda makes it seem like the games might work with the Labo, but Nintendo would rather you buy the new Virtual Boy™ (Cardboard Model).

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Nintendo’s new Virtual Boy is more fun to look at than to play

The Switch peripheral is a well-built piece of nostalgia, but its games are just too stuck in the past.

Charles Pulliam-Moore
Richard Lawler
Richard Lawler
Overwatch 2 is gone — now it’s just Overwatch.

Just a few years after Overwatch 2’s free-to-play 5v5 replaced the original, Blizzard announced it’s dropping the “2.” There’s been a steady flow of other changes lately (like the return of 6v6), but the plan for this next year includes 10 new heroes (Domina, Emre, Mizuki, Anran, and Jetpack Cat arrive when S1 launches February 10th), new maps, menu updates, a Conquest meta event, Reign of Talon narrative arc, and more.

Andrew Liszewski
Andrew Liszewski
You can reportedly use the Labo VR headset to play 3D Virtual Boy games.

If you’ve still got your Labo kits, you may not need to buy Nintendo’s $100 or $25 Virtual Boy Switch accessories. During an event last week, Nintendo Treehouse staffer Corey Olcsvary told GamesBeat that the Labo VR kit can also be used to play NSO Virtual Boy games, even though Nintendo’s not promoting the backwards compatibility.

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An original Nintendo Switch inside the Labo VR headset.
If you haven’t recycled your cardboard Labo accessories yet you could already have a way to play NSO Virtual Boy games in 3D using the original Switch.
Image: Nintendo
Andrew Webster
Andrew Webster
Another Nintendo Direct is on the way.

After holding livestreams for both The Super Mario Galaxy Movie and the weirdo life sim Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream, Nintendo is back with another event. This time it’ll be a “partner showcase” focused on games from third-party developers. You can watch it live on February 5th at 9AM ET.

Andrew Liszewski
Andrew Liszewski
Balloon Kid floats onto the Nintendo Switch.

Two new Game Boy titles are being added to the Nintendo Switch Online service to kick off February. Balloon Kid features Alice trying to save her brother Jim by floating through levels using balloons, and Yoshi which is a Tetris/Dr. Mario-like puzzle game where you stack falling Goombas, Bloopers, and Boo Buddies.

Dominic Preston
Dominic Preston
This one’s for the lawyers.

Nintendo’s legal team is probably already keeping a close eye on Google’s Project Genie, a world model that Jay Peters used to build some very precise knockoffs of its games. But some commenters want to make sure the lawyers get the message.

verge_user_m4d5k2n7:

Wow! This is really exciting! I enjoy that this is a new way for me to experience Nintendo’s characters and intellectual property without purchasing Nintendo products and services. I feel activated as a consumer and inclined to allocate purchasing dollars to new areas when I encounter new and exciting ways to access Nintendo’s intellectual property through legitimate and endorsed means

Get the day’s best comment and more in my free newsletter, The Verge Daily.

Andrew Webster
Andrew Webster
It’s Animal Crossing for sickos.

I just watched a 20-minute presentation on Nintendo’s life-sim Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream, and that’s the conclusion I’ve come to. The game looks weird-as-hell (complimentary), and even includes the welcome addition of a nonbinary option for character creation.

It launches on the Switch on April 16th.

Andrew Webster
Andrew Webster
Live the dream on Thursday.

Fresh off releasing the latest Super Mario Galaxy movie trailer, Nintendo is holding another Direct soon, this one focused on the delightfully strange-looking Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream. You can watch it live on January 29th at 9AM ET. Nintendo says it’ll last around 20 minutes.