So how do you say "chicken jockey" in Japanese?

Switch and Siwtch 2 did have some representation at the annual Summer Game Fest event that just wrapped in Los Angeles. In addition to Mina the Hollower:

We finally have a release date for this long-awaited top-down action adventure.

Announced as part of Summer Game Fest, Mina the Hollower has a fitting release date, October 31, 2025. The gothic theming of the title and bone-chilling difficulty seem a perfect match for the spooky season, and we can't wait to finally sink our teeth into Mina's mouse-y adventure this fall.

While you wait, check out our most recent PAX West impressions of Mina the Hollower here.

Argath's hatred of poor people has never appeared in a higher definiton.

As often happens, a Sony State of Play event did have some announcements for the Switch family.

After being included in a leak of NVIDIA games previously, a remastered version of Final Fantasy Tactics (1997/98, PlayStation) was shown for launch on September 30: Square Enix later confirmed that... Read more...

Did you know that despite the Switch 2's Wii U-esque launch lineup, there are MORE original Switch games this week?

Looking back at the last Downloads article I wrote on a system's launch week (March 2, 2017), the ratio of "games for new hotness" vs "games for old and busted" was more than 2:1, but that was across two consoles and one was a Wii U release of a Switch game. This week, the first of the Switch 2 era,... Read more...

And when we might see more presented.

The new Pokemon Legends game will come out around the anniversary of X and Y.

The Pokemon Company announced today that Pokemon Legends: Z-A will release globally on October 16. Editions will be available for Switch and Switch 2, and an upgrade pack will be available.

Accompanying the reveal was the announcement of a Pokemon Presents presentation that will air on July 22.

For the record, 35% of 15,000 is 5,250. And now you know why our News Editor lives in a country with legal recreational marijuana.

Nintendo has provided an update on the state of backward compatibility for Switch 1 games and apps for Switch 2.

Of 112 first party Switch releases, only one (the Labo VR kit) will not work with Switch 2 due to the kit being designed for the smaller screen of the original Switch. Of approximately 15,000 "partner" (3rd party) titles on Switch 1, approximately 65% are said to work without issue, while another 34% are "playable with issues".

One of which is well overdue.

Nintendo has released more details on Switch 2-powered updates to the N64 app.

A video posted on Nintendo Today May 26 showed a comparison chart for three features being added to the N64 and Mature N64 applications on June 5. Both the Switch and Switch 2 will receive an option to remap controller buttons at emulator level, while the Switch 2 versions of the app will also get the rewind function and a CRT filter option.

With a price only explainable by straight yen to USD conversion.

Last week's shockingly successful launch of Fantasy Life i is looking to get that day 1 Switch 2 bump.

Level-5 have announced on the game's blog that a Switch 2 version of the RPG will be available on June 5. Purchasers of the Switch version will be able to upgrade for US$2.59 or €2.27, with digital versions costing $62.58 or €62.26.

So 1 and 2 will be on the 1 and the 2.

Bravely Default isn't the only Square RPG remake the Switch 2 will get in 2025.

As part of observations of the anniversary of Dragon Quest, Square Enix have announced a Switch 2 version of the HD-2D versions of Dragon Quest I and II. All versions will launch on October 30, and a collector's edition is available from the Square Enix online store for $149.99.

Hopefully this is "get this out before the Switch 2" but... for some reason, I highly doubt that.

The last time we had a Downloads article the week before a system launched was February 23, 2017 when there were a combined total of six games across two systems in North America and four in Europe. This week, with Switch 2 landing next week? North America has a 6x multiplier and Europe goes nearly 10x with its schedule - and Japan's in the 40s, which I couldn't check because of region locks. Goody.

...it's also full of stars.

Four games have been dropped into the Game Boy (Color) Switch Online library this evening.

Yes, the image is aimed at amusing me and one of our regulars. No, I will not apologize, especially given the alternative.

It hardly seems like this week is real, what with the appearance for all the world that Level-5's Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time is coming out after an uncountable number of delays, several platform changes including apparently a Switch 2 edition, and the possibility that several acres of... Read more...

We got dates and details, though let's hope for some surprises.

Nintendo announced free updates for several Switch 1 games to support Switch 2, and the details have now been revealed.

A webpage which identified the games previously has updated with a release date - June 5, the Switch 2 launch day - and the nature of the improvements.

The updates and games they apply to are:

Soundtrack CD thankfully not included.

One of the earliest N64 games appears to be one of the last games for Switch Online before it gets the GameCube in three weeks.

Killer Instinct Gold (1996) was added to the N64 library tonight. The fighting game is a bespoke version of the arcade Killer Instinct 2, which added three new characters to the lineup and was the last console release in the franchise until a 2014 Xbox One release.

You can signal interest and maybe draw someone else in now.

Pokemon Go has rolled out more changes to the raiding system.

An update today has added the ability to "RSVP" or schedule a time for participating in a raid battle. The signal includes an option to invite friends to participate.

This differs from a previous system of "EX Raids" in which a player... Read more...

Will this be the first time Japan gets something with that name or do they call this Super Mario Bros 4?

NBC Universal's upfront had some surprisingly on-topic news for a Nintendo website: the name of the next Mario movie.

A press release for NBC Universal's "upfronts" mentioned "Super Mario World" in a slate of films that would stream on their Peacock service - NBC Universal being the parent company of Illumination, Nintendo's animation partner for the Mario movies.

...the "Korean Drone Flying Tour" spammers know South Korea's still in a state of war, right?

This week's release list... is this a slowdown? Is Switch 2 Day 1 the last truly insane day I have to deal with loading up to the point of a repetitive stress injury? Or is it just a side effect of a few days off for Golden Week? We'll find out on Saturday.

As far as releases this week, we have... Read more...

This is gonna be weird to talk about in early August.

Nintendo released their fiscal results for the 2024-25 fiscal year at the close of business in Japan today, which will be the final results released before the launch of the Switch 2 in four weeks, and as might be expected it was a relatively slow quarter and year for the Switch's 8th full fiscal year.

It's not a complete walkback of the 2023 nerf, but it is a slight buff.

Pokemon Go is loosening the strings on the ability to battle in bad weather or other circumstances.

In a post on the game's website, the following changes have been announced to be coming to the raiding system this month:

If you'd like to learn about the professional baseball career of the creative lead of High on Life, search for "Justin Roiland minors".

Things we missed last week: Super Xevious in the Archives.

There's a serious argument to be made that the biggest game of T-4 weeks to Switch 2 is in Japan with a remake of the initial Tokimeki Memorial. However, there is one thing that can upstage it and that's an appearance in the Switch 1 Direct,... Read more...