Splatoon 3 and other big announcements from Nintendo’s latest Direct
The latest edition of Nintendo Direct held last February has shown an extensive breakdown of more than 20 titles announced that are lined up for the Japanese gaming giant. With the entire event running for more than 50 minutes led by the announcement of Splatoon’s latest follow-up game, Nintendo has pulled all the stops for their 2021 Nintendo Direct.
Leading the way will be the sequel to Splatoon 2, which many consider one of the best-selling Nintendo Switch titles after selling more than 11.90 million copies. Splatoon 3 will be released in 2022 and will be available on Nintendo Switch. The announcement trailer barely shows any gameplay but reveals much of the customization and game design that looks promising and at the same time retains the iconic game that the Splatoon franchise is known for.
The biggest Switch game of 2020, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, will also receive a new update – this time doing a crossover with Nintendo’s Icons, the Mario Brothers franchise. Different items from the Super Mario universe will be added in and purchasable inside the Nook Shop starting March 1st while confirming a free update on the 25th of November.
One of the biggest quarantine games of 2020 is also expanding towards Switch. After more than 7 million copies of the game were sold on steam and becoming the most downloaded PS Plus game globally, Fall Guys is poised to take over Switch with the upcoming release of the game by Summer 2021.
Nintendo’s iconic plumber will be getting its first golf game inside Switch as Mario Golf Super Rush will be released on June 25, 2021, and is said to feature unique features, including a shot gauge and scan and much-anticipated motion control which uses the JoyCon controller as a golfing club highly reminiscent to Tiger Woods PGA Tour which was popular on Wii many, many years ago.
Apart from these titles, Nintendo also revealed a new Star Wars game title Star Wars Hunters which is set to be a competitive online squad-based multiplayer with its timeline set right in between Episode VI and Episode VII and will be released some time this year. (Read: Shin Megami Tensei 5 headlines Nintendo’s Direct Mini)
Part of Switch’s lineup of titles for the next years also includes a re-release of a Wii classic – The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, a port of Nintendo 3DS Classic – Miitopia; new characters added for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Roster; an expansion pass of Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity and even critically acclaimed indie game Outer Wilds will also arrive on Switch sometime this summer. Full list of the games and announcements can be read here.
The latest onslaught of titles and releases that are coming to the Nintendo Switch is a clear sign that Nintendo wants the Switch to be “the hybrid gaming console” that will last long. With rumors of a “Switch 2” floating around the internet, the announcements made during the recent Nintendo Direct ensures that the Switch will be here to stay for the next couple of years or so.
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