The Blog

Nintendo has just launched another wave of user icons exclusively for Nintendo Switch Online members. This time around, Nintendo has released another wave of icons for Mario and Luigi Brothership.

As per usual, the character icons themselves are 10 Platinum Points, while the borders and backgrounds are 5 Platinum Points a piece.

UPDATE: The final wave of Switch Online icons for Mario & Luigi: Brothership are now available. You can see the complete lineup of characters, backgrounds and borders above.

A new set of Super Mario Party Jamboree Commercials just dropped in Japan, featuring some big wigglers and some even bigger bombs! Check them out above!

Jam-packed with fun, Super Mario Party Jamboree features over 110 minigames, 22 playable characters (including newcomers to the series, Pauline and Ninji) and more ways to play than ever before.

Here are just some of the many festivities that await in Super Mario Party Jamboree:

Mario Party Mode – Travel to a tropical party paradise and play your way across a total of 7 distinct boards with friends, including the brand-new Goomba Lagoon and Rainbow Galleria boards! Plus, Super Mario Party Jamboree includes two returning favorites: Mario’s Rainbow Castle from Mario Party and Western Land from Mario Party 2. Hit the Dice Block and you may come across a Jamboree Buddy along the way – characters who unlock game-changing abilities, from copying opponents’ items to launching you across the board.

Minigame Bay – Explore an assortment of minigames in this mode, like daily challenges and 2 vs. 2 matches.

New Motion Control Modes – Grab your Joy-Con controllers and fly through the air in Paratroopa Flight School, move your way through Toad’s Item Factory and cook to the beat with Rhythm Kitchen.

New Multiplayer Online Modes – Join the 20-player race to finish first in Koopathlon, where you’ll collect coins during minigames to advance through a giant racecourse. Or take on Imposter Bowser in Bowser Kaboom Squad, a cooperative battle for up to 8 players.

The big Lollipop Chainsaw Repop optimization update is out now! This update features 45 adjustments to various locations, helping out the performance! Check out the full notes below!

Volume 2 of the NieR Automata Anime’s box set is heading to physical on December 25th, and Square Enix has detailed what to expect in the release. In addition to chapters 13 through 24 of the anime, bonus content will include additional video extras as well as some physical items.

Some of these items include extra CDs, picture books, and special art pieces. Check out the sample images and other products here.

A new line of Umbrella Corporation Merchandise will be available on November 15th in Japan. The full collection can be found here, and a breakdown is available below.

Check out the full list of products below, converted by Siliconera.

• Umbrella Clear File Folder – 2,200 yen (~$14.25)
• Umbrella Electronic Notepad – 2,420 yen (~$15.67)
• Umbrella Checklist Notepad – 660 yen (~$4.27)
• Umbrella Reversible Aluminium Ruler – 990 yen (~$6.41)

In addition to these new Umbrella Items, several keychains featuring warning signs will also be available.

The #BLUD keeps flowing with it’s new content update, Claws for Alarm! Check out the trailer above for a quick look at what to expect!

SABRINA’S GONE MISSING! 😱 Becky’s friend and teammate doesn’t show up to school, and worse - isn’t responding to messages on Perch. Is this just the first odd event during the full moon, or is there more nefarious (and fury) things at play? Awwwoooo!! Beware the werewolves of Carpentersville! 🐺

Claws for Alarm is Chapter 12 of the #BLUD story, and it unlocks after completing the base game. You can play this adventure by selecting it from the main menu after it’s unlocked.

The Twightlight Princess manga box set just got a new trailer, and while not the most exciting, it’s still packed with information! Fans picking up this set can expect all 11 volumes and a double-sided poster. Check out the box set here!

Once upon a time, wizards tried to conquer the Sacred Realm of Hyrule. The Spirits of Light sealed the wizards’ power within the Shadow Crystal and banished them to the Twilight Realm beyond the Mirror of Twilight. Now, an evil menace is trying to find Midna, Princess of the Twilight Realm, and the fragments of the Shadow Crystal to gain the power to rule over both the Twilight Realm and the World of Light.

Thanks to the shadow drop of Alarmo at Nintendo NY, we are starting to get some videos of the device in action. This video by CNET shows off the setup process, as well as a few scenes from Super Mario Odyssey and Breath of the Wild. As time goes on we should see more examples of the different scenes, but this video gives us a good sampler of what to expect.

Alarmo will be available at retail starting in early 2025 at a suggested price of $99.99 USD, and Nintendo Switch Online members in the U.S. and Canada can purchase it early via the My Nintendo Store right now!

Alarmo features motion sensor technology that responds to your movements, allowing you to snooze your alarm with motion alone and stop it by getting out of bed. Tailor your routine and make waking up fun by picking from 35 scenes inspired by five Nintendo titles – Super Mario Odyssey, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Splatoon 3, Pikmin 4 and Ring Fit Adventure – then set a time and let Alarmo handle the rest.

In the morning you’ll experience immersive sounds and music from the scene you picked. Rise to sounds of the Mushroom Kingdom with Mario and friends, begin your day’s adventure with Link and Princess Zelda, or start fresh with the Inklings from Splatoon 3. And those are just some of the experiences you can wake up to!

That’s not all – you can also check Records to see how much you move around in your sleep, set an hourly chime themed to your chosen title, and change between Steady or Gentle Modes for your morning alarm. In Steady Mode, the alarm will gradually get more intense the longer you stay in bed, whereas Gentle Mode offers a more consistent intensity level. There’s also Button Mode for a more traditional, tactile “hit the snooze button” alarm clock experience. You can even use sleepy sounds to wind down with soothing music and sounds at your set bedtime.

Plus, if you link your Nintendo Account you can download scenes from the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Animal Crossing: New Horizons games via free updates when they become available.

Following in the trend of more feline-adjacent gaming headsets, Hori now offers headphones featuring Pikachu! The headset features a microphone for communicating in online games, as well as a set of Pikachu’s ears so you can look cute while using them.

Check out the complete amazon listing here!

Looking to keep clean with a refreshing pikmin-y scent? Look no further than the latest Nintendo Shampoo creation. If you thought that it couldn’t get better than smelling like a pikmin, this Shampoo also includes conditioner, saving you time and money!

Sadly, for those of us not in Japan, it may be a little harder to acquire, as it’s currently only available at Nintendo Stores in Japan. Those looking to acquire the pikmin Shampoo will need to use an import service or other methods.

To promote Pokémon Sleep’s upcoming Clefairy event, the Sleep team has put together a little video. In it, Snorlax encounters some new Clefairy friends, one of which is shiny!

BAKERU is GoodFeel’s latest action-packed release, so the devs have been out and about promoting what makes their game special. In an interview with Automaton Media, producer Etsunobu Ebisu and director Tadanori Tsukawaki shared some of their thought processes behind the game! According to Tandori Tsukawaki, BAKERU was made with a lot of care focused on Japan itself, down to the levels and the world map. Check out his quote below!

Even from a quick glance, it’s clear to see that BAKERU is rich in Japanese style and culture, but it’s interesting to hear just how much thought went into the design. Every prefecture being represented, in addition to the game map being based on Japan itself, are super cool details to see in the game! There’s plenty more great insight in this interview, so make sure to give it a read here!

Some fan-favorite Shin Megami Tensei demons will soon be available in a new, trendy ring-form soon! Slated to be available a little later this month, gacha machines in Japan will be home to these cute guys. There are 5 rings total, and each pull will run you 300 JPY.

Check out some additional glamor shots of the rings here!

thatgamecompany, creators of Sky, Children of the Light have shared a special video commemorating Skyfest 2024! Judging by the video, it looked like a fun time. Check out the video above, aswell as a short message from thatgamecompany below!

Last month, we went big for the 5th anniversary of Sky: Children of the Light. We wanted to live up to the moment! 🎉

Over the course of the weekend, thousands of players came together in both Tokyo and in-game at SkyFest: an exploration of the art, history, and future of Sky. Players joined in on the festivities by gathering at the new Cinema, an immersive video streaming experience enabling players to enjoy a shared interactive moment together. 700,000 concurrent players shared watching the developer talks and trailers featured throughout the event.

Thank you to everyone who has supported us along the way

Publisher Bandai Namco recently confirmed that SWORD ART ONLINE Fractured Daydream will see worldwide release on Switch come Oct. 4th, 2024. Following that news, a fresh trailer has dropped as well. Kirito the Hero is next up on the list!

SWORD ART ONLINE Fractured Daydream has been confirmed to be a cross-platform compatible game with no loot boxes, and it supports up-to-20-player co-op. The dev team specifically set out to test cross-platform and online co-op functionality to make sure they could get everything working perfectly on all platforms, and obviously those tests were a success.

Following the recent beta test, the devs also noted some changes that will be implemented in the final game. In the final release, you’ll be able to turn automatic lock-on off, Goddess Statues will appear, difficulty will be based on how many players you’re with, and offline Story Mode and online Free Mode will be available. Last but not least, another beta test could happen at some point.

In SWORD ART ONLINE Fractured Daydream, a new system is applied to the world of Alfheim Online, but a malfunction causes all worlds and timelines to collide, creating a unique setting and challenging environment for Kirito and other players. All lost in uncharted territory, enemies become allies, departed characters are back and unlikely alliances will be formed to survive the dangers in this unsettled world.

SWORD ART ONLINE Fractured Daydream offers an original story in an All-Star game, focused on a large-scale co-op experience. Players will enjoy playing their favourite characters from the first three seasons of the animated series and Sword Art Online movies, in a cross-play battle action game featuring thrilling boss raids and co-op quests.