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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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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One of Nintendo’s biggest success stories began as a very different game.
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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The Switch peripheral is a well-built piece of nostalgia, but its games are just too stuck in the past.
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.
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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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.
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.
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
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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.
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.
There’s a bunch of references to the games, including Mario and Luigi using fire flowers and Birdo from Super Mario Bros. 2, but it’s Yoshi that’s the obvious star. Oh, and he’s pretty dang cute, too. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is coming to theaters April 1st.
Belkin’s $100 Charging Case Pro for the Switch 2 looks similar to the $70 version; it’s a thick zip-up case with a 10,000mAh battery, plus pockets for cartridges and an AirTag. But the battery here, cleverly redesigned as a folding stand that magnetically snaps into the case, makes it feel worth the higher cost.
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What better way to spend Sunday morning than with a fresh Super Mario Galaxy movie trailer. Nintendo is streaming its next Direct showcase for the sequel on January 25th at 9AM ET. Hopefully the talking flower will make an appearance. For a refresher, here’s the most recent look.
Look, it was already funny enough that a guy called Doug Bowser was the big boss at Nintendo of America, but his new role at Hasbro is getting a little much.
palm-pre-was-robbed:
So Bowser is going to take over Hasbro and use Magic, Dungeons and Dragons to expand his empire?
Yeah, that tracks.
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Nintendo released a free update to Donkey Kong Country Returns HD that adds Dixie Kong as a playable character, a “Turbo Attack” mode where you “race through high-speed versions of each level,” and, on Switch 2, “enhanced resolution, higher-definition graphics, and quicker load times.”
Those red screens contributed to the Virtual Boy being one of Nintendo’s biggest failures, but with a high-speed camera running at up to 1,750,000 fps, The Slow Mo Guys have shared a fascinating look at how the console produced 3D images using two thin strips of red LEDs and moving mirrors.
Long after Spotify’s Wrapped, or other annual data look-back features from PlayStation and Steam (but not Xbox), Nintendo has announced its Switch 2025 Year in Review tracker.
Other than sharing your results with the #NintendoSwitch2025 hashtag, there’s also an option to select GOTY, or go even further back in your Switch / Switch 2 history to the first game you played.
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It’s just one of two Game Boy-styled mini-controllers that cradle your phone at CES 2026. This one plugs directly into your phone with USB-C, is coming summer 2026, but doesn’t have a price yet. GameSir has a Bluetooth one for $35 that’s coming March and cradles your phone. (YouTube video version here.)
