Nintendo came out with the big guns for its pre-recorded E3 conference this morning, delivering updates on a couple of veteran franchises while also bringing some new titles to its Switch console.
We didn’t get a ton of big surprises, but what Nintendo showed off was certainly exciting to a lot of fans. The bulk of the presentation was (as expected) devoted to the intimate minutiae of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, which is arriving at the end of the year and will bring the biggest cast to the game ever, with some new characters arriving alongside the entire cast of the series’ previous iterations.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Super Mario Party and Fortnite were probably the biggest highlights, but let’s take a look at everything they talked about.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
One of the crazier parts of this announcement included the fact that Nintendo has made a redesigned GameCube controller, which will be compatible with the game and will be supporting your old GameCube controller somehow as well, presumably with a dongle.
Available December 7, 2018.
Super Mario Party
Alongside the new gameplay content, Super Mario Party is going to integrate some weird multi-Switch gameplay that will allow users to play together across multiple Switch consoles and merge their screens together.
Available October 5, 2018.
Fortnite
Available now for free download.
Other stuff
In addition to the big-gun trifecta of game announcements, Nintendo also shed some light on other titles coming to the system, which has realistically had a pretty tiny game library since launch.
Fire Emblem Three Houses
Coming spring 2019.
DRAGON BALL FighterZ
Coming 2019.
Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna – The Golden Country
New update available September 14 for Expansion Pass members.
Other titles announced during the Nintendo Direct included Daemon X Machina, Overcooked! 2, Killer Queen Black, Hollow Knight and Octopath Traveler. In terms of the new Pokémon titles, Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Let’s Go, Eevee!, they will be available November 16 and people will be able to buy a $99.99 combo that includes the Poké Ball Plus controller, as well.
So that’s it; no Metroid Prime news, no Animal Crossing for Switch, no other big teases — but there’s certainly a good chunk of titles to keep Switch owners excited for a while. We’ll be at E3 checking out some of these new titles this week, so stay tuned for more from us on the ground in Los Angeles.
