Switch Weekly - Fresh Indies and Reggie's book

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Issue 282— May 15, 2022

Hey, Chris here, back with your Nintendo round-up for the week — it's issue #282 of Switch Weekly. I hope you're doing well.

Up top I want to say a quick thanks to Jay over at Game + Word for sharing his thoughts on the Switch platform and what it means to him in last week's issue. I hope you enjoyed his musings.

Now, this week we saw an Indie World presentation — I've linked it in the issue below if you missed it. Some nice stuff revealed — I'm playing Mini Motorways right now.

In other news we got an updated look at Switch sales figures — with the console now surpassing 107M units. These financial releases always come with an attached Q&A session, which often prove illuminating — here's the latest if you want to dig in.

There's around 15 games coming to the Switch over the next week. The full list is below for you as ever.

Finally, I'd like to share a tribute to Nick Alfieri — the founder of indie publishers Digerati and Big Sugar (who've released the likes of Snakeybus, A Musical Story, Sam & Max: TTIV, etc). He passed away unexpectedly earlier this month. He was a long-time reader of Switch Weekly, and someone who I had only very recently had the pleasure of meeting to discuss the Switch platform and their upcoming slate of games. My thoughts are with his family and the team at Digerati/Big Sugar. ❤️

As ever, thank you so much for reading. I hope these weekly digests prove useful.

Cheers ✌️
Chris

🎮 Currently Playing — Mini Motorways, Kirby and the Forgotten Land

▶ Indie World Showcase — May 2022 — Plenty of variety in this ~25 minute showcase. ElecHead, Mini Motorways, and Another Crab's Treasure caught my eye.

Nintendo // YouTube

Switch hits 107.6m as Nintendo claims ‘highest annual software sales ever’ — Another quarter of solid sales figures for the big N.

Andy Robinson // VGC

INTERVIEW ▶ Reggie Fils-Aimé at SXSW 2022 — The former Nintendo of America President has a new book out — as such he's been hitting the interview circuit for the past few weeks. In this hour long chat he discusses various things, including his upbringing, why he took the job at Nintendo, representation in the wider gaming industry, the GameStop stock frenzy, and much more. Here's another video interview with the Nintendo Voice Chat gang at IGN, and a written interview with Dean Takahashi at VentureBeat.

SXSW // Nintendo Life

Five lessons from Reggie Fils-Aime's book
Colin Campbell // gamesindustry

REVIEW Bugsnax — This quirky game is described here as "one of the most heartfelt adventures I’ve had the pleasure of playing". However, Brett Posner-Ferdman writing for Nintendo Life notes that it's a game "brimming with potential, but struggles in actual execution" — and it's only made worse due to technical issues on Switch.

Connor Christie // Pocket Tactics

Inside the growing discontent behind Nintendo’s fun facade — This detailed report from IGN highlights previously unknown issues that contractor staff at Nintendo of America in Redmond are said to be currently facing. It reveals how these contractors increasingly see themselves as "second-class citizens". The past few years have seen widespread labour scandals across the gaming industry — now it's Nintendo's turn. Curiously, former NoA President Reggie Fils-Aime (who left the company three years ago) has spoken on the matter, saying that this is "not at all the culture" that he left when retiring. Stephen Totilo shared some detail on what current NoA top man Doug Bowser has said on the matter.

Kat Bailey // IGN

REVIEW Citizen Sleeper — Worth taking a look at if you enjoyed Disco Elysium.

Mitch Vogel // Nintendo Life

REVIEW Gibbon: Beyond the Trees

Willem Hilhorst // Nintendo World Report

REVIEW Dungeons of Dreadrock

Oliver Brandt // Vooks

REVIEW Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising

Jordan Rudek // Nintendo World Report

Just how accessible are Switch games like Xenoblade, Pokémon, & Mario?
Isabelle Meyer // Nintendo Life

Picking the best sports games in Nintendo's multi-decade history
Sam Barsanti, William Hughes, Alison Foreman // A.V. Club

🎮 Upcoming Releases

All releases are digital, Europe & U.S. unless otherwise stated.
Release data sourced in collaboration with Switch Scores.
⭐️ = Ones to Watch | 📦 = Physical release | 🎮 = Demo available

Wednesday, May 18

Behind Closed Doors: A Developer's Tale — Budget pixel adventure of a game developer.
Divination — A short, dark 'fortune teller' graphic novel adventure. M for mature.
Regular Factory: Escape Room — Solve 3D logic/spatial puzzles and escape the room.

Thursday, May 19

The Future You've Been Dreaming Of — Supernatural life sim. M for mature.
Deadcraft — Farm the dead in this zombie survival action game. M for mature.
Guild of Dungeoneering Ultimate Edition — Instead of controlling the hero, you build the dungeon around them.
There Will Be No Turkey This Christmas — Christmas Eve stealthy arcade game. 30 levels.
⭐️ They Always Run — You have three arms in this lovely looking action platformer.
Goetia 2 — Get your soul back in this Italian-based puzzle adventure.
Bad Writer — A "comfy and depressingly realistic" writer's life simulation.

Friday, May 20

📦 Cotton Fantasy — New cute shoot 'em up in the long-running Japanese Cotton series.
⭐️ PigShip and the Giant Wolf — Game Boy style visuals for this shoot em up.
The Legend of the Dragonflame Highschool Collection — A 2D beat 'em up bundle.
Puzzle Collection — A lot of jigsaws to take on.

Sunday, May 22

Galacticon — A slice of 80s arcade action.

⚡️ Quick Links:

Fall Guys on Switch. Expect a release date announcement tomorrow.
Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards is coming to Switch Online next week.
New Mario Strikers is out next month, as such here's a trailer showing off multiplayer.
Reggie's book Disrupting the Game: From the Bronx to the Top of Nintendo is out now. My copy is on the way. #AD
Alan Wake Remastered is coming to Switch later this year.
A former Chinese exclusive Rabbids party game is getting a wider release next month.
Here's a chart looking at Nintendo's earnings year-on-year since 1981.
The Switch has now outsold PS4 lifetime sales in the U.S.
Game console makers, Nintendo included, warn the chip shortage has 'no end in sight'.
Square Enix still ‘recommends Balan Wonderworld’ despite Yuji Naka's comments.
You need to watch this excellent documentary on the story of how Super Mario World came to be.

💌 Switch Weekly remains accessible and sustainable thanks to the ongoing support of the following amazing patrons:

PC, CapnGoat, SB, FrozenTrout, JR, MindFad, Greg, Michael Fairley, Chris D, Andrew E, and others — why not join them?

Curated by Chris Brandrick | Support Switch Weekly on Patreon

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