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Reading Time: 5 minutesNintendo’s customary mid-February Nintendo Direct presentation arrived right on time this year. When it debuted on February 9th, it delivered the usual deluge of never-before-seen game content and development updates. Of course, there were curious omissions as well.
This is all par for the course for Nintendo’s time-tested marketing strategy. But it’s worth mentioning how this particular Direct bucked a recent trend. In lieu of hardware-based flights of fancy and subscription services, Nintendo fans received something better. This Nintendo Direct featured a staggering amount of information about highly anticipated titles that fans care about!
The shortage-laden Switch OLED console release and the controversial Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack rollout consumed a hearty chunk of Nintendo Direct airtime. But last week’s game-heavy showcase suggests that Nintendo is finally pivoting back to the heart of its operation. This Nintendo Direct was hyping popular upcoming first-party releases like Kirby and the Forgotten Land and Splatoon 3. It also set aboutreviving an unexpected selection of legacy Nintendo titles from older consoles. Finally, the Nintendo Direct offered a tantalizing dearth of news regarding Metroid Prime 4 or the long-awaited Breath of the Wild sequel.
The Best Upcoming Nintendo Switch Releases from Nintendo Direct
Suffice to say, a diverse array of Nintendo fans across genres and generations have plenty to look forward to in 2022. Your heart and your thumbs might be raring to go. But is your budget prepared for what Nintendo has in store?
Once you’ve brushed up on the biggest news from the latest Nintendo Direct presentation, you can mark your calendars accordingly. Then it’s time to figure out how to get the best possible price on this year’s Nintendo releases.
Here are a few highlights from the February 2022 Nintendo Direct:
Kirby and the Forgotten Land Arrives on March 25th
Credit: Nintendo
Kirby’s foray into the post-apocalyptic open-world 3D platformer format wasn’t already shocking enough. Now, the latest gameplay footage from Kirby and the Forgotten Land during February’s Nintendo Direct focuses heavily on “Mouthful Mode”. It’s a new gameplay mechanic that transforms Kirby into a gaping maw capable of inhaling cars, vending machines and other objects.
Mouthful Mode ensures that you’ll never run out of creative ways to liberate Waddle Dee Town and traverse the unknown ruins that surround it. Kirby and the Forgotten Land costs $59.99. It will be available in physical and digital format on March 25th, 2022.
Preorder Kirby and the Forgotten Land at Nintendo
Mario Strikers and Wii Sports Enter the Switch Era
Credit: Nintendo
Nintendo’s first-party sports games aren’t the flashiest, most-hyped Nintendo releases. But there’s no denying their importance to Nintendo’s legacy. Mario might be a plumber who is also a doctor. Still, you shouldn’t underestimate his decades of experience in tennis, soccer, golf, racing and so on.
After a 15-year hiatus, Nintendo’s underappreciated Mario Strikers five-on-five soccer brawler series finally gets the reboot it deserves. As of the latest Nintendo Direct, Mario Strikers: Battle League, available on June 10th. Up to eight players can duke it out on a single console in co-op mode, or you can compete in ranked competition online.
Preorder Mario Strikers: Battle League at Nintendo
Credit: Nintendo
Another gem has been freed from the weeds of Wii-era irrelevance — Nintendo Switch Sports is finally here. As of the latest Nintendo Direct, we know there’s a storied return coming. It’s hard to follow up a game that was widely popular in classrooms, night clubs and nursing homes at the same time, but it sounds like Nintendo has overhauled the premise of Wii Sports to include new games like badminton, soccer and “Survival Bowling,” as well as to accommodate Switch peripherals like Joy-Cons and Ring Fit Adventure gear. Nintendo Switch Sports comes out on April 29th.
Preorder Nintendo Switch Sports at Nintendo
Splatoon 3 Is Set for a Summer 2022 Release
Credit: Nintendo
Since Splatoon 3 was announced this time last year, Nintendo has been particularly sparing with details about the game, when it comes out and what ink-drenched misadventures await us when it finally arrives.
The February 2022 Nintendo Direct didn’t answer many of those questions, but we now know that Splatoon 3 is set to launch sometime this summer and that the widely-popular Salmon Run co-op mode will return under the new name “Salmon Run Next Wave.”
Preorder Splatoon 3 at Nintendo
New Mario Kart 8 Deluxe DLC Brings Dozens of New Tracks
Credit: Nintendo
We all love to embark on a brand new adventure, but is there any high quite like finding out that you’ve no longer seen everything there is to see in your favorite game? During the latest Nintendo Direct, we learned we’d be getting more Mario Kart.
If you’ve already mastered all of the racecourses packed into the Super Mario Kart 8 Deluxe base game and want a new challenge, Nintendo is rolling out a whopping 48 new courses between March 18th and the end of 2023. To access these remastered versions of classic Mario Kart tracks from throughout the ages, you can either sign up for Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack or pick up the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course Pass for $24.99.
As one of Nintendo’s most commonly bundled Switch titles, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe deals aren’t hard to come by if you’re patient. New physical copies went for as little as $37 this past Black Friday, but you can order it from Amazon today and still save $10.
- Mario Kart 8 Deluxe — Sale Price: $49.94 | Reg. Price: $59.99
Portal and No Man’s Sky Switch Ports Arrive Later in 2022
Credit: No Man’s Sky/Hello Games
It wouldn’t be a Nintendo Direct if Nintendo didn’t announce random Switch ports for well-established series that exist on virtually every other console. In Portal‘s case, the Switch revival means bundling Portal and Portal 2 into Portal: Companion Collection. It sounds like No Man’s Sky is getting a similar treatment — the Switch version contains the base game plus all five years’ worth of Hello Games’ updates (including the Frontiers, Prisms, Expeditions, and Companions updates from 2021).
Nintendo hasn’t provided a release date for Portal: Companion Collection, but Valve confirmed that the collection will retail for $19.99 when it comes out — equivalent to purchasing Portal and Portal 2 from the Steam store at full price.
Aside from a theoretical “Summer 2022” release window, Nintendo didn’t say when No Man’s Sky will come out or how much it will cost. The Xbox, PlayStation and PC versions all cost $59.99.
Oliver Pretl-Drummond
Oliver Pretl-Drummond is a copywriter, memoirist and Scorpio living in Baltimore, MD. Primed by years of recreational research spirals, they've helped Slickdeals document hundreds of arcane store policies and hidden coupon tricks for the greater good of deal hunters everywhere. They spend their days seeking and sharing killer deals on budget travel, sound systems, home goods and tech. By night, their free time is reserved for making bass music while consuming exotic caffeinated beverages with their partner and growing family of yucca plants.