Issue #282
· May 15, 2022
No silk. 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 ✌️ 🎮 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 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? Picking the best sports games in Nintendo's multi-decade history
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