Metroid Prime 4

The Metroid Prime games have been one of the biggest games in recent years, and funnily enough at one point, Metroid Prime 4 was supposed to be an early release title for the original Switch. It’s finally coming out for the Switch 2 (and even the original Switch) after undergoing plenty of delays, and it looks absolutely fantastic. Samus looks quite resourceful, decked with so many powers and weapons, and it’s going to be an absolute blast. It’s scheduled to come out sometime this year.

Surprisingly, it didn’t reveal any sales figures for Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition, released on March 20th for the Switch. As for notable titles released last year, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom sold 4.09 million (up from 3.14 million in the previous quarter) while Mario and Luigi: Brothership sold 1.97 million (up from 1.4 million).

Super Mario Party Jamboree also saw a noticeable jump, selling 7.48 million units, about 1.3 million more than the previous quarter. With Super Mario Party Jamboree – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Jamboree TV out on July 24th, it should prove a successful release for the Switch 2 following its launch on June 5th.

Nintendo has started revealing file sizes for Nintendo Switch 2 titles via their Japanese eShop pages, and though they are obviously a jump from the Switch 1, by modern standards, they remain refreshingly manageable (based on early indications, at least).

Mario Kart World is listed as having a 23.4 GB file size, in contrast to 11.3 GB for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on the Nintendo Switch. Donkey Kong Bananza, meanwhile, will have a 10 GB file size. In comparison, the dev team’s last major 3D platformer, Super Mario Odyssey, has a 5.6 GB file size.

Nintendo has also revealed sizes for upcoming native Switch 2 enhanced releases for a couple of Switch 1 titles, with Kirby and the Forgotten Land weighing 5.7 GB, which is curiously about the same as its Switch file size, and Super Mario Party Jamboree coming in at 7.7 GB (compared to 5.3 GB on Switch).

The Nintendo Classics – GameCube app, which will allow Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscribers to play GameCube titles exclusively on the Switch 2, will weigh 3.5 GB.

Nintendo Switch 2 launches with Mario Kart World as a launch title on June 5, featuring 256 GB of internal storage. Donkey Kong Bananza releases on July 17.

The games eligible for the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition upgrade packs are Super Mario Party Jamboree with the Jamboree TV pack, the Nintendo Switch 2 Editions for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Kirby and the Forgotten Land – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Star-Crossed World, and Pokémon Legends: Z-A – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition. Metroid Prime 4: Beyond will also be getting upgrades on the Switch 2, but there doesn’t seem to be a separate cost associated with it as of yet.

Super Mario Party Jamboree – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Jamboree TV will feature a host of new game modes and minigames that make use of some of the new consoles features. This includes use of the built-in system microphone, the Nintendo Switch 2 camera, and even the mouse controls available on the new Joy-Con 2 controllers. There will also be a new mode, dubbed Bowser Live. The mode will be a game show-themed experience, and will pit two teams of two players each against each other. The upgrade will be available on July 24.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom will both feature separate Nintendo Switch 2 Edition upgrades. Available on June 5 alongside the launch of the console, the upgrade packs bring in smoother frame rates, quicker loading times, and overall improved visuals. Both titles will also be able to make use of a new feature on the Nintendo Switch App dubbed Zelda Notes. through this, players will be able to better navigate through the games’ open worlds to find secrets like Koroks. It will also feature commentary from Princess Zelda.

3D platformer Kirby and the Forgotten Land – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Star-Crossed World will be available on August 28. The upgrade pack includes new content in the form of additional story and a new uncharted territory to explore. The game will also include content for single-player as well as local co-op game modes, as well as new Mouthful Modes for players to clear.

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond will be available on the Switch 2 alongside its Switch release later this year. The Switch 2 version of the game will allow players to make use of the Joy-Con 2 mouse controls alongside the other control methods already available. When it comes to visuals, players will be able to pick between Quality Mode and Performance Mode. While both support HDR displays, Quality Mode will focus on running the game at 4K with 60 FPS, while Performance Mode will drop down to 1080p and a higher frame rate of 120 FPS.

The upgrades included in Pokémon Legends: Z-A – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition all revolve around improving the game’s visuals and frame rates. It will be available in late 2025.

As with previous entries, Super Mario Party Jamboree offers numerous playable characters and boards to play on (four available, three to unlock). Up to four players can compete to complete mini-games, earn Coins and Stars, and ultimately win. Jamboree mixes things up by adding Jamboree Buddies, who possess unique abilities to turn the tides.

It also features Pro Rules for the more competitive-minded and Party Planner Trek, a single-player mode where you play mini-games for NPCs and unlock subsequent areas. Outside of its sales, the critical response to Super Mario Party Jamboree has been exceptional, becoming the franchise’s best-rated.

Princess Peach: Showtime!

One day, Nintendo woke up, looked back on how underwhelming Super Princess Peach was, and decided to do something about it. The result is Princess Peach: Showtime!, with Peach harnessing multiple forms across various plays to stop the sorceress Grape and her Sour Bunch. With a fun story, enjoyable gameplay, and solid level design, there’s much to love, even if the performance would have been better.

Unsurprisingly, on top of the software charts for the month is Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, which has also instantly become the third-highest selling game of the year in the US. In terms of dollar sales, its launch is 23 bigger than that of last year’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, with 82 percent of its October sales coming on PS5 and PS4. 

Trailing behind in second place is Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO, which has also got off to a quick start. It has instantly become the fourth-highest selling game of the year in the US, in addition to becoming not only the bestselling Dragon Ball game in the US to date in dollar sales (yes, already), but also Bandai Namco’s third-highest selling game of all time in the region, behind Elden Ring and Dark Souls 3. 

In third place in the charts we have Konami and Bloober Team’s remake of Silent Hill 2. It’s already become the No. 2 bestselling game in the Silent Hill series in the region to date, behind the original Silent Hill 2. 

Meanwhile, several other major titles that launched in October also occupy in the US’ charts for the month, with Steel City Interactive and Plaion’s Undisputed (No. 4), Atlus and Sega’s Metaphor: ReFantazio (No. 5), BioWare and EA’s Dragon Age: The Veilguard (No. 6), Nintendo Cube and Nintendo’s Super Mario Party Jamboree (No. 7), Sonic Team and Sega’s Sonic X Shadow Generations, and Deck Nine and Square Enix’s Life is Strange: Double Exposure (No. 18).

On the hardware side of things, consumer spending in the US dropped 23 percent in October year-on-year, with a total of 604,000 hardware units sold (down from 759,000 in October last year). PS5 was the bestselling console of the month in the US in dollar and unit sales, while Xbox Series X/S took second place in both metrics. However, all consoles saw a year-on-year drop in sales, with Switch dollar sales slipping by 38 percent, PS5 sales by 20 percent, and Xbox Series X/S sales by 18 percent. 

Meanwhile, Metaphor: ReFantazio, which topped charts last week, has dropped to cumulative sales of over 16,000 units for the week across PS5 and PS4, while Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO drops down to over 12,000 units sold, and Konami and Bloober Team’s Silent Hill 2 remake to just a little over 4,000 units.

In terms of hardware sales, the Nintendo Switch continues to lead the way, emerging as the bestselling console in Japan for the week with over 58,000 units sold. PS5, meanwhile, managed over 11,000 units, trailing behind in second place.

You can check out the full hardware and physical software sales charts for Japan for the week ending October 20 below.

Software sales (followed by lifetime sales):

1. [NSW] Super Mario Party Jamboree – 227,569 (New)
2. [PS5] Professional Baseball Spirits 2024-2025 – 69,078 (New)
3. [NSW] The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom – 13,273 (281,312)
4. [PS5] Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO – 12,928 (76,850)
5. [PS5] Metaphor: ReFantazio – 12,492 (95,319)
6. [NSW] Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – 7,605 (6,033,177)
7. [NSW] Minecraft – 5,408 (3,657,912)
8. [NSW] Animal Crossing: New Horizons – 4,665 (7,935,333)
9. [PS4] Metaphor: ReFantazio – 4,610 (29,995)
10. [PS5] Silent Hill 2 – 4,287 (33,661)

Hardware sales (followed by last week’s sales):

• Nintendo Switch – 58,853 (55,082)
• PS5 – 11,315 (11,804)
• Xbox Series X/S – 4,438 (425)

That’s as per GamesIndustry’s Christopher Dring, who shared on Twitter that Super Mario Party Jamboree – which debuted on top of the latest weekly UK retail charts – has enjoyed 35 percent higher physical sales in the UK at launch than the previous title in the series, Mario Party Superstars, managed upon its release in 2021. 

That’s an impressive start for the game by any metric, especially when considering the fact that this is the Mario Party franchise’s third outing on the Switch, not to mention the Switch itself being in the eighth year of its lifecycle. What that means for how well we can expect Jamboree to sell over the course of the coming months should be interesting to witness. 

OVER 110 MINIGAMES

Nintendo is looking to one-up itself with its offerings of minigames in Super Mario Party Jamboree. To be specific, the party title is set to feature a total of 112 minigames, which is the most we will have ever seen in the series’ history so far. The roster will feature a variety of different minigame types, including 4-player, 1v3, 2v2, showdown minigames, duel minigames, and more. Super Mario Party’ rhythm minigmes will return, as will boss battle minigames from 3DS’ Mario Party: Star Rush.

8-PLAYER MINIGAMES

Super Mario Party Jamboree is also introducing a new minigame type that will see eight players competing against each other. So far, at least ten 8-player minigames have been confirmed, and it seems they will cast a wide net in what they will task players with. There’s one that challenges players to work together by gathering apples and squeezing juice out of them, while another sees you having to solve puzzles together by placing jigsaw pieces. One challenges you to walk on skis in tandem in order to defeat Wiggler in a race, while another tasks you with cleaning Chain Chomps by spraying them with water.

SEVEN BOARDS

True to Jamboree’s insistence on going above and beyond in the content that it will deliver, the game is also confirmed to feature seven boards, which is the most we’ll have seen in any Mario Party game on the Switch. Right off the bat, players will have four boards accessible, with three more being unlockable. Of those three, two will be familiar boards returning from past titles, in the form of Mario’s Rainbow Castle from the original Mario Party, and Western Land from Mario Party 2.

NEW BOARDS

A couple of boards in Super Mario Party Jamboree will be familiar ones, but the major of them are going to be entirely new. Of the five new boards, four will be unlocked right from the off. These will be Mega Wiggler’s Tree Party, which will be set in a tree orchard; Roll ’em Raceway, which is set on a racecourse in a lush environment; Goomba Lagoon, a tropical island with a shipwreck and a volcano; and Rainbow Galleria, which is set in a multi-storey shopping mall. The fifth new board, King Bowser’s Keep, is an unlockable one, and takes players to a giant, lava-filled castle.

22 CHARACTERS

Here’s another area where the upcoming game is looking to scale new heights for the series. Super Mario Party Jamboree is confirmed to feature as many as 22 playable characters, which is going to be the largest roster of characters in a Mario Party game to date. Every characters from Mario Party Superstars is returning, as are a handful that we haven’t seen in a Mario Party title in a few years, like Spike, who is appearing for the first time since Wii U’s Mario Party 10 nearly a decade ago.

NEW CHARACTERS

There will obviously be plenty of familiar and returning characters to play as, but Super Mario Party Jamboree is also adorning its roster with a few characters who are going to be playable in a Mario Party game for the first time ever. Specifically, there’s two new playable characters confirmed for the game in the form of Pauline, the Mayor of New Donk City, and fan-favourite weirdo Ninji.

NEW ITEMS

Jamboree will let players use a total of 37 different items, which is once again a record high for the series, and in that list, a good number of them are going to be entirely new additions. That includes the likes of a warp pipe that can move you to a random spot on the board, a mushroom ticket that can be exchanged for mushrooms, a warp box to directly transport players to a shop, items that are tied specific elements in specific boards, and more.

JAMBOREE BUDDIES

Allies in Super Mario Party Jamboree will take on a slightly different form, appearing this time as Jamboree Buddies. Of the 22 playable characters in the game, 10 will also appear randomly on boards as Jamboree Buddies. Get to them, and you can initiate a showdown minigame, which, if won, recruits that character to your party, with each Jamboree Buddy coming with unique abilities to give you different kinds of boosts and advantages, from Yoshi being able to copy items held by opponents that you pass, to Peach letting you purchase items from item shops at half cost, to Luigi giving you better odds of rolling higher numbers when you roll a die, and more.

PRO RULES

If you’re looking for a more competitive edge from Super Mario Party Jamboree, the game will let you turn on Pro Rules, which will change a number of in-game rules to suit your needs. Some of the changed rules will include turn counts being capped at 12. players being able to choose an item to start a board with (from a limited selection), item shops having limited stock, hidden blocks no longer appearing, specific blocks having new and changed rules, and more.

SINGLE-PLAYER MODE

Multiplayer is and obviously always will be the best and primary way of playing any Mario Party game, but those who wish to try out its offerings solo will have the chance to do so with Party-Planner Trek, Super Mario Party Jamboree’s single-player mode. This mode will let you lay minigames across the game’s five new boards by yourself, with rewards for completing quests and minigames being Mini Stars and decorations to be placed in the Party Plaza.

KOOPATHLON MODE

Super Mario Party Jamboree is also set to introduce a large-scale multiplayer mode in the form of Koopathlon. On paper, it’s similar to Mario Party: Star Rush’s Coinathlon mode, with the key difference being that it is for up to 20 players competing against each other. That, of course, will also mean entirely new minigames designed for a larger pool of players, with each minigame seeing players trying to survive amidst Fall Guys-style chaos.

BOWSER KABOOM SQUAD

Another new mode in Super Mario Party Jamboree is Bowser Kaboom Squad, which is a co-op experience. Eight players are tasked with working together to defeat Imposter Bowser across a total of five rounds, with one single game in the mode entailing minigames, throwing bombs at Bowser, and more.

OTHER MODES

The likes of the main party mode, the single-player Party-Planner Trek mode, the chaotic Koopathlon, and the co-op Bowser Kaboom Squad are set to be Jamboree’s star attractions, but there will be plenty other modes to dive into as well. Paratroopa Flight School will task two players with working together by using motion controls to in a flight minigame, while Rhythm Kitchen will be a four-player co-op cooking rhythm minigame, and Toad’s Factory will put you through thirty increasingly difficult levels in another four-player co-op affair.

FILE SIZE

As per the Switch eShop, Super Mario Party Jamboree is set to have a file size of 5.3 GB, which is pretty standard for the Nintendo Switch (and practically nonexistent compared to what we see from most games releasing on any other platform these days). In comparison, both previous Switch Mario Party titles had lower storage requirements with Super Mario Party and Mario Party Superstars both weighing 2.9 GB each.