Just so you know.
One of the many games Nintendo highlighted during the Switch 2 Direct last week was the new Zelda title Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment. This is another Koei Tecmo Musou game where you’ll take control of multiple characters and unleash all sorts of attacks on seemingly endless hordes of enemies.
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Former Nintendo of America boss Reggie Fils-Aimé has pointed to the story of Wii pack-in game Wii Sports in thinly-veiled tweets addressing the controversy surrounding Nintendo’s decision to charge for Switch 2 tutorial game Welcome Tour.
Amid the furore around the $449.99 price of the Switch 2 and Mario Kart World’s $79.99 price tag, there was also shock at Nintendo’s decision to charge for interactive instruction manual, Welcome Tour.
Nintendo revealed Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour during its Nintendo Direct last week. It’s a game set to launch alongside the Switch 2 in June that offers a guided tour of the console itself in video game form.
Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour is described as a “virtual exhibition” of the new hardware. Per Nintendo: “through tech demos, minigames and other interactions, players will get to know the new system inside and out in ways they may never have known about otherwise.”
The Nintendo Direct showed footage of a small player avatar exploring a super-sized Switch 2, reading about the different features and facts about the console. It also includes mini-games such as Speed Golf, Dodge the Spiked Balls, and a Maracas Physics Demo.
IGN has confirmed that Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour costs $9.99 and is a digital-only product. That’s significantly cheaper than other Switch 2 games, but IGN has already reported to the complaints from some Nintendo fans that Welcome Tour costs money at all, with many saying it should be a Switch 2 pack-in, as DualSense tech demo game Astro’s Playroom was for PlayStation 5.
Now, Fils-Aimé has tweeted three clips from IGN’s two-year-old interview with the former Nintendo executive in which he discussed the internal battle he had with legendary developer Shigeru Miyamoto to get Wii Sports as a free pack-in for the hugely successful Wii console.
In the first clip, Fils-Aimé says “it is an understatement to say that Mr. Miyamoto pushed back” on the call to make Wii Sports a Wii console pack-in. As we know, this is a battle Fils-Aimé won to a degree, with Wii Sports bundled with the Wii everywhere except Japan.
The story of Wii Sports pack in …https://t.co/LhflSFWaL3
— Reggie Fils-Aimé (@Reggie) April 9, 2025
The second interview clip Fils-Aimé tweeted pointed to a similar battle to bundle Wii Play with the Wii Remote. In the clip from our interview, Fils-Aimé revealed he “pissed off” Miyamoto once again with the suggestion. “He was not happy about that either.”
And finally, tweeting “and the results,” Fils-Aimé clipped out the section from our interview in which he reveals that all this was, ultimately, the right call.
“In the Americas and in Europe Wii Sports was packed in with the Wii proposition. It was not in Japan, which created a bit of a test market. It was obvious that in the markets where Wii Sports was packed in that we became much more of a phenomenon. Wii Sports itself became much more of a phenomenon.
“We did pack the Remote with Wii Play. And it became the fifth best-selling piece of software in the history of the Wii.”
And the results.https://t.co/xrFTDeJMQf
— Reggie Fils-Aimé (@Reggie) April 9, 2025
It’s clear to see what Fils-Aimé is doing here. Although he’s not directly commenting on Nintendo’s Switch 2 strategy, he is making the point that free pack-ins have worked in the past for Nintendo consoles,so it stands to reason that it would do so again for Switch 2.
Fans know what’s up, too. “Hahaha, guys I think Reggie is watching our comments about the Switch 2,” said one X / Twitter user. “We know you would have packed in Welcome Tour,” said another.
This week, IGN published its interview with Nintendo of America’s Vice President of Product and Player Experience, Bill Trinen, conducted at a recent Switch 2 preview event in New York, but before Nintendo announced the delay to pre-orders due to Trump’s tariffs.
Trinen said there’s more to Welcome Tour than it appears based on the showing during the Nintendo Direct and even during recent hands-on opportunities the media had access to. Based on what’s actually in the game, Nintendo decided $9.99 “is not an exorbitant price,” he continued.
“It’s an interesting product,” Trinen began. “We’re actually getting ready today, we’re going to be doing some Nintendo Treehouse Live segments and covering a lot of games in detail. That’s one of them. And I think people will be able to see through Treehouse Live probably a little bit more maybe than you were able to see on the show floor. It’s a pretty robust piece of software. There’s a lot of great detail in there.
“For some people, I think there are people who are particularly interested in the tech and the specs of the system and things like that, for them I think it’s going to be a great product. It’s really for people that want more information about the system rather than necessarily a quick intro to everything it does.
“And for that reason and just the amount of care and work that the team put into it, I think it was decided that, ‘Yeah, this feels like $9.99 is not an exorbitant price. It feels like a good value for what you’re getting out of the product.’ “
Welcome Tour is of course just one part of Nintendo’s next-gen push to become embroiled in controversy, and we’ve also got Trinen’s response to questions surrounding the company’s decision to go for $80 Switch 2 games, as well as going for $450 for the Switch 2 itself.
Photo by Susan Goldman/Bloomberg via Getty Images.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
“Exclusivity kind of mitigates the sticker shock”.
There has been all sorts of commentary about Nintendo’s $80 price tag on Mario Kart World and how this could potentially impact the industry and consumers going forward, and now the former PlayStation boss Shawn Layden has shared his thoughts.
Appearing on the ‘PlayerDriven’ YouTube channel and podcast recently, Layden linked Nintendo’s game price increase back to the relevance of “exclusives” and how “the only place you can play Mario” and other Nintendo IP is on a Nintendo platform. He also thinks fans often “want that content so bad” it effectively “mitigates the sticker shock”.
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Have you been eagerly awaiting your acceptance letter to Hogwarts? This month, you can finally step into the magical world of the wizarding school and its spellbinding surroundings with Hogwarts Legacy.
Or, you could investigate a mysterious shifting manor filled with puzzles in Blue Prince, continue the nostalgic narrative adventure of Lost Records: Bloom & Rage with Tape 2, or golf your heart away in EA Sports PGA Tour.
There’s plenty to choose from in April’s PlayStation Plus Game Catalog lineup*. Lost Records: Bloom & Rage Tape 2 and Blue Prince are both releasing day one into Game Catalog, with Blue Prince available to play April 10, and Bloom & Rage Tape 2 available April 15. EA Sports PGA Tour will also be playable April 11, while all other titles will be playable from April 15.
Meanwhile, PlayStation Plus Deluxe welcomes survival horror Alone in the Dark 2 from the original PlayStation and PS2’s kaiju-filled fighting brawler War of the Monsters.
Hogwarts Legacy | PS4, PS5
Hogwarts Legacy is an immersive, open-world action RPG set in the world first introduced in the Harry Potter books. Embark on a journey through familiar and new locations as you explore and discover magical beasts, customize your character and craft potions, master spell casting, upgrade talents and become the wizard you want to be. Experience Hogwarts in the 1800s. Your character is a student who holds the key to an ancient secret that threatens to tear the wizarding world apart. Discover the feeling of living at Hogwarts as you make allies, battle Dark Wizards and ultimately decide the fate of the wizarding world. Your legacy is what you make of it.
Blue Prince | PS5
Welcome to Mt. Holly, the mysterious manor with shifting rooms. In Blue Prince, you embark on a genre-defying experience, filled with a unique mix of mystery, strategy, and puzzles that weave together to create an unpredictable journey. As the heir of Mt. Holly, you have been tasked to explore its shifting halls in search of Room 46. Yet as your journey takes you further into the mansion’s depths, you start to discover that there is more lurking under the surface than a missing room. Investigate a past woven with the threads of blackmail, political intrigue, and the mysterious disappearance of a local children’s book author. The deeper you venture, the more you realize that the past is closer than it appears.
Lost Records: Bloom & Rage – Tape 2 | PS5
Dontnod’s latest narrative adventure takes you to a picturesque corner of Michigan in 1995, where lies the seemingly sleepy little town of Velvet Cove. Between dense woodlands and serene lakes, it’s a place where beauty meets the bizarre. The first episode, titled Bloom, was included in the Game Catalog in February. This new episode, titled Rage, continues and concludes the sisterhood’s adventure. As the story unfolds, the bonds forged through their growing friendship, their punk band, and the unexplained event that forever changed their lives are put to the ultimate test. Navigate between dual timelines – 1995 and 2022 – to uncover the life-changing secrets they discovered back then and understand why they’re reuniting now, after all these years. Together, they must confront the fateful memories that have eluded them for the past 27 years.
EA Sports PGA Tour | PS5
The exclusive home of the Majors, EA Sports PGA Tour features Pure Strike for superior golf gameplay and unrivaled access to the world’s most exclusive golf courses. As your golf game improves, so does your path to becoming a Major champion. Create and customize a golfer, develop your skill set with new Shot Types, gain deeper course knowledge as you play, and learn to attack every hole like a pro. The tee is yours at 30 courses, including some of the world’s most exclusive, designed in stunning quality with Frostbite so you can enjoy more of golf’s finer details than ever before.
Battlefield 1 | PS4
Experience the dawn of all-out war in Battlefield 1. Fight your way through epic battles ranging from tight urban combat in a besieged French city to the heavily defended mountain forts in the Italian Alps or frantic combats in the deserts of Arabia. Discover a world at war through an adventure-filled campaign, or join in epic multiplayer battles with up to 64 players, and adapt your tactics to the earth-shattering destruction and dynamic weather. Fight as infantry, lead horse charges or take control of amazing vehicles on land, air and sea, from tanks and biplanes to the gigantic Behemoths – some of the largest vehicles in Battlefield history.
PlateUp! | PS4, PS5
PlateUp! combines chaotic kitchen and restaurant management with strategic planning and development to create a delightful roguelite dish unlike any other. Up to four players build and run a restaurant from scratch, choosing dishes, buying and placing appliances – some of which can be daisy-chained together to create ambitious automatic kitchens – cooking food and serving customers. Players have free rein to design their restaurant which will expand and develop between shifts – with additional content and challenges unlocked through progression. Equip your restaurant to handle the most fickle of customers and deliver them what they need, right when they need it.
Alone in the Dark 2 | PS4, PS5
The sequel to the critically acclaimed Alone in the Dark has Edward Carnby dive into another mystery.
War of the Monsters | PS4, PS5
Giant monsters have stormed the planet, and they’re fighting each other for supremacy. In War of the Monsters, choose your own mutant brute (or armored robot, or giant lava beast) then battle it out across 13 destructible battlegrounds. This PlayStation 2 classic from 2003 looks stunning in HD and features full trophy support – including an all-important platinum.
Because this title does not support PlayStation 2 peripherals, there may be times where the game plays differently to the original, or where some features may not be available.
*PlayStation Plus Game Catalog and PlayStation Plus Deluxe lineups may differ by region. Please check PlayStation Store on release day.
Like many businesses around the world, we continue to be impacted by global market conditions and will be adjusting our local prices for PlayStation Plus. This price adjustment will enable us to continue bringing high-quality games and value-added benefits to your PlayStation Plus subscription service.
Starting on April 16, 2025, PlayStation Plus subscription prices will change to the following in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia
PlayStation Plus Essential
PlayStation Plus Extra
PlayStation Plus Deluxe
For current subscribers, the price change will not take effect until your next billing date that occurs on or after June 24. However, any membership changes you make on or after April 16, such as upgrades, downgrades or adding additional time, will reflect the new prices. You can change or cancel your subscription at any time. For more information: https://www.playstation.com/support/subscriptions/cancel-playstation-plus/.
Nintendo: “All options are on the table”.
Last week, Nintendo confirmed The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker would be sailing onto the Switch 2 as part of the GameCube library at launch.
If you’re worried this might rule out the Wii U HD version of the game making a return one day, it seems there’s still hope. Tim Gettys of Kinda Funny Games spoke to Nintendo of America’s senior vice president of product development Nate Bihldorff and was informed “all options are on the table”.
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Let’s see how it matches up.
I don’t know about you, but I’m already giving my shelf space a worried look as I consider the number of Switch 2 launch titles I want to pick up.
It’s been just about a week since Nintendo revealed the Switch 2 and its 21 separate launch games (24 if you include those dropping on the NSO GameCube library), which, the more you think about it, is a truly wild number. Just for reference, the only Nintendo consoles that have pulled together a bigger launch line-up are the GBA in Japan (23 releases on day one) and the North American release of the Wii U (29). The big difference is that Switch 2 doesn’t have the crutch of movie tie-ins to pad out its day one roster — no shade to stone-cold classics like the Wii’s Happy Feet there.
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It’s that time again, that glorious time of year when Amazon runs a mega-sale on board games. This particular sale is a “Buy 1, Get 1 50% Off” sale that applies to a massive selection of games. Sweetening the pot, many of the games that qualify are already on sale on their own. If you buy two already-discounted board games and save an extra 50% off one, that’s called “deal stacking,” and it’s a pro move. You can view the whole sale here, or scroll on to see our picks, divided into board games for kids and board games for adults.
Some of the most popular modern tabletop games are available in the sale, ranging from games everyone should have on their shelf (like Azul and Catan) to some slightly more niche picks (like Camel Up and Horrified). Then there’s the beloved Ouija Board, which, what’s the worst that could happen when you commune with the dead?
Please know that, if you’re an adult, that doesn’t mean you can’t play the games for kids. Some of these games are really fun, whether you played them in your childhood (looking at you, Mouse Trap) or not because they’re newer (Exploding Kittens, Hedbanz). These classic and newer games for kids are simple and quick to learn, which can be nice when you’ve been maxing out your brain power figuring out the rules of some of the strategy board games aimed at smarty-pants adults.
Chris Reed is a deals expert and commerce editor for IGN. You can follow him on Bluesky @chrislreed.com.
A new report from research firm Newzoo indicates the storm may be tightening on the battle royale genre, but Fortnite is still holding strong.
Newzoo’s PC & Console Gaming Report 2025 has detailed a number of shifts and trends across the industry, and one of those moving trends is the battle royale genre. Newzoo’s tracking indicates the battle royale genre has shrunk in playtime, going from 19% of playtime in 2021 to 12% in 2024.
Citing its Game Performance Monitor which looks at 37 markets (excluding China and India) across PC, PlayStation, and Xbox, Newzoo indicated that as a pair, shooter games and battle royale games routinely account for 40% of playtime. So as battle royale playtime has gradually shifted down, shooter playtime has been going up.
Despite the 7% shift, the difference within the genre might be the more surprising number. Per Newzoo, Fortnite went from a 43% share of the battle royale genre in 2021 to a 77% share in 2024. Essentially, even as battle royale games trended down, Fortnite ate up more and more of the space within the genre.
Role-playing games have also seen some noticeable growth, up to 13% in 2024 over their 9% share in 2021. Newzoo reported that 18% of RPG time in 2024 was spent in major releases from 2023, spotlighting Baldur’s Gate 3, Diablo IV, Honkai: Star Rail, Hogwarts Legacy, and Starfield.
As Newzoo stated in its report, the fight for attention in playtime and hours is fierce. While games like Fortnite, Call of Duty: Warzone, and Apex Legends carry on, other games fall by the wayside. Meanwhile, shooters and role-playing games seem to be encroaching on more territory and mindshare. Looking at the success of standouts in those genres, be they Marvel Rivals or Baldur’s Gate 3, it’s hard to argue.
With its constant slate of changes, updates, and growing library of gaming experiences and genres contained within it, it might not be surprising that Fortnite has weathered the storm. Still, time passes, and we’ll doubtlessly see trends continue to shift as broad audience interests change as the years roll on.
Eric is a freelance writer for IGN.
The release of Monster Hunter Wilds brought with it the usual comments about the hypocrisy of a series that wants to both protect ecosystems and grind them up for parts. “When will Monster Hunter just be honest about its desire to endlessly turn dragons into pants,” we lamented to ourselves. “When will the Monster Hunters recognise – nay, embrace the fact that they are the biggest Monsters of all”.
We could have saved ourselves a few thousand words and just pointed at Hunters Inc, instead. It’s basically a first-person low-budget Monster Hunter game in which the Hunters are Orcs. Orcs do not do self-deception, as a rule. They do not go for sanitised violence or anthropocentric fantasies about becoming “nature’s caretakers”. They are straightforwardly happy to club things to bits. Looks like ludonarrative consonance is back on the menu, boys!
The chosen few.
Pre-orders are one thing, but there’s something about lotteries and ‘invitations’ to pre-order hot-item electronics which rubs me the wrong way. “Here, it’s our honour to let you give us hundreds of your hard-earned currency units, you lucky sausage! Gis a card number.”
Still, it’s the name of the game if you’re a Switch 2 fan, and we Europeans should think ourselves lucky that we’re not in the uncertain position of our friends across the Atlantic when it comes to guaranteeing (as much as you can) that there’ll be a new console on your doorstep come 5th June.
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