Rumors: Switch Gets Splatoon Bundle; Mario & Skyrim At Launch; MK 8 New Battle Mode
You would think that the “rumor well” for Nintendo Switch would have dried up by now, but instead it seems to be overflowing. These new tidbits of information come from Laura Dale of Let’s Play Video Games. She’s been on the money before with Switch information, so while this should all be taken as rumors for now, these could very well come true.
First up, she verifies that the recent The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild rumors are true – it won’t ship alongside the Switch at launch. Instead, both the Wii U and Switch versions will arrive several months into the Switch’s lifespan. This is similar to what Emily Rogers and Eurogamer have heard – placing the game as a possible summer release. Given that Nintendo usually avoids releasing major games during the summertime, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Zelda arrive a bit later in the year – somewhere between September and November. I’d love to be wrong, but we shall see.
The new 3D Mario game shown in the Switch preview video will come out at launch in March. She claims to know the name, but without a second source to verify it, she doesn’t want to go on record just yet. She goes on to confirm that the new game will not be a 3D World type game, but instead a full-fledged Mario game, more akin to Super Mario Galaxy. In addition, she has heard that the game will be able to be played with two players working together toward objectives. It sounds like this mode may be separate from the main solo adventure, but it’s unclear at this time.
Another thing she has heard is that there will be two separate packages for the Switch. The more expensive one will come bundles with a new version of Splatoon. There will be a brand new 1 vs 1 mode where two players on separate Switches duke it out. Supposedly there will be additional single player content added to the game and free updates will come regularly, just like the Wii U version saw.
Her last finding is that Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim will be a Switch launch game. It will be the remastered version of the title and will even include mod support sometime after the game comes out (not at launch). This could be the perfect RPG experience for the Switch now that Zelda supposedly has been pushed back.
Finally, we have Emily Rogers leaking some details about the supposed upcoming Mario Kart 8 Switch version. She says that the new game will include the entire Wii U game and the DLC. In addition:
According to sources close to Nintendo, the Switch version of Mario Kart 8 will feature tons of exclusive content including brand new tracks, new playable characters, and a new-and-improved battle mode. That’s right, Nintendo listened to everyone’s criticisms about Mario Kart 8’s battle mode.
Mario Kart has completed development, and it’s planned to be released within the first three months of Switch’s launch.
I’m a bit conflicted when I hear about all of this Wii U to Switch porting. On the one hand I think it will be nice to have these games on the Switch for those that missed out on the Wii U. On the other hand, I already own and have played all of these games, therefore my excitement level isn’t nearly as high as it would be if these were actual sequels. Granted, it’s way too early to know what kind of enhancements and additions are being added. Who knows, I may end up buying all of them again if the price is right and there are enough cool new features to warrant me opening my wallet once again. What do you think? Let us know below.
[Sources: Let’s Play Video Games & Emily Rogers]
Craig has been covering the video game industry since 1995. His work has been published across a wide spectrum of media sites. He’s currently the Editor-In-Chief of Nintendo Times and contributes to Gaming Age.
