Nintendo has long done its own thing when it comes to video games. As of late, that includes the way it shows off the future of its games and consoles. Rather than focus on E3 in June, Nintendo holds its own event, Nintendo Direct, in September.
On Thursday night, that event included a few different announcements, including details about its new online service, a new Animal Crossing game and some fun NES-inspired Switch controllers.
#NintendoSwitchOnline will feel even more authentic by using the new wireless NES style controllers with the classic #NES games, available for purchase exclusively for paid Nintendo Switch Online members!
For more details, visit: https://t.co/1iDHUEEU2m pic.twitter.com/Q0yaFDmug5
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) September 13, 2018
But perhaps the most interesting news from Nintendo Direct was that a swath of popular board games is coming to your Switch console. Asmodee, makers of many popular tabletop games like Pandemic, Settlers of Catan and Munchkin, is bringing many of its tabletop hits to the Switch starting in December.
Do you love classic card and board games? You’re in luck! Carcassonne, Pandemic, Munchkin, Catan, and The Lord of the Rings: Living Card Game from @AsmodeeDigital are all coming to #NintendoSwitch starting this December! pic.twitter.com/bKz1wPb8SX
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) September 13, 2018
Asmodee makes many of the tabletop games your nerdier friends have tried to make you play instead of Monopoly or Scrabble on your casual game nights. Games like Settlers of Catan or Carcassonne are wildly popular and often serve as infection vectors into more complicated games that soon dominate board game nights and lead to you and your friends preventing global catastrophe in Pandemic.
The partnership with Nintendo makes sense here, especially given that Asmodee Digital has put many of these games on mobile phones for a few years now. But the Switch is perfect for pass-and-play gaming in small groups, and playing titles in Munchkin without the cards necessary to play the tabletop version makes it an ideal plane or car travel companion.
It won’t compare to the campaign-style “Legacy” games like Risk, Pandemic and the upcoming Betrayal Legacy that comes out this fall in normal cardboard style. But hey, everyone has to start somewhere.