
Nintendo release retro-inspired GameCube controller in time for Switch 2 release
Nintendo have just released a retro-inspired GameCube controller as a companion to the newly launched Switch 2 that's sure to add a nostalgic twist to your next gaming session
Whether you fancy switching up from a classic Pro Controller or want to relive the feel of gaming in the early 2000s, Nintendo's just-released GameCube Controller is sure to deliver that fun nostalgia while you enjoy your new Switch 2.
The Nintendo Switch 2 has been available to pre-order for some time now, but today (June 5) marks its official release - and it's not just the new console that's landed on virtual shelves today. Gamers can now shop all the accessories, as well as iconic game titles, that have all been designed to pair with the new Switch. And one of the peripheries you can pick up for your new gaming gadget is this GameCube Controller.
Following today's global launch of the Nintendo Switch 2, Casino Beats predicts that the console will surpass all predecessors and become the best-selling gaming console in history. They go on to say: "The Nintendo Switch 2's launch today has been met with exceptional enthusiasm worldwide and has been given a very strong chance of becoming most popular console ever made."
For more information on the Switch 2's release, stock and games, check out our live blog here.
With a paid Nintendo Switch Online membership, you can purchase this Nintendo GameCube – Nintendo Classics controller for the Nintendo Switch 2. Perfect for stepping up your solo gaming sessions, this gem is also a great pick for your co-players, as you can connect up to four Nintendo GameCube controllers to the same Nintendo Switch 2 console, making it ideal for local or online multiplayer.
It's worth noting that this Nintendo Classic controller can only be used on Nintendo Switch 2 and is not compatible with Nintendo Switch. Therefore, it is only suited to those who placed their pre-orders or who have managed to secure the new gaming console as of today's release.
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This controller is set to be the perfect companion for your new Nintendo Switch 2. It can be wirelessly connected to the Switch 2 and charged with the included USB Type-C charging cable. The GameCube was originally released in 2001, making this new controller ideal for those who have a fondness for retro gaming or anyone who fancies reliving gaming nostalgia from their youth.
You can shop this Nintendo GameCube Controller directly from Nintendo for £58.99. This isn't the only new controller to be released for the Switch 2, though; Amazon is offering this Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller for £74.95, while Argos and Very are offering the same controller for £74.99.
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The Guardian
3 hours ago
- The Guardian
Mario Kart World review – a riotous road trip for every player
I realised that we might have a Mario Kart World problem in our house when my sons ran up to me after our first few hours with the game, proudly showing off circular indentations on their little thumbs from holding down the accelerator button so hard. Mildly alarmed, I examined my own thumb to find the same evidence of getting over-absorbed in the knockabout, chaotic fun of our tournaments. You can play Mario Kart online now – even with video chat, in World – but it's just not the same as playing with people on the couch next to you. I imagine this game will revive living-room multiplayer for millions of families. God only knows how many hours I have spent racing Mario and his pals around their cartoon wonderland circuits since 1992 – this series has accompanied me through my entire life, the reliable mainstay that everyone wants to play with me, no matter how familiar they are with video games in general. I have been caught in months-long time-trial wars with my brother and my gamer friends; I have watched laughing strangers play it endlessly at the gaming pub nights that I used to run; I have dropped in and out of races over long evenings with big groups of friends; I've played it with almost everyone I've ever dated. Mario Kart World allows for all these playstyles and more, an easy-breezy social game that also lets you get extremely competitive. It comes with a veritable Disneyland of courses: ice palaces, a jungle safari, a dinosaur park, a ski slope, a spaceport themed after the 1983 arcade version of Donkey Kong. Some feel like old Mario Kart courses, with tighter turns and clever shortcuts, designed for power-sliding and boosting around the old-fashioned way. 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Speaking of trips: you can still make a Mario Kart World session feel like a tournament, if you want, running laps and competing to find the best lines through particular courses. But it seems to me that the developers want you to experience it instead as a journey. The Grand Prix competitions link courses together so you're charting a course across this little continent, seeing all the sights as you go. Driving with 24 players on those wide routes from one course to another, it doesn't feel so much like a race as a chaotic road trip. This is very much the vibe in Knockout Tour, a Fortnite-style elimination race where you can go from first place to 14th in two seconds and trailing players are thrown out of the race every few minutes. The most important change, however, is not the environment, but the movement. You can now charge up a boost-jump to grind along rails, ride walls, and chain shortcuts through the more ambitious courses. 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There are plenty of different assist options for kids and less skilled players, from motion-controlled steering to auto-acceleration and more: my eight-year-old could play without them, and my five-year-old was kept in the running by turning some of them on. It really is an impressively welcoming game, this, generous and detailed and unfailingly fun, different but with the same spirit. It feels like the culmination of something, a synthesis of different philosophies of fun that still nonetheless comes together. The Switch 2 itself does feel like a swish upgrade rather than an all-new console, so it's a relief that its headline game shows that Nintendo still has a talent for reinvention. Mario Kart World is available now; £74.99


The Guardian
3 hours ago
- The Guardian
Nintendo Switch 2 review – more than good enough
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The drop back to a standard LCD screen from the gorgeous Switch OLED model will annoy some, but the quality is decent and the increased display real estate makes a huge difference – it's not quite up there with the very best handheld PCs, but then it's significantly cheaper than a top-of-the-range Steam Deck or similar. I tested it with the most cinematic launch games I had – IO Interactive's extremely good value Hitman World of Assassination: Signature Edition and Yakuza 0 Director's Cut – and both provided a surprisingly epic experience in handheld mode, aided by the console's extremely good virtual surround sound (you also get full 5.1-ch Linear PCM surround if you use compatible headphones or TV). Just don't expect 4K, 60fps visuals as standard. In handheld mode, titles will run at between 720 and 1080p resolution, with 4K reserved for docked mode – though even here, only a few titles currently support full 4K resolutions. Cyberpunk 2077, for example, caps out at 1080p with the framerate at 30fps in Performance mode. In short, don't expect cutting edge PS5 Pro or PC visuals – we're looking at something between PS4 and PS5. The set-up is simple enough: switch it on, connect to the internet (via wifi or the ethernet port on the dock) and download an update. If you have a Switch it asks you to place it nearby, then copies across your user details and any games you own. The whole process took me about an hour and was completely painless, though beware – if you skip the transfer process, you won't get another chance later to port your stuff across from your original Switch. GameShare, which allows you to share compatible games with Switch or Switch 2 owners who don't have their own copy, is extremely easy too. I tried the local two-player option with Sega's lovely multiplayer puzzle battler Puyo Puyo Tetris. You simply choose the GameShare option from the game's main menu, while your friend selects GameShare from the Switch home screen; then the two seamlessly connect and you can start playing together. I'm interested to see how the feature holds up with more complex games, or with more players. For example, Survival Kids allows you to GameShare with two other consoles, which will put greater processing demands on the Switch 2 that's doing the streaming, and could therefore affect performance. For now, I was impressed, and it will work really well with forthcoming party game Super Mario Party Jamboree. GameChat, meanwhile, Nintendo's rather overdue version of in-game video chat, requires you to connect and confirm your identity via your smartphone, and then you're in. You can buy a Switch 2 Camera (£50) for this, but any old USB webcam will do. 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Metro
8 hours ago
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Games Inbox: When will the Nintendo Switch 2 Lite be released?
The Tuesday letters page thinks Mario Kart World is a worthy follow-up to Mario Kart 8, as a reader wonders who the main characters are in Resident Evil Requiem. To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@ Lighter price I'm glad that the majority of people seem to be happy with the Switch 2, and that the console seems to be selling well. Nintendo may have their issues but for me gaming would be dead without them and I increasingly worry about their vulnerability, as more and more money is thrown around by Microsoft and others. That said, I have not bought a Switch 2 yet and am unlikely to be able to afford it this year. Although I'm not as upset about this as I thought I would be, now that it's become clear that Mario Kart World is really the only launch game of interest. Some readers have written in about how they'd like there to be a more expensive version with an OLED version. Personally though, I'm waiting for a Switch 2 Lite. I assume there will be one, and I do tend to use the original Switch mostly in handheld mode, plus it will obviously be cheaper. The original Switch Lite came out over two years after the original, so by my calculations that should mean a Switch 2 Lite by Christmas 2027. Of course, Nintendo may choose to do things differently this time, but I hope it happens as soon as possible, because it's my best chance for being able to afford one. Oskar Barvo Did not want My Switch 2 arrived from Amazon on Thursday night, and I am very happy with it. It is very much an upgraded Switch but that is what I wanted and expected. Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning. I have got a good few hours in on Mario Kart World over the weekend and for the most part am loving it so far. Knockout Tour online is the real standout mode. What I didn't expect was how genuinely different to Mario Kart 8 the game feels with 24 players and wider tracks, in a good way I should say. I can see myself still playing Mario Kart 8 online alongside World, as they are two quite different experiences. I do feel that the free roam in World feels largely pointless though and I will happily ignore it to focus on races. Also, where is Diddy Kong! Pigfish2 (NN ID/PSN ID) GC: Hopefully in retirement. Live orchestra Game Inbox, I've just finished Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Wow. Give that game all the Gommage red flowers. Not only am I looking forward to it winning game of the year across the board, surely, but more so, The Game Awards puts on a huge live version of the Game of the Year main score at the ceremony each year. Imagine the Clair Obscur theme on the big stage! The music is as much a character as any other in that game. Wonderful all round. Mr K Email your comments to: gamecentral@ Grace under pressure Count me as someone that thought the Summer Game Fest this year was unbearably boring. I mean, they usually are but at least there's usually some good reveals as well, but this time all we got was Resident Evil Requiem. That saved things but of course it's never enough and now I want to know more, especially in terms of the main characters. Is it going to be just Grace? She's the only one in the artwork but that could easily be a red herring. I've seen a lot of rumours that Leon or Jill are in the game but I don't know how likely that is to be true, and it could just be cameos, like Chris in the last two. I'll be fine with Grace to be honest. She seemed interesting and we've just had a Leon game. Tsumi Size matters The Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X handhelds (surely it should have been an Xbox Ally S and X?) do look intriguing. They're certainly setting some lofty expectations with that new version of Windows 11, but I did note that there was a big mix of aspirational statements mixed in with the guarantees of what you're going to get. Pick up and play console experience was mentioned but only in reference to what people want, not what it will be. At least they're aiming on the right direction. The physical changes to the ROG Ally I'm less convinced about though. They seem to be going with the same approach as PlayStation Portal, by using the shape of a regular controller, but that's arguably the biggest issue with the portal. These devices are much heavier and wider than a controller. So when you're lying in bed trying to hold the thing in one hand, your fingers need to stretch as far into the thing as possible. On the portal the thick ends really limit this, and the Xbox Ally looks like it's doing the same thing. Also, a shame it's a 7 inch screen. I really like the size of the 8 inch on the Portal. Tim The hottest of takes So I'm still thinking about that reveal of the Asus ROG Xbox Ally and the overall Xbox Showcase, as a whole. It was quite a mixed bag in my opinion. It was lovely to see the reveal of Persona 4 Revival, all 10 seconds of it. Because we can't have nice things. So here is a lacklustre reveal that was just dumped on us with no fanfare. It didn't actually look any different to the original adaptation. Maybe we'll see more soon. Cronos looks fantastic and I'm positive to say that it will run awfully on PC. Bloober Team are notoriously horrific for developing PC ports; Silent Hill 2 remake is a prime example. Who did honestly ask for Call Of Duty: Black Ops 7? The people asked for Silksong as a show closer and a release date but we received Call Of Duty instead. Who asked for this? Of course the reveal that everyone's talking about is the ROG Xbox Ally. I'd like to ask GC if there's much marginal difference between this version and the original ROG Ally X? Because I own the original and it just seems the same copy only with improved hardware and an Xbox button. Is it just the same model basically? Like the Ally X Pro? Obviously, the price is yet to be determined but that's my consensus on the matter thus far. Shahzaib Sadiq PS: Xbox Games are on PlayStation and Game Pass can already be accessed on Windows handheld devices. So what's the difference? GC: We're still stuck on your first question, implying Call Of Duty is not popular. The ROG Ally and ROG Ally X are slightly different devices, but there seems to be only minor differences between them and their Xbox branded equivalents. Priceless download I think the worst thing about Welcome Tour is that it not being pre-installed on the Switch 2, like Astro's Playroom, has blunted the praise the Mario kart World bundle should be getting. Having the next game in line to the biggest selling game on the previous system ready for launch and offering it at half price when bought with the new system is pretty unique as far as console launches go. Instead, everyone is just complaining Welcome Tour should be free. Simundo GC: If Welcome Tour was free you'd be tempted to play it so, really, Nintendo is doing everyone a favour by charging for it. Imperfect sequel Comparisons with Mario Kart 8 are inevitable. Nintendo were never going to better that what in many ways is the perfect video game, and undoubtedly the greatest racer of all time. But the question for me, and perhaps everyone, is whether the inevitable follow-up would at least justify a new entry. And with what they deliver with Mario Kart World the answer is an emphatic yes. More of the same but different, with the new additions more than mere novelty, which the anti-gravity elements of Mario Kart 8 were in a way. The Knockout Tour mode and the seamless segues between races are a revelation and a genuine improvement on everything that came before. I've played Mario Kart 8 numerous times, enough to appreciate the nuanced changes to gameplay that makes the new iteration feel fresh, vitalising even, and, crucially, just as rewarding. The wider tracks to accommodate 24 racers requiring fewer skills to navigate are proportionate to the additional challenges the competition engenders, with hairpin turns and narrow sections interspersed between them are just as demanding as the tightest of tracks from Mario Kart 8. If anything, World is a more challenging game: harder in degrees to come first, especially in Knockout Tour mode, with notable improvements in AI. Playing online against human competitors is exhausting and exhilarating, also humbling (although a did come fourth on my second attempt, I didn't make the top 16 on my first, so maybe that was a fluke – I'm honing my skill before embarking on a third attempt). It's a beautiful game, jaw dropping not so much in how it appears but in the sheer number of things happening on screen at any one time with not a moment of lag. In this, if nothing else, Mario Kart World is a perfect demonstration of next generation capabilities. I can't wait to see what else they do with this amazing technology. The free roaming is certainly undercooked, but this seems purposeful to whatever DLC is likely to follow and not something that I feel at this stage Nintendo can negatively be judged for. After all, Mario Kart 8 was not born but became a 10 out 10. Mario Kart World isn't perfect. Nothing is. It isn't 'better' than Mario Kart 8 but judged on its own terms, with the template it establishes and trajectory it evidently maps, World is still nevertheless 8's equal. GameCentral predicted a 9 out 10. That sounds about right for now. But sometimes a right is a wrong: there's every reason for having faith in Nintendo that World will become better over time. Perfection is already personified in the new Rainbow Road, a series best that for me may just about warrant that 10 out of 10 score here and now and forever more. Ciara GC: We said an 8 or a 9. Inbox also-ransI'm convinced Silksong is a scam and does not exist in any way. However, I can't think of any benefit for this being true so can I just say: please hurry up! GlassSmasher I thought the Xbox Games Showcase was pretty good but it was also pretty much only third party games. Even with all these companies Microsoft has bought and they still can't put out anything of interest. Snoopy More Trending Email your comments to: gamecentral@ The small print New Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers' letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content. You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word Reader's Feature at any time via email or our Submit Stuff page, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot. You can also leave your comments below and don't forget to follow us on Twitter. MORE: Games Inbox: Does Mario Kart World have the best Nintendo soundtrack? MORE: Games Inbox: What are your Nintendo Switch 2 first impressions? MORE: Games Inbox: When will there be Nintendo Switch 2 console reviews?