The Nintendo eShop for the Wii U and 3DS game consoles officially closed for business on March 27th, 2023, permanently disabling all new purchases on the platforms. We knew this was coming. Nintendo quietly announced the eShop's closure over a year ago, asserting that it was the "natural life cycle for any product line as it becomes less used by consumers over time." That doesn't make it any less of a loss for Nintendo fans, because legally playing some of these console's best games is now not only harder, but in some cases, nearly impossible. The time to argue that Nintendo should keep this aging digital storefront open has long since passed (though yes, they should have).

"Splatoon 3," the newest edition of the colorful family-friendly combat game, is in development for a 2022 release, the game maker announced during its 50-minute Nintendo Direct reveal on YouTube Wednesday. While Switch players must wait for that one, there's plenty of other games in the Switch pipeline. New items are coming to "Animal Crossing: New Horizons" to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the release of "Super Mario Bros." You can get Mario, Luigi and Princess Peach costumes. You can also order the Super Mushroom and Question Block as furniture and install a pair of Warp Pipes to travel between locations on your island.

It's been rumored since the game first exploded onto Xbox One and PlayStation 4, and it's been all but confirmed in recent weeks. Still, it's worth noting that this has not been confirmed by either Nintendo or Epic in any way. Still, it's assumed by most that Fortnite: Battle Royale will be making its way to Nintendo Switch, with the announcement likely coming during the Nintendo E3 direct tomorrow. It's also looking more and more likely that this will be one of those "available now" moments like what Nintendo pulled with The Legend of Zelda: The Champion's Ballad DLC at the Game Awards, with Fortnite going live on the eshop at the same time Nintendo makes the announcement. That would be the reason that we've already found Fortnite assets on the eshop: if you're trying to time availability with the exact moment of the announcement you don't really want people to have to wait for an update.

In typical Nintendo style, the company's latest console – the Switch – is a rather eccentric device. A lot of people are still not entirely sure what to expect when it hits retailers worldwide on 3 March. We've spent a couple of days with one and here's what we've learned so far. The Switch is launching on 3 March, at the price of £280 – though some retailers may offer it for slightly less, or in bundles with selected launch titles. The console features a built-in 6.2in display and two J-Con controllers, which attach either side.