Nintendo Today, Virtual Game Cards, Metroid Prime 4, and More

Just ahead of the upcoming Nintendo Direct for Nintendo Switch 2 on April 2, 2025, we were treated to a Nintendo Direct focused on the current Switch. Most of the 37-minute video was focused on providing a lot of new info for upcoming games like Metroid Prime 4 and very little info for newly announced games like Tamodachi Life: Living the Dream, but we also learned about a new feature coming to Switch and a new smartphone app for Nintendo calendar and news.

Metroid Prime 4 Beyond will drop Samus on a mysterious planet called Vieweros, where there is a colossal tree in the center. As she scans relics and fights enemy aliens, she is granted psychic abilities that allow her to operate magnetisms, open doors, and control the trajectory of her beams. Someone mysterious also calls her “Chosen One.” We were told there will be threads intertwining beyond space and time, and we saw either a new suit/form in red and purple–or maybe it was a new character–at the end of this segment.

After a firmware update in late April 2025, the new Virtual Game Card feature will allow players to assign games to a specific system. For example, if you have two Nintendo Switch systems, you can assign a Zelda game to your home Switch and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe to your Switch Lite for when you travel. You can use up to 2 systems at a time, though. Additionally, you can also loan games to one family member at a time for up to two weeks–just as long as you are on the same Nintendo family account. This essentially lets players move and loan their digital games just like they can with their physical games.

The final announcement of this Nintendo Direct moved the attention to smart devices. Later today, March 27, 2025, Nintendo will launch a new app called Nintendo Today as a way to communicate even more directly with the fans. This calendar and news app will be updated daily with Nintendo game events and news about existing and upcoming games and systems–including information about Nintendo Switch 2 after the Nintendo Direct on April 2. It will also allow for Nintendo-themed calendar widgets that you can use on your smart device home screen.

Watch the full Nintendo Direct:

Full list of announcements and release dates/windows:

• Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake — 2025
• No Sleep for Kaname Date – From AI: The Somnium Files — July 25, 2025
• Raidao Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army — June 19, 2025
• Shadow Labyrinth — July 18, 2025
• Patapon 1 + 2 Replay — July 11, 2025
• Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar — Aug. 27, 2025
• Metroid Prime 4 Beyond — 2025
• Disney Villains Cursed Cafe — March 27, 2025
• Witchbrook — Holiday 2025
• The Eternal Life of Goldman — Holiday 2025
• Gradius Origins (includes Salamander III) — August 7, 2025
• Rift of the NecroDancer — March 27, 2025
• Tamagotchi Plaza — June 27, 2025
• Pokémon Legends Z-A — Late 2025
• Rhythm Heaven Groove — 2026
• New software feature called “Virtual Game Card” — Late April 2025
• High on Life — May 6, 2025
• Star Overdrive — April 10, 2025
• The Wandering Village — July 17, 2025
• King of Meat — 2025
• Lou’s Lagoon — Summer 2025
• Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time — May 21, 2025
• SaGa Frontier 2 Remastered — March 27, 2025
• Monument Valley & Monument Valley II — April 15, 2025
• Monument Valley III — Summer 2025
• Everybody’s Golf Hotshots — 2025
• Marvel Cosmic Invasion — Holiday 2025
• Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream — 2026
• Smart Device app called “Nintendo Today” — March 27, 2025

What did you think of this Nintendo Direct? Let us know in the comments or on our Discord. We’ll be discussing this and the Switch 2 Nintendo Direct on our next podcast on April 8, 2025.