In case you've been wondering what long-time Mario Party developer Nintendo Cube has been up to since releasing Jamboree last October, well, apparently it was making Nintendo Welcome Tour, the Switch 2 game that plays like a bundled-in tech demo but is inexplicably sold separately and priced at $10.
Nintendo Cube has been handling development on the Mario Party series since 2012's Mario Party 9, when it took over from the series' original developer, Hudson Soft. And if you head to the studio's Japanese website and see its list of developed titles, you'll see Nintendo Welcome Tour is its most recent one.
In addition to the Mario Party games and Welcome Tour, Nintendo Cube is responsible for relatively niche games like Animal Crossing Pocket Camp, Everybody 1-2 Switch, and Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics. Given the studio's pedigree, it actually makes a lot of sense handing it the reins on a weird little game like Welcome Tour.
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To be clear, I have nothing against Welcome Tour beyond the fact that, especially with a game like Astro's Playroom as precedent on PS5, it really probably should've just been bundled in with the Switch 2. And the fact that it isn't likely has nothing to do with Nintendo Cube.
For what it's worth, our review of Welcome Tour slaps 3/5 stars on the technically-a-game and calls it "mostly a fancy toy and not much more."
"If you really want to know all about the Nintendo Switch 2 and its various features as a product, there's no better way than playing Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour," reads our verdict. "But if you're looking for a truly engaging experience, you're in the wrong place."
Nintendo warns Switch 1 consoles, games, accessories, amiibo, and more will "experience price changes" in Canada, and it's tough to imagine the rest of the world escaping.
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