Nintendo Direct reveals N64 titles and Mario movie cast

Nintendo Direct announces classic Nintendo 64 titles for Switch Online

The latest Nintendo Direct happened last night and we got games, an expansion, and confirmation of earlier rumours: a new Switch Online membership plan including Nintendo 64 and SEGA Genesis games.

Bayonetta 3 (TBA 2022), Splatoon 3 (TBA 2022), Kirby and the Forgotten Land (Spring 2022), Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak (Summer 2022), and Chocobo GP (TBA 2022) were all showcased during the show. 

• Switch Online’s new subscription plan starts in late October
• Nintendo 64 and SEGA Genesis classics available on new plan
• Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’s final DLC fighter reveals Oct. 5
• Animal Crossing: New Horizons Direct scheduled for October

Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars (Oct. 28, 2021), TRIANGLE STRATEGY (Mar. 4, 2022), Actraiser Renaissance (Out Now), Castlevania Advance Collection (Out Now), and Dying Light 2 Stay Human – Cloud Version (Feb. 4, 2022).

Initial N64 line-up: Super Mario 64, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Mario Kart 64, Star Fox 64, and more with Banjo-Kazooie, Pokémon Snap, The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask coming later.

Mario's Hollywood: Nintendo legend Shigeru Miyamoto made an appearance to reveal a December 2022 date for the long-awaited Super Mario movie, which is being made by Minions production company Illumination. Here's a list of the revealed cast:

Chris Pratt will play Mario, Jack Black will voice Bowser, Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, Charlie Day as Luigi, Keegan-Michael Key will play Toad, and Seth Rogen will voice Donkey Kong.

Charles Martinet, the long-time voice actor for Super Mario, will only be making "surprise cameos" in the movie, which appears to have angered some fans. What did you make of the Direct overall? 

Which of these can actually happen in dating sim parody Hatoful Boyfriend?

a) The world gets engulfed in pudding
b) You get decapitated by the school doctor
c) You fall in love with a ghost pigeon
d) All of the above

The answer will be revealed at the bottom of today's issue. Join up with our community on Twitter and Facebook to discuss what the answer could be.

Twitch brokers music deal with NMPA

Twitch has finally reached an agreement with the National Music Publisher's Association over the right to broadcast music played during live Twitch streams.

The deal doesn't license streamers to play any music they like while streaming, but it outlines a new procedure for handling unlicensed music that avoids using DMCA notices to take down streams.

• Agreement tries to avoid DMCA minefield
• Unlicensed music still not allowed in streams
• Twitch streamer’s history "taken into account"
• Deal "protects Twitch, not you" according to critics

In-house team: As part of the agreement, Twitch will nudge streamers to “course-correct” by first issuing a warning and by removing any offending VODs and clips with unauthorised music being played.

Past behaviour: Warnings and penalties depend on “creator’s history of that kind of music use,” and will be ‘proportionate’, whatever that means. Streamers aren’t overly impressed with the deal.

Epic Games Store’s next freebie revealed

Epic Game Store is still handing out free games like candy, and next week they'll be offering up a special treat: Paradox Interactive's epic grand strategy Europa Universalis IV.

Until then, you can grab yourself a free copy of prison escape sim The Escapists, and perhaps sit down and wonder exactly how long Epic Games is planning to keep doing this. Maybe you'll figure out whether or not it's a great idea to convince people to buy stuff in your shop by giving them something free every time they visit.

Indie freeware: You can also find a veritable treasure trove of freebies on itch.io, mostly from small independent developers. Whatever you may favour, you'll find something fun and unexpected.

Secure your online privacy with NordVPN

If you care about online privacy, or just need to pop over to another territory for a bit, have you considered using a virtual private network, or VPN?

NordVPN offers a 3 months free deal at 69% off right now, with over 5,600 servers around the world and unlimited bandwidth. It’s ideal for keeping your data to yourself while you work, watch streams or play games.

• Respawn Entertainment has more Titanfall in store judging by a recent tweet saying it’s the “very core of our DNA”
• The Forgotten City is out now for Switch alongside a free demo and can be enjoyed on Switch Cloud Streaming
• Super rare Pokémon Oreos fetch thousands in an auction because collectors love an obscure limited edition
• Japanese YouTuber HikakinTV unboxes a Switch OLED model and pokes around new model
• Pokémon Unite update adds new Battle Pass with space-themed items and Pikachus

Which of these can actually happen in dating sim parody Hatoful Boyfriend?

ANSWER: All of the above!

Hatoful Boyfriend is a dating sim where you are the only human studying at a high school for birds. Yes, that means you date pigeons. Yes, it's pretty weird. Every single choice you make takes you down a different path, and every date you go on could potentially send you down a new and unexpectedly twisty path towards finding true love.

If your ability is so great that you date each pigeon bachelor at least once, you can suddenly find yourself thrust out of the cute and wacky romance plot and into the middle of a surprisingly serious thriller. Yes, the cast is still all birds occasionally wearing sunglasses or other apparel.

Today's issue of DailyBits was written by Gavin Herman, Erlend Grefsrud, Simon Priest, and Jamie Davey. If you have any feedback or news tips for the team, please email us!