Mario Tennis Aces release date leaked ahead of Nintendo Direct

While many are still hoping to see Diablo 3 receive a surprise announcement in tonight’s Nintendo Direct despite Blizzard saying otherwise, it looks like Mario Tennis Aces will be getting a sizeable mention. Leaked ahead of time, it looks like Mario’s sport debut is headed to the Nintendo Switch this June, with 8 characters confirmed for its roster at launch.

The leak came from retailer Rakuten, which lists a Japanese release date of June 22nd. Given that Nintendo is a growing fan of worldwide releases on its triple-A titles, it’s likely that everywhere else will see it around the same date.

Screenshots that accompanied the leak show many of the characters you’d expect at launch from a sports iteration of Mario, including Mario, Bowser, Donkey Kong, Yoshi, Wario, Waluigi, Daisy and Rosalina. Luigi and Peach are noticeably absent but could still see a reveal later today as launch characters, if not downloadable content (DLC), which Nintendo has warmed up to in recent years.

Image Credit: Eurogamer.

Taking after its rather successful Wii days, it looks like Mario Tennis Aces will make use of the motion controls within the Joy-Con. Players will be able to play locally as well as online.

Nintendo’s upcoming Direct broadcast is set to air at 10pm GMT tonight, March 8th. Nothing is confirmed for the reveal, but alongside Mario Tennis Aces, a closer look at Detective Pikachu before its release in two weeks is expected as well as a reveal for a fully-fledged Fire Emblem title. For those expecting Diablo 3, Blizzard is still stating otherwise, so don't hold your breath.

KitGuru Says: Personally, I’d like to see Super Smash Bros make its way in some form considering its presence as an eSport. Otherwise, I would settle for Fire Emblem, the new Pokémon or even Breath of the Wild DLC because I can’t get enough of the game. What do you want to see during the Nintendo Direct?

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