Nintendo Switch’s hidden NES game is a tribute to Satoru Iwata

Earlier this week, a fairly interesting discovery was made on the Nintendo Switch. Some users managed to unearth a hidden copy of NES Golf embedded in every console. At the time, we were unsure why this Easter egg existed but as it turns out, it is actually a tribute to Satoru Iwata, Nintendo's late president who sadly passed away back in 2015.

The folks over at Switchbrew managed to figure out how to launch the game and its connection to Iwata. To launch the game, both Joy-Cons need to be detached from the Switch, you will then need to make a simple hand gesture, the same one Iwata used to greet fans at the start of a Nintendo Direct stream. Successful activation will trigger a sound byte of Iwata taken from an earlier presentation.

Finally, to actually get NES Golf to fully load, you also need the date to be set to the 11th of July, which is the day Iwata passed away. Getting past this requirement can be tricky as the Switch uses server-side time synchronisation. The easiest way to do it would be to take a new Switch out of the box and not connect it to the internet.

For those unaware, NES Golf is a game that Iwata coded himself. Over in Japan, people are referring to this as an ‘Omamori', which would be a form of good luck charm. As Justin Epperson points out on Twitter, in Japanese culture, Omamori are bought at shrines in the belief that keeping one close to you will provide good luck. Essentially, Iwata's game being embedded in every Switch is supposed to symbolise his spirit watching over every console and providing good luck and protection.

KitGuru Says: Iwata clearly meant a lot to both fans of Nintendo and the people at the company. Tributes like this are always going to be heartwarming to see. 

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