Nintendo today held its latest games-focused Direct, which focused on games coming to the original Switch (as opposed to the soon-to-be-discussed Switch 2). Two of the games it revealed were Patapon 1+2 Replay and Everybody’s Golf: Hot Shots — and their inclusion in the Direct is a bit unusual considering both franchises have been exclusive to PlayStation up until this point. Patapon 1+2 Replay launches on July 11 and Everybody’s Golf: Hot Shots launches sometime later this year, both for PlayStation 5 and PC as well as Switch.
Patapon’s gameplay centers around using drums to direct the Patapons in battle, with each drum corresponding to button the controller. Replay bundles the first two Patapon games together and adds a few support features to the title, including an adjustable difficulty option. Everybody’s Golf appears to keep the series’ zany gameplay, with a Challenge Mode, Wacky Golf and four-player local multiplayer.
The original Patapon games launched on the PlayStation Portable in 2007 and 2009, respectively, and a remaster of the original launched on PlayStation 4 in 2017. Everybody’s Golf, also called the Hot Shots Golf series, first launched on the original PlayStation in 1997 and has launched a game on every PlayStation console except the PS5. Both series had bot characters in the latest Astro Bot game, if that gives any indication of how “PlayStation” they are.
Sony is not publishing these games on Switch directly. Instead, Bandai Namco is working “in cooperation with Sony Interactive Entertainment” to launch the titles on Switch, its first involvement in either franchise. Sony has expressed interest in pursuing a multiplatform strategy to maximize profits on first-party titles, with company president Hiroki Totoki mentioning PC specifically. It’s possible the launch of some of its more niche franchises on Switch is part of this attempt to make the most of its intellectual property.
