Well, this is a strange start to an Easter Monday morning.
With in-house development resources shifted almost 100% to the upcoming (yet-unannounced) ‘Switch 2’, Nintendo’s flagship game for the 2024 holiday season will see a return to the non-fan-favorite party game series for its first second-third outing.
1-2-Switch: Flashmob Frenzy is the name of the second sequel to 1-2-Switch, according to Nintendo Life sources familiar with Nintendo’s upcoming software announcements. Coming on the heels of the long-rumored sequel Everybody 1-2-Switch in 2023, this new game will apparently tap into the new craze that took the world by storm just two decades ago.
According to our source, backed up by another source within Nintendo itself, Flashmob Frenzy is an evolution of the 2-100 player gameplay from the Everybody entry, but this time focused on enabling spontaneous dance performances in public places. The game will be available for download only and at a “budget” price, but will require a Power-Up Band — a peripheral you can buy and wear on your wrist to enable various interactive experiences in your Nintendo World parks — to function properly.
It is currently unclear how the Power-Up Bands interact with the software. They will be available for purchase directly from Nintendo’s website and at major retailers bundled with game codes. Any wristbands purchased by park visitors will also work, although players will need to download a dedicated app, register a serial number and use an NFC-enabled smartphone to flash a park-bought wristband with the new firmware.
Details are very sparse on gameplay specifics, with an official reveal currently slated for September. It also works on the support of celebrities and commercials. “No one has signed on yet,” says our source, “but the shortlist of potential includes Usher, Bruno Tonioli, Ashley Banjo, Dame Darcey Bussell, Fred Astaire Jr. III and Lisa from Steps.”
The first installment in the 1-2-series was a title that launched on the Switch in 2017 and sold well enough to justify a sequel, which was reportedly stuck in development purgatory thanks to poor internal feedback, but sneaked out in the shadows of Zelda: Tears of the Realm in June last year.
What is Nintendo up to? Sounds silly to us. Let us know below if you’re up for what Nintendo has in store for Holiday 2024.
