New Nintendo Switch Mario Tennis Game Revealed During Direct In January 2018

As part of today's Nintendo Direct mini presentation, the Japanese company revealed a new Mario Tennis game for Switch. Called Mario Tennis Aces, the title will be the first Mario sports game for Switch since the console's launch last year, and it's coming in Spring 2018.

Interestingly, Aces will contain a new story mode. That makes it the first Mario Tennis game to include a campaign since 2005's Mario Tennis: Power Tour (known as Mario Power Tennis in Europe and Australia). Few other details have been revealed so far, though we do know the game is being made by long-time Mario sports developer Camelot. You can watch today's presentation in its entirety here.

The most recent Mario sports game was Mario Sports Superstars, which launched in 2017 for 3DS. The last standalone Mario Tennis game, meanwhile, came for Wii U in 2015. We awarded it a 6/10 in our Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash review. "Ultra Smash does just enough to get by," wrote critic Scott Butterworth. "At moments it shines and at others it frustrates, but mostly it just coasts. Without substantial content to drive longevity, you may end up switching back to Mario Kart sooner than later, but if you're playing online--or better yet, with your friends at home--you'll likely overcome the game's frustrations and squeeze a solid few hours of fun out of its fast-paced, power-up-driven action."

During the surprise Nintendo Direct a number of other big announcements were made. These include free Super Mario Odyssey DLC and a Dark Souls remaster for Switch. For more, check out our roundup of all the new Nintendo Switch games announced here. Our full coverage is outlined below.

• Watch Today's Surprise Nintendo Direct, Which Is All About New Switch Games
• All The New Switch Games Announced At Today's Nintendo Direct
• Dark Souls Remastered Coming To Nintendo Switch
• Nintendo Switch Donkey Kong: Tropical Freeze Port Announced, Release Date Confirmed
• Free Super Mario Odyssey DLC Update Coming To Nintendo Switch, Here's What It Adds
• Zelda Action Game Hyrule Warriors Announced For Nintendo Switch, With Breath Of The Wild Costumes
• New Mario + Rabbids DLC Makes An Iconic Nintendo Favorite Playable On Switch
• Nintendo Switch Re-release Of The World Ends With You Announced
• New Pokken Tournament DX DLC Brings Fresh Characters To Switch Version
• New Nintendo Switch Mario Tennis Game Revealed, Release Window Announced
• Payday 2 Nintendo Switch Release Date Confirmed