Nintendo's hidden NES 'Golf' game on Switch is likely a tribute to Iwata

Looks like that copy of the NES game Golf discovered on the Nintendo Switch earlier this week could be a tribute to Satoru Iwata, the late president of Nintendo.

The hidden copy of Golf found on every Switch console appears to reference Iwata in several ways, which is appropriate considering Iwata was the programmer on the original 1984 game. According to Switch Brew, a wiki focused on hacking and analyzing the software powering Nintendo's latest console, the game can only be launched when specific requirements are meant.

First off, Golf can only be played when the console's date is set to July 11, the date of Iwata's death in 2015. Changing your console's date to July 11 will only work if it's never been connected to the internet, otherwise the console will defer to the date and time pulled from the internet regardless if you're connected.

If your console's date is July 11, you have to perform a specific action while on the home menu with the detached Joy Con controllers, mimicking one of Iwata's signature hand gestures:

Via Giphy

Justin Epperson, senior associate producer at game localization company 8-4 (which recently worked on Fire Emblem: Shadows of Valentia for the Nintendo 3DS), said on Twitter that Japanese internet users are referring to the hidden copy of Golf as an omamori -- Japanese charms that can be bought at shrines and religious sites that give owners luck and protection.

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Although we couldn't get Golf fired up on our own Switch consoles (because we have all already connected to the internet), there's a video floating around of someone showing how to launch the game:

We have reached out to Nintendo for clarification and confirmation on the inclusion of Golf on Nintendo Switch consoles and will update this story with any new information.