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Video Game Canon- Clair Obscur Completes the Sweep by Winning “Best Game” at 2025-2026 BAFTA Games Awards
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- GDC Awards: All the Winners from 1996 to Today
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- Silent Hill, Dragon Quest, Skyrim, and More Announced as Finalists for the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026
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- Video Game Research Library
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- The History Of The Word “Metroidvania” And How It Spread – A Critical Hit (2025)
- Creator of Hit Game Shovel Knight Is at a ‘Make or Break’ Moment – Bloomberg (2025)
- Shadow of the Colossus: An oral history – Design Room (2025)
- In 2005, games started rewiring our brains – The AV Club (2025)
Most Recent: Switch
Nintendo’s first-ever Super Bowl commercial will feature the Switch
Nintendo has existed as a company for more than 127 years, and in all that time they’ve never produced a Super Bowl commercial. Though to be fair, the Super Bowl has only been held since 1967, and the world only really started to embrace the spectacle of it all in the early 90s.
But this is 2017, and Nintendo’s Switch console will be available on store shelves in just four weeks. So what better way to sell it to the public than with a splashy Super Bowl LI ad?
“The most anticipated video game system and video game of the year will be seen on the biggest stage of the year,” said Nicolas Chavez, Nintendo of America’s Vice President of Marketing. “Nintendo Switch will change how, when and where people play games. It’s only fitting that we’re changing how, when and where we advertise those games.”
The commercial uses the same “Play Anywhere” style of marketing that Nintendo has used for the Switch so far, and features clips from a wide variety of games including The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Arms, 1-2-Switch, Just Dance 2017, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Splatoon 2, and Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers. And in case you were wondering, the Switch’s Super Bowl ad was soundtracked by “Believer,” the new single from Imagine Dragons.
The Nintendo Switch will be released worldwide on March 3, and if you hurry, you might still be able to secure one for launch day. A 30-second version of Nintendo’s Switch commercial will air during the fourth quarter of Super Bowl LI.
Posted in News, Switch
Tagged 1-2-Switch, Arms, Just Dance 2017, Mario Kart 8, Splatoon 2, Street Fighter II, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
EA Sports will release Madden NFL 18, FIFA 18, NHL 18, NBA Live 18, UFC 3 this year
There’s no need to panic… EA Sports will indeed release a full slate of sports simulations in 2017.
CEO Andrew Wilson shared the completely unsurprising news during EA’s quarterly financial report earlier this week, and he seems particularly proud of the enhancements planned for FIFA 18, including an expanded new storyline for “The Journey”:
FIFA 18 will build on the foundation we created with Story Mode this year, bringing players back to “The Journey” with Season 2, featuring new characters and new storylines. Our development team in Vancouver is delivering deeply innovative new experiences across this year’s game, including an Ultimate Team, and creating the most emotionally immersive and connected FIFA we have ever produced.
Wilson also announced that development of the Madden franchise will finally transition to the Frostbite Engine with Madden NFL 18:
Our Madden NFL franchise will transition to the Frostbite Engine with Madden NFL 18, unlocking major visual advancements and new gameplay experiences that will excite dedicated Madden players, football fans, and sports fans overall.
The executive closed the EA Sports portion of his report with confirmation that EA Sports UFC 3 is set to be released sometime in 2017, while NHL 18 and the “all new” NBA Live 18 will be released in the Fall.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One
Tagged EA Sports UFC 3, FIFA 18, Madden NFL 18, NBA Live 18, NHL 18
Nintendo reveals tech specifications for Switch including size, weight, replaceable battery
We are now less than five weeks out from the launch of the Nintendo Switch, so Nintendo UK has unveiled an official list of the technical specifications for the hybrid console. Nintendo is still keeping some of the exact specifications to themselves (the CPU/GPU is just listed as “Nvidia Customised Tegra Processor”), but now we have a much better idea about how the Switch will perform under pressure.
Probably the biggest piece of new information we were provided about the Switch’s prowess is its battery life. The console will feature a max battery life of six hours in Handheld Mode, though some games may tax the battery a bit more. Nintendo included the example of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which will be playable for three hours with a full charge. Nintendo also shared that the Switch’s battery is fully replaceable, though it must be installed by the consolemaker themselves through the Nintendo Customer Support service.
The console will also output video at 1080p (720p in Handheld Mode) and require a “Day One” update to enable the use of MicroSDXC Memory Cards.
A full rundown of the Nintendo Switch’s technical specifications can be found after the break. (more…)
Nintendo’s Mario Kart 8 Deluxe commercial wants you to play the Switch on the toilet
Nintendo is using the tagline “Play Anytime, Anywhere” to sell their upcoming Switch console in Europe. And they mean it too. A recently-released commercial for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe opens with a disheveled-looking man enjoying some Mushroom Kingdom kart racing while also partaking in his morning bowel movement.
Now, to be fair, the advertisement also showcases the portability of the Switch with an intense Battle Mode contest in a living room and an impromptu multiplayer session on a college campus. Still… eww.
The Nintendo Switch will launch worldwide on March 3. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe will be available on April 28. And if you take your Switch with you into the bathroom, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, never tell me.
Posted in News, Switch
Tagged Mario Kart 8
World of Goo, Human Resource Machine, Little Inferno will all be available for Nintendo Switch on March 3
Tomorrow Corporation, the indie developer responsible for World of Goo, Human Resource Machine, and Little Inferno has announced (via their official website) that all three games will be available to download for the Nintendo Switch on March 3.
World of Goo was one of the first games released for Nintendo’s WiiWare service all the way back in 2008, and it’s a puzzle game where players will need to gather up all the goo. Likewise, Little Inferno was one of the first games released for the Wii U, and it’s a puzzle game where players have to keep a fire going. Finally, Human Resource Machine made its Wii U debut in 2015, and it’s a puzzle game where players have to program office drones to solve problems.
The Tomorrow Corporation’s catalog bumps the total number of Switch games available on “Day One” to ten. Though I’m sure they’ll understand if you’re only interested in playing The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild for the first few weeks.
Capcom’s Ono talks about updating Ultra Street Fighter II for modern audience; Release date will be “in close proximity” to Switch launch
Capcom surprised everyone with the announcement that Street Fighter II Turbo would be remastered and re-released for the Nintendo Switch as Ultra Street Fighter II: The The Final Challengers. Thankfully, Street Fighter Series Producer Yoshinori Ono sat down with IGN last week to discuss how the Switch remake of the fighting classic came to be, as well as the difficulties in updating it for a modern audience.
Produced to honor the franchise’s 30th anniversary, Ultra Street Fighter II will include the arcade game’s original sprites, as well as the high definition character art created by Udon for Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix. Besides tweaking the graphics for younger players, Ono was most concerned about rebalancing the characters while still retaining that spark that made the original game so memorable in 1991:
“The balance for the original Street Fighter II Turbo in the ’90s was OK for that time, but whether it matches the times now is a bit questionable,” Ono explained. “We didn’t want to do a complete overhaul, because then the situation would be, ‘Well, why don’t you just play Street Fighter 5?’ We wanted to keep some sense of what it was like playing in the 90s, but also retune it to match the era now.”
“We’re still in the middle of making the final touches, in terms of the tuning, but we hope we can find something that lands in between. Something that’s nostalgic, but also new at the same time. There are hands-on events here and also in Tokyo, and we see a lot of parents and children coming to play together. We observe and see how they’re actually reacting to it.”
The developer also confirmed that Capcom wants to release Ultra Street Fighter II “in close proximity” to the Switch’s March 3rd launch date. However, an official date is still very much up in the air and, regardless of what Ono wants, we don’t know exactly when Ultra Street Fighter II will be released.
Finally, Ono said that Ultra Street Fighter II is only in development for the Switch, but that “if [it] sells extremely well” he’d consider bringing it to other platforms.
Posted in News, Switch
Tagged Street Fighter II
WB Games will also release Lego Worlds for the Nintendo Switch
It looks like Lego Worlds, a Minecraft-like open world game currently in development at TT Games, will also be released for the Nintendo Switch. Replying to a fan on Twitter yesterday, TT’s Arthur Parsons confirmed the game will be released for Nintendo’s next console, alongside the previously-announced Lego City Undercover:
@jamievere currently we have announced that we are planning to release LEGO City and LEGO Worlds on switch
— arthur parsons (@arthur_parsons) January 23, 2017
Lego Worlds will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on February 21. A release date for the Switch version has yet to be revealed.
Posted in News, Switch
Tagged Lego Worlds
Nintendo will bring eight Switch demos to this weekend’s PAX South
The Nintendo Switch will launch on March 3, but Nintendo wants to give all gamers a chance to play it before its available in stores with a whirlwind North American tour that’ll roll into San Antonio this weekend.
This morning, the consolemaker revealed plans to bring demos for eight games to the annual PAX South expo. The list includes launch titles like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, 1-2-Switch, and Super Bomberman R (from Konami), as well as titles that are a bit further out such as Snipperclips: Cut It Out Together, Splatoon 2, Arms, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers (from Capcom). Fans will also be able to try out the demos in a living room setting (on a large TV) or in the cross-section of an airplane to “show how easy it is to take Nintendo Switch with you anywhere.”
“We absolutely love bringing our games and systems directly to the fans, and PAX South is a great venue to do just that,” said Doug Bowser, Nintendo of America’s Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “PAX South will be one of the first opportunities for fans to try out Nintendo Switch before it launches on March 3.”
PAX South will open its doors on Friday, January 27.