Most Recent: Switch

Here’s a closeup of the controller and screen for the Nintendo Switch

Posted on October 20, 2016 by John Scalzo

nintendoswitchhardwareWe still don’t know how much it’ll cost, but here’s our first up close and personal look at the Nintendo Switch. The top-loading Dock will connect to your television and players will be able to play their favorite games by sliding the detachable controllers into the Joy-Con Grip for a traditional feel or the display screen for a handheld experience.

“Nintendo Switch allows gamers the freedom to play however they like,” said Reggie Fils-Aime, Nintendo of America’s President and COO. “It gives game developers new abilities to bring their creative visions to life by opening up the concept of gaming without boundaries.”

Presumably, the Pro Controller will be sold separately, but I’m hoping there’s an option for a dust cover for the Dock.

Posted in News, Switch |

Publishers and developers like Activision, Electronic Arts, Capcom, and more sign on to support Nintendo Switch

Posted on October 20, 2016 by John Scalzo

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The Nintendo Switch’s “First Glimpse” video already gave us a look at Bethesda’s The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and 2K’s NBA 2K17 running on the new hardware, but Nintendo has actually lined up dozens of publishing and development partners for the platform. From the biggest names (Activision, Electronic Arts, WB Games, Capcom) to smaller indies (Inti Creates, PlatinumGames, Arc System Works), your favorite game creators will definitely be well-represented on the Nintendo Switch:

Publishers/Developers Supporting the Nintendo Switch

  • 505 Games
  • Activision
  • Arc System Works
  • Atlus
  • Bandai Namco
  • Bethesda
  • Capcom
  • Codemasters
  • DeNA
  • Electronic Arts
  • Epic Games
  • FromSoftware
  • Frozenbyte
  • GameTrust
  • Grasshopper Manufacture
  • Gungho Online Entertainment
  • Hamster Corporation
  • Inti Creates
  • Koei Tecmo
  • Konami
  • Level-5
  • Marvelous
  • Maximum Games
  • Nippon Ichi
  • Parity Bit
  • PlatinumGames
  • Sega
  • Silicon Studio Corporation
  • Spike Chunsoft
  • Square Enix
  • Starbreeze Studios
  • Take-Two Interactive
  • Telltale Games
  • THQ Nordic
  • Tokyo RPG Factory
  • TT Games
  • Ubisoft
  • Ubitus
  • Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment

To help create the console’s game lineup, Nintendo also announced Switch support from a variety of engine makers and middleware tools:

Engines/Middleware Supported by the Nintendo Switch

  • Audiokinetic
  • Autodesk
  • CRI Middleware
  • Epic Games
  • Firelight Technologies
  • Havok
  • RAD Game Tools
  • RecoChoku
  • Unity Technologies
  • Web Technology Corp

We’ll have more news about the Nintendo Switch’s unveiling throughout the day.

Posted in News, Switch |

Nintendo NX is a console/handheld hybrid officially known as Nintendo Switch

Posted on October 20, 2016 by John Scalzo

All the rumors are true. Nintendo’s NX console is actually a console/handheld hybrid known as the Nintendo Switch.

Set to launch in March 2017, games for the Switch will be released on cartridges and players will be able to “switch” between playing on their TV with the Switch Dock or taking them on the road with a tablet-sized screen and controllers that click into place on the edges. A “Pro Controller” option will also be available, and certain games will feature a Wii-style “Remote + Nunchuk” control scheme for gaming on the go (with a kickstand for the screen). If you’d prefer a more traditional setup, the controllers can be attached to a Joy-Con Grip to better emulate a regular controller.

So what else did we learn? For starters, beloved Bethesda RPG The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim will be available for the Switch. 2K’s NBA 2K17 also made an appearance in the video.

Nintendo themselves gave us a quick glimpse at a brand new Super Mario 3D game, as well as remasters of (or possibly sequels to) Splatoon and Mario Kart 8. And, of course, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was also on display.

The final launch date and price will be announced at a later date, but I’m sure we’ll learn much more about the Switch throughout the day. And there’s always the Red Dead Redemption 2 reveal to look forward to in about an hour.

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Nintendo Japan releases four Zelda: Breath of the Wild trailers ahead of NX unveiling

Posted on October 20, 2016 by John Scalzo

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Nintendo will unveil their NX console in less than an hour, but did you know that the consolemaker secretly uploaded three new Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild trailers yesterday? Courtesy of Nintendo Japan, the trailers are titled “Risk,” “Revitalization,” “Weather,” and an untitled fourth clip.

Link explores the Temple of Time in “Risk,” and he also climbs Hyrule’s highest peaks and snowboards back down on his shield. Our hero takes care of some business in “Revitalization,” bashing monsters and putting his bow skills to good use. At one point, he even lights a club on fire and uses it to deliver a flaming knockout blow to an enemy.

“Weather” is a nearly static four-minute shot of a ruined boat that’s sitting in front of an equally dilapidated building with a formidable castle and Death Mountain loom in the background. Finally, the untitled trailer features an extended time-lapse of the game’s day-night cycle. All four trailers can be found after the break.

And don’t forget about the many (many, many, many) mini-trailers Nintendo has released for the game over the past few months.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild will be released for the NX and Wii U sometime next year (more…)

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Nintendo will unveil the NX on October 20 at 10 AM Eastern Time

Posted on October 19, 2016 by John Scalzo

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It’s happening! It’s finally happening! Nintendo has announced they will officially unveil their mysterious NX console on October 20, which is tomorrow by the way, with a special “Preview Trailer”:

The “Preview Trailer” will go live at 10:00 AM (Eastern Time), giving Nintendo fans a whole hour to freak out before Rockstar delivers the first trailer for Red Dead Redemption 2 at 11:00. Are the two connected somehow? Nobody knows… but we’ll find out for sure in just 13 hours.

Posted in News, Switch |

Rumor: Beyond Good & Evil 2 is a “standalone reboot” that’ll launch in 2018 exclusively for the Nintendo NX

Posted on October 17, 2016 by John Scalzo

beyondgoodandevilMany people already suspected that Beyond Good & Evil 2 might drop the numeral and go the prequel route after Director Michel Ancel uploaded an image from the recently-announced game of Uncle Pey’j as a young piglet. A new rumor report from Let’s Play Video Games seems to confirm that suspicion and a number of other details about the long-in-the-works followup.

Citing an anonymous source “familiar with the negotiations on the project,” Beyond Good & Evil 2 will actually be a “standalone reboot” that expands on the cliffhanger ending from the first game while also delving deeper into the backstories of Pey’j and main character Jade:

According to our source, the currently planned direction for the game is that it will partially retell Jade’s origin tale from Beyond Good & Evil, flesh out Peyj’s backstory, then continue to extrapolate on the ending of the original game. The intention is that players who have not played the original will be able to jump into the new game, which will feature a subtitle rather than a number at the end of its title, and understand both who Jade is and what drives Pey’j. It also seeks to provide closure to fans of the original wondering what the cliffhanger at the end meant for the series’ ongoing plot.

Several other tipsters have also informed Let’s Play Video Games that Ubisoft will release Beyond Good & Evil 2 (or whatever it ends up being called) exclusively for Nintendo’s NX console in Summer 2018. A new trailer is supposedly being prepared to deliver the news, and it’ll likely make its public debut alongside Nintendo’s unveiling of the NX.

But… all together now… we still have no idea when Nintendo will announce its plan for the NX.

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Ubisoft reveals full Just Dance 2017 tracklist… including Maroon 5’s “Don’t Wanna Know”

Posted on October 15, 2016 by John Scalzo

Just Dance 2017 will boogie its way into stores on October 25, so now’s the perfect time for Ubisoft to unveil the game’s full tracklist.

In addition to previously-announced tracks from Justin Bieber, Sia, and DNCE, Just Dance 2017 will also include music from Beyonce (“Single Ladies”), Ariana Grande (“Into You”), and Zayn (“Like I Would”). “Don’t Wanna Know,” the newly-released single from Maroon 5’s upcoming new album, will also be a featured track in the game.

Just Dance 2017 will be available this month for the PC, PS3, PS4, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. The game is also in development for Nintendo’s NX console and it’ll presumably launch alongside the console in March 2017.

The full Just Dance 2017 tracklist can be found after the break, and a gameplay trailer featuring “Don’t Wanna Know” has been embedded above. (more…)

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Rumor: Lots of games might be in development for Nintendo NX including Final Fantasy XV and Final Fantasy VII

Posted on October 14, 2016 by John Scalzo

I have begun to wonder… will we elect a new President before Nintendo unveils their NX console? Back in September, many fans expected an announcement to happen at any time, but here we are in mid-October and I’m no longer so sure. Thankfully, we’ve got a fresh batch of rumors to sift through.

Yesterday’s report comes from Gameblog.fr, a very popular destination for French gaming news. Helpfully translated by NeoGAF, the report is said to include insider information from multiple sources.

Not surprisingly, the hybrid nature of the NX was reconfirmed and the console/handheld is still expected to include detachable controllers. However, Gameblog.fr’s sources said that the docking station used to connect the NX to a television is actually a “wireless dongle” that can upscale a game’s graphics for 1080p displays. Nintendo is also still keeping some of the NX’s “gimmicks” a secret from developers.

But the real meat of this report focuses on the console’s launch lineup. Gameblog.fr’s sources believe that at least 20 games are currently in development for the NX including remasters of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Mario Kart 8, Super Smash Bros. For Wii U, and Splatoon. We’ve heard this story before, but yesterday’s report includes a new wrinkle of additional Nintendo 64 and Wii remasters as well.

Other games are said to be in the works outside of Nintendo’s offices including Final Fantasy XV and Final Fantasy VII Remake from Square Enix, a new Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell game and a Yoshi/Rabbids Crossover from Ubisoft, and untitled new games from Platinum Games and Capcom.

Finally, Nintendo is believed to be testing a virtual reality headset for the NX, but the results aren’t “satisfying.”

As always, it’s good to take any rumors with a massive grain of salt, and I think that’s especially true with this batch. But who knows, maybe we’ll all be surprised when Nintendo officially announces the NX… someday.

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