Nintendo will reward Switch early adaptors with a chance to try out this summer’s upcoming Splat Fest Splatoon 2 for one weekend only. After showing the game off during the Nintendo Switch reveal event last month members of the press & public got the chance to go hands on with the game and now the most hardcore Nintendo fans will get a similar chance for three days at the end of March.
Ninty will run 6 hour long Splatoon 2 test fires on the Switch for free on March 24th, 25th and 26th. In a short YouTube announcement trailer Ninty listed the following times for players:
March 24th 12 Noon – 1PM
March 24th 8PM – 9PM
March 25th 4AM – 5AM
March 25th 4PM – 5PM
March 25th 8PM – 9PM
March 26th 4PM – 5PM
BrokenJoysticks kicked off our coverage of Splatoon 2 with the reveal that the game’s single player will take place 2 years after the original game. The Nintendo Switch launches alongside The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild on March 3rd.
Nintendo’s upcoming hybrid Switch console doesn’t have an official release date, only a handful of confirmed titles or price but accessory creator Snakebyte have taken the opportunity to announce a line of accessories for the upcoming console at CES 2017.
The first of these accessories is a foldable headset that the company is the perfect companion for the tablet console. Here is how Snakebyte described the foldable headset:
“Ideal for on-the-go gaming, the Foldable Headset features powerful 40mm drivers for crisp, clear gaming audio. Neatly folds up when travelling, making it the perfect companion to your Switch tablet.”
A second set of accessories from Snakebyte will be available in a Starter Kit for the Nintendo Switch. It will provide players with a pair of stero earbuds, a cleaning cloth, a game cartridge case, a set of control grips and a carry bag for the tablet itself. This is how a Snakebyte representative described the starter kit:
“Featuring all the essential accessories a gamer could ask for, the Starter Kit features a Carry Bag, Stereo Earbuds, Cleaning Cloth, Screen Protector, Control Caps and Game Cases to allow for an enhanced gaming experience and protection for the tablet screen and games.”
Snakebyte will be showing these accessories at CES 2017 at South Hall Booth 21666. In addition to the accessory descriptions they also provided a couple photos of these accessories.
Nintendo’s next console may come with support for GameCube virtual console titles if tweet by a well known industry insider is to correct. The deputy news editor for outlet EuroGamer, which originally broke the news of the detachable Nintendo Switch “Joy-Cons”, has posted on twitter that the upcoming Nintendo Switch will have GameCube emulation support for the third iteration of the Virtual Console.
Here is the original tweet by Tom Phillips that has set a wave of speculation across the internet:
GameCube Virtual Console for Switch is indeed a thing, heard from at least 3 people. Working on report now on 1st games, thinking behind it.
No details about what GameCube titles that may be currently in testing at Nintendo or which games the console manufacturer may be considering for the Switch’s launch next March. Tom Phillips is promising that an upcoming report on EuroGamer will outline what may be the 1st games to hit the 3rd generation of the Virtual Console service.
We will update this post as soon as more information becomes available.
A brand new, unreleased trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has leaked onto Youtube ahead of the official reveal of Nintendo’s code name NX.
This new trailer features a number of elements about the next Zelda title that are brand new – such as the inclusion of striking lightening and rain effects, the ability for Link to use a large leaf to propel a small makeshift raft forward and the return of shield-boarding!
As someone who has played the Wii U build of the game back at E3 it is quite clear that this trailer is not running on Wii U hardware – the lighting, reflections off objects and texture work are worlds apart from the E3 2016 demonstration. While Nintendo may have made some optimizations in the months since the convention, I wouldn’t be shocked if it is later confirmed this trailer contains footage taken from the NX build of the game.
If this leak is any indication, Nintendo has more than just the reveal of their next home console planned for today.
Nintendo gave the world a brief heads up minutes ago that their long awaited next generation platform will be unveilled TOMORROW! The new console, which is thus far surrounded in mystery, will be unveilled in a special Nintendo Direct presentation.
The presentation will be broadcast simultaneously worldwide with the direct happening at 7:00 AM on the west coast and at 10:00 AM eastern time.
Word came out earlier today that retailers in the European Union have until the end of this month – just 7 days from now – to get their final orders in for Wii U hardware. None of this has been confirmed by Nintendo themselves but at least one twitter user corroborated the original GameSeek report that broke the story. With six months to go before Nintendo’s next generation console – code named NX – launches and no official reveal in sight this whole situation should be a little concerning.
It is not uncommon for console manufacturers to ramp down production after the launch of a successor. Microsoft’s Xbox 360 was discontinued just this past April, staying in production for 3 full years past the Xbox One’s unveiling. In some cases the end of production can actually occur prior to the launch of a successor console – as an example Nvidia stopped manufacturing the Original Xbox’s GPU in August 2005 just 3 months before the debut of the Xbox 360.
Nintendo’s prior history with discontinuing consoles isn’t as cut and dry as its competitors, however. They haven’t shyed away from dropping an obvious failure like the Virtual Boy, which was discontinued just six months after its initial launch in August 95. But other, more successful, Nintendo consoles have had a much longer life, even alongside their successors – the GameCube wasn’t sunsetted until late February 2007, giving the console an additional 4 months on the market alongside the Wii before Nintendo finally pulled the plug.
The house of Mario has traditionally sold it’s hardware at a profit, however the expensive Research & Development and hardware costs of the Wii U GamePad have been eating into Nintendo’s bottom line for sometime. Wii U is the first Nintendo device in recent memory that has been sold at a loss and with declining sales an argument could be made for ending the production of the console if Nintendo has enough in-stock to meet their projected demands until the NX has a strong foothold with the company’s faithful customer base.
What is a bit odd in this particular situation is that Nintendo isn’t announcing the end of hardware production at its’ partner factories but rather telling retailers in the European Union to place orders for hardware within a weeks’ time. Traditionally Europe hasn’t been the strongest of the three major markets in terms of units sold – those honors shift between North America and Japan – but Nintendo’s pattern of discontinuation of hardware has always occurred either after a successor has been released into the market for a matter of months or at least announced and demo’d publicly.
Even when Nintendo discontinued the GameCube in February of 2007 and stopped producing new titles for the machine, then Nintendo’s long time marketing Guru Perrin Kaplin took the chance to re-position the remainder of GameCube stock as an alternative to expensive next-gen consoles for players who are new to console gaming.
“I mean, I wasn’t the first to buy an iPod. By the time I bought it, it came to a price where I wanted it to be and looked the way I wanted it to look. So we’re not selling GameCube to the people who are hardcore players and want all the gadgetry – we’re going after the people who never really bought a system before now it’s finally at a price that they can afford for their family.”
The NX Question
With all of this history taken into account there is still one unanswered question that remains shrouded in secrecy: what are Nintendo’s plans for the NX? The facts are that they confirmed its existence and announced its March 2017 release date, a year before its scheduled launch. Now with news coming forward of the Wii U’s hardware discontinuation in Europe, the company is about to enter the holiday season with no shelf presence for its existing platform or its successor.
There have been a ton of leaks coming out of Foxcon factories, the supply chain and development sources, to pretty much confirm that the Nintendo NX is a hybrid / dockable device that can be used either on-the-go or while hooked up to a television. If true then the NX is probably one of the worst kept secrets Nintendo has ever held so tightly to their chest. What is of concern here is that none of Nintendo’s recent decisions surrounding NX or to some extent the Wii U fit with the company’s history of hardware launches or the end of an existing console’s lifecycle. This whole strategy seems very concerning for those of us watching Nintendo, but here’s hoping it is a direction that works.
This fake 3D printed proto-type sure fooled a lot of people, us included.
Independent game developer Bplus announces a new game coming to both Steam and the Nintendo NX. Their new war simulation game Tank it! will be released on Steam in the fall and follow on the Nintendo NX in 2017.
Bplus plans Tank it! to be a realistic and bloody war simulation game designed to show how brutal and dangerous war really is. In Tank it! you command a drone to remotely control a heavy tank. You receive the mission to travel to remote villages, find and destroy the target military camps and eliminate all terrorists. But as in real life, there are many civilians in the villages, as well. The terrorists and civilians alike are at the player’s mercy.
It is up to the player alone to decide how to handle this mission.
Previously Bplus released Puzzle Box Setup and Bit Boy Arcade for the Nintendo 3DS.
Nintendo’s next generation console, currently code-named “NX” is still shrouded in mystery but one particular outspoken advocate of the console, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot, says that what he has seen looks very promising. Not only is touting the capabilities of this new console but also making the bold prediction that it will bring back the casual audience to the Nintendo brand.
Here’s is how WCF Tech described Mr.Guillemot remarks on a recent company conference call with investors:
“Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot talked about the Nintendo NX, stating that what they have seen so far of the console is really great. Guillemot also notes how having this machine coming is going to help the industry growing as well as take a lot of casual players back in the industry.”
Nintendo did not have any NX presence at this year’s E3, instead focusing on the upcoming The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. More information about NX could possibly be released during the Tokyo Game Show this September, although Nintendo typically skips TGS there is precedence – as they revealed the WiiMote back in September 2005 around TGS Time.
Nintendo’s last generation console, Wii, was an immensely successful product that launched the Big N back into the public conscience similar to the way Pokemon GO has recently or how Nintendo orginally swept America with the NES back in the 1980s. According to VGChartz the Nintendo Wii sold around 101 million units worldwide, in comparison the Wii U has sold just over 13 million units – putting it just above the SEGA Dreamcast.
Critics of Nintendo’s E3 2016 strategy wondered just how the company could have a strong showing with just one game, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild playable at their booth. Now that the dust has settled it is quite clear that the big N made the right call in putting all of the cucco eggs in one basket and trusting in the Hero of Time.
Not only did Nintendo bring one of the most refreshing and innovative Zelda titles to date to one of gaming’s biggest conventions (our impressions will be going live later this week) but they also brought a ‘live experience’ that existed opposite the traditional rows upon rows of demo stations that E3 is known for.
Nintendo’s E3 Treehouse Livestream Was Just Outside the Live Experience Booth
This real world playground of Zelda: Breath of the Wild delights mimics several key elements new to the game. Upon entering visitors are greeted by a large statue of Link aiming his arrow towards one of the game’s new tentacled enemies. This particular statue became a popular photo spot for media, fans, developers and other attendees. During my time inside the Breath of the Wild E3 experiencece it was hard to get a shot of the statue without someone beside the it posing for a selfie with Link.
This Statue Was So Possible It Was Almost Impossible To Get A Shot Where Someone WASN’T Taking a Selfie With Link.
Opposite the large monster / Link statue was a replica of one of the game’s new feature – a goblin stronghold. In the game Link can take these over by completing challenges, thus unlocking new abilities or hidden treasures. Breath of the Wild‘s live experience was watched over by one of these goblin creatures atop the stronghold. Adjacent to the stronghold was a large cooking pot, which contained multiple items that bob-up and down thanks to mechanical motors. This simulates a similar animation that plays when Link uses the new cooking crafting system introduced in Breath of the Wild.
A Goblin Keeps A Loook Out In Nintendo’s Live Experience
One of the far corners of the live experience mimics the iconic look of Temple of Time but this particular version of the Temple of Time is different than any we’ve seen before. Giant columns rise up from the ground with vines growing all around them. Large doors complete the new aesthetic, filling in the space between the pillars.
The Temple of Time
As a Nintendo PR Rep took me on a tour of this elaborate live experience for the new Legend of Zelda she informed me that all of the objects in the booth are too scale, exactly as Link would see them in his world. That not only means that visitors to the live experience would see recreations of objects & monsters that populate Hyrule in Breath of the Wild but more importantly see them exactly as Link will in the game, right down to the proportions. To top it all off Nintendo had fans blowing a gentle wind through the trees and carrying the smell of forest throughout the booth.
A Chest With Glowing Eyes!
Nintendo promised to transport attendees to Hyrule with their presentation at this year’s E3 and they succeeded like never before. If you thought that ultra cool Twilight Princess booth from 2006 was amazing and immersive – you can’t possibly imagine the feeling of seeing objects through Link’s eyes, feeling the wind on your skin and smelling the faint scent of the trees with every breath. You can bring a single game to E3 and impress the socks off of everyone and Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild live experience booth has set the standard for an immersive convention experience.
A Wide Shot of Nintendo’s Breath of the Wild E3 2016 Experience
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild will be released in 2017 for Nintendo Wii U and the unannounced Nintendo NX.
Nintendo spent much of Tuesday spotlighting and showing off The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and it looks amazing.
In the little that was previously revealed about the game, one of the things that was touted was the amount of open world there would be in the game. And in what was shown so far at E3 that is an understatement. The world is immense, and only a small fraction of that world was shown off today.
I won’t go into too much detail with all of that though. You can read the details directly from Nintendo’s release below.
But also announced was three brand new ammibo, which will be released in 2017. These will presumably be released day and date with the game.
Some huge news came out of the Nintendo Japan financial call for investors this morning relating to Nintendo’s next console, codenamed NX, and the next The Legend of Zelda game. It is typical for companies to slide little tidbits of unknown information in their investor’s reports or on earnings calls in order to assure investors that the company is heading in a safe direction.
Confirmed via Nintendo of America’s official Twitter account, as well as on Nintendo of Japan’s Twitter account, the Nintendo NX will ship worldwide in March 2017. This of course flies in the face of rumors that Ninty was ramping up production for a Fall or holiday season release. It was also confirmed that the NX will not be at this year’s E3 Expo in Los Angeles. That news sounds disheartening, but it wouldn’t stop Nintendo from unveiling the console at a pre-show Nintendo Direct or a similar presentation sometime after the show.
The new Legend of #Zelda will be the focus of #E3 2016. It will launch simultaneously on both Wii U and NX in 2017 pic.twitter.com/icfBlybnkm
Regarding the newest The Legend of Zelda title, previously confirmed for a Wii U release, Nintendo announced through their financial call that the game will be released simultaneously for both systems sometime in 2017. This is the second time The Legend of Zelda has been delayed since its gameplay reveal at E3 2014.
What are your thoughts on The Legend of Zelda being released simultaneously on both platforms? Will it be the Wii release of Twilight Princess all over again?
Yet another day means yet another round of supposed leaks for the Nintendo NX. As with anything related to the unannounced console, take these with a grain of salt because we all remember how that supposed controller leak went down last month.
This last news comes by the way of multiple NeoGaf threads and a locked Twitter account belonging to a known industry insider.
The Legend of Zelda For Wii U has long been rumored to be coming to both the Nintendo NX and Wii-U and this latest lengthy post by 10K adds another anonymous confirmation to that list. Other Wii-U titles supposedly in development for the NX? Ports of Mario Maker and Splatoon are both in active development according to 10K’s multiple sources. While these games may certainly be in development there is some contention about whether or not they may come to market due to the challenge of engineering cross platform play for Splatoon and backwards compatibility with existing levels for Mario Maker. Apparently it is also “100% confirmed” that Smash 4 (otherwise known as Smashbros for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U) will be making its way to the NX as an enhanced port, no rumblings if this game may also support cross platform play or use the 3DS as a controller.
Apparently development kits have not been sent to eligible developers yet. Although, the Software Development Kit (or SDK) is apparently in the hands of developers as of the publication of the lengthy post. In relation to ports of current generation titles (Xbox One / PS4) – these anonymous sources have had no problem porting current generation code to Nintendo’s SDK with ease and reportedly the NX’s clockspeed will be somewhere around 15-30% faster than the one found in the PlayStation 4.
Some of these rumors have been backed up by Emily Rogers. Unfortunately the account is locked so we can not verify the authenticity of these tweets but here is a screenshot as it appeared in the original GAF thread:
What do you think these of these? Fake? Real? E3 Is only two months away, I suppose we will find out then.
Verified leaker untypedhero on Reddit who is known to have industry connections with inside knowledge about Nintendo’s next console has posted a few new tidbits of information about the NX. Reported the upcoming system will run on the x86-64 architecture similar to the processors that power modern computers, PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One.
Other information that has come to light includes the fact that the NX will report second screen integration of some kind, will allow users to back-up their data to some kind of Nintendo cloud service and by using Nintendo software you can earn My Nintendo points for use in their new apps like Miitomo.
In terms of power the Nintendo NX is said to be able handle ports of current generation titles.
x86 architecture.
Backup data to Nintendo server (most likely My Nintendo).
Support for additional screen.
Can handle ports of current-gen games.
Will be able to interact with smart device apps.
Using NX software will unlock My Nintendo reward points.
As soon as more information about the Nintendo NX is leaked or officialy announced we will bring it to you.
Ubisoft has filed for a brand new trademark that would cover the oft thought abandoned Beyond Good & Evil franchise. This new trademark would cover game software, clothing, online components to game software and interestingly paper products. While I doubt we could be seeing a BG&E pen & paper RPG, perhaps this new filing lends some credibility to the rumor from earlier in the year that Beyond Good & Evil 2 would be revealed as a Nintendo NX exclusive at this year’s E3.
The original reveal for BG&E 2 took play at Ubisoft’s Udays conference almost 8 years ago. After Michel Ancel reportedly left Ubisoft in 2010, this coincided with a confirmed gameplay leak that featured protagonist Jade running through an urban environment. Bringing things more closer to the present, it was reported last year that game was being play tested at Ubisoft’s Montpellier studio and whatever game Montpellier is working on, it has been confirmed to be targeted for current generation hardware (PS4, Xbox One, PC like specs).
[youtube id=”rsfs4Kvsr-U”]
What do you think of this latest filing? Could BG&E 2 be on the way? Whatever happens, Broken Joysticks will have folks on the ground at E3 2016.
It was too good to be true, the NX news which we reported on last week has been exposed as fake. The images which were first revealed in this reddit post have been revealed to be fake. Their creator took to youtube to discuss how he managed to create the 3D printed “prototype” In the video which is right after the jump you can see his whole design process and how he took the current bevy of rumors and synthesized them in to the “leaked prototype”
