Category: Nintendo News

While some Twitch channels are showcasing the very best moral practices this week (Awesome Games Done Quick has just started a week-long charity event for a fantastic cause), others are showcasing a, shall we say, less-than-perfect display, adding to a worryingly growing list of high-profile bans on the service.

Professional Super Smash Bros. player Joseph “Mang0” Marquez, known for being a top Smash Bros. Melee player and a back-to-back EVO champion, has received a week-long suspension from the live-streaming site after celebrating a win for his NFL team, the Philadelphia Eagles. The problem was that he perhaps celebrated a little too much; the clip below captured the moment when Mang0 “passes out” from supposedly drinking too much alcohol.

After the events seen in the clip above, Mang0 reportedly remained off camera for several minutes before returning to shut it down. As you can see in the tweet below, Twitch says that the reason for this one-week ban is for the “dangerous consumption of drugs or alcohol”, which goes against the site’s policies.

A couple of hours after posting the tweet above (in which Mang0 didn’t seem too concerned about the ban), he posted another message to explain his side of the story. He says that rather than being too drunk, he actually “jokingly fell over to be funny” and took a break to talk to his girlfriend.

As always, feel free to share your thoughts on this one in the comments below.

Nintendo has launched a brand new website to help Splatoon 2 players get the most out of the game and join up with fellow Inklings and Octolings in the community.

Whether you’re just starting out in the game, nervously dipping those squiddy tentacles into the colourful ink for the first time, or even if you’re a Rank X powerhouse, Nintendo hopes you’ll find the site useful. The homepage features a couple of tips sections for players at various levels, but the real meat of the site is dedicated to tournament play.

The site allows you to easily assemble your own teams, recruit new members, and join regular online tournaments. This looks particularly great for those who aren’t surrounded by lots of Splatoon-playing friends, as you can simply sign up, head to the ‘Find a Team’ section, and be matched up with other solo players. Check out the website for yourself if you want to get involved.

The first tournament organised through the site begins on 13th January at 1pm GMT / 2pm CET and you can sign up to compete right now. At present, the site appears to exclusively accommodate players from several European countries; whether a North American version is also planned is currently unknown.

Have you been hoping to get into competitive Splatoon but needed your own squad of players? Let us know if this helps you out in the comments below.

My Arcade

The Switch is slowly but surely becoming a super-useful tool for playing NES games on a modern display, and even on the go in handheld form, with the Nintendo Switch Online service throwing in three more games from the original system’s library each month. Still, for anyone who has a large collection of real, physical NES games, it’ll likely never provide a portable NES solution quite as flexible as this.

Meet the Retro Champ, a Switch-like system from My Arcade which can play original NES and Famicom cartridges. Slightly bigger than the Switch (thanks to the NES’ now-bulky cartridge design) the console includes a built-in seven-inch display for portable play, with a rechargeable battery allowing for up to 35 hours of playtime.

My Arcade

Just like the Switch, the system can be used as either a portable machine using the included face buttons, or can be plugged into a TV using its HDMI output. You can snag a couple of My Arcade wireless controllers (at extra cost) should you want to play in this improvised ‘docked’ style, before switching back to playing with the machine in your hands. You also get a cartridge cleaning kit in the box to give your old games a much-needed cleanup.

Features:
• Play NES™ and Famicom™ cartridges on-the-go.
• Full color, 7-inch screen.
• 35 hours of playtime on the rechargeable battery.
• Built in kick-stand.
• Can connect to TV via HDMI® output.
• Compatible with our Super GamePad wireless controllers.
• A built in mini cleaning kit allows you to take proper care of older cartridges.

If you’re interested in owning one of these for yourself, the console is expected to launch in June this year for $79.99; you can keep an eye on its product page here.

Do you think this is a clever idea? Would you like to play your original NES games in portable form? Let us know in the comments below.

Nintendo has shared a list of the top 15 best-selling eShop games of December 2018 in Europe, letting us see which titles from the console’s ever-growing library really did the numbers over the festive period.

While the game sitting at number one will only surprise very few people reading these pages, December had the potential to mix things up a bit thanks to an amazingly large sale that discounted more than 600 games in the region in the week building up to Christmas. Despite this, and perhaps the odd surprise here and there, much of the chart is filled with first-party favourites; Mario is pretty hard to get away from in the top five.

The rankings below have been shared via the Switch’s News Channel, and are based on the number of Nintendo eShop downloads in European territories during the whole month. Sadly, Nintendo hasn’t provided exact sales figures:

1. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
2. Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle
3. Super Mario Party
4. Crypt of the NecroDancer
5. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
6. Gris
7. Stardew Valley
8. Octopath Traveler
9. Minecraft
10. Crash Bandicoot N.Sane Trilogy
11. Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu!
12. Sid Meier’s Civilization VI
13. Overcooked 2
14. FIFA 19
15. Diablo III: Eternal Collection

Did you purchase any of these games from the eShop in December? Do any of the games featured surprise you? Tell us below.

A new, third-party accessory for the Nintendo Switch has appeared on the market, hoping to provide a way of keeping your console safe from potential thieves.

Pintoro, the manufacturer behind the ‘SwitchGuard’, has described the product as “the best way to deter theft of your Nintendo Switch at a tournament, in your dorm, in an office, or in your home”. It has two locks – one on top to stop thieves from taking the console itself, as well as a cable lock and slot lower down to prevent the entire SwitchGuard from being taken – and features several cutouts to allow airflow to the system and gaps for the necessary cables.

You can check it out in the images below.

It reminds us of the ‘Game Console Safe‘ which we reported on back in October, although this new product does feature several differences in its design. If you’re interested in picking one up, you can do so directly from the manufacturer’s site for $49.99. Here are some product features to give you a little more info:

– Premium clear acrylic – Show off your Joycons and docks with crystal clear acrylic!
– Metal locking mechanism to secure your Nintendo Switch safely in the SwitchGuard.
– Cable lock slot mounted on the back of the SwitchGuard to allow the use of a cable lock. Use the included cable lock to secure your SwitchGuard to a table, monitor, or TV!
– Multiple cutouts to allow ventilation through the SwitchGuardCutouts for the HDMI, Power Cable, and GameCube Adapter to cleanly flow out of the SwitchGuard.

What do you think? Would the SwitchGuard be useful for you at home or when taking your Switch out and about? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.

Almost everyone knows and loves the likes of Mario, Link, and Pikachu, but what about the slightly more obscure bunch of video game characters who fly under the radar of mass attention? Whether it’s the weird and wonderful Tingle from The Legend of Zelda series, or the “top percentage of Rattata” Joey from Pokémon, many of us will no doubt have a soft spot for someone out there.

As it happens, one group of fans have taken this love to the next level, going as far as to create an online petition. Under the project name ‘Operation Starfall’, this petition aims to celebrate everything Super Mario RPG on SNES, while focusing on a singular set of goals: “the return of SMRPG and its two exclusive protagonists, Geno and Mallow, to the Mario mainstream”.

The petition is publically available to see and sign on Change.org, with hopes that Nintendo and developer Square (now Square Enix) might see the fan demand. Three specific goals have been described on the petition, which currently has more than 260 signatures online:

“GOAL 1: Bring Super Mario RPG’s beloved characters back for either a remake or a sequel to Super Mario RPG.
GOAL 2: Revive Geno and Mallow for future installments of the Mario series. These two are adored, and we would love to see them return and introduce new fans to them. They are lovable characters, and are thus highly marketable if brought into the modern eye.
GOAL 3: Bring Geno into Super Smash Bros., many Smash fans have been wanting for a very long time.”

As well as the petition itself, fans of the project have been discussing the beloved characters and how their message might be spread on the forums at Smashboards; the discussion currently spreads over 17 pages. It has to be said that Geno does already appear in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as a Spirit, and we’re not entirely convinced that Nintendo would listen to online petitions (Waluigi still isn’t playable in Smash, for example), but we admire the dedication nonetheless.

Are you a diehard fan of Super Mario RPG and its characters? Will you be getting involved in the petition? Tell us below.