Category: Nintendo News

In the same interview with Forbes, Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aimé took time to discuss the current Switch sales and reinforced how the company’s immediate focus was on the holiday season.

When queried about a potential hardware revision, Reggie provided the following statement:

“Right now, as we go into our second holiday, my focus is making sure the current grey and neon Switch continue to have momentum in the market place. You saw systems, whether it’s our own or competitive home console systems, utilize that tactic a bit later in the life cycle. So right now, the current execution of Nintendo Switch with the Joy-Con and all of the capabilities, that’s our focus right now.”

He further explained how the holiday season was a critical time for the company:

“We’re feeling confident in our momentum and it’s not just a stellar launch of Pokémon, it’s not just what appears to be a stellar launch for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. That Black Friday through Cyber Monday time frame was critically important to us, the remaining shopping days now through Christmas are critically important to us. More days right after Christmas as consumers receive gift cards or take unwanted gifts and monetize into things like Nintendo Switch are important to us. So, this is going to be an ongoing effort to make sure that we drive our business forward through the balance of this holiday season but also the first calendar quarter as well.”

In October, The Wall Street Journal reported a new Switch hardware revision could go on sale in the second half of 2019.

Do you think Nintendo will announce a Switch hardware revision before the end of next year to maintain sales momentum? Tell us below.

Following the sales data estimates for the Japanese release of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Famitsu has now published official sales numbers confirming the game sold exactly 1,238,358 million copies in its launch week. This figure reportedly does not include digital sales.

As we noted previously, this makes Ultimate the biggest Nintendo-published game launch in Japan ever, not including the Pokémon series. It’s also the best debut for the Smash series in Japan and the highest opening week for a Switch game. Ultimate also improved Nintendo’s hybrid console sales last week. Famitsu said the system shifted 278,313 units compared to the previous week when it sold 107,450 units. This has helped domestic Switch sales surpass the six million mark.

Compared to existing Switch launch sales, Ultimate has smashed the competition. Last month’s Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Let’s Go, Eevee! sold 552,000 copies locally and the month before this Super Mario Party sold 131,000 copies on release. In 2017, Splatoon 2 shifted 631,000 copies at launch and Super Mario Odyssey followed this up with 514,000 sales.

Shovel Knight has become an incredibly successful and well-loved series in its own right over the last few years, finding a natural home on Nintendo’s platforms. We’re sure that the team over at Yacht Club Games are beyond proud of their success, but that doesn’t stop them from getting ridiculously excited at seeing their character appear in a major Nintendo release.

The team recently took to Twitch to stream some Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, when Shovel Knight – who is included in the game as an Assist Trophy – appears on screen. Things get pretty crazy as the excitement rushes through the team, but it only gets better from there. We don’t want to ruin the fun (we came away from this video with huge grins on our faces) so make sure to simply enjoy the moment for yourself by watching below.

Inertia Games Studios has revealed that its upcoming multiplayer party title Catastronauts will be arriving on Switch later this month.

The game is described as “a fast-paced, chaotic couch co-op experience” with one to four players assuming the role of an intergalactic starfleet, locked in an epic battle with an invading enemy vessel and unrelenting disaster.

Players will need to keep their craft together by putting out fires, repairing systems, and loading and firing space cannons, much of which can only be done by working as a team. The whole thing seems like it could be a lovely little blend of Overcooked 2 and Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime – we’ll have to see how it plays when it launches.

Catastronauts arrives on the European eShop on 24th December, with the North American release coming just after on 3rd January 2019.

Will you be treating yourself to this one for the holidays? Let us know in the comments.

With such a diverse roster, knowing where to begin in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate can be an incredibly daunting prospect. There are already over 70 characters available to choose from in the game, and this number is only set to rise in the coming months, so how on Earth do you actually go about choosing your ‘main’?

Well, one tactic could well be to follow the guidance shared by some of the series’ top players. Both Gonzalo “ZeRo” Barrios, often cited as the world’s best Super Smash Bros. for Wii U player, and top Super Smash Bros. Melee player Leffen have shared their “day one” tier rankings, ordering each character in the game by their overall competitive potential.

In each case, these tier rankings have been created after careful play with as many characters as possible, but are only advised to be used as a quick day one guide. In a YouTube video explaining his choices, Leffen notes to “not take this too seriously”.

Gonzalo “ZeRo” Barrios

Notable Smash 4 player ZeRo has presented the following table for your early consideration, using experience with each character from preview builds to help its creation. Characters are ordered in Top, High, Mid, and Low Tiers, as well as a ‘Not Sure’ section. We’ve listed each character by name for you below.

Top Tier	Pikachu, Olimar, Chrom, Peach, Daisy, Richter, Simon, Inkling, Mewtwo, Sheik, Palutena, Lucina, Marth, Wario, Roy, Ken, Ryu
High Tier	Diddy Kong, Rosalina & Luma, Pit, Dark Pit, Lucario, Zero Suit Samus, Meta Knight, Link, Young Link, Luigi, Ness, Fox, Falco, Snake, Pichu, Shulk, Sonic, Mii Gunner, Isabelle, Villager, Donkey Kong, Bowser, Captain Falcon, Pokemon Trainer, Ike, Yoshi, King K. Rool, Cloud, Bayonetta, Dr. Mario, Greninja
Mid Tier	Mario, Lucas, Samus, Dark Samus, Incineroar, Mega Man, R.O.B., Mii Swordfighter, Mii Brawler, Ganondorf, Jigglypuff, King Dedede, Mr. Game & Watch, Toon Link, Wii Fit Trainer, Wolf, Zelda, Ice Climbers, Corrin, Bowser Jr.
Low Tier	Kirby, Little Mac, Pac-Man, Ridley
Not Sure	Duck Hunt, Robin

Leffen

Leffen’s approach was slightly different, this time spreading the roster across a higher number of tiers. Each character has received a ranking from S to F, with several placed inside a ‘???’ category. As we mentioned above, Leffen has made a video explaining his choices.

S	Falco, Richter, Simon, Diddy Kong, King. K Rool, Meta Knight, Pokémon Trainer
A	Yoshi, Mewtwo, Roy, Chrom, Pikachu, Pichu
B	Marth, Lucina, Ike, Shulk, Icineroar, Luigi, Inkling
C	Bayonetta, Sheik, Peach, Daisy, Corrin, Greninja, Toon Link, Dr. Mario, Cloud, Wolf, Fox, Snake, Young Link
D	Ness, Lucas, Mario, Donkey Kong, R.O.B., Jigglypuff, Lucario, Captain Falcon, Zero Suit Samus, Pit, Dark Pit
E	Zelda, Palutena, Isabelle, Villager, Ganondorf, Ridley, Kirby, Rosalina & Luma, Olimar, Duck Hunt, Mr. Game & Watch, Pac-Man, Bowser, Robin, King Dedede
F	Little Mac, Bowser Jr., Mega Man, Link, Samus, Dark Samus, Ice Climbers
???	Ryu, Ken, Sonic, Wario, Wii Fit Trainer, Mii Brawler, Mii Gunner, Mii Swordfighter, Piranha Plant

So, there you have it. It looks like you might want to ditch Little Mac for one of the Belmonts if these tables are anything to go by, although it’s worth noting that there are some pretty big differences between the two opinions. Naturally, at the end of the day, the best advice we can give is to practice, practice, practice. Oh, and most importantly, have fun!

Do you agree with these lists? Are you shaking with rage that your beloved Ice Climbers haven’t made it to God-Tier status? Share your thoughts with us below.

Despite having now owned the game for several days – and having beaten up more innocent Jigglypuff than we care to admit in that time – we still find ourselves occasionally reminiscing over that wonderful World of Light trailer. It’s hard not to fall in love with a video depicting so many of our beloved childhood characters, even if most of them do end up getting brutally dissolved in the process.

What if Super Smash Bros. Ultimate had released years ago, though? Not for Nintendo Switch, but for the Game Boy Color? Well, the video up above shows a demake mock-up of the trailer as if it were for that very system, presented by the folks over at Nintendo Wire. From the little dialogue boxes to the retro bleeps and bloops, we’d certainly be up for playing the game on our trusty old handheld machines after seeing this.

Should we start some kind of angry, online petition to demand the game be ported to Game Boy Color now, as seems to be the norm these days? Or perhaps we should simply sit back and dream about what might have been? Let us know your thoughts on the video in the comments below.

Before strategy guides and that pesky, know-it-all internet came along, completing tricky games was a serious challenge. There was a time when players couldn’t simply Google “how do I unlock Simon Belmont’s luscious locks in Smash Bros.“, and instead had to figure everything out by playing over and over again.

Often, though, players would use good ol’ pen and paper to create their own guides for themselves, drawing out level designs and scribbling down anything that could turn out to be useful in the future – hence why game manuals used to come with notes sections at the back. As a way of preserving this dying trend, and to create something rather beautiful to share with the world, artist Philip Summers is releasing a new, hand-drawn guide to NES classic Ninja Gaiden.

The whole guide is written from protagonist Ryu’s perspective, not only featuring maps for every single stage, character profiles, and art for every single character, but also a set of journal entries to “flesh out the story that is told in the game”. Just like Summers’ other hand-drawn guide for Contra, this work will be available from Gumroad under a free / pay what you want download model.

It launches tomorrow – coinciding with the release of Ninja Gaiden on Switch – so make sure to check back and download it for yourself to make your way through the game.

Do you have memories of drawing your own guides? Do you now find yourself searching online for the answers you need? Let us know with a comment below.

Following the McLaren DLC added to the game last week, Psyonix has now released its second Rocket League rocket pass, available for free. The premium upgrade in exchange for 10 keys is $9.99 (or the regional equivalent) and includes even more content than the first pass as well as the brand new Artemis Battle-Car. Take a look at the trailer above.

In its announcement post, Psyonix said it had listened to fan feedback and increased the items found in the premium track. Here’s more information about how the premium path unlocks work:

Items in the Premium Upgrade path are no longer tradeable for Tiers 1 thru 70, but ‘Pro Tier’ items (i.e. Tier 71 and above) and Free items CAN still be traded. We have also changed Pro Tier behavior so that they will ALWAYS drop as a ‘Painted’ item, while still carrying a 25% chance to drop as a ‘Certified’ item. Moreover, we’ve increased the base experience you earn from matches by 40% so that you can reach Pro Tiers faster and increased the weekly match maximum from 14 to 21.

The fine-tuning doesn’t end there, either:

We’re introducing a brand new Customization Item attribute to various Pro Tier items. The ‘Special Edition’ attribute reworks an item into an alternate version of itself that still supports Painted attribute colors. Several of the Pro Tier Wheels in Rocket Pass 2 — ‘Gripstride HX,’ ‘Rocket Forge II’ and ‘Sprocket’ — support the Special Edition attribute; any time you unlock one from a Pro Tier, you’ll have a 25% chance to receive the Special Edition version. You can see an awesome example of a Special Edition item in the screenshot below.

Will you be starting your engine on-field to check out the new rocket pass? Tell us below.

We’ve seen plenty of companies already trying to emulate the success of the Nintendo Switch with their own unique accessories and video game devices, and it looks like this trend won’t be dying down any time soon.

Chinese technology company Xiaomi has announced the Gamepad 2.0 – a successor to the original accessory that launched for its Black Shark smartphone in April. Android Authority draws comparisons to the Switch Joy-Con controllers. The original model of the Gamepad only attached a single controller to the left side of the phone.

The 2.0 revision includes a joystick and four-button control pad on the left, much like the left Joy-Con. On the right, it has traditional ABXY buttons and a touchpad. Both sides of the accessory include trigger buttons and triangular-shaped buttons at the bottom. Its buttons are even mappable. The accessory will be available on the company’s official website for €79/£79/$89.

This isn’t the first time a Chinese company has drawn inspiration from the Nintendo Switch. In October, Huawei revealed “the best portable mobile gaming machine” for $1,000. The mobile phone, known as the Mate20 X, has an optional gamepad that can be attached to the left-hand side of the phone to provide analog and control pad support, while the right side of the phone is reliant on touchscreen control. At the time of the announcement, Huawei called out the Switch as its biggest competitor on the gaming front.

Turning our attention back to Xiaomi’s Gamepad 2.0, in all honesty, it doesn’t look like it’s much of a threat. As for the mobile in general, we’re mostly just surprised more prominent manufacturers haven’t tried to recreate the magic of the Switch Joy-Con with their own accessories.

What do you think of Xiamoi’s Gamepad revision? Do you think mobile accessories like this could eventually be serious competition for the Switch? Tell us below.

Last week during the 2018 Game Awards, Ed Boon – one of the co-creators of the Mortal Kombat series – walked up on stage and surprised everyone with the reveal of the 11th entry in the series. Apart from the overly violent announcement trailer above, which has received much criticism online for not including the series’ iconic music, there’s not much else known about the title.

Now, DualShockers is reporting how GameStop Italy has revealed some early details about the upcoming release, ahead of schedule. Underneath the Premium Edition listing, there’s a description explaining a bit more about what to expect from the next game in the series.

Mortal Kombat 11 will be running on an entirely new engine and there’ll be new customisation for clothing, accessories and move sets. In addition to this is a new fatality system and a ‘GoreTech’ system which will make executions even more brutal than previously. The game also promises to include a strong multiplayer component and cater to the eSports crowd with improved match-making, personalisation systems, daily news and updated rewards.

As DualShockers notes, the game’s developer NetherRealm hasn’t officially mentioned the new fighting system yet, so apart from the vague description provided by GameStop, it’s not clear how it will work. Based on the current information, it is suspected to work in conjunction with the iconic fatality system. Alongside this apparent leak, was a new image for the pre-order bonus Shao Kahn. Check it out below:

A community reveal event for MK11 will take place on 17th January 2019. Will you be picking up this game when it is released on 23rd April next year? Leave a comment below.