Category: Nintendo News

This year will be the fifth edition of The Game Awards and the focus is on making it bigger and better. The event organisers intend to do this by expanding the show’s reach across multiple digital platforms, bringing back the live orchestra and allowing new ways for viewers to vote and interact. That’s not all, though.

In a brief promo video posted on Geoff Keighley’s Twitter account, the one and only host revealed more new games than ever before would be announced at the show. His tweet was a tad more precise, revealing more than ten games are expected. Take a look at the full clip in the tweet below:

In September, Keighley posted a photo on his own Twitter account with Nintendo’s Reggie Fils-Aimé and celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck. Of course, because Reggie was wearing a shirt with a Metroid logo on it at the time, this fueled speculation Metroid Prime 4 would be revealed at this year’s Game Awards. The event is scheduled to take place on 6th December.

In case you missed it, be sure to check out the full list of nominations. Octopath Traveler is up for three awards and Nintendo is set to take out the best family game award.

Do you think Metroid Prime 4 could be one of these “new” games announced, or even showcased? What other Switch related announcements would you like to hear? Tell us below.

In addition to Nyko’s Dualies – a pair of Joy-Con alternatives due out next month – the third-party gaming accessory manufacturer has revealed it will be releasing a number of other products for the Nintendo Switch before the end of the year. The entire range can be pre-ordered from Nyko’s website and Amazon.

First up we have the Charge Base Plus – a charging dock for the Poké Ball Plus priced at $14.99. It’s powered by a Type-C USB cable and allows the ball to be charged when it’s not being used. It also comes with a carry case, providing increased protection when you’re in transit. Take a look below:

For the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate enthusiasts, Nyko will be offering two handy adapters for the Switch. The first is the four port Retro Controller Hub. As you can probably tell, this is based on the design of the official GameCube adapter and allows GameCube controllers to be used while playing the Switch. Much like the actual product, it connects to the system via USB. It will also set you back $14.99. The other product priced at $9.99 is the Retro Controller Adapter. This is a single-port adapter for one GameCube controller. Check out both of these items below:

Finally, to go alongside the Dualies, we have the Wireless Core Controller, which will be available in Clear, Red, Blue, Purple and Green for $29.99. It’s a relatively straightforward gamepad at an affordable price. Here’s a look at all of the different colours:

Would you be interested in any of these Nyko accessories? How about the wireless gamepad? Tell us below.

Despite Nintendo’s strong hardware sales as we enter this year’s holiday period, there are a number of analysts who believe the Japanese company will fall short of its target to ship 38 million units by March 2019.

According to the average of eight analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg, the Switch is on track to ship 35 million units by March next year. It is not as devastating as it sounds, as it is only three million behind Nintendo’s forecast.

The same article by Bloomberg goes on to share the analysts’ insights. Despite a second year for Nintendo that apparently failed to live up to expectations, according to Cornelio Ash – an analyst at William O’Neil & Co. in Los Angeles – the majority of analysts tracked by Bloomberg still recommend buying stock.

Analysts called out Nintendo Labo as the biggest disappointment for the company this year, even though Nintendo’s President Shuntaro Furukawa said it would take time to see if the product delivered.

Michael Pachter, an analyst at Wedbush Securities Inc., said this year was a “reality check” for the Kyoto-based company, further explaining how the system was still primarily considered as an expensive handheld device.

Price cuts were Pachter’s solution, with reference made to how 3DS sales returned to form when prices on the system were slashed by 40 percent just five months after launch. It is worth noting, the 15 percent price cut on the Wii U was not enough to save it.

Another suggestion was to introduce different models, catering to multiple age groups. Credit Suisse Group AG thinks a revision of the hardware could go on sale as early as next year, with an announcement likely to occur any time before mid-2019. Unsurprisingly, strong game sales were also acknowledged as a way of regaining sales momentum in the new year.

Yesterday, it was revealed Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Let’s Go was the fourth best-selling product during the Black Friday sales. Adobe has now released information to highlight the most popular products in the US on Cyber Monday. In more positive news for Nintendo, the Switch was the third best-selling product on the list.

This information is once again sourced from Adobe Analytics, which analyses “billions of data points across the Adobe Experience Cloud” to collect insights for online retail and e-commerce. The company shared a tool as well which displays these recent online sales trends for Cyber Monday. Here it is below:

As you’ll notice, the Nintendo Switch was only video game console in the top five, managing to outperform other tech devices such as laptops (specifically Dell and Apple) and LG televisions. Ahead of it was L.O.L Surprise and Fingerlings – toys marketed towards children. The Switch also took out fourth place a few days before this, on Small Business Saturday.

After Pokémon made it onto the Black Friday sales chart in fourth place, it’s not all that surprising to see the Switch has had good sales during this period as well. As Twinfinite notes, there’s no guarantee this will make the Switch the most popular video game system during this period, as the above information is limited to online sales data. The NPD is expected to have the results revealing how exactly the Switch performed this holiday season in December.

Did you expect the Switch and its games library to sell well during this period? Did you pick up any Nintendo products yourself over the past week? Tell us below.

Mario Tennis Aces is receiving a pretty substantial update at the end of this week, introducing new games, tweaking the online tournament mode, and changing the abilities of multiple characters.

In the Online Tournament, a player’s ability will be classed by four ranks (A, B, C, D) based on a player’s rating, with those at similar ranks being more likely to face one another. All current five-round tournaments have been changed to three rounds, play time has been changed from “two-game, one-set match” to “first to win two games” (with a tiebreaker being needed when each player wins one game), and you’ll soon be able to remove the mast on the Savage Sea court with a “Hazards Off” setting.

The player ranking system really comes into effect in December; as a new month starts, a player’s initial rating will change based on their play results from the previous month. December also sees the addition of Doubles Class in Online Tournament, with two teams of two being made up of either two people sharing a Switch, friends playing together online, or two strangers of similar ability.

Elsewhere, the second Co-op Challenge, Yoshi’s Ring Shot, will begin. This game will be available from 1st December to 10th January 2019 and features four-player teams (either friends or online players). You can acquire Yoshis of different colours (blue, red, and yellow) by completing objectives. Also, Boo Hunter will be added to Swing Mode and will support both co-op and competitive styles.

On top of all this, numerous small tweaks have been made to the shot system and character abilities. If you play with Mario, Bowser, Waluigi, Peach, Toadette, Boo, Blooper, or Koopa, you might want to check out Version 2.1.0’s full patch notes.

The majority of this update will go live on Friday 30th November, with those December-specific changes coming immediately afterwards. Will you be jumping online to check out the changes? Let us know below.

While we’re still to find out when the game will actually be launching in the west, more and more details are slowly but surely being shared about Dragon Quest Builders 2. A recent interview in Famitsu magazine has continued this trend, revealing that the game will feature cross-platform elements.

Those elements mostly come in the form of the new game’s Bulletin Board system, which allows you to share screenshots and blueprints for building designs with other users. Rather than being restricted to each individual console, the Bulletin will be updated simultaneously across both PS4 and Switch. In the interview, the developers state that “you can also use islands made from both hardware too”.

Elsewhere, the interview reveals how series creator Yuji Horii helped in setting the vision for the title overall, with a focus on sticking true to the original being key to development.

“When we couldn’t decide on how to make Dragon Quest Builders 2, it was Yuji Horii who told me ‘Players that liked the first game will purchase 2 so you can’t change its foundation, if it comes out as something else they’ll be let down,’ and that really cleared up my troubles. From that day onward, we went with a powered up version of the first game. Up until then it was really rough.”

Of course, we recently learned a little more about the game’s multiplayer aspect too, with up to four players able to work together to gather, craft and build much quicker. Early signs are suggesting that this sequel will be a rather hefty step up from the original; we’ll have to wait until we can get our hands on it to know for sure.

Dragon Quest Builders 2 is still set for release in Japan on 20th December; other regions are expected to receive the game in 2019.

Are you excited for this one?

Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition has just received its first English-language story trailer and, being the lovely folk that we are (and also just doing our job), we’ve shared it with you wonderful readers above for all to see.

The trailer first appeared in Japan a couple of weeks ago, but this re-release comes with an extra portion of English subtitles to help fans understand what’s actually going on. If you’ve missed the news on this one, the definitive edition of the game includes an up-scaled screen resolution and characters, events, and costumes that have never been released outside of Japan. It also introduces two new playable party members – Flynn Scifo, the main character’s best friend and rival, and Patty Fleur, a young pirate searching for her lost memories.

A couple of months ago, Bandai Namco also shared a tease for the game’s upcoming steelbook special edition. If that’s not enough for you, a gorgeous anniversary bundle was revealed soon after; the product has been floating in and out of stock since its announcement, however, so getting your hands on one might be tricky.

The game launches on 11th January 2019. Will you be trying to get your hands on a copy? Tell us below.

With Black Friday sales dominating the retail space last week, it’s unsurprising to learn that the charts have seen a bit of change this time around. Discounted games and those found tucked inside console bundles saw huge leaps across the board as consumers spent £53 million in total on physical gaming products.

FIFA 19 has jumped right back into the UK number one spot this week after being discounted and included inside an appealing PS4 bundle deal. With Nintendo Switch still being a relatively new console, discounts were nowhere near as frequent as on other machines, pushing multiple PS4 and Xbox One titles up several places to dominate the top ten.

Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! fell four places down to eighth (the Eevee version dropped a little further to 18th), but Nintendo’s evergreen titles did actually see a very decent rise in sales, even if this didn’t result in high chart positioning. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe rose 98% in sales; Super Mario Party rose by 110%, sitting in 24th; Super Mario Odyssey is just below in 25th, also seeing sales rise by 110%; and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild rose by 111%, clinching 38th spot.

Here’s a look at this week’s top ten all formats chart (physical sales only):

1. (5) FIFA 19
2. (7) Call of Duty: Black Ops 4
3. (2) Red Dead Redemption 2
4. (New) Battlefield V
5. (11) Forza Horizon 4
6. (13) Spider-Man
7. (3) Fallout 76
8. (4) Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu!
9. (1) Spyro Reignited Trilogy
10. (9) Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

< Last week’s charts

Did you buy any of these chart-topping games this week? Manage to snag any Black Friday bargains? Let us know down below.

Sports Interactive and SEGA have revealed that Football Manager 2019 Touch has just launched on Nintendo Switch in Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. North American fans will get the game slightly later on 6th December.

The Football Manager franchise made its debut on Switch earlier this year with Football Manager Touch 2018 (despite its flaws, we couldn’t help but feel it was still a good choice for Switch-exclusive footie fans) but this new title is said to bring “improvements and enhancements across the board”. We have a lovely list of features and screenshots for you to check out below.

FEATURES:

– TACTICAL STYLES: Take a ready-made path to success with new, off-the-shelf tactical pre-sets including ‘Gegenpress’, ‘Tiki-Taka’ and ‘Catenaccio’.
– TRAINING REVAMP: The revamped training module is not only fresh andsimplified, but is also a realistic representation of how clubs develop younger players and prepare the first-team for individual fixtures and the season ahead.
– NEW MANAGER INDUCTIONS: Kick start your managerial career with a primer on the management fundamentals, designed to guide and elevate new managers towards success.
– REFRESHED USER INTERFACE: A fresh lick of paint and a host of small, but meaningful changes ensure that FM19 Touch is the best-looking version of the game ever made.
– WILLKOMMEN BUNDESLIGA: The top two divisions of German football make their debut in Football Manager 2019 Touch, which means that both the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 feature official club badges, kits and player faces as well as their respective trophies.

The game is now live on the eShop, available for £29.99.

Are you a fan of the beautiful game? Will you be tucking into Football Manager’s tactical delights today? Let us know in the comments.