In case you missed it, or are still on the fence about whether or not Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Let’s Go, Eevee! is right for you, Nintendo recently uploaded a comprehensive overview trailer reintroducing the Kanto region, along with the new – and old – wonders that await.
The clip runs for close to six minutes and in that time covers wild Pokémon encounters, trading, battles and the local and online features. There’s also a section of the overview towards the end that details the connectivity between Let’s Go and Pokémon GO. Be aware though, there might be some minor spoilers throughout if you haven’t played much of the game yet, or have gone out of your way to avoid online footage.
As a bonus, the famous Pokémon theme song (from the anime) has been uploaded by The Pokémon Company, using footage captured from the two new entries in the long-running series. Again, there may be spoilers throughout.
“Get ready for an all-new adventure with a familiar song, Trainers! Revisiting Kanto with Pikachu and Eevee has us feeling nostalgic, so we decided to take a walk down memory lane. Sing along if you know the words (who doesn’t?!) and get ready to team up with Pikachu or Eevee in Pokémon: Let’s Go.”
So, when do we get a video based on the Pokémon rap?
How are you enjoying Pokémon: Let’s Go so far? Did you learn anything new from the above trailers? Can you sing the theme song from start to finish? Tell us below.
It’s been a while, but the ace attorney Phoenix Wright appears to finally be returning to the courtroom. Following Capcom’s September announcement the original game trilogy – Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, Justice For All and Trials and Tribulations – would be released on the Switch in 2019, First 4 Figures has now shared new information about the popular character.
Known for creating premium quality figures based on iconic video game stars, F4F have released a teaser trailer revealing a Phoenix Wright statue based on the same character from the 2013 3DS release, Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies. Pre-orders for this statue will go live next week on 23rd November.
Is this the F4F statue you’ve been holding out for? Take a look at the trailer above and tell us if you have any objections.
Damien has over a decade of professional writing experience under his belt, as well as a repulsively hairy belly. Rumours that he turned down a role in The Hobbit to work on Nintendo Life are, to the best of our knowledge, completely and utterly unfounded.
Footage of a high-ranking executive publicly cursing at workers is definitely not something we expect to see from a company as concerned with its family-friendly image as Nintendo, but while it was shocking to see Nintendo RU General Manager Yasha Haddaji meltdown in front of the camera, those who had previously worked at Nintendo’s Russian office will have sighed in relief. The behaviour of Haddaji and the conditions under his rule have been privately discussed by current and former staff for years. Now, it’s all out in the open.
As Thursday’s video went viral, many of these people, driven by sense of justice, have finally decided to open up to the media. Nintendo Life has spoken to several former Nintendo RU employees as well as contractors responsible for the now-infamous 2017 Mario Kart 8 Deluxe stream and has checked the revelations which have been made to Russian media outlets. It’s depressing and often shocking reading and sadly comes at a time when Nintendo’s presence in Russia is finally amounting to something.
“When I saw the video, I teared up in happiness,” said one of former Nintendo RU employee on condition of anonymity. “He has always managed to shift the blame on others, but this time, he’s finally accountable for all the torture he put his employees through.”
This individual, as well as every other one Nintendo Life has discussed the topic with, confirmed that what was seen on the video is by no means a one-time issue. They said that for Haddaji, seemingly minor mistakes on their part were the cause of seismic tantrums, many of which led to chaotic and violent reactions. More than one staffer recounted Haddaji throwing a keyboard against the desk, punching computers and even emptying a trash can into an employee’s desk drawer.
Haddaji was also known to react with other forms of abuse as well as physical violence. More than one of the people who spoke to recall an employee leaving their PC unattended and being punished with an email sent from their address. On behalf of a person not locking the system, Haddaji sent a “party invitation with free booze for all” to the entire branch’s staff.
Bad language and slurs were also used on a regular basis, we were told. Allegedly, Haddaji’s most favourite term of abuse deserves special attention: a man of a French origin, he was noted calling everyone he didn’t like “gypsies.”
Haddaji’s unpredictable behaviour has cultivated a sense of fear within Nintendo RU, with people crying in bathrooms after meetings being a common occurrence. “When I was walking around the office in heels, the colleagues asked me to change the footwear, as the sound was too similar to the sound of Yasha approaching them,” remembers another person we spoke to.
The way he behaved with the staff drastically differs from the public image Haddaji tries to build amongst Russian Nintendo fans. But, on the spur of the moment, he could express the same behaviour to Nintendo RU’s partners — like people organising the Level Up 2017 event, which included the stream.
“He said he will sue me, then grabbed my badge like a noose, trying to rip it off,” said a person organising the stream and Mario Kart tournament. “I immediately grabbed him by his hand, and we had quite an interesting conversation afterwards. This was just by the scene, and everyone saw the conflict. He has no business being an executive — sooner or later, he’ll just hit someone with something heavy.”
When you consider these horrendous working conditions, what made people stay at Nintendo RU as long as they did? In most cases, it was either because of a passion for Nintendo or a higher-than-usual salary. What’s worth noting is, these two points were mutually exclusive in the company, with Nintendo RU — as said by another former worker — “leeching off” Nintendo fans.
“He’s paying far less to those who came working for Nintendo out of their passion for its franchises and the community,” we were told. “The less you give a s**t about Nintendo, the higher your wage.” Checking this statement against other ex-employees, we determined that, in some cases, the difference was up to 100 percent. “That job almost entirely deterred me from [Nintendo’s] products,” it was added.
In Russian media, some former workers have also anonymously accussed Haddaji of sexual harassment, with Nintendo Life sources citing the rumours as coming from within the Nintendo RU team. Russian gaming outlet Kanobu yesterday published the story of another person who has come forward.
“Clearly, he couldn’t hit on his female subordinates the way everyone could see —after all, he’s married, and that could jeopardise his marriage.” (Recently, Haddaji has divorced, according to people familiar with his social status.) “But he personally harassed me, and I’m sure the fact he achieved nothing got him riled up. There was no physical abuse, but I did experience a psychological one,” cites the Kanobu article.
Workers’ statements about alleged sexual harassment, published by Russian gaming outlet GameGuru, also raise eyebrows. According to their interview with several employees, when hiring Haddaji tries to pick good-looking women, as he believes they don’t tend to argue with superiors. While sources deny rumours of sexual harassment, the article says he made one of his subordinates call him “daddy Yasha”, and, according to Nintendo Life sources, raunchy jokes and ambiguous touches were experienced by many Nintendo RU female staff.
“Personally, I can note he was touching me during discussions, but I’ve always kept my distance,” says Miroslava Basnak, a former Nintendo RU employee who agreed to share her name with us as part of this investigation. “He checked every social network for my profiles, called me into his office, asked me to make them private and to delete ‘photos with bitchy context’ he was pointing at. After I’d suspended my profiles, he found another one of mine, called me, and said, ‘What else I don’t know about your social life?’ I wanted to quit at once, but my relatives persuaded me to wait and see whether things will get okay,” she explains.
Another person suggests her refusal to meet with Haddaji outside of work cost her a job at Nintendo. “Once he said he wanted to ‘make me the best manager,’ so he invited me to ‘hang out somewhere like friends,’ as he wanted to tell me something. The day we agreed me on, I’ve told I was sick. A short while after, he said I dumped him, and told me to look for another job. The moment I’ve asked for a compensation, he threatened to ruin my career, making it so no one would hire me.”
Being afraid for their future careers in case of breaking the news is a feeling every respondent was sharing, with some sort of stigma around specifics. The user also tells about an investigation team from Nintendo of Europe who was supposed to react to some incidents but ultimately never came to Nintendo RU. Sources said to Nintendo Life they did hear of a secretly recorded audio sent to Europe in 2013 or 2014, and confirmed the story was ultimately “swept under a rug.”
GameGuru reported earlier this week that when they tried to call Nintendo RU, they spoke to a man with a ‘French accent’, who said, “There aren’t any Yashas and never were. You should call the office.” The next time, a Nintendo representative told the reporter Haddaji couldn’t be reached, as he was “on a workshop.” On Friday, Kanobu reported that Haddaji has been ordered by his superiors not to comment on the situation.
Five people who agreed to talk with us were working at or with Nintendo RU during various periods of time from 2015 to 2017, with hearsay of disgruntled employees trying to report to the European office dating back as far as five years ago. And with new workers replacing old ones broken by the harsh environment, those who quit earlier are constantly surprised by how harsher Haddaji has become in the last few years.
In the process of putting together this investigation, we approached Nintendo of Europe for a statement, and were issued with the following:
We are aware of a video uploaded to YouTube recently in which Nintendo Russia’s General Manager, Yasha Haddaji, is seen losing his temper during an altercation with an external vendor in charge of a Mario Kart livestream. Mr Haddaji’s conduct and choice of words are most certainly not in line with our company values.
We are also aware of further allegations that have appeared in the wake of this video and are now running a thorough investigation. We take these matters extremely seriously and will not comment further while we are running our investigation.
We still don’t quite know who uploaded a year-old live stream recording, or why. Was it a malcontent Nintendo fan, an employee crying for help, or was it the result of a cooperation between the two? Either way, the result is presumably the one they were after; the video made the world look at the beloved company with fresh eyes, and will hopefully lead to a change of leadership within Nintendo’s Russian office.
Another Saturday is now upon us, bringing with it another chance to sit down and play some of our favourite games. This weekend just so happens to see the release of one of the biggest games of the year for Nintendo, and it therefore comes as very little surprise that almost the entire team is getting stuck into a new pocket monster-catching adventure. Feel free to read our entries discussing Pokémon, Pokémon, and Pokémon below, and get involved via our poll and comments section below. Enjoy!
Liam Doolan, news reporter
Like many other Switch owners, this weekend I’m playing Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! Based on the four hours I’ve spent with the game so far, I’m rather enjoying the overall simplicity of the title. While not everyone might feel the same way, I think it’s a pleasant change of pace from the usual games that do require a lot more effort to play.
Right now, I’m on the outskirts of Mt. Moon. My current party is comprised of Pikachu, Ivysaur, Charmander, Magikarp, Chansey and Nidorina. I love how you can easily swap out Pokémon with the quick-access box. It’s a lot better than having to find a PC on a regular basis. Generally, I like all the adjustments that make the game a lot more streamlined. Seeing Pokémon follow my character and waiting for rarer ones to spawn in the wild has also been a thrill – as is catching the tiny and big versions of each monster. I could harp on all day about how fantastic my journey through the Kanto region has been so far, but I’ll leave it at that for now. You’ll no doubt hear more about my adventures in the coming weeks.
Gavin Lane, contributing writer
Which titan of business was it who uttered the line ‘Sleep is for wimps’? Gordon Gekko? Derek Trotter? Regardless, I’ll be channelling the sentiment as Civilization VI devours my weekend. A fully fledged portable Civ is an exciting prospect, but it was a colossal time-sink when shackled to a PC – now nowhere is safe. So, you’ll find me empire-building on the bus, in the bath and in bed. Look forward to a full report next week. Until then, bonjour.
N.B. Yeah, Del-Boy said the sleep thing.
Steve Bowling, US editor
This weekend I’ll be joining Pokémon trainers the world over in returning to the Kanto region. I had a hard time deciding on whether I’m Team Eevee or Team Pikachu, but ultimately nostalgia won out and I settled on Team Pikachu. I’m far from the fresh-faced youngster I was when the Generation 1 games launched, but they still hold a special place in my heart. Every time I’ve played the games at a prerelease event, I couldn’t help but smile. Now that it’s finally here, I can’t wait to enjoy the full experience. Now if you’ll excuse me, there’s a truck I need to look for Mew under.
Ryan Craddock, staff writer
Get ready to gasp and revolt in absolute shock as I reveal that I too will probably end up playing Pokémon this weekend. I was the poor soul responsible for putting far too many hours into it over the few days before release to bring you our definitive verdict (you can read my review right here) so my remaining tasks are finishing off the PokéDex and taking on those pesky Master Trainers.
I was also incredibly excited to start transferring my Pokémon GO catches onto my Switch, only to discover that my phone doesn’t seem to be supported – so no Meltan for me. Do I look around for a new phone to get that sorted, or is that going ridiculously overboard? Things we gamers do, huh?
Austin Voigt, contributing writer
I am playing Pokémon, and only Pokémon. Okay, maybe also some Splatoon 2. But mostly just Pokémon. I went to pick up my Pikachu edition at the midnight release last night, got home, and promptly passed out before even starting the game because I have recently become old and tired. But now I need to make up for that lost time, so the rest of this weekend, I will be in Kanto (with some yerba mate so that I don’t fall asleep again).
Dom Reseigh-Lincoln, reviewer
By the sheer power of my will (and the boring responsibilities of being a grown up) I won’t be playing Pokémon: Let’s Go Pikachu/Eevee this weekend. Instead, I’ll be taking the multiplayer melee racing of Collidalot for a spin for review.
There have also been some new updates to Paladins, so what better time to resume my healthy love for this bombastic hero shooter? God help my free time…
Gonçalo Lopes, contributing writer
This weekend I will actually try something out of my comfort zone, a Pokémon game – I went with team Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! It’ll be my second game of the franchise after Pokkén Tournament. I will hopefully at long last ‘get it’ and become one with the rest of the Pokémon loving crowds. I’ll also be working my way through some Starlink: Battle for Atlas and Valkyria Chronicles 4.
Sometimes you don’t really notice how much you miss something until it somehow makes its way back into your life along with a nostalgia overdose and GRIP is exactly that. Super fast, over the top, loud soundtrack arcade racing action where every side is up. I hope to put a few tournaments in this weekend.
My game of the week is Super Hydorah, the greatest Gradius game Konami never made. So very happy to at long last play the Locomalito and Gryzor87 shmup love letter on Nintendo hardware.
Which games are you playing this weekend? (94 votes)
Red is a character who surely needs no introduction to Pokémon fans. Red was the original character from the very first Game Boy entries, and has become something of an icon for veteran players.
Red appears in Pokémon: Let’s Go, but is only found in one location: Indigo Plateau.
Don’t expect Red to simply appear, though – he will only battle the most worthy trainers. You’ll need to have beaten at least 6 Master Trainers (the guys stood around Kanto in green coats).
When you’ve done this, Red will appear outside the Pokémon League in the Indigo Plateau. His team is made up of level 85 monsters, and consists of Pikachu, Machamp, Arcanine, Lapras, Snorlax and Venusaur.
if you defeat Red, you’ll earn the title Battle Master.
The latest update for Rayark’s Switch launch title VOEZ has added 11 new songs. As announced by publisher Flyhigh Works, version 1.5 of the game – which is out now – increases the total amount to 185 tracks. Like previous updates, this latest one is also entirely free. You can have a listen to all of the new songs in the clip above.
If you’re unfamiliar with this release, it started out as a free-to-play mobile title and was eventually ported across to the Switch eShop in 2017. This game is controlled entirely by the touchscreen and was the first Switch release that could only be played in handheld mode. Unlike its mobile counterpart, the Switch version will set you back a reasonable sum, which is quite fair considering how many free tracks have been added to the game since it arrived on Nintendo’s hybrid platform.
Have you downloaded VOEZ on Switch? Are you enjoying these free updates? Tell us below.
Three indie gems will be transformed into physical Nintendo Switch releases in 2019. Video game distributor and producer Special Reserve Games has revealed it is teaming up with Devolver Digital to release hard copies of Downwell, The Messenger and Minit. Below is the official confirmation:
As noted in the fine print above, existing Special Reserve customers will be offered early-bird availability. The distributor was previously responsible for the physical release of Enter the Gungeon on Switch – a game also published by Devolver Digital.
At this point in time, there’s no word on when exactly these games will be made available next year or how much each one will cost. Hopefully, there’ll be a bundle arrangement of sorts, allowing fans of these titles to purchase all three in a single transaction. It’s also worth noting Downwell has not even been released digitally on the eShop yet. When it does eventually arrive, it will include TATE mode to play the game vertically.
Have you been holding out for these physical releases? Tell us below.
As 2018 wraps up, the award shows begin. While we wait for the votes at The Game Awards to be tallied, over in the UK, Square Enix’s Octopath Traveler has been crowned ‘Nintendo Game of the Year’ at the 2018 Golden Joystick Awards.
The London-based awards show covered 23 different categories, with the majority of votes made by the global gaming public. Most of the other categories were for games exclusive to other platforms, but a few titles that also call the Switch home did get a mention.
Dead Cells by Motion Twin took out the ‘Best Indie Game’ category and Epic’s Fortnite scored the ‘Ultimate Game of the Year’ award and ‘Best Competitive Game’ on the side. In terms of Nintendo’s market competitors, the top PlayStation game was God of War and Forza Horizon 4 won the Xbox category. Capcom’s Monster Hunter: World was recognised as the ‘Best Cooperative Game’ and Dark Souls creator Hidetaka Miyazaki received a lifetime achievement award.
The Golden Joystick Awards first began in 1983 and have since gone on to become the world’s largest public-voted gaming awards brand. You can watch a replay over on Twitch and check out the full list of winners below:
Best Storytelling: God of War
Best Competitive Game: Fortnite Battle Royale
Best Cooperative Game: Monster Hunter: World
Best Visual Design: God of War
Best Indie Game: Dead Cells
Best Audio: God of War
Still Playing Award: World of Tanks
Best Performer: Bryan Dechart, Detroit: Become Human
Esports Game of the Year: Overwatch
Best VR Game: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR
Studio of the Year: SIE Santa Monica Studio
Best New Streamer / Broadcaster: Bryan Dechart and Amelia Rose Blaire
Mobile Game of the Year: PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds Mobile
PC Game of the Year: Subnautica
PlayStation Game of the Year: God of War
Xbox Game of the Year: Forza Horizon 4
Nintendo Game of the Year: Octopath Traveler
Breakthrough Award: Unknown Worlds
Most Wanted Game: Cyberpunk 2077
Critics Choice Award: Red Dead Redemption 2
Lifetime Achievement Award: Hidetaka Miyazaki
Outstanding Contribution: Xbox Adaptive Controller
It’s that time, once again, when shoppers around the world prepare to brave the crowds in search of bargains. The Black Friday festivities are mostly based in crowded stores, though plenty of deals can also be hunted down online. For gamers, it’s often a time of year for stocking up on goodies ahead of the festive season; the official day is Friday, 23rd November, but discounts arrive over the broader Black Friday ‘weekend’.
This year we’re expecting to find some bargains on Nintendo Switch console bundles, as well as games. Nintendo will also be keen to see families pick up older stock such as 3DS games and of course 2DS console bundles to play the games on. There will likely also be lots of great deals on accessories and of course, those lovely micro SD cards to boost your Switch storage will likely be on sale too.
We’ve compiled some of the best deals and most useful links for Black Friday so far; we’ll be updating frequently so be sure to bookmark this page if you’re keen to find a bargain.
We’ll be updating this guide every few hours as the discounts pick up speed.
Please note that some of the links on this page are affiliate links. If you click them and make a purchase we may receive a small percentage of the sale which helps support the site. Please read our FTC Disclosure for more information.
Here are some quick links to UK retailers with the biggest deals:
When Is Black Friday 2018?
The big day is set for Friday, 23rd November – a day after Thanksgiving in the US. That said, there are pre-Black Friday deals, especially online; we’ll report some of the better deals in news articles. Cyber Monday is also a time for discounts, which will take place on Monday, 26th November.
As always, point us to any great deals that are missing, and we’ll update this guide right up to and during the big day as more discount deals go live.
