Category: Nintendo News

Following on from news that 3D Avenue’s colourful platformer Spectrum is wiggling its way onto Nintendo Switch, publisher Digerati has now revealed an extra special addition to sweeten the deal – a new Race mode that’s exclusive to Ninty’s handheld machine.

This new local multiplayer model will enable you and a mate (or a passing stranger, if that’s your thing) to race head-to-head in a splitscreen battle. With the same colourful, abstract design to its levels, you’ll also be able to take on your opponent with a split Joy-Con (so there’s no need to invest in a Pro Controller or a second set of Joy-Cons). No news yet on an exact release date for the Nintendo Switch version, but we’ll keep you posted as soon as we know more.

Will you be swimming, diving and wriggling your way to ambient victory in Spectrum on Switch? Share your thoughts on this lil’ indie offering below…

Following a run of success on mobile since its original release back in 2012 – and a 2015 port on Wii U – puzzle adventure Nihilumbra is set to make its way to Nintendo Switch next month. Barcelona-based BeautiFun Games will be handling its own port, which will arrive on the Switch eShop on 3rd May.

The original gameplay, which uses colours and shades to affect the environment and solve puzzles, will arrive intact on Switch and you can pre-purchase the title on 19th April with a price tag of €6.99/£5.99/$7.99 (from 3pm CEST / 6am PDT). No word yet if the game will feature the Wii U-specific co-op mode, though.

Will you be picking up Nihilumbra on Nintendo Switch next month? Did you play the original on mobile or Wii U? Share your thoughts with the community below…

Following a listing by the Australian Classification Board – which all but confirmed its existence – Saber Interactive has finally made it official. NBA Playgrounds 2 is coming to Nintendo Switch, although it’s currently got a vague 2018 release window attached.

The original NBA Playgrounds – which offered a cross between NBA Street and NBA Jam – had a troubled start on Switch, but it’s silly, over-the-top basketball antics was still a hoot when it came together. The sequel promises to take that same two-on-two setup with a fresh set of NBA legends and current ballers (over 200 in total). There are also plenty of new modes on offer:

Playgrounds Championship mode introduces a new worldwide ranked league system, featuring multiple competitive solo and co-op division ladders for players to climb. Season mode is a new single-player experience that recreates the feeling of leading a team through the regular season, playoffs, and, ultimately, the NBA Championship itself. There’s also improved matchmaking with dedicated servers, the arrival of four-player online matches, the return of three-point contests, custom matches, and more – pick your team and play without limits!

NBA Playgrounds 2 is slated for a 2018 release on Nintendo Switch. Will you be picking up a copy later this year, or have the various issues with the original made you stick with NBA 2K18? Share your thoughts below…  

Bandai Namco has revealed that Dark Souls: Remastered on Switch has been delayed until the summer, along with the special Solaire amiibo.

The May 25th release date still applies to the other versions, however. It would seem that whatever issue has occurred, it only impacts the Switch edition.

With no solid release date being confirmed, we could potentially see quite a lengthy delay for this one. Hopefully it’s not so serious that we have to wait several months before we get to play Dark Souls on the move.

Did you have this one pencilled into your May schedule? How do you feel about the delay? Let us know with a comment.

If there’s one thing we know for sure about Pokémon on the Switch, it’s that it’s definitely happening. In fact, The Pokémon Company already announced it back in 2017, during the E3 Nintendo Direct.

The initial rumours predicted it would be Pokémon Stars, an ultimate version of Pokémon Sun and Moon. But the subsequent launch of Ultra Sun and Moon on the 3DS combined with comments made by The Pokémon Company have resulted in a move away from that rumour.

Here, we’re going to round up everything we know about the elusive Pokémon Switch in one place to whet your appetites. We’ll keep this updated as we learn more, so it might be worth bookmarking so you don’t miss anything.

Pokémon Switch will mark the start of Generation Eight

In a recent issue of the Official Nintendo Magazine, The Pokémon Company confirmed that Pokémon Switch will mark the debut of Generation Eight. That pretty much confirms that it’s a brand new entry, given how each of them have introduced a new generation into the mix so far.

What it also suggests is that we’ll visit a brand new region, too. Again, each new entry in the Pokémon games has so far introduced a new region alongside a new generation.

Pokémon Switch will feature new mechanics

Also revealed in the issue of Official Nintendo Magazine, is that Pokémon Switch will feature all new mechanics. The Pokémon Company confirmed that it’s rethinking the series entirely to provide a new way to play.

That’s all we know at a factual level, but our brains are already whirring at the possibilities. Will this be Pokémon’s Breath of the Wild? We can only hope.

Pokémon Switch will likely feature multiplayer

Pokémon always feels like it should be a true co-operative multiplayer experience, but it wasn’t until Pokémon GO in 2016 that this side of the game started to bear fruit.

The Switch’s online options, while admittedly not perfect, are far and away the best Nintendo’s managed so far. That’s something the Pokémon Company is well aware of, it seems, as it said the following quote in an interview of Bloomberg: “Until now, games were made as one for one person, but now you can go home and play with everyone — so how do we tackle these themes, and how do we make sure it’s not complicated?”.

While that’s not gold-plated proof that Pokémon Switch will feature multiplayer, it does suggest that some form of it will make it into the game.

Pokémon Switch could return to the Kanto region

Though this runs counter to our first point (unless Pokémon Switch features all or returning regions alongside a new one), a leaked image did suggest a return to Kanto. It’s very blurry, but below you can see it in all its glory. In case you can’t make it out, it’s a trainer riding a Lapras through what appears to be Route 21.

However, this could be a completely different game entirely from the core Pokémon game that arrives on Switch. Perhaps this is yet another remake of Pokémon Red and Blue? Or maybe it’s fake? You decide…

Pokémon Switch could be Pokémon Stars

Though this is looking increasingly less likely as the rumour mill swirls, there is some credibility to the earlier rumours that Pokémon Switch will be an enhanced version of Pokémon Sun and Moon.

Eurogamer claimed that “multiple sources” had confirmed Pokémon Stars to them back in 2016, though didn’t cite any in particular.

The “sources” claimed that Pokémon Stars was the codename for this Pokémon Switch game, and that it would launch in 2017. Pokémon would be tradeable between the 3DS and Switch versions of the game via an app named “Pokémon Bank”. The below image of a HD Pikipek was also bandied about as evidence for a while as well.

Pokémon Stars didn’t materialise in 2017, though an enhanced version did arrive on 3DS in the form of Ultra Sun and Moon. That doesn’t mean we still won’t see Pokémon Stars on Switch, but if we do it will be entirely separate from the core Pokémon RPG. Perhaps it’s designed to bridge the gap?

When will Pokémon Switch release?

That’s the million dollar question! The Pokémon Company has stated on two different occasions that we’ll see it in “2018 or later”, which is an incredibly wide release timeline. Hopefully that will be narrowed around E3 2018.

What do you think Pokémon Switch will be like? Are you hoping for anything in particular? Would you accept a remake of Red and Blue or Sun and Moon to help make the wait more bearable? Let us know in the comments below!

The release of Nintendo Labo for Switch is right around the corner now, with Toy-Con 01 – Variety Kit and Toy-Con 02 – Robot Kit becoming available on 20th April in the US and Japan, and later on the 27th in Europe.

Now you might be wondering how Nintendo is going to manage producing all of these cardboard kits on its own. This would be a huge feat considering that it is almost a worldwide launch and we’re imagining that supply will be plentiful.

It turns out that Japanese packaging firm Rengo will be doing the honours of producing the kits for Nintendo; however, representatives from the company are being tight-lipped about details of the manufacturing for business reasons. Still, at least now we have confirmation which company is actually making the cardboard kits.

Rengo is one of the first companies within Japan to produce corrugated cardboard, and in terms of sales it is the third-largest maker of containers and packaging products in Japan. Rengo has a market value of about 250 billion yen ($2.3 billion), so it is quite the ‘mover and shaker’ in the world of cardboard and packaging.

Are you looking forward to getting your hands on Nintendo Labo soon? Let us know your thoughts about the price of cardboard with a comment below.

Russian telecommunications regulator Roskomnadzor may have gone a tad overboard while complying with court order to block Telegram messenger in the country. 

In an attempt to block servers used to circumvent the ban, Roskomnadzor blacklisted several million addresses used by Google’s and Amazon’s cloud platforms, thus impacting plenty of unrelated services – including the Nintendo Network.

Russian users are sharing screenshots of online Nintendo games failing to connect on all of three platforms running Nintendo Network. Since it’s internet providers who are setting up the blacklists, the actual number of impacted services varies by carrier. However, it seems that software which uses peer-to-peer connections, like Splatoon 2 and The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes, are the most common victims of the outage – although some users are reporting that they cannot access the Nintendo eShop, too. 

On Nintendo Switch, running the network test may show the NAT type being degraded to F, which means connection to other consoles isn’t possible. It is noted that the PlayStation Network seems to work as intended. Nintendo has acknowledged the outage on social media, but has no information to share at this time.

This is, unfortunately, not the first time Russian internet-controlling officials have accidentally blocked cloud services like AWS while trying to pin down something way more specific; we hope that Nintendo’s online services will return to normal operation soon.

Indie studio FDG Entertainment has confirmed its retro platformer Venture Kid is headed to consoles. Well, to one console, that is – and it’s only Nintendo Switch! The 8-bit throwback – which is currently in Early Access on Steam – will place you in the shoes of the titular ‘Kid’ as you battle the evil Dr. Teklov and fight your way to his giant space fortress. 

The game comes with nine levels and plenty of bosses to tackle, eight unique power-ups to… well… power you up, many secrets areas to uncover and a lovely chiptune soundtrack (for those authentic retro feels) courtesy of composer Matt Creamer (who has previously worked on Retro City Rampage, Cartoon Network Match Land and more).

The two-man studio didn’t reveal when the game will be hitting Nintendo Switch, but from what we’ve seen, it’s shaping up to be an addictive throwback and a perfect fit for Ninty’s handheld. But what do you think of it? Share your thoughts below…