Category: Nintendo News

Nintendo pays some very smart people a lot of money to promote its products, and it knows how to ‘play’ the internet and get our attention in the wrong ways. That must be the thinking behind this 1-2-Switch trailer, called “Fun for all the family this Christmas”, released by Nintendo UK.

It’s suitably cheesy, showing a typical household (albeit a surprisingly tidy one) on Christmas Day. But then the milking game comes into it, and our despair for mankind deepens.

You win, Nintendo.

Finnish studio 10tons has revealed that its “full contact tennis game” Tennis in the Face will launch on the Switch next Friday, priced $4.99.

Described as a “physics based puzzle game with slapstick humour” and boasting 120 “increasingly challenging levels”, Tennis in the Face places you in the plimsoles of former tennis star Pete Pagassi, who has “sworn to rid the city from the grasp of the corrupt energy drink manufacturer Explodz Inc”.

Our friends over at Push Square awarded it a respectable 7/10, saying:

Outside of its outlandish energy drink-inspired storyline, this is a straightforward arcade game which revels in the base appeal of hitting people with balls. Lively presentation belies comatose gameplay, but its simplicity serves as a solid palette cleanser between longer gaming rallies.

Will you be ordering in the strawberries and cream for when this launches next week? Let us know with a comment.

Sega has reduced its full year sales and profit forecasts for the current financial year amid struggles in the pachinko industry.

Full-year net sales of $3.38bn and profits of $98.1m were originally predicted by the Japanese veteran, but it has now revised these totals to $2.94bn and $44.6m respectively.

The culprit isn’t the video games business as you might have expected, but the pachinko industry. Sales are now expected to be some 30 percent below initial forecasts.

Sega’s entertainment business – which includes video games – has actually done rather well, although Sega has still lowered its game sale forecasts by $44.5m to $1.9bn. However, operating income is expected to rise by 30 percent.

It’s been something of an odd year for Sega, with Sonic Mania – which,  was arguably intended to be an appetiser between mainline Sonic games – becoming a critical and commercial hit, while Sonic Forces has suffered something of a mauling at the hands of reviewers. Sega’s other big success this year has been Total War: Warhammer 2.

Here’s the official statement issued by Sega:

As to the entertainment contents business, strong performance is evidenced by operating income as of the end of the first half surpassing the previous full year forecast and such.

Although launch of new titles for digital games field might delay compare to initial plan, several new titles include mainstay titles are scheduled to be released in packaged games and amusement machine sales field of the entertainment contents business in the second half, operating income is expected to surpass the previous forecast.

What have you made of Sega’s efforts this year? Let us know with a comment.

Time again for a look back at some retro gaming! There was a TurboGrafx-16 game that graced the Wii Virtual Console back in 2007 called J.J. & Jeff. That game was originally known as Kato-chan & Ken-chan, and was quite well-known back in Japan. The game was changed in a few key areas when brought to the West – namely the playable characters’ names and likenesses. This was because the Kato and Ken in the game were famous celebrities in Japan, and the game was based off of their TV show that was on the air when the game was made.

The show – as well as its stars – were not known outside of Japan, so the game went under the knife, as so many classic titles have, and none were the wiser. However, the game’s re-issue on Virtual Console in the Internet Age meant that people could dig up and compare the versions and learn the secret backstory to this game, and many others. Not only were the characters changed, but some of the more adult elements were taken out of the English version. The most notable is that the characters Kato and Ken go to the bathroom outdoors – a lot.

You may already know the story of how Kato-chan & Ken-chan became J.J. & Jeff. Or, you might know how one segment of their TV show became America’s Funniest Home Videos, a hit show in its own right. But, have you ever seen the show? Do you know how the show was made into the game? They are in other games as well! I have found some tapes and put everything together to point out exactly how famous Kato and Ken are, what funny gags from the show made it to the game, and how those were changed in the J.J & Jeff version you may have played.

Check out the video below to see it all. Its packed with trivia tidbits and game history goodness, with lots of Japanese TV craziness you’ll love!

If you liked this video be sure to check out GTV for more things retro, Nintendo and Japan.

Make sure you’ve got some tissues handy for this one, because there wasn’t a dry eye in the house when we watched this video at the Nintendo Life Towers.

Nathan Neidigk, a teacher at Volcano Vista High School in Albuquerque, New Mexico, lost his wife a few years ago and recently had to deal with the catastrophic news that his three-year-old son Mikey has Leukaemia. The cost of shelling out for medical treatment over the next 3 and a half years means that Neidigk has had to forgo treating himself and his son to a Nintendo Switch this Christmas – something his class was aware of. 

Keen to see their favourite teacher get some good news, the kids clubbed together $475 and purchased a Switch along with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and surprised Neidigk at the start of class one day.

As you can see from the footage, Neidigk cannot believe his class have been so thoughtful, and seems genuinely touched by the gift. He even mentions that he forces himself to walk past the Switch consoles in his local Target store because he cannot afford one.

Student Kayla Yaksich said:

It was an early Christmas gift for Mr Neidigk. We knew it was the only present he wanted but that the medical bills for his son meant he probably couldn’t afford it. I had tears in my eyes watching his reaction. He had no idea what to expect and seemed to be overwhelmed with the surprise.

Neidigk later commented that the console will be perfect for when Mikey has to stay in hospital during his chemotherapy treatment. He also stated how much his class’ generosity means to him amid his current struggles:

These guys are awesome. I’m just incredibly overwhelmed with their generosity and support. It’s the guys and gals in my class that are the big reason that keeps me going during tough times.

If you’ve been touched by this heartwarming story then you might want to contribute to a Go Fund Me page which has been set up to raise cash to cover Mikey’s medical bills.

Thanks to SLIGEACH_EIRE for the tip!

Splatoon and Splatoon 2 are fantastic games, establishing a new franchise that’ll likely run on for many years to come. A big part of the games, apart from splatting things, is the music – from day one the IP has had its own distinct style that goes from strength to strength with each added track, while live performances are hugely popular in Japan especially.

Nintendo is consistently adding music to the latest title on Switch, and over the past two weeks has continued the trend of releasing behind the scenes videos, showing some of these tracks being laid down in the recording studio. As is often a case with Nintendo’s music videos they’re a fascinating watch, and a chance to marvel at the talented musicians that make the quirky beats happen.

It’s good stuff, though we’d likely be corpsing / breaking a fair bit if we were performing this music; it must be a lot of fun working on projects like that.

Are you still enjoying all of the music that Splatoon 2 has to offer?

While we don’t make a habit of covering every single accessory released for Switch, we’re perfectly happy to make an exception every now and then – and this is one of those times.

The moment we saw these officially licensed Super Mario Quick Pouches for Switch we knew we had to own them. Produced by Keys Factory, each pouch is made from a soft neoprene-like material and comes with a velcro fastener to keep your console nice and snug inside. 

Available in Mario and Luigi designs, these pouches don’t offer storage for game cards or anything like that, but they also don’t bulk up your system too much, making them ideal for those people who don’t have room in their bag for a large case.

We could explain the design and specifications in more detail, but who are we kidding? The selling point of these pouches is the way they look. Expect to get plenty of admiring glances / troubled looks when you pull these out at the local cafe.

Hironobu Sakaguchi is something of a legend in Japanese video game circles. He created Final Fantasy – arguably one of the most popular franchises to emerge from the Land of the Rising Sun – and has also been involved with classics such as Super Mario RPG, Xenogears, Blue Dragon and The Last Story.

Sakaguchi’s Mistwalker studio is currently working on smartphones via his Terra Battle series, but has expressed an interest in moving back to consoles at some point, perhaps even with the third Terra Battle title.

Speaking to Forbes, Sakaguchi said:

…I do want to develop games on console again at some point. We’re even working on Terra Battle 3 right now and maybe console will be the right fit for that. Just because we are developing heavily on mobile right now doesn’t mean we have completely left console behind. After all, the Nintendo Switch is a very good piece of hardware.

The success of the Switch – and the unique possibilities it offers – is attracting a lot of developer support, so it’s hardly surprising that Sakaguchi is interested. Still, getting a developer of his talent on board would be amazing; let’s hope this is more than just a platitude and the man behind Final Fantasy really is going to bring something to Switch.

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night will give you the chance to indulge your sense of style via a series of costumes, weapons and even hairstyles, and a short video has been released which shows off some of these changes.

Lead character Miriam is shown changing elements of her outfit and experimenting with a range of weapons, as well as a new haircut.

Here’s what IGA himself had to say:

All the weapons you see here are new additions. There’s a fire sword, a two-handed axe, and a few other kinds of weapons. There’s even a maid headband that’s similar to the kind you might see in Akihabara.

We haven’t shown this before today—we can actually change hairstyles and scarves, too. Miriam looks so different when her hairstyle changes. This new one looks very fierce! 

In addition, we included a look at three Bunny items—a headband, a scarf, and some boots. I think it’s a very stylish look, personally…

This system is another way to personalize the game, and I hope you have fun with it. 

We also have a new enemy to share: the Giant Rat. When I imagine medieval Europe, I can’t help but think of rats. That might be a stereotype, but we definitely had to have a rat enemy. 

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night will hit Switch alongside other systems next year.

• 
• by Mitch Vogel
• 2 days ago