No, we weren’t lucky enough to interview Nintendo of America’s CEO Reggie Fils-Aimé ourselves.
However, at the launch of Super Mario Odyssey, the folks over at Kotaku managed to ask him some rather topical questions – the responses were what you’d expect from Reggie.
Talking about Breath of the Wild’s second round of DLC:
“We will shortly be announcing the date for that content, so I would not lock and load on November 10th.”
On the GameCube adapter working on Switch:
“In our latest system software update, it enables third-party peripherals to work on Nintendo Switch. As a result, the peripheral for Wii U that allows it to attach GameCube controllers also works.”
A tease on whether this support points to Smash Bros. in some way:
“Of course, there’s nothing to announce on this. I think it’s fair to say that that peripheral working was as much a surprise to us as it was to consumers.”
On classic games coming to Switch:
“When you think about the playstyle of the Switch it would be great if I could play all classic games on it. We’re gratified to have some of the best content ever created be unique to Nintendo platforms. We’re also gratified by our community that they want to play this content. What we’ve said is that there’s going to be some classic content that’s part of the Nintendo Online proposition. We’ve said we will unveil more about that proposition next year before it launches (The release of the NES and SNES classic) doesn’t preclude (classic games coming to Switch).
On video-on-demand services coming to Switch:
“(They) are going to come in due time. You’d have to ask the folks at Netflix. I have [Netflix CEO] Reed [Hasting]’s number.”
On My Nintendo offering Switch-specific rewards:
“There are unique elements coming for Nintendo Switch. We’ll be announcing those in due time. We do believe having a strong loyalty program for all of our products is important and certainly our fans appreciate it.”
Most of these answers are vague (this is Reggie), although they do seem to suggest Nintendo has unannounced goodies on the way. Let’s hope the wait isn’t too long – Netflix and a browser should really be on the Switch by now.
As for a new Virtual Console service, let’s hope it’s as definite as the one back on the Wii with added GameCube support.
Looking to grab a good PS VR deal this winter? You’ve come to the right place.
GAME is now offering a PlayStation VR with the Camera included, copies of VR Worlds and Resident Evil 7, along with a NOW TV 2 Month Entertainment subscription for £349.99.
That’s a bundle worth £435.96 – an impressive saving – and it means you have some shiny new games to play right away too. If you like being scared silly, Resident Evil 7 is a thrilling experience.
We assume it’s part of a push to get rid of the old stock before the slightly newer PS VR model hits shelves shortly.
Need more to play? Already somehow finished Odyssey? How about a 100-hour plus RPG in Xenoblade Chronicles 2?
Nintendo is showcasing the new game in the Xeno series next week on Tuesday, 7th November – that’s 2 pm UK time. You’ll be able to watch it via their YouTube channel, or on their site.
If Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is anything like the first title back on the Wii (that ending twist…) then we could well be looking at another ‘Game of the Year’ contender for Nintendo. It would cap an already tremendous year for them.
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 launches on the 1st December for the Switch. It’ll show you the power of the Monado… Oh, and there’s going to be a lot of British voices again, of course.
Sony had the pleasure of announcing indie follow-up Guacamelee 2 at its PlayStation Paris Games Week a few days ago. Much like the first, rather excellent title, the sequel is a side-scrolling Metroidvania due out on PS4 – with four-player co-op.
You can check out the reveal below:
Other platforms are expected to receive Guacamelee 2 at some point, but PS4 owners have the privilege of getting it first. As for other games by brainchild DrinkBox Studios, we loved Severed on the Switch.
Nintendo is back on form if the latest figures are anything to go by. For starters, the Switch has now impressively hit half the lifetime sales of the Wii U.
Nintendo Switch Reverses A Downward Trend
Let’s put that into perspective for a second: over 5 long years the Wii U only managed 13.56m units – the Switch has sold 7.63m units in less than a year.
As a result, Nintendo now expects to shift 14m consoles before the end of the financial year. Which, of course, beats the Wii U’s efforts in a single year. The company’s previous estimate for Switch sales was 10m.
It gets better for Nintendo though: Super Mario Odyssey sold 2m copies in just three days. That figure includes digital sales from the eShop.
It means that more than a third of Switch’s seven million owners have already picked up a copy of Odyssey, so the attach rate is high indeed. We thought Odyssey was pretty good ourselves.
Super Mario Odyssey
Finally, yes there’s more, Nintendo sold 2m SNES mini consoles in a month. It moved 2m units worldwide, and 370k units were sold in half a week in Japan. The Japanese like Nintendo.
More SNES mini stock is on the way to try and stop the scalpers. Nintendo has also pledged that NES mini stock will return to the shops in the summer next year.
It’s extremely positive news for the company who not long ago was experiencing declining sales and profits with the unfortunate failure of the Wii U.
Nintendo mustn’t get complacent though (they haven’t yet), as there’s a long life ahead of the Switch that needs to be maintained with quality games. With both Mario and Zelda titles already out, Splatoon 2 on the shelves and Xenoblade 2 due this Christmas, it’s going to be a tough year to beat.
Let’s hope the new Fire Emblem, Metroid Prime 4 and hopefully, a Smash title, isn’t too far behind.
What’s that unannounced game that Retro Studios is working on?
Let’s get this out of the way: Super Mario Odyssey is the next true 3D Mario game. While the Wii U’s Super Mario 3D World was largely impeccable, there’s no denying it catered towards a more casual audience with its multiplayer-centric focus. The same can be said about New Super Mario Bros. U, and Super Mario 3D Land on the 3DS. With those titles, Miyamoto and co. were looking at ways to make Mario more accessible, while retaining the staples that defined the series. They achieved this outright, but some of the core audience wanted that focus to shift back onto them. Enter Super Mario Odyssey then, a game specifically designed for veterans of the series with a single player-centric focus. It’s fair to say that Mario hasn’t been this good for quite some time… around 7 years in fact.
Super Mario Odyssey Review: Marrying The Princess
Odyssey’s story quickly becomes one we all know and love… Can you guess? Yes, Peach has been kidnapped by the King Koopa but this time there’s a twist: Bowser is now intent on marrying the princess as well, presumably to anger Mario more than anything else. After a crushing defeat then, the plumber finds himself in the Cap Kingdom of Bonneton, a moonlit, fog-shrouded land inhabited by ghosts in hats who speak in old British English – jolly good show, old bean. It’s here that Mario befriends newcomer Cappy and the duo set off to rescue Peach and Cappy’s sister Tiara. That’s pretty much your story. You didn’t expect anything else, did you?
If the games are this good, please keep getting kidnapped.The first thing we were pleased to discover upon controlling Mario was that he has all of his classic moves in this adventure. We mean all of them: the long jump, triple jump, side and backward somersault, the spin jump, the dive forward, you name it, it’s here. The new roll move is a welcome addition too that helps you more easily traverse the larger environments. Most importantly, he feels good to control as he “wahoos!” his way around, with even the pitter-patter of his feet, in some odd way, gratifying. There’s no doubt in my mind that Charles Martinet had a lot of fun with the new material as well – brace yourself for more ravioli-fuelled, dream-dialogue.
Sublime Platforming That Innovates
As for Cappy, he’s much more important to the gameplay than the story, as you’d expect, and adds a range of new moves to Mario’s arsenal, including the cap throw. The cap throw, as you’ll get accustomed to over the course of the game, enables you to attack enemies as well as possess 52 different entities – some of which we simply must not spoil. And it’s superb. The new capture mechanic effortlessly breathes new life into the series, making Odyssey feel fresh, wacky and full of vigour without overshadowing the sublime platforming the series represents. Frogs, Goombas, tanks, Bullet Bills and even a T-Rex, almost everything around you can be captured in the Kingdoms you visit, which serve as the ‘power-ups’ in the game.
The T-Rex’s realistic design was influenced by Super Mario World.The sandbox-style Kingdoms are magical. Tightly packed, and beautifully designed with secrets galore, they house the Power Moons you need to fuel your eponymously titled ship, the “Odyssey”. Collecting enough Power Moons in each Kingdom allows you to travel to the next one in pursuit of Bowser, and is the central objective of the game. You earn these Moons by completing tasks, often small, which range from helping the locals to completing 2D, 8-bit sequences (damn good), to taking down one of the many bosses – there are superb platforming sublevels in every Kingdom to boot. You’ll also notice elements from 64, Sunshine and Galaxy in there.
The gameplay is so varied that none of this ever feels like a chore. It feels immensely rewarding, but deftly balances that sense of challenge as well, ensuring that it’s not a walk in the park either; those that go the extra mile are always rewarded for doing so. The Kingdoms change based on your actions too, which evokes an ongoing sense of progression that beckons you to continue; you will want to explore every nook and cranny. The sense of discovery rivals that of Super Mario World back on the SNES.
Brimming With Creativity
Odyssey is easily the craziest Mario title to date. We know during development that Miyamoto had a hands-off approach, instead offering advice about certain elements, but never fully taking charge. It’s as if the new captain of the ship, Yoshiaki Koizumi, (producer of both Galaxy games) told his team: “Go wild. We can do what we want here – as long as it works.” This unparalleled creative freedom can be felt, and it creates an abundance of ideas, some of which could be used for full games on their own. Yes, the series has always brimmed with creativity, but Odyssey takes it even further. Certain points of the game will genuinely surprise you, and things take place that you wouldn’t necessarily expect in a Mario game, in the best possible way.
Producer Yoshiaki Koizumi – Miyamoto’s apprentice.Odyssey does have a slight niggle though. The motion controls generally compliment the on-screen action very well and are satisfying to use, but every now and then they’re not as precise as they could be.
It’s also worth noting that every single motion-controlled move is not compulsory, you can complete the entire game without them, but they do add extra power to moves. A few of these ‘powered up moves’ are required to get all of the Power Moons. This means that when holding the Switch in handheld mode the motion controls, and a few Power Moons, are off limits unless you shake the entire system. It’s not even close to a serious issue, but isn’t particularly practical out and about and means that playing in tabletop or docked mode is the way to go if you want to get every last collectable. Considering the otherwise flawless production here then, this seems to be overlooked. A minor update turning off motion controls completely could fix this, however.
A Masterpiece
There are so many positives things to say about Odyssey that you couldn’t possibly fit into a single review, but here’s an effusive list of a few of them (no big spoilers, trust me): the pause menu that Mario reacts to, the increased, and highly detailed expressions on his face that further the relationship between the both of you while playing (Nintendo specifically worked on this), the holiday brochure-style maps, the costumes, the assist mode that guides younger, more inexperienced players, the stunning soundtrack full of whimsy and heroism, the fact that it’s the best looking Switch game to date running at a rock solid 60fps, the satirical humour, the bonus mini-games, Pauline, that particular festival, that particular Kingdom, the better than expected two-player mode where one of you controls Cappy – really fun. I could go on…
That’s without mentioning the incredible post-game content: if you want fan service and more to do after seeing the credits roll, you’re in luck. Odyssey may finish at around the 10-hour mark, but what comes next will keep you playing for days on end.
Bringing back 1985.It’s worth buying a Switch for alone. As for being better than Galaxy, well, I’ll be having an internal debate about that one for quite some time. Simply put: this is why we play video games.
It’s here. We’ve been bestowed with a new The Last of Us Part II trailer from Sony’s conference at Paris Games Week 2017 – a little earlier than we predicted. It’s dark, ominous and pretty bleak, but this is the apocalypse right – what did you expect?
You can enjoy the 5 minutes-long trailer below.
The Last of Us Part II is expected to be released ‘next year’ on PS4/Pro, although with Naughty Dog at the helm, you can expect delays too – and if it’s to improve the quality, then we’ve no problem with that. Take your time…
Anyway, you can be confident that the finished game, although grim, will most likely be one of the best gaming experiences of the year.
Overkill Software has reassured Switch owners that the development of heister Payday 2 is going smoothly.
Payday 2 on Switch – A Long Wait?
It’s certainly been a while since we heard anything – the game was announced for Switch in a Nintendo Direct back in April – so it’s justified that doubts began to creep in.
Luckily the studio has updated us all via a new video with producer Almir Listo. Details are still rather scarce, but everything looks like it’s coming along nicely.
Payday 2 is due to be released on Switch this winter. Although a delay still seems probable. There’s also a special surprise on its way too, but we won’t know what that is until later on. Stay tuned.
Slightly underrated gem L.A. Noire can now be seen in 4K… If you go full screen on a 4K enabled monitor, that is.
What Are You Doing Phelps!?
The snazzy new trailer shows detective Cole Phelps and his rise through the LAPD ranks as he investigates a string of crimes in 1947 Los Angeles. Everything, as should be expected, looks better than ever.
L.A. Noire is out for the PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch on November 14th. A VR edition will also be available for the HTC Vive called L.A. Noire: The VR Case Files – it features seven select cases rebuilt for VR. Hopefully, the VR version will make its way over to PS VR too.
In a new interview with GamesRadar, [originally from Xbox: The Official Magazine] Microsoft has spoken about the increase in power the Xbox One X provides, and what that means for developers and gamers alike.
Xbox One X: “Feel True Power”
Dave McCarthy, Xbox’s general manager, had this to say on the new console:
So if you’re an existing Xbox One user, I think whenever you’re ready to make the jump, developers are going to take advantage of the high-end capabilities of it. We think it’s a compelling combination of power, performance, compatibility, and also design.
There is a big difference with 40% more processing power, in terms of ensuring that consistent frame rate, including that frame buffer that’s going to get you all those 4K textures, ensuring the spatial audio is going to be at a premium for you.
Asked what effect the Xbox One X would have on the wider gaming landscape, McCarthy replied:
I think there’s a round of storytelling that it’s really going to unlock for a lot of developers. You saw Patrick Söderlund talk a little bit about that, both in the EA Play conference and when he was introducing Anthem from BioWare [at Microsoft’s conference]. There’s an immersion factor to true 4K. Like, you feel the heat come off those cars in Forza. The weather effects are stunningly real, and you find yourself sort of immersed in these experiences.
The Xbox One X isn’t far away now and launches on the 7th November worldwide for a princely £449.99/$499.99. Will you be diving into the extra immersion reader? Let us know in the comments below.
Super Mario Odyssey is released tomorrow on Switch and the reviews are coming in thick and fast. The general consensus: Mario’s latest adventure is another audacious masterpiece.
While we don’t believe that Metacritic should always be taken as an absolute, it’s worth noting that Odyssey is currently sitting at 97 on the site – the same score Breath of the Wild ended on.
The Switch was recently updated to firmware version 4.0, which added, among other things, video capture functionality. It’s a slick addition for those that want to capture their best gaming moments – much like the PS4 offers.
However, what Nintendo didn’t reveal to us is that your old GameCube controllers (remember those fine things?) will now work with the Switch as well.
GameCube Games + Switch = Fun
What’s the central piece of equipment required to get them working exactly? The GameCube controller USB adaptor for the Wii U that was released in time for Super Smash Bros 4, of course.
It’s worth mentioning that other USB controllers do not work, at all, meaning Nintendo has enabled the old Cube controllers for a very specific reason. You can see the newly released Fire Emblem Warriors for Switch working with a GameCube controller in the video below. The nostalgia is strong.
Having the ability to play games such as Luigi’s Mansion, Super Mario Sunshine and Super Smash Bros. Melee in your hands would be an enticing way to kick-start the new service. We’d say the chance of that happening is pretty high too, but you can (probably) expect news from Nintendo on such a feature next year – at the earliest.
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