Something doesn't fit, and it's not my hands

_{[For impressions from Japan, check out Cory's hands-on with the Switch.]}

I first played The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild back at E3 2016. You don't need me (the "there are only five good Zelda games" guy) to tell you that Breath of the Wild looks fantastic. I was sold from the moment the world opened up, so it was ??only a matter of choosing which version to purchase. The Wii U demo I played got a little frame-y every so often, so I decided the then-unannounced Nintendo Switch would have to be more powerful, and thus would be endowed with the superior port.

Turns out I was only slightly correct. The Nintendo Switch version does look better and runs a little more smoothly, but that may be the extra six-odd months of work talking -- it still has its share of choppy moments. That was fine, I had long since come to terms with the Switch's comparatively weak guts and Breath of the Wild still felt like a killer survival and exploration game with the added benefit of that now-trademark Nintendo polish and wonder. But when my demo guy instructed me to pop the Switch off its dock and try out the handheld mode, I was surprised to find the game actually ran better. That sounds wrong, right? Isn't part of the Switch's hook that games will have stronger performance when the system is plugged into the dock? I know Nintendo has been cagey on that front, but unless they print that in plain text right on the box, I guarantee you people will just assume that's the case. And even then it's not a guarantee; I met someone last year who swore up and down the Xbox One didn't let you play used games. [I'm being told in the comments that the improved performance is because the handheld version runs at a lower resolution, which certainly explains the difference, but doesn't really excuse the disparity between cons??umer expectation and reality]

That anecdote sums up my time with the Nintendo Switch fairly well: really exciting games tied to a system with a lot of curious and often counter-intuitive design choices, all seemingly mad?e in service of turning a profit with each unit sold.

Let's start with the included Joy-Con Grip, which is not the $30 version that charges your Joy-Cons. When size comparisons began to trickle out of Nintendo's recent New York City event, I was?? concerned that my awful gorilla hands would not be able to comfortably use the Switch's little popsicle stick-ass motion controllers. I was pleased to hear the system would come with a grip that turns the Joy-Cons into something resembling a regular boy's controller. During my time with Zelda, I apparently waltzed into the Twilight Zone, because everything was upside down and backwards. Playing with the individual Joy-Cons like a Wii Remote and Nunchuck was far more comfortable than playing with the grip. When I was using the grip, my fingers never managed to naturally rest on the triggers. I either had to position them in a manner that became fairly uncomfortable after a few minutes, or re-learn the trigger pull motion that years upon years of playing video games had burned into my brain.

Conversely, the Pro Controller is a great controller, with a comfortable setup and a texture that will stand up to hours of sweaty fingers, but it also costs $70 United States Dollars. This will not be the last time I complain about the price of this controller -- both in real life and in this article. The Joy-Cons also feel kinda cheap, almost certainly not worth the $80 they're asking for a pair. If I wasn't cognizant of Nintendo's reputation for making nigh-indestructible hardware, I would be concerned about unintentionally snapping one in half. They're nice enough motion controllers once you get used to them, and I get they have to be small to fit on the screen, but yikes they're both small and thin.

Playing the Switch in its handheld mode -- you know, the hook of this console, is fine enough. I like the Wii U GamePad quite a bit, although it did have a tendency to shift forward in my hands over the course of longer sessions. That problem seems to have been rectified for the Switch, and I could easily see myself popping the system out during road trips or long bus rides without any foreseeable discomfort. It's a little heavy, but there's nothing stopping you from setting the console in your lap. My Switch will never appear on an airplane for any reason other than work necessities, though. Packing literally anything aside from the essentials and maybe a Kindle is for suckers. That's why I didn't try out the booth's included faux plane seat. I'm not a sucker.

I'm a real sucker for Splatoon 2's whole aesthetic, though. I never got around to playing the first Splatoon, in part because I was unable to convince my roommate to pick up a copy that one time we were at Target (he was the one who owned our apartment's Wii U and mine was on the other side of the country), so my Splatoon 2 demo was really my ??first exposure to this pop-punk paint-drenched world. I loved it, as I'm sure you can expect! The music was so much fun, the colors pop in all the right ways, and it's got a fun and unique hook for its multiplayer. I??t plays great on a Pro Controller, and I'm even more excited to play the game with those damn motion controls off. Mapping a single axis to the motion of the controller and the other axis to the right stick took a while to even grasp, since I was only ever able to effectively use one input at a time.

I also got to spend a little time with 1-2-Switch's Wild West dueling, Wild West cow milking, and Wild West...uh, ball...number...guessing minigames. Nintendo just likes appropriating lo-fi entertainment for their high-tech video game systems, I suppose. After playing the game, I remain adamant that 1-2-Switch should be a pack-in -- especially now that I know how much fun it is. The game could really sell units the way Wii Sports did for the Wii. Even though I lost or tied every minigame -- because I was sick and tired, leave me alone -- I still had a blast, and could easily see myself busting it out at parties. I'm not sure if it's worth $40, but I appreciate that Ninten?do is starting to get smarter about how it prices its games.

Arms, conversely, was the most disappointing game I played at PAX South. I played with the Joy-Con motion controllers, which are not held with the buttons facing the player, like how everyone played Wii Boxing. Instead, they're held inwards, with the buttons facing each other and the buttons inside the Joy-Cons resting on your fingers. You're supposed to move by curving the set of Joy-Cons in a direction, dashing with the shoulder button and punching with, well, a punching motion. To be frank, I had zero fun playing the game this way and can not recommend that anyone play Arms with this control scheme. The game can be played with a normal controller, but a twitch-based fighting game wouldn't quite work on two separate Joy-Cons, held in each hand. And as we've established, the Joy-Con Grip is not even an option, so that leaves the exorbitantly priced Pro Controller, with HD Rumble and NFC support, instead of some kind of optional amiibo reader that plugs into the base of the console or the console itself. Even with a control scheme sorted, I'm not sure that Arms will have the depth of a Street Fighter or the chaotic fun or a Smash Bros. In fairness, that sort of thing can only really be tested once the game has been pushed out the door, so I'm just on the fence about Arms right now.

After playing the Switch and some of its most anticipated titles, I can see a path forward. On the one side, you have easy to grasp casual games like Arms or 1-2-Switch that will play well at those millennial rooftop parties that Reggie clearly fantasizes about in his spare time -- on the other, fantastic experiences like Splatoon 2 or The Legend of Zelda that you can only get on a Nintendo console. If the company prices the former games at a lower MSRP and makes sure hardcore players are always cognizant of the next big game on the horizon, the Switch will likely enjoy a healthy li??brary with something for everyone.

But man, the official accessories just aren't doing it for me, and I think I'll end up using the Switch as a handheld whenever possible, even in my own home. The controllers and peripherals are way too expensive, and in some cases I can't even imagine the use case -- like the Joy-Con Wheel, which seems to have been designed for Smurf hands. I'm certainly not going to cancel my pre-order, especially after playing Splatoon and Zelda back-to-back. But I'm going to look for some extra work in the meantime so I can afford a Pro Controller. Nintendo's quest to make a hardware pr?ofit is understandable after the very public failure of the Wii U, but I also don't care, because I still have to buy the damn things.

I'll say this -- between their success on mobile and the Switch, I'm more optimistic for Nintendo's future than I have been in quite some time. I think the company knows exactly how to sell the Switch (right down to the perfect name) to their target demographics, and that's reason enough to relax a little. Whether the market even wants what Nintendo is selling, now that's a question?? I don't get paid enough to worry about.

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It was a joke

The Nintendo Switch was all the rage yesterday, and with lots of western companies on board ??(including Bethesda), there was tons of talk about who would announce a project for it next.

Blizzard added fuel to that fire with a tweet to Nintendo of America from their Hearthstone account noting that "We see you Mario," adding in the "#NX" hashtag. Any reasonable person would take this as a possible hint towards a Hearthstone port (which wo??uld work well on the Switch given its on the go feat?ure), but as it turns out, it was just a joke.

After reaching out to Blizzard, they confirmed that the picture of "The Innkeeper" was merely a reference to a recent meme, in which Mario was seen peeking around a curtain for an NX reveal tease yesterday. The publisher noted that it was a joke, and that Hearthstone is not planned for the Switch at this time.

Oh well, basically any PC or mobile devic?e can run it for f??ree.

.@NintendoAmerica We see you #mario. #nx pic.twitter.com/MNEVbxvcCC

— Hearthstone (@PlayHearthstone) October 20, 2016

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Interesting

Much like Morpheus rose from the ashes to becom??e PSVR, or Dolphin bec??ame GameCube, the NX has become the "Nintendo Switch."

Nintendo kicked off its promised announcement this morning by showing its capabilities, like "switching" to a game from your home, on a plane, and on a controller, and a Switch tablet. Zelda was shown of course, as was Skyrim, NBA 2K, what seems to be a new 3D Mario game, Splatoon and a Mario Kart -- the latter two could be akin to new "Game of?? the Year" editions.

Most of the leaks were correct -- you can slide out controllers from the tablet, and play games at home or on the go, which can come in cartridge form. At home it will rest on a "Nintendo Switch Dock," which connects to the TV. Then you can lift it out to "transition to portable mode," with a "bright high-definition display," and utilize the "detachable Joy-Con controllers" (which can be used by one person with one in "each hand," by two players with one each, or "numerous people." A "Nintendo Switch Pro Controller" is mentioned (yuck, another thing to buy if W??ii U Pro Controllers don't work), and you can bring Switch systems together for?? local multiplayer (cool).

It looks neat, but a lot of the stuff shown so far has been ports (even ports of Nintendo's own existing Wii U lineup) -- ether way, the Wii U seems to be completely phased out based on this trailer even if the Switch doesn't have an exact date yet (it's expected in March). You can read the full list of partners below, which includes Nvidia.

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Place your bets ladies and gentlemen

Pretty much every developer who is interest??ed in working with Nintendo has seen the NX. We have games confirmed for ?it already, and we've heard that it will feature a cartridge system, and will be a console/portable hybrid with a higher-end processor.

Yet, we still don't really know what it actually is, or if the "NX" will m??ake it in the name at all (Nintendo Xtreme?). Even though Nintendo has said it "won't replace the ??????????????????????????Wii U" it's basically given up on it, so it seems like it is hedging its bets on the system in a big way. In fact, it may even be the next successor for the 3DS and the Wii U simultaneously. If it manages to incorporate a full mobile system in there with free-to-play games, it could be a pretty big and revolutionary thing.

But I'm getting ahead of myself here. We can speculate all we want, but we don't actually know anything substantial until N?intendo actually reveals the thing. And since some of us are getting restless, feel free to muse on what the NX will entail and when you think they'll pull the curtain back below.

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Pokemon Go driving 3DS sales

In news that should surprise no one, Pokémon Company president Tsunekazu Ishihara confirmed in an interview with the Wall Street Journal that yes, there will be Pokémon games on the Nintendo NX??. Without revealing any new information about Nintendo's upcoming console, he confirmed that his company plans to create games for the next-generation system. 

"The NX is trying to change the concept of what it means to be a home console device or a hand-held device," said Mr. Ishihara. "We will make games for the NX."

It's rumored that the NX will somehow combine a mobile or handheld gaming device with a dedicated home console that plugs into a television. Ishihara declined to say whether the Pokémon company would have any games ready for the system's launch. Unless the system is backwards compatible with 3DS titles, it seems unlikely to me that the Pokémon Company would have the resources to create an NX title alongside the upcoming Pokémon Sun and Moon for the 3DS.

Other information from the interview included some new numbers relating to the success of Pokémon Go. Ishihara said that the app has been downloaded over half a billion times, and the article estimates that it's generated approximately $700 ?million in revenue since rolling out in July.

What's more, Go seems to be funneling people in to the mainline Pokémon games. Go's popularity has contributed to sales of 3DS hardware and software as people who try the smartphone game are reminded of Pokémon, and decide to try the game in one of its other formats. Ishihara didn't give any specific figures, but he said sales of Pokémon merchandise like games and trading cards are up 30% to 50% over expectations thanks to the Go bump.

The interview then turned towards upcoming features planned for Pokémon Go. High on the priority list are trading and one vs. o??ne battles. 

"Battling is a category that we do best at Pokémon, after all," Mr. Ishihara said, but "it's important to really carefully consider any feature that may increase the difficulty and raise?? the barrier to entry for more casual users."

Pokémon Go is still coming to some additional territories, and the Journal correspondent asked whether the game would be coming to China or South Korea. Ishihara responded that they want to add support in these countries, but will need to address issues with maps first. Neither country currently has the extensive Google maps coverage that Go relies on.

Pokémon to Create ??Games for Nintendo's Next System [Wall Street Journal]

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Duh nun na nah!!!!

Nintendo has been very silent on details about the NX, the Wii U port's release date of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and the upcoming Zelda amiibo line. No one is certain if both the Wii U and NX versions of the game will release at the same time or if we'll even be playing the newest Zelda adventure before the summer of next year.

Nintendo of France's website seems to have made a slip-up. Under the amiibo section of its homepage, the Breath of the Wild amiibos were listed as having a release date of March 4, 2017. Historically speaking, Nintendo has never released an amiibo before the game it functions with, so perhaps the Wii U port of Breath of the Wild will be targeting a spring release.

This could also be a placeholder date meant to fill in data on the website. That seems unlikely as other amiibo (namely Cloud, Corrin and Bayonetta) were listed as "Coming Soon." The website has also now rem??oved ?that information, instead listing simply "2017" as the date.

We do get a confirmation of the other Zelda amiibo as releasing in December. That is awesome. I'm not exactly sold on them, but those Wind Waker amiibo make me happy.

Zelda: Breath of the Wild Amiibo Release Date Po??ssibly Leaked; May Suggest Game?'s Launch [GameSpot]

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Made in the '80s

With Nintendo keeping a tight lip on any NX details, no one knows whether the system will be uti??lizing discs, going all digital, or following in the vein of the 3DS with cartridges. A recent trademark seems to indicate the latter, unless the Wii U is about to get some cartridge add-on.

Twitter account AllGamesDelta has combed through the trademark filing a?nd highlighted the spot where "video game cartridges" is listed. While this doesn't explicitly mean the NX will be using cartridges, I'm not sure?????????????????????????? what else this could represent.

If you'd like to take a look for yourself, DocDroid has the PDF with all of the information. Until Nintendo starts talking the NX, no one will know the truth. Mayb??e we'll get a special gold cartri??dge like the NES classics? That would be pretty sweet.

AllGamesDelta [Twitter]

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Intended to speed product distribution in Japan

Nintendo announced earlier today that it has made a deal to acquire JESNET (Japan Entertainment Software Sales Network) for the equivalent of $46.5 mill??ion.

JESNET is a production and distribution network native to Japan, and it's likely that Nintendo acquired it to assist in the rollout of its upcoming console, codenamed NX, early next year. Prior to the acquisition, the company was probably best known for making anime figurines.

JESNET has worked with Nintendo of Japan for several years as one of its main distribution partners. In the announcement, Nintendo noted that the acquisition "means that Nintendo will have an integrated system from the development through supply of its products, allowing for rapid decision-making and an improvement in sales service." JESNET wil??l work with another bad Scrabble hand, AJIOKA Co., Ltd., to distribute Nintendo products throughout Japan.

The deal includes a stock swap; Nintendo will pu?rchase 70 perce??nt of JESNET's shares when its fiscal year begins in April of 2017, and JESNET will continue to hold 100,922 shares of Nintendo stock "to facilitate the smooth business relationship." Once the sale is final, JESNET will become a full subsidiary of Nintendo. 

Nintendo has been moving quite a bit of money around recently, and earlier this week completed selling its majority stake i??n the Seattle Mariners&nbs?p;for $661 Million. It'll remain a minority shareholder in the baseball club, but we probably won't be seeing any more Ken Griffey Jr. baseball games anytime? soon.

It seems ??as though this acquisition won't affect Nintendo outside of Japan, but it does help streamline its distribution network ??in its home country. The deal will be finalized on April 3 next year, just after the planned release of the NX console in March.

Notification of th?e Subsidiarization of JESNET Co. Ltd. [Nintendo]
Nintendo Acquires JESNET [NeoGAF] 

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Both Square-Enix and Nintendo have been awfully quiet lately

[Update: Perhaps unsurprisingly, EB Games Australia has claimed via its Twitter account that KHIII was never listed for pre-ord??er and that the image is fake.]

EB Games Australia recently listed Kingdom Hearts III on its web-store for $119.99 (placeholder price), before taking it down immediately after. Unfortunately, when you put something out on the internet, it can not be undone. Also listed, but not taken down, were The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Just Dance 2017, also at the $119.99 placeholder price.

Additional signs that the rumor may be true are that Square will work as a third-party publisher for Nintendo with Dragon Quest XI and a Dragon Quest X port are already confirmed, as well as a lack of both NX and Kingdom Hearts III information la??tely (in particular at E3 2016). 

It would not be the first time a Kingdom Hearts game has appeared on a Nintendo console. Chain of Memories for Game Boy Advance, 358/2 Days for Nintendo DS, and Dream Drop Distance for the Nintendo 3DS are precedent for a series that has appeared on numerous platforms. It would?? be a first for a numbered entry to appear on a major Nintendo console.

Kingdom Hearts 3 Rumoured for Nintendo NX [Nintendo Insider]

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It has seen better days

In terms of substance, there's admittedly not too much going on in this latest video for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. But Nintendo's audio folks have worked their magic again and, like the E3 2016 trailer th?at I still occasionally revisit jus??t for the music, this calm little clip speaks to me.

Before you head out for a night on the town or whatever it is you do to kick off the weekend, snatch your headphones and give this a ??moment of your time. You'll feel better afterward, I promise!

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They'll 'look at it' though

When you think "Bethesda," you really don't think "Nintendo platforms." It kind of ignores the Big N entirely, and outside of publishing projects here and there like the forgotten Star Trek: Conquest on the Wii, it mostly focused on the PC, Xbox, and PlayStation platforms. But Finder.com.au recently spoke to Pete Hines about the NX, who had a l??ittle bit to say about it:

We talk to Nintendo all the time – we're pretty well briefed in on what they are doing. It's definitely something we will look at; and our philosophy is that we will put our games out on any format that supports the games as we envisage and make them. If the NX fits that from a technical standpoint, and fits the game that a developer in our stable is making, I don't see why we would not put it out on NX. But it's too early to say, 'we'll definitely be putting games out or not.' Like with mobile, we want to have the right fit for the right formats. It's definitely a possibility for the future. We'll look at any platform that will support that games we're trying to make, but th?at's the key thing - the console has to support the game as it is designed.

That last bit really is the key. The Wii and Wii U haven't really accommodated for Bethesda's demanding open world titles, or say, an ambitious project like Doom, which sports impressive 1080p60 visuals even on consoles. Even if Bethesda isn't committing to the NX yet (and they probably won't, unless it sells gangbusters), it's neat to know that it does keep up with what's going on ??with Nintendo.

Bethesda is talking to Nintendo about the NX [Finder.com.au]

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Still no word on a localized version

[Editor's Note: Ladies and gents, welcome Kevin McClusky (Qalamari) to the front page and the Destructoid news staff. Regular readers will surely recognize his face and name from our community. As always, that's where our best people come from. Don't hold back on the hazing! - Chris]

Square Enix's on-again, off-again relationship with Nintendo consoles appears to be on-again. According to a recent Weekly Famitsu article, Dragon Quest X's producers confirmed t?hat a version for Nintendo's upcoming console, codenamed the NX, is currently in development.

Dragon Quest X has had a long, somewhat troubled history. The first massively multiplayer online game in the series, it was first released in the declining days of the Nintendo Wii. It later received Wii U, 3DS and PC ports (and even a bundle containing both the 3DS and Wii U versions), but none of these have ever left Japan. ??Previous titles in the long-running series tended to come out once a console generation's "winner" had already been decided, nearly always landing on the platform that had demonstrated it had the largest install base. The Wii U version broke this rule but was a carryover from the Wii, which outsold both of its competitors in the last console generation.

According to the translated interview, Dragon Quest X producer Yosuke Saito and director Chikara Saito confirmed the development of an NX version in addition to the already announced PS4 version. They also briefly discussed some of the changes and updates coming to the game, and assured fans that this version of Dragon Quest X would release well before the next game in the series. Dragon Quest XI looks to be a more traditional, single-player entry in the series, and has already been announced for the 3DS and PS4. No word on whether Dragon Quest XI will be getting an NX version yet, but if Dragon Quest X does well, it's probably a safe bet. Unfortunately, no release dates were given for either game, and no mention was made of an English-language version for Dragon Quest X.

Western Dragon Quest fans have had a somewhat contentious relationship with Square Enix, sometimes going years between releases. For example, the 3DS version of Dragon Quest VII has been available in Japan since February of 2013, but won't reach the US until September 16 this year. Here's hoping that if the 3DS versions of Dragon Quest VII and VIII do well enough, we'll finally hear about an English-language version of Dragon Quest X.

Dragon Quest X [Famitsu via DualShockers]

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In addition to Zelda

According to MCV, Nintendo isn't going to let t?he NX slog out of the gate like the Wii U and 3DS did -- at least when it comes to heavy-hitters.

The site reports that Nintendo has not only secured strong third-party support from WB, Activision, Ubisoft, Square Enix, and Sega (where have we heard that before?), but it's also going to make a big first-party push too, in addition to Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Apparently, Game Freak is developing a new Pokemon game for the system, as well as a new Mario.

Mario was a given for me since we haven't seen one for years and we're absolutely due, but Pokemon? People have been asking Nintendo for a proper (read: not a spinoff or "arena" title) console Pokemon game for nearly two decades, so that could be really interesting, and make a huge impact on NX sales. Unless of course, it's a spinoff or an arena game for X & Y.

As a reminder, the last batch of NX rumors suggest that it has detachable controllers, and will allow the use of some smartphone games. I cant' wait to see what this thing looks like!

Pok&eac?ute;mon, Mario and Zelda headline NX?? 'dream' line-up [MCV]

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I dream of Beyond Good and Evil 2

Nintendo may have infuriatingly little to say about its next gaming system right now, but we have continuous rumors to keep us guessing, and Ubisoft isn't d??one teasing what??'s ahead.

Following Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot's comments about how the NX is "really great" and will "help the industry to continue to grow and to take a lot more casual players back to the industry," executive director of EMEA Alain Corre says the company has "other surprises" in development for NX besides Just Dance "that we will announce later." More Beyond Good and Evil and UbiArt Rayman, please!

Corre also explained to GamesIndustry.biz that the publisher "believe[s] Nintendo has the power to reinvent the way families?? are playing," which is a curious statement indeed. "Nintendo is a fantastic powerhouse of brands that are really cherished by a lot of fans and families... I am still impressed by the reoccurrence of success and appetite even today for the Nintendo franchises on the current system."

I hope that latest round of rumors about the NX being a handheld wi??th detachable controllers pans out, and that whatever the case may be, we hear details straight ??from Nintendo soon. Things are heating up.

Ubisoft: Our VR games will be profitable [GamesIndustry.biz]

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Will reportedly run Nintendo's mobile titles

Let's get you up to speed.

The latest batch of rumors about the NX, from sources at Eurogamer, claim ?that the system will b??e a portable/console hybrid machine, where you can detach the unit's controllers. Now, the Wall Street Journal is reporting that in addition to running NX cartridges (the reported format), it will also "be compatible with its own smartphone games."

That would possibly include Miitomo, as well as the Fire Emblem and Animal Crossing projects that are due later this year. Depending on how well th?ose go, this could be pretty big for them, but given the stark dropoff of active Miitomo users, ??they still have a long way to go. 

Now all Nintendo needs to do is say that it will be ?backward compatible with Wii U, and will feature every current Virtual Console game, and I'm good. But that's just another insular decision that will placate fans, and not woo in third-party developers. With all of these publishers parroting "how excited" they are about the NX, I wonder how many will turn tail and abandon ship at the first sign of danger like they did with the Wii U?

Lacking Pokemon Go Effect [Wall Street Journal via Nintendo Life]

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The NX won't replace it, huh?

Nintend?o had another doozy of a shareholder meeting last night, and talked about nearly every facet of their business, including the fabled NX. After not showing it at E3 they have in fact reconfirmed that it will launch in March 2017 this week, even with the last-minute "surprise" preparations they're still working on.

The publisher will also "continue to focus" on the amiibo business, which just hit 24.7 million units sold (a number they've been sticking with since April, and includes card sales). Sadly the 3DS is in a bad place at the moment because of "no big 3DS hit titles," but Nintendo is hopeful, especially since a new Pokemon is due to arrive in November.

The mobile arm seems to be doing okay, as Nintendo is excited that Miitomo had a "good start" (though they mention nothing of the stark dropoff in user engagement over time), and that Fire Emblem and Animal Crossing mobile are still coming this fall. As for the Wii U, it will "continue to fight on," but only Zelda is planned next year. Gulp!

Nintendo Everything has a recap on all the Q&A questions as well, including someone who protested the board being all male, the company breaking down how many copies Zelda needs to sell to break even (two million worldwide, with a concession for 300,00??0 in Japan), a tidbit on how they want to reuse game engines more, and that Nintendo once again acknowledges that they're "researching" VR.

Details from Nintendo’s 76th Annual General Meeting of ??Shareholders [Nintendo Everything]

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Hm

The Nintendo NX is still a mystery, but that hasn't stopped GameStop CEO Paul Raines from talking about it during a recent earnings call. Answering a rather direct inquiry, Raines stated: "I would say that the fact that there are rumors of that type just confirms for you that this is an important console for next year. It will have physical media, we wil??l play a role in it, our pre-owned business will also play a role. So we’re excited about that."

The exact type of physical med??ia is currently undecided, however (or still under wraps), as Raines follows that up by saying, "The only difference would be on the refurbishment and pre-owned side. And actually, cartridges are much simpler to refurbish and repackage. So there is somewhat a litt?le bit of an advantage if it went in that direction on used."

While it might seem straight-forward, I'm still waiting on a confirmation from Nintendo themselves. I mean, there could technically be physical items in the form of voucher codes and the like,? ?which would allow GameStop to "play a role" in sales. I think the key thing here is that the NX is less than a year away and we know next to nothing about it.

GameStop Earnings Call [Yahoo via Gaming Bolt]

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But the game can have two Links if you use an amiibo

Those rumors that because the E3 lanyard had two pictures of Link, that there would be both a male and female version of the character in the new Zelda? It turns out they weren't true.

According to GameSpot, who spoke to producer Eiji Aonuma, there isn't going to be a female Link at all. There was a "discussion" about having Zelda star, but it was decided against because it would have broke the timeline somehow -- posing the question "what is Link going to do?" Going further, he says that since Link has to be the star of the game so his identity isn't ruined, and the Triforce balance is maintained. They opted to instead include the option to play with a companion who is another version of Link from another timeline.

I mean, I'm a pretty big Zelda fan who follows the lore pretty closely, and I'd play the series no matter what gender the hero was, but -- can't the Hero of Hyrule/Time/Light just be anyone in hi??story who answers the call? It wouldn't even be a retcon since every hero is different.

Eithe??r way I'm completely fine wi??th this choice, and now this rumor is finally put to bed.

Why Zelda: Breath?? of the Wild ?Won't Have a Female Hero [GameSpot]

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Revealed today at E3

Nintendo opened up E3 today with a look at the new Zelda, and man does it look beautiful. It somehow manages to have that Nintendo feel while giving off an aura of Team Ico, and I'm really digging it. Chopping trees, hunting, cooking? ?That's prime time open world chilling right there -- no busywork, just straight chilling.

In addition to a ton of new footage we also got the game's actual name -- Breath of the Wild. Nintendo ??calls it "one of the biggest experiences" they've ever created. They claim that "no one" at E3 will be able to explore wha??t is a "fraction" of the demo environment.

This ?zone will be ??the focus of this E3, with more news to come down the line in regards to the story and other details.

The post The next Wii U and NX Zelda is called ‘Breath of the Wild’ appeared first on Destructoid.

Let's get speculatin'!

New rumours ha??ve su?rfaced indicating the Nintendo NX will not use optical discs.

According to Nintendo Life (via MCV), 3DS card manufacturer Macronix has revealed it is expecting a revenue hike just around the time Nintendo plans to launch its new Nintendo NX co?nsole in?? March 2017. Gasp.

Japanese website Money-Link has reported the following:

Macronix's ROM chips are usually supplied to videogame console maker, Nintendo. Although the sales is in off season during the first quarter, the revenue is similar compared with the same peri?od last year. Wu ?Miin suggested that as Nintendo had just announced it will release a new generation console in March next year, and the console will be launched at the same time in Japan, America and Europe, so ROM's sales is expected to increase in the latter half of this year, and it will have a large growth potential.

Typically, this kind of information would be attributed to changes with the Nintendo 3DS, but given the company recently tested a new line of 32nm ROM chips - as opposed to the 3DS’?? smaller capacity 75nm ones - the new cards with the extra space are thought to be connected to the Nintendo NX.

It’s not the first time we’?ve ??talked about the Nintendo ditching optical drives for its new console, but it certainly a?dds fire to the flames of speculation. 

What do you think -- do you have a preference between disc, ROM-based media, or cloud/digital? Or does it? not even matter if the system -- and games -- are good? Tell me all, people.

HAPPY FRIDAY! <3

The post Here’s another clue the Nintendo NX will not have an optical drive appeared first on Destructoid.

Zelda release will be simultaneous across both platforms

Nintendo has confirm??ed that the NX, its newest console we know virtually nothing about, is to be released globally in March 2017.

The company also confirmed The Legend of Zelda title previously announced for&nb?sp;Wii U has been delayed. It will no longer release in 2016, and will instead arrive in 2017 simultaneously for both the Wii U and Nint??endo NX.

It's also been confirmed that we won't be seeing much of the NX at this year's E3. Instead, the focus will be on the upcoming Zelda title.

Nintendo is claiming the NX won't be replacing the 3DS o?r Wii U. Kind of like how the DS didn't replace the Game Boy Advance, right?

This release date is a bit later than previous rumours which suggested we could be seeing it this? year, so that gives Nintendo enough time to let th??e cat out of the bag as to what the NX actually is.

Nintendo [Twitter]

The post Nintendo NX to launch in March 2017, with Ze??lda Wii U comin??g to NX later that year appeared first on Destructoid.

Female Link? Linkle? Someone else?

There is a flurry of rumors hitting the net today surrounded the upcoming Zelda title for Wii U.

The main source of the rumor is Emily Rogers, who is known for leaking the existence of a Paper Mario game on the Wii U before Paper Mario: Color Splash's announcement. Rogers' sources have said Zelda is coming to both the Wii U and NX, there will be a choice between a man or woman as the playable character, and there will be voice acting for most characters exc?ept f?or Link.

We here at Destructoid have heard that the playable female character may very well be Linkle, who was introduced recently in Hyrule Warriors Legends, but like all rumors take these with? a?? grain of salt.

I was just thinking earlier, what if we could select Link's gender,? but there were no appearance changes based on that? I mean, Link is alre??ady androgynous and really I can only see that being a win for everyone.

Emily Rogers [Twitter]

The post Gende??r options and voice acting rumored for th??e new Zelda appeared first on Destructoid.

Massive leaks

Intrigued by the latest round of supposed NX controller leaks? So is everyone else.

Luckily, the NeoGAF sleuths are hot on the trail! User Endless has pinpointed the e?xact location of the leaker by way of arboreal awareness. According to Endless, this controller is definitel??y in Sweden, inside the Massive Entertainment offices.

How could they tell? Same tree.

Same tree.

The post Same tree appeared first on Destructoid.

Don't move, it's looking right at us

Nintendo can't unveil its NX system soon enough.

Another rumored controller leak has surfaced, and it looks much more convincing than the last one. According to perkele37, the person who posted these shots on reddit:

The design resembles one of Nintendo's patents closely (too closely?), which has some people skeptical. We also don't know how far along this design is -- it's almost certainly not final -- or how it might fit into the larger context of the NX, which has been described as a console/mobile hybrid.

Real or fake, I've learned from past Nintendo hardware leaks to reserve at least some judgment until we see the thing in action in an official capacity. The lack of physical face buttons is interesting, though, for sure. I'm not strictly opposed to th?at concept, but I understand why it can be? cause for concern.

The post This supposed NX controller leak look??s?? more believable appeared first on Destructoid.

Got to free up those factories to pump out NX

[Update: Nintendo has denied the rumor. Speaking with IT Media (via Kotaku), a company spokesperson asserted &ldquo;This isn’t an announcement from our company," and that “from the next quarter and thereafter as well, production [of ?the Wii U] is scheduled to? continue."]

Among all the rumors about Nintendo's new home console, code named "NX" (I like "Wii Too," personally), we might be forgetting about the poor 'ol Wii U, Nintendo's long-flagging gap hardware that seeme??d DOA and has since seen a lifespan close to the Dreamcast or original Xbox.

According to reports in Japanese newspaper Nikkei (translated by Serkan Toto), Nintendo will h??alt production of the Wii U sometime in 2016 and will properly announce NX this year, though it doesn't necessarily mean? the company will release its new hardware in 2016 for sure. There are still plenty of Wii U sitting in warehouses and they're still making more for a while yet.

But the assumption that Legend of Zelda Wii U will be the?? console's swansong (with a near simultaneous NX release) seems likely.

任天堂、主力機「Ｗｉｉ　Ｕ」生産終了　年内にも [Nikkei]

The post Nintendo might stop making new Wii U by year’s end (Update) appeared first on Destructoid.

Seems to match a Nintendo owned patent

Back in December of 2015, Destructoid reported on a Nintendo patent for ?a game console controller, which many assumed to be for the upcoming NX hardware Ni??ntendo has been teasing.

According to a post by Alexander Maier over at Dual Pixels, what follows is a le??aked image of the NX controller, which ?matches the patent we previously reported on. The image was apparently provided to Maier by a new source, going by the name Idriss2Dev.

The first thing I did when we saw this image was run it through a program often used to t?ell if an image has been Photoshopped, based on highlighting aspects of an image that will?? be inconsistent in Photoshops.

While the image shows evidence of multiple times being saved over, this could be explained by the presence of the large black rectangle and date stamp on the image. It looks o??therwise consistent, leading u??s to suspect that the image has not been Photoshopped significantly.

However, there are seeming inconsistencies with the lighting sources in the image, which mean this should stil??l be taken with a decently sized grain of salt.

It is important to note that if this is development hardware, it may vary from the retail version of the controller. T?here may still be time to rem??ove what appears to be touch screen buttons on this design.

So, what do you think of the des?ign? I think with all these alleged leaks happening, the time for Nintendo to formally reveal the console has to come as soon as possible.

The post Are these leaked images of the?? Nintendo NX controller? appeared first on Destructoid.

Similar situation to Bayonetta 2

[Update: On request of a Ubisoft UK PR rep, I am clarifying that any requests made to take down this story were not sent by Ubisoft's official PR departments. Any prior statements suggesting Ubisoft were behind requests for this story to be removed should be dismissed]

Beyond Good and Evil 2 is one of those games that has?? been rumored to exist for years while still staying weirdly in limbo every time it is discussed. Ubisoft insists the project has not been canned, and brings it up multiple times each year,? but nothing concrete seems to surface.

According to a rumor received by Destructoid this week, the game may actually come to fruition in the not-too-distant future. If the information is to be believed, Nintendo has pulled a Bayonetta 2, securing the Beyond Good and Evil sequel as an NX exclusive for 2017.

So, what's our source here? Our initial source of the rumor comes from Alexander Maier, the Dual Pixels writer who published Geno's recent NX hardware rumors last weekend. Geno, who has successfully leaked new Pokémon forms and Microsoft's IllumiRoom project, provided Maier with a lengthy document, which was passed on to Destruct??oid to assess for veracity.

We also reached out to a second source, who independently gave a number of the same bullet points regarding the future of Beyond Good and Evil. The number of points of crossover between these two sources sugge??sts that this rumor, while not confirmed by Nintendo, may hold water.

According to the supposed leak, the game is currently assigned the working title Beyond Good and Evil: The Prejudices of Philosophers. This is apparently a reference to a specific chapter in the philosophical text Beyond Good and Evil by Friedrich Nietzsche, which details how morality can be altered by authority, and the ??ways bl??ack-and-white morality overlooks the larger complexity of the nature of morals.

Basically, it's the chapter about looking ??beyond the concepts of good and evil.

In much the same fashion as Bayonetta 2, Nintendo is reportedly hoping to win audience goodwill by putting money into the development of the long-in-limbo sequel, in exchange for it being an exclusive to the NX.

Bearing in mind that Beyond Good and Evil was a critical success but a commercial failure, it seems like ?the title would be in a perfect position for this kind of move from Nintendo.

The rumor might also partially explain why in Tim Schafer and Michel Ancel's recent Devs Play for Beyond Good and Evil, Shigeru Miyamoto kept getting name-dropped (skip to 48 minutes) in Ancel's discussion of the sequel. The puzzle pieces have begun to align.

Would Beyond Good and Evil 2 get you to buy the NX next year?

The post Rumor: Nintendo fund?ing Beyond G?ood and Evil sequel appeared first on Destructoid.

From a leaker with history of truthful leaks

While any rumours before an official announcement should be taken wi??th a major grain of salt, a new batch of Nintendo NX hardware rumours are doing the rounds from a source who has le??aked correct information in the past.

Geno, who has previously leaked new Pokémon forms and Microsoft's Illumiroom project, spoke to Dual Pixels and dropped a large amount of suppo??sed hardware information about Nintendo's upcoming hardware.

While this could all be a bunch of rubbish, the info is all included below. For what it's worth, much of ?this info does line up w?ith information I have heard from a separate source.

• The NX has a wireless HDMI dongle that attaches flush to the back of the device.
• You can pull it out and insert it into any display with a normal sized HDMI output.
• NX uses an evolved version of the Wii U’s streaming tech to display in HD on the TV screen.
• Analog controls for movement have small motors in them for full haptic feedback. If you control a character and hit a wall, the sticks move away from the wall to simulate hitting it.
• Bluetooth synch with tons of devices, including smartphones and tablets.
• You can answer phone calls and display text messages from your phone onto NX screen(s).
• Closest in terms of hardware spec to the Xbox One.
• All tech uses the exact same hardware layout as the PS4 and Xbox One.
• Any game that can run on PlayStation 4 or Xbox One can easily run on the NX with near-zero modifications.
• This is even more true if the game runs on Android OS or Unreal Engine 4.
• One 3rd Party dev says “It’s the easiest device we’ve ever developed for. You just take your code, compile it and it works."
• Look to Pokémon Go to get an idea of the type of social features that will be in NX.
• Strengths of the device are its usability and ease of use.
• Operating system, named NintendOS, is very powerful and has so many modern features of mobile operating systems.
• Nintendo is trying to be very careful in showing it off for fear that it would be mistaken as running Android.
• Very strong networking functions, as it ties into multiple devices and services.
• This allows for a very competent and pervasive eco-system designed to constantly involve the consumer’s life.

While this information is all unofficial and unconfirmed, it would line up with a lot of the? industry rumblings about the NX??.

The post There’s a whole host of new NX rumours floating around appeared first on Destructoid.

It was right about the Pokemon Sun and Moon codename

Recently, there was a Nintendo leak posted on NeoGAF said to be from an internal US marketing budget and schedule overview for the rest of 2016 leaked by a Nintendo insider. Fake leaks happen all the time (Rayman in Super Smash Bros., anyone?), but with today's official announcement of Pokémon Sun and Moon, this rumore??d information has gained credibility.

The leak said that a new Pokémon game would be announced for release this holiday season, code-nam??ed "Niji," and that word was included in the file names of press assets sent out today. Nintendo has since changed the file names after people started to make the connection, lending credibility to the leak.

The source says Nintendo NX will launch in 2016 alongside Zelda NX, which is apparently going to be a port of Zelda for Wii U. So, essentially the same thing Nintendo did with Twilight Princess, releasing both a version on GameCube and Wii. The marketing budget for the new Wii U Zelda is said to be $10 million with part of that funding possibly going towards the NX version. I have to imagine this will upset some fans who purchased a Wii U just for the new Zelda title.

Other details from the leak include the total marketing b??udgets for Wii U and 3DS; the Wii U is said to have a $34.5 million budget, while the 3DS has a larger budget of $56.25 million.

With the Wii U's budget being a bit low and 3DS's so high, and with a port of the Wii U Zelda supposedly coming to NX, it is safe to assume the NX is closer to a home co?nsole than a portable at this point.

A 3DS release list was also included, but nothing all that surprising was listed by name. It's mostly things we already know are coming like Mario and Sonic Rio 2016, Hyrule Warriors Legends, Bravely Second, two Dragon Quest games, and two waves of budget-priced Nintendo Select games. Also, the still-not-canceled Metroid Prime: Federation Force, a game I'm personally looking forward to.

However, a few games were listed by cod??e-names only.

• Caviar F - an all-ages smaller-budget game set for release in the fall.
• Torte City - a big-budget game for all gamers releasing in the summer.
• Cadillac - an all-ages smaller-budget title for late summer.
• N-Stars - a big-budget game for all ages releasing in fall or during the holiday season.
• DMW2 - Disney Magical World 2?

Want to take a stab at what these games could be?

My guess would be Torte City ends up being a new proper Animal Crossing title; Cadillac is a new Wario game; and N-Stars is the next iteration of Mario Kart that has characters from other Nintendo series from the start and not just as DLC like Mario Kart 8. 

3DS 2016 Line Up By Nintendo Revealed (V??erified Source at?? Nintendo) [NeoGAF via Kotaku]

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Other publishers are guilty too, he says

Thomas Mahler of Moon Studios (of Ori and the Blind Forest fame) is known for being candid, which is a wonderful juxtaposition to this industry full of canned PR responses. This time he's sounding off on Nintendo, who he is kind of frustrated with at the moment. After talking to the publisher, he states that they haven't even responded to his queries regarding the NX, even going so far as to not ?release specifications for it.

While this seems logical and par for the course for Nintendo, keeping a secret (as it often does), Mahler notes that this doesn't bode well for the system's future in terms of third-party support. He explains, "What's needed to sell hardware is goddamn good software. With Nintendo not having any devkits out there at this point and probably even wanting to sell it in 2016, I can already guarantee that they'll just not have any software support, sinc??e nobody can just jumble games together in less than a year. I mean, you can, but it'll be garbage."

He explains that this isn't just an issue with Nintendo, but with everyone, "treating their devkits and their unreleased consoles like they're the second coming," but for now, the issue is with the NX. Ideally, Mahler notes that getti?ng devkits or proper hardware specs "two years" in advance would be his best case? scenario, but that's probably not in the cards.

I can definitely see both sides, bu??t on Nintendo's end, it really needs to start thinking about pumping up third-party support as much as possible given the complete pull-out that the Wii U had. The secrecy worked out for the Wii, but not so much for the Wii U.

Tomas Mahler [NeoGAF]

The post Ori dev??: Nintendo is being ??too secretive with the NX appeared first on Destructoid.