Hello everyone, and welcome to another Nintendo recap. There have been several exciting announcements this week thanks to Gamescom as well as a Nintendo Treehouse video showing how Splatoon 3 is played. We’ll talk about everything that reveals about these important events. Plus, if you’re a Splatoon fan or interested in the upcoming game, you can take part in the free Splatfest World Premiere this weekend.
In other news, Nintendo says it plans to reduce the packaging for the Nintendo Switch and we finally got the Sonic Frontiers release date. There’s a lot of waiting down there, so let’s move on.
Play Splatoon 3 Splatfest for free this weekend
The first Splatoon 3 Splatfest is currently going on today, August 27 from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. PT. Players choose a team – either Rock (blue), Paper (yellow), or Scissors (red) – and then turn to it online in paint-based turf wars with other opposing teams as their opponents.
This Splatfest event may seem surprising because the full game hasn’t been released yet and won’t be released yet September 9. But it does give returning fans and curious people a chance to check it out. On top of that, it’s a free demo! So if you are already a fan of Splatoon or you are interested in this upcoming game, you should play while you can do so without spending any money.
Simply download the Splatoon 3 demo: Splatfest World Premiere to your Switch and you are good to go!
Nintendo Treehouse covers Splatoon 3 Story mode and Harvestella
Ahead of Splatfest, a Nintendo Treehouse presentation went live on Wednesday showing the gameplay for Splatoon 3, then finished with a look at the upcoming fantasy game Harvestella from Square Enix. During the segments of Splatoon 3, we took a look at the single-player story mode where players run through tournaments to defeat enemies and try to reach the end.
We have seen that players can throw their companion in Smallfry to distract enemies while sneaking and attacking from other locations. Some new weapons like the Splatana have also been shown to show their range and how best to use them. If you are going to participate in Splatfest, it may be worth watching some tips and tricks for Splatoon 3.
The Harvestella part explained that this is a polished yet simple RPG with life simulation elements. Players can customize their characters, fight in battle, grow crops, explore a fantasy world, and collect items. As part of this, you will need to make sure you eat at all times to make up for the stamina used during the day. In many ways, it looks like a nicer version of Rune Factory 5, if that’s your type of game.
Nintendo Switch packaging will be reduced
Over the past few years, the world has been experiencing a chip shortage, severely hampering technology production as well as driving up the prices of many of the tools and machines that use it. Nintendo itself has been swayed by this, with numbers showing that sales have fallen a bit due to the fact that the game company can’t produce as many systems as it wants.
As with most products, the holiday season is one of the most important times of the year for Nintendo, which strives to sell as many Switch and Switch OLED consoles as possible to stay in the black. To help ship as many game systems as possible, Nintendo is planning to reduce the packaging for the Nintendo Switch V2 by 20% (thanks, Nikkei). The Switch OLED box is already more compact than the original box, so it’s not too surprising to hear that. In that case, be prepared to see another Switch box in stores soon.
Sonic Frontiers gets release date and new video
There hasn’t been much Nintendo news from Gamescom this year, but we’ve got a new Sonic Frontiers story trailer, which has officially revealed the release date of this upcoming game. Out November 8, just 10 days ago Pokemon Scarlett and Violet. The trailer gave us a more polished look at the game than we’ve seen before, with exclusive scenes we’ve never seen before.
Sonic is shown interacting with a little girl named Sage who appears to be covered in red coding lines. At one point she told him, “Send. Your reckless actions are endangering the world,” before Sonic defiantly presses the button. Then we move on to several different areas filled with Sega springs, rails, and fast tracks. In a particularly interesting moment, Sonic meets Amy who is trapped in a strange red orb. He begins investigating before heading off to confront the incoming robots.
In another scene, a kind of strange red glow similar to what we see on Sage’s body takes over Sonic’s right arm and appears to be causing him pain. People online were quick to criticize that this looks similar to what happens to Link’s hand in the The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 trailers. But we don’t know what exactly this red glow of Sonic does. Then Sonic tries to attack Sage, but she cannot penetrate the protective shield around her.
Now that we’ve seen more locations and characters, it looks like this could be an interesting story in a relatively large world. The game will take up 10.4GB of space on the Switch, so make sure you have enough space on your microSD card before launching it.
If you care about the marketing of this game, you will know that fans have not been very impressed with the visuals and mechanics they have seen up until this point. Many have called for the Sonic Frontiers to be delayed, though Sega responded by saying it had no intention of doing so (thanks VGC).
Although it wasn’t amazing, many fans responded more positively to this latest video, making the refined environments a huge improvement over what’s been shown in the past. It also helps that we now have more plot insights. At least Amy is in trouble and Sonic needs to save her. Plus, there’s this new plot from the careless Sage character that we’re eager to learn more about.
Masahiro Sakurai has launched a new YouTube channel called Creating Games
If you are a fan of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, I’ve been watching Masahiro Sakurai videos for the past few years. He is a legend in the gaming industry, having started his career at HAL Lab in 1989 when he was just 19 years old and created Kirby shortly thereafter. Also thanks to Sakurai, Super Smash Bros. came out. He’s channeled every Smash game since the original 64 came out, which is why he’s been announcing the new Smash Ultimate fighters and explaining how to use them.
On Wednesday, Sakurai announced that he is starting a new YouTube channel called “Masahiro Sakurai about creating games.” He states that his videos will try to stay between two to five minutes and are meant for everyone. He will talk about game development along with what makes games fun without being too technical. As he said in his first video, “Those without game development experience need a good starting point… I hope that by covering a variety of topics on this channel, I will be able to help more people learn what game development is all about.” “. He also says that as part of his videos, he will show the designs and builds of Smash Bros. docs. , which is very exciting.
It is hoped that learning about game creation from a master who has given many lectures in universities and other professional settings will inspire people who want to learn about games as well as those already in the industry. But, don’t expect details about how Nintendo will operate, as Sakurai warned, “trade secrets must be kept.”
Game Awards date announced
The Game Awards 2022 date was revealed on Thursday, December 8. As usual, the ceremony will take place at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. Exact dates for the show aren’t listed yet, but we’re sure to have more information within the next couple of months.
The first Game Awards were held seven years ago in 2014 and have been the biggest gaming gala since then. In addition to awarding prizes to developers and creators, The Game Awards is a premiere venue where people often watch the first video of specific projects or devices.
As always, the 2022 gala will be hosted by its founder, Jeff Keighley, who has worked as a journalist for more than two decades. There are plenty of contestants competing for the Game of the Year, such as Elden Ring and Horizon Forbidden West. Not to mention several confirmed candidates like God of War Ragnarok and Bayonetta 3, have yet to be released. Mark your calendars and get ready for what will be an epic show.
Switch games to play this weekend
If you are a fan of traditional Zelda dungeons, you should really check out Blossom Tales II: The Minotaur Prince. This sequel launched last week and is a love letter to Link’s adventures. However, one of the best things about it is that although the gameplay is quite enjoyable with sword fighting and fantasy elements, it does not take itself too seriously. Instead, it often makes fun of Zelda’s dungeon style being imitated.
Another great option is the Cult of the Lamb, which has been selling well for two weeks. And players are still talking about its cute character designs and dark themes, comparing it to the scary Animal Crossing game. If this sounds like your kind of thing, you really should check it out.
More exciting games to come
That’s all the news in this week’s Nintendo Brief. This year is filled with many great games due to be released in the next few months, so check back every week to see what’s happening with Nintendo and the game industry.
Until next time.
– Rebecca Spear