Gaming - Page 971

Nintendo's new Switch console hasn't had its innards completely detailed yet, but most of the games that were shown off during their recent unveiling event looked to be running at 60FPS.

Now we have some concrete details on Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which will be running at 900p when docked, and 720p for portable/undocked mode, courtesy of Digital Foundry. The site said there were considerable improvements over the E3 2016 build which was running on the Wii U, which had "serious performance issues".

Both the 900p and 720p resolutions will be locked at 30FPS, with the only times performance dips were noticed were "during very heavy alpha and post-processing effect situations, and possibly sometimes from streaming issues", reports VG247.

Nintendo unveiled their next-gen Switch console in better detail to the world a few days ago, and one of the massive surprises was the first-party title Super Mario Odyssey. The trailer, which I've embedded below, has been viewed over 7 million times.

Super Mario Odyssey is a Nintendo Switch exclusive, with Nintendo providing an open world experience like we've never seen before - continuing, but expanding heavily on the work they did on Super Mario 64.

Nintendo has been enjoying mostly positive buzz for its new Switch console, with everyone and their dog waiting for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which the company unveiled the gameplay trailer to 7 months ago now - which has 10.9 million views.

One of my personal highlights of CES 2017 would have to be NVIDIA's unveiling of their new 4K-capable 144Hz G-Sync displays that support HDR. They are absolutely beautiful in person, and now we're going to be getting some games to play them on.

According to BioWare boss Aaron Flynn, Mass Effect: Andromeda will support HDR10 - as well as Dolby Vision. The BioWare team has said they are not rushing the game out to market, as it has been in development for 5 years now, according to the game's lead designer, Ian Frazier.

Mass Effect: Andromeda is going to be one of the biggest PC releases of the year, and HDR is going to be a big driver behind it. I can't wait to get my hands-on a pair of GTX 1080 Ti graphics cards, a new 4K 144Hz HDR-capable G-Sync display (or 3...) and Mass Effect: Andromeda for some HDR gaming goodness.

Koei Tecmo today announced that Nioh, Team Ninja's upcoming brutal action RPG, has been finalized and is ready to start production onto discs.

Nioh is a rather interesting PS4 exclusive that's essentially samurais meet Dark Souls: the game will be quite difficult for everyday players, but no doubt die-hard Souls fans will find it to their liking. I tried out the alpha and beta versions of Nioh and found it to be extremely well executed, if not sadistic.

343 Industries, the dev team responsible for the Halo franchise, has just lost one of its key guiding forces. Would this high-ranking exec jump ship mid-project, or does this departure signal that Halo 6, 343i's next major triple-A Halo game, is already finished and ready for a release on Microsoft's next-gen Project Scorpio console?

Project Scorpio needs a big hit game to compliment it's release. I've talked about the system's sparse launch lineup, and I still contend that Microsoft has some surprises in store for us...and based off of recent news, I think that Halo 6 will be a launch game on Microsoft's "monster" 4K-ready Project Scorpio console. Why do I think this? It all has to do with the departure of Matt McCloskey, 343 Industries ex-Chief Operating Officer.

Matt McCloskey just left 343 Industries to join Twitch as vice president of commerce. According to his LinkedIn profile, McCloskey was a huge transformative force for the Halo series.

Nintendo's new Switch handheld-console hybrid is about a core concept: being able to take the system anywhere on-the-go and being able to play with anyone you meet.

The Nintendo Switch is a revolutionary system. It combines multiple facets of gaming--mobile, handheld and console gaming--together in a tightly scaled ecosystem that easily swaps between multiple form factors. It can be taken on-the-go as a handheld, or docked in TV Mode for traditional console play. But it also does something more, something that will make it a sure-fire success: the Switch's detachable controllers make it a portable two-player arcade machine, essentially making it more accessible than most products out there today.

In the past, gamers could only play together on Nintendo's handheld hardware by swapping said hardware or if two players both owned the systems. The Switch changes all that; gamers can detach the JoyCons and hand one to a friend in Tabletop Mode.

Valve co-founder and current bigwig Gabe Newell (GabeN) will be holding an official Ask Me Anything session on The GabeN Subreddit tomorrow at 3PM PST/ 6PM EST.

GabeN may address the recent interview with an anonymous Valve employee that declared "Half-Life 3 is dead and never existed".

I'm sure Gabe will be absolutely flooded with questions about Half-Life and whether or not Valve is still a games developer or not, but that doesn't mean we'll get official answers. All we know is that Gabe will indeed show up, it'll really be him, and he'll answer a few questions. With any luck, we'll drop some huge bombs on the PC gaming community...but don't be surprised if he avoids 99% of Half-Life 3 questions.

The Nintendo Switch's included JoyCon Grip accessory recharge your JoyCon controllers--you'll have to shell out another $30 for that extra bit of convenience. This poses some problems for console-owners, and will lead to interrupted play in TV Mode--and here's why.

Nintendo's new Switch console has two different kinds of JoyCon Grip accessories: the stock JoyCon Grip that comes in the box with the Switch that doesn't recharge your JoyPads, and the JoyCon Charging Grip, a $30 peripheral that recharges the JoyCon Grips as you play.

Eurogamer reports that the basic JoyCon Grip that comes with the Switch won't have an internal battery nor a USB Type-C port to recharge your JoyCons, and we've corroborated that information via the official Nintendo Switch Fact Sheet that I've included below.

Nintendo's brand new Switch handheld-console hybrid will launch on March 3 with only 11 games, and half of them are Japanese. Is this enough games? Why aren't there more? We put this launch line up into perspective, and talk about why people are upset--but more importantly, we discuss what the Switch actually is and why it's launching with these specific games.

Like the PS4 and Xbox One before them, the Nintendo Switch's launch games are rather...sparse. But the Switch has major advantages those consoles didn't have--unique, innovative hardware, and games that fully leverage said hardware. But gamers are upset, and rightly so.

A huge portion of the rumored games just didn't make an appearance at Nintendo's reveal event...but was that Nintendo's fault, or our own for believing the console would launch with Smash 4, Mother 3 VC, Gamecube Virtual Console support, and a new Monster Hunter game?

Nintendo has officially confirmed that its new Switch console-handheld hybrid will support the SDXC specifcation's maximum capacity, meaning memory cards up to 2TB in size will be compatible with the Switch.

The Switch tablet only has 32GB of on board flash memory, and a single game--Zelda: Breath of the Wild to be exact--can take up half of the console's memory. But Nintendo gets around this obvious storage shortage by allowing users to slot in a Micro SDHC or SDXC card to boost storage space. This is a blessing, but it could also end up being a curse for gamers who want max storage--these cards can be pretty expensive, especially the 2TB options that aren't even out yet.

Now Nintendo has given Game Informer an official statement, saying: "Nintendo Switch is compatible with the SDXC standard, which supports up to 2TB. (Note that 2TB cards are not yet on the market, but the system will support them when they are.)"

I was in denial about this particular subject. I thought for sure that Nintendo wouldn't lock online voice chatting on its new Switch console to a smartphone app--I thought it'd be optional, and you'd still be able to hook up your dedicated gaming headset to the Switch's 3.2mm headphone jack while it's docked or in handheld mode and use it to chat. And I was wrong.

As it turns out, the smartphone app is absolutely required for online voice chatting. The app is described as the "Online Lobby and Voice Chat App" and is only accessible by paid subscribers of Nintendo's new online service.

We expected Nintendo's new Switch handheld-console hybrid to at least come packed with a game or two, but the company decided to nix the plans and sell the console separately from all games. Here's why they made that decision.

As a gamer, I always love it when console-makers give me a free game when I buy a system. This practice has certainly been culled since the NES days of yore, but Nintendo has somewhat kept it alive--during the Wii golden era, every console came with a free copy of Wii Sports, a game that totally exemplified and showcased the system's unique motion controls. The Nintendo Switch is very much like its past systems, including the Wii with its motion-controlled JoyCons, but 1-2 Switch, which is basically the Switch's own Wii Sports, doesn't come with the console. But why?

As Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime told GameSpot, Nintendo had to cut any pack-in games to ensure the Switch kept its $299 launch price.

Nintendo has joined the modern age its new Nintendo Switch console, and it's looking to supercharge its industry presence--and that means new ways to make money. Contrary to its previous will soon make gamers pay a subscription fee to play online games, and here's everything that will include.

When the Nintendo Switch rolls out on March 3, 2017, online play will be free. It'll stay free until Fall 2017 when Nintendo's new online subscription service launches, requiring uses to pay to play specific games online. Essentially, Nintendo is making its own version of Xbox LIVE Gold and PlayStation Plus, but it'll be much different, and I feel that Nintendo won't be heavy-handed like Microsoft and Sony are. Now it's worth noting that not every game will require the subscription for online play--just "most games."

Subscribing to the service will net you some perks: first off, you'll get to play games online. I expect titles like Splatoon 2, Street Fighter, Dragonball Z: Xenoverse and more to require the sub to play online. Secondly, you'll get a free SNES and NES game every month, but you won't get to keep it--you'll only get to download and play it for that month, and at the end of the period Nintendo will take it it away and replace it with another game. So it won't be like PlayStation Plus or Xbox LIVE's Games With Gold.

The Nintendo Switch's user interface has been a mystery that wasn't shown off during the console's entire hour-long presentation event. Until now, that is.

via GIPHY

Nintendo's brand new console-handheld hybrid Switch tablet has a 10-point capacitive touch display that will leverage unique TouchSense tech and software to bring engaging experiences to gamers.

Immersion Corporation's TouchSense haptic force-feedback technology has been used in a multitude of devices and platforms, including virtual reality headsets, mobiles, tablets--and now the Nintendo Switch. While the company didn't go into specifics, it did announce that Nintendo's Switch console will use its TouchSense software SDK platform to deliver "immersive touch-based gaming controls to playesr around the world."

"For over 20 years, Immersion has been delivering haptic technology that brings the sense of touch to digital content, creating experiences that are engaging, impactful and ultimately, more real. Our tools, deep expertise and intellectual property make high quality haptics possible."

Nintendo hosted their Switch unveiling event nearly 24 hours ago now, with some truly weird happenings - I loved it, weirdness and all - but investors didn't.

Nintendo's stock prices on Japan's Tokyo Stock Exchange reflected this, with stock dropping nearly 6%. Nintendo showed off its console in full, with the controllers, a bunch of first-party games like Super Mario Odyssey, as well as revealing that Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild will launch alongside the Switch on March 3.

I enjoyed the event, and sure - it could've been better, but what Nintendo unveiled was - to me at least, impressive. Pricing the Nintendo Switch at $299 is going to get a massive chunk of sales, and so is launching the new Zelda game alongside Switch on March 3. System seller, anyone?!

Nintendo detailed its Switch console and some of its launch games, and upcoming games like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe - which will be exclusive to Nintendo Switch, and will run at 1080p when the console is in its dock.

Better yet, you can have 4-player multiplayer at 1080p in TV mode, which will be great for those with massive TVs - and it should be at 60FPS. When you use the Switch in handheld mode, it'll drop to 720p - but at 60FPS still. There will be 5 new characters, and all of the DLC from Mario Kart 8.

There's a new battle mode, new items and features, and more. In a way, this is better than a sequel as normally the sequel drops some features - where the Switch exclusive Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is everything Mario Kart 8 was on the Wii U, but heavily improved.

Nintendo has officially revealed specs and features of its new handheld-console Switch hybrid, delivering some pretty nifty surprises. While most of the specs lined up with what we expected, the Switch's JoyCon controllers are incredibly advanced and hearken back to the Wiimote days of yore. Nintendo clearly outlines each of the Switch's components, pieces, and features--so let's dig in, shall we?

Before we jump in, I just want to get this out of the way: Nintendo hasn't said anything about the Switch's internal hardware, so don't expect them to answer the million dollar Tegra question any time soon. In the official Nintendo Switch fact sheet (see below), Nintendo delivers this vague statement: "The Switch uses a custom Tegra processor powered by NVIDIA."

There's no mention of how the Switch handheld's GPU clock might drop to 368MHz while on-the-go, but Nintendo did say that the Switch has varying levels of battery life depending on which game is being played, so that strongly hints at varying/scaled performance across the dual form factors.

Nintendo has confirmed that Zelda: Breath of the Wild will launch alongside the Switch console.

The Nintendo Switch will launch on March 3, 2017 for $299, and it'll include a rather interesting software library--but the main first-party game that everyone's been waiting for will release right along with it. Link's latest open-world adventure in Hyrule has been delayed many times over, but now it's finally coming out, and it looks incredible.

Keep an eye out for our full analysis of the Nintendo Switch hardware and content lineup tomorrow. I plan to have a fully reaction video where I dissect just how monumental the Nintendo Switch is, and how it's a massive game changer for the industry--and least of all Nintendo.

Nintendo just announced its latest Mario game exclusively for its new Nintendo Switch handheld-console hybrid, but the iconic plumber won't be at the forefront of the company's huge new console release.

Mario: Odyssey is the Nintendo Switch's newest open-world 3D platformer, but contrary to our original estimates, it won't release alongside the Switch on March 3. Nintendo has said Mario: Odyssey will release Holiday 2017.

The new Mario game features a distinct open-world style and allows gamers to fly in an interesting new airship to visit a bunch of different worlds and regions--many of which are real-world cities, possibly like Los Angeles and New York. This pretty much confirming some of the leaks we've heard. Mario also has a nifty hat that's somewhat like Link's hat in the Minish Cap, and comes alive, allowing Mario to even jump on it to scale huge gaps.