August 8 to 14 Nintendo News Roundup

Pokémon Sun & Moon

Another week has come and gone, and once again The Pokémon Company has revealed new information about Pokémon Sun & Moon.

First, we have a couple new trailers, followed by new artwork and information. These cover new pokémon, new Alolan formes, and Team Skull. Check them out below:

NEW POKÉMON—WISHIWASHI, PYUKUMUKU, MORELULL AND MORE ALOLAN POKÉMON VARIANTS—REVEALED FOR POKÉMON SUN AND POKÉMON MOON!

New details about Alola region ruffians Team Skull also announced

London, United Kingdom —August 11, 2016— The Pokémon Company International and Nintendo announced several new Pokémon and characters that can be found in the highly anticipated Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon video games, available exclusively on the Nintendo 3DS family of systems. These Pokémon appear in the newest Pokémon video games, launching in Europe on November 23.Team Skull
In the Alola region, a group of ruffians known as Team Skull causes a lot of trouble. They steal other people’s Pokémon, mess up the trial sites, and delight in all kinds of evil deeds.Team Skull Boss: Guzma
Guzma is the boss of Team Skull, the one who holds these ruffians together. Guzma pours on the attacks, battling without mercy. He certainly does seem strong, but he claims that he “never could become captain.” He seems to have a bone to pick with Professor Kukui, as well.Team Skull Admin: Plumeria
Plumeria is considered the big sister of Team Skull. She’s a tough lady who keeps the members of Team Skull in line and working together, in the sort of way a strict older sister would. She seems to care for the Grunts who are below her in the pecking order, and she’s not one to let it go if anyone gives them a walloping.Team Skull Grunts
Both male and female Team Skull Grunts wear matching black Skull Tanks. And these uniforms aren’t even provided for them—all Grunts have to buy their own!The newly revealed Pokémon include:

Wishiwashi
Type: Water
Wishiwashi have a new Ability, Schooling, which no Pokémon has previously had. Under certain conditions, Wishiwashi will change in battle to their School Form.

·         Solo Form
A single Wishiwashi is tiny and weak. Measuring just eight inches from nose to tail, Wishiwashi is very small, even for a Pokémon. Yet the people of the Alola region seem to view it as a terrifying Pokémon. When it’s in danger, Wishiwashi’s glistening eyes catch the light and shine out, sending a distress signal to its allies.

·         School Form
The seemingly weak Wishiwashi is called the demon of the sea because of its ferocious School Form. When Wishiwashi receive a distress signal, they unite in a huge battle formation.

Pyukumuku
Type: Water
Due to their appearance and way of life, Pyukumuku are considered unappealing to tourists. Part-time work pulling Pyukumuku off the beach and chucking them back into the sea is available at tourist beaches. But no matter how far they’re thrown, Pyukumuku will always return to the same spot. Pyukumuku have a new Ability, Innards Out, which no other Pokémon has had before. When this Pokémon faints, Innards Out lets it dish out a final bit of damage to its opponent, equal to the amount of HP it had left before it received the final blow.

Morelull
Type: Grass/Fairy
Morelull are nocturnal Pokémon that walk around at night on their leg-like roots. They move because staying in one spot and sucking all the nutrients from the soil would cause surrounding plants to wither. With their roots, they make contact with other Morelull and communicate with one another.

Pokémon Adapted to the Alola Region
Some Pokémon have adapted to the distinctive microclimates of the Alola region and have taken on different forms than they have in other regions. These Pokémon are called regional variants. After settling in the Alola region, they live like native Pokémon. These regional variant Pokémon can have different appearances and types, and their way of living can also differ from that of the forms previously known.

Alolan Meowth
Type: Dark
Meowth is a Pokémon that did not originally live in the Alola region. They were sent to the royal family of Alola as an offering from another region, and only a select few could have them as partners. It’s said that the Meowth that were offered to the royalty lived a life of luxury and pampering, which led them to have a selfish and prideful attitude. This caused Meowth’s form to change.

Alolan Marowak
Type: Fire/Ghost
The Marowak in the Alola region take bones and light both ends on fire by rubbing them against their foreheads. Then they spin the bones around! Marowak’s rarity and its fearsome appearance when it dances with its bone led the people of Alola to dub it a conjurer and regard it with fear.

Alolan Raichu
Type: Electric/Psychic
The Raichu in Alola have two types—Electric and Psychic—and they are able to wield psychic power. What’s more, they can gather their psychic power in their tails and then ride on them to float in the air!

A new trailer that showcases these new Pokémon and much more can be found here: https://youtu.be/06bSt8nPLeg

For more information, please visit Pokemon.co.uk/SunMoon.

Besides that, the latest issue of CoroCoro provides some information about some new pokémon.

These include the sandcastle inspired Sunabaa and Sunadeshiro, which are both Ghost/Ground type, and Bewear’s pre-evolution called Nuikoguma, and that is also Normal/Fighting. (Note that, outside of Bewear, these are the Japanese names)

Nuikoguma is apparently very popular among women and children, and tops the lists of pokémon people want to meet. However, it hates being touched and will kick and struggle to resist those who try to grab it. It’s a very powerful pokémon by itself, but once it evolves into Bewear it truly gains herculean strength.

Sunabaa is a grudge that dwells inside a pile of sand and turns into a pokémon. Shirodesuna steals the life force from other pokémon, and those pokémon’s grudges turn into a new Sunaba.

Next month’s issue of CoroCoro is also said to feature a poster with information on Rockruff’s “Secret Evolution”.

Here are the relevant scans from CoroCoro:

Finally, it has been announced that CoroCoro Comics will be releasing a new manga based on Pokémon Sun & Moon, starting with the September 15 issue. It’s obviously set in the Alola Region, and the manga will star a new trainer character and his Rockruff. You can find a few preview pages from the Japanese site below:

Pokémon X & Y, Pokémon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire

darkrai-5The Pokémon Company has announced that Darkrai will be distributed via the Pokémon Trainer Club newsletter scheduled for September. This distribution is valid for Pokémon X, Y, Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire.

If you missed the GameStop distribution a few months ago, now’s your chance to get one. However, if you already obtained it at GameStop, you won’t be able to receive another one.

Pokémon GO

A newer version of Pokémon GO is now available to download in Version 1.3.1 which is out now. Unlike the most recent update, this one is fairly minor in nature, only mentioning stability improvements in the patch notes. It also says that there are “No text fixes”.

Meanwhile, Niantic addressed a bug with XP bonuses and the battery saver mode has returned on iOS, as of version 1.3.0. Additionally, there’s now a driver warning as well as the ability to change your nickname once.

Here are the official patch notes:

– Added a dialog to remind Trainers that they should not play while traveling above a certain speed. Trainers must confirm they are not driving in order to continue playing
– Made improvements to the accuracy of a curveball throw
– Fixed a bug that prevented ”Nice,” ”Great,” and “Excellent” Poké Ball throws from awarding the appropriate XP bonuses
– Fixed achievements showing incorrect Medal icons
– Enabled the ability for Trainers to change their nickname one time, so please choose your new nickname wisely
– Resolved issues with the battery saver mode on iOS and re-enabled this feature
– Added visuals of Team leaders – Candela, Blanche and Spark
– We’re currently testing a variation of the “Nearby Pokemon” feature with a subset of users. During this period you may see some variation in the nearby Pokemon UI.
– Minor text fixes

The “Nearby” feature has apparently been replaced with “Sightings”.

Players can now see the closest PokeStop if a pokémon is near there. When you touch a pokémon and select “view”, it zooms out and takes you to an overview map, and the pokémon appears to be in the pink circle. Choosing the pokémon to track puts a marker on the live map, and when one flees, you’ll be notified with a message.

As Niantic is still in the testing phase with these new tracking features, things may change a bit before the system is rolled out to all players. Still, it seems to provide a noticeable improvement compared to what’s in Pokémon GO at the moment.

You can take a look at these new features in the screenshots below:

On the business side, according to FT.com, Pokémon GO has now not only exceeded $250 million in global revenue, but is on track to reach $1 billion in sales.

The site also reports that one in five Pokémon GO players spend money on the app and there are over 11 million paying players in the US and UK alone, according to a survey of 50,000 players conducted by pollster YouGov.

YouGov’s study further elaborates on these statistics, stating that 1 million UK residents paid to play Pokémon GO in its first month, with the majority of those players paying between 80P and £14.99, rather than the minimum of 79P. 29% and 20% of American and German players spent money on the app, with 9% of German fans, roughly equivalent to 142,000 individuals, spent over €100.

It’s estimated that 13% of the adult population in the US, UK and Germany have downloaded Pokémon GO, with 90% of that number continuing to play for four weeks after the initial download. A third of those players were over the age of 35 and high earners.

Based on data from Adobe’s Digital Price Index, online Pokémon-branded merchandise sales also increased by 105% in July year-over-year. Retailers such as Build-A-Bear and GameStop are seeing huge benefits from Pokémon GO’s success.

pokemon-salesThe parternship with McDonald’s has also boosted its sales in Japan, which rose 27% last month, with the company stating that there was demand for children’s meals featuring Pokémon toys and increased traffic thanks to Pokémon GO. However, the restaurant chain believes it’s too early to estimate Pokémon GO’s impact on earnings, even though more customers are being drawn in due to the partnership.

Meanwhile, the TOHO cinema chain will have most of its movie theaters become PokeStops, as it enters a parternship with Pokémon GO too. It’ll only be outside however, to not disturb people watching the films. The Pokémon GO and TOHO partnership will start later this year.

On the interview front, we have some words from John Hanke who stopped by the GamesBeat 2016 conference, which you can find on the video below, and some from The Pokémon Company consumer marketing director J.C. Smith, which was also interviewed by GamesBeat about the Super Bowl commercial, the Detective Pikachu film, and Pokémon GO, among other things. You can read the latter interview over here.

Finally, we learned from Nikkei that “[Iwata] continued to work in a hospital room until the last moment, using his favorite PC and exchanging views on ‘Pokémon Go’ with Tsunekazu Ishihara, the Pokémon Company’s president and his close friend”. The site also mentions that Iwata was “closely involved” with Pokémon GO’s development “from the planning stage”.

Nikkei had the following comment from a game-related company who knew Iwata well:

“Children can enjoy ‘Pokemon Go’ without spending too much money. This is probably what Iwata-san aimed for.”

Nintendo’s main contribution to Pokémon GO will only come out in September though, which is when Pokémon GO Plus – an accessory for the game – will be available.

Thank you Iwata, for all your hard work.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Nintendo has recently posted a video to their Facebook page giving fans another look at the Temple of Time in Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Check it out below:

It has also been announced that fans attending EB Games Expo 2016 will have an opportunity to play The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’s E3 demo. However, just 333 fans will be able to try the game. For that, you’ll need to have purchased four or more Zelda titles from EB Games locations. The demo will be restricted to a 45-minute timer for each player. EB Games Expo 2016 runs between September 30 and October 2.

Meanwhile, according to an EDGE interview, Eiji Aonuma has shared that implementing the day/night cycle in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has been “extremely hard”.

Here’s what had to tell EDGE magazine this month about the day/night cycle in the game:

“We didn’t want to create something that was dark and scary. I’ve been up a tall mountain at night and seen the stars; it was completely dark, but the starlight made it brighter. I wanted our nighttime environment to be something like that. And when it’s dark, there are elements in the environment that glow, so the player can use those to find their way.”

The Legend of Zelda 30th Anniversary

Later this month, The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Graphics will be released in Japan in celebration of the series’ 30th anniversary.

It will contain all published official illustrations from the first entry up through Twilight Princess HD. All kinds of art like main visuals, character illustrations, and items can be seen here. There will also be a symposium of Nintendo’s legacy designers recorded as well.

The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Graphics will be A4-sized and has 416 pages. It’s planned for release on August 26 for 4,300 yen.

You can find some samples below:

Besides this, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess manga is now confirmed for the west. During a recent panel at Otakon, VIZ Media announced that they’ve licensed it from Himekawa. The first volume will release in March 2017.

Tokyopop will be handling the German version of the same manga, and it’ll actually be coming out very soon, with the first volume due out on November 17 for €6.50. Plans are also in place for Spanish and French editions. The publisher also confirmed that a total of four volumes will be released.

Lastly, Tokyopop will also be releasing The Legend of Zelda: Legendary Edition based on Ocarina of Time on November 17. North America will have it on November 1.

zelda-twilight-princess-manga-tokyopopMetroid Prime: Federation Force

Nintendo has released a short trailer to highlight the story in Metroid Prime: Federation Force. Check it out below:

The latest episode of Nintendo Minute also features Kit and Krysta, with guests Andre and Katie, playing some Metroid Prime: Federation Force. You can find the episode below:

Kirby: Planet Robobot

The first ever “Kirby: Planet Robobot Ask-a-thon” was recently hosted on Miiverse. Fans were able to ask director Shinya Kumazaki several questions about the game. During the new Q&A, Kumazaki talked about the game’s name, how long it took to develop, a scrapped idea involving the story, and other interesting things. You can find his comments below in image form.

kirby-planet-robobot-askathon-1Miitomo

Miitomo has been updated with new content for Miitomo Drop and Shop once again.

Here’s a list of the new additions:

miitomo-august-7The vast depths! The World of the Sea #2

– Tentacle tights
– Tropical-fish skirt
– Seaside dress
– King herring

miitomo-august-8Calling all competitors! High-Impact Sports #3

– Rugby uniform (set)
– Headgear
– Rugby ball

miitomo-august-9The vast depths! The World of the Sea #3

– Shell-knee sweatpants
– Wild shark T-shirt
– Seaweed suit (set)
– Seaweed hood (set)

miitomo-august-11A stealthy comeback! Ninja Style Returns #1

– Demon ninja hood
– Demon ninja armor
– Ninja katanas: “Twin Dragons”
– Ninja bomber jacket

Miitomo Shop

– Sleeveless shirtdress
– Scarf sandals
– Pear-shaped pendant
– Sombrero
– Striped sleeveless shirt
– Camo pencil skirt
– Patent leather laced shoes
– Anchor-print shoes

Besides that, Nintendo has prepared yet another promo video for its Japanese audience. You can find it below:

Virtual Console

Nintendo has released official videos for a couple of Japanese Wii U and New 3DS Virtual Console games. You can find them below:

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks (Wii U, NDS)

Panel de Pon (New 3DS, SNES)

Nintendo Selects

Nintendo has recently announced several new promotional items, including new Nintendo Selects titles and bundles.

Here’s the full announcement and promo video:

REDMOND, Wash., Aug. 9, 2016 – Everyone deserves to have a little fun before back-to-school season begins – and this applies to both kids and their parents. Starting on Aug. 26, Nintendo rolls out a stellar set of offers for both Wii U and Nintendo 3DS, including some of Nintendo’s biggest hits dropping to a suggested retail price of $19.99 each, like Animal Crossing: New Leaf and The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD, as well as the debut of a new Mario-themed New Nintendo 3DS system that comes with the Super Mario 3D Land game pre-installed at the low suggested retail price of only $149.99. And starting on Sept. 9, five convenient bundles each packed with a select Wii U game and an amiibo figure will be available. All of these great deals make getting ready for school a much more entertaining (and affordable) process.

“These back-to-school deals are some of the best and most varied we have ever offered,” said Doug Bowser, Nintendo of America’s Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “Now is clearly the best time to get started on your essential Nintendo game collection.”

Great Games for Under $20: On Aug. 26, some of Nintendo’s most popular and premium Wii U and Nintendo 3DS games are joining the Nintendo Selects honor roll of games sold at a suggested retail price of only $19.99. The list of games being added to the Nintendo Selects collection is as follows:

Game
System
Animal Crossing: New Leaf
Nintendo 3DS
Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon
Nintendo 3DS
Tomodachi Life
Nintendo 3DS
nintendogs + cats: Golden Retriever & New Friends
Nintendo 3DS
LEGO® City Undercover: The Chase Begins
Nintendo 3DS
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD
Wii U
Nintendo Land
Wii U
LEGO® City Undercover
Wii U

This is in addition to the dozens of Nintendo Selects games already available, from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D for Nintendo 3DS to Super Mario 3D World for Wii U. Check out the other Nintendo Selects games at http://www.nintendo.com/nintendo-selects.

Super Mario 3D Land Edition New Nintendo 3DS: Also on Aug. 26, a New Nintendo 3DS bundle that includes the system, the wildly fun Super Mario 3D Land game pre-installed and two extra interchangeable Mario-themed cover plates (one inspired by Mario and one featuring 8-bit renditions of classic Nintendo characters) will go on sale exclusively at Walmart and Target stores at a low suggested retail price of $149.99. New Nintendo 3DS is more compact than New Nintendo 3DS XL and also sports removable cover plates that let you customize the system’s look. New Nintendo 3DS is one of the most versatile video game systems out there, and this price (with an included game!) really can’t be beat. The suggested retail price is $50 less than the suggested retail price of any New Nintendo 3DS bundle previously offered. For more information about New Nintendo 3DS, visit http://www.nintendo.com/3ds/.

Wii U Games + amiibo Bundles: Starting on Sept. 9, select Wii U games will be packaged with specific amiibo at a suggested retail price of only $39.99 each. These bundles are a great way for players to be introduced to the world of Nintendo’s amiibo figures (and to have something to talk about with friends on the school bus). When tapped to the Wii U GamePad controller, each of the amiibo figures included in the bundles will unlock something special in its respective game. The bundles include:

Wii U Game
amiibo Character
Functionality
Yoshi’s Woolly World
Pink Yarn Yoshi
Activates “Double Yoshi” in single-player mode, allows players to save favorite collected patterns to the amiibo figure
Yoshi’s Woolly World
Light Blue Yarn Yoshi
Activates “Double Yoshi” in single-player mode, allows players to save favorite collected patterns to the amiibo figure
Mario Party 10
Peach
Play with and customize the amiibo in Party Mode
Mario Party 10
Bowser
Play with and customize the amiibo in Party Mode
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
Toad
Unlocks a hide-and-seek challenge

For more information about amiibo, visit http://www.nintendo.com/amiibo.

Nintendo 2DS + Mario Kart 7 for a Suggested Retail Price of Only $79.99: Available now, the affordable and kid-friendly portable Nintendo 2DS system is ideal for parents looking to purchase a Nintendo system for their youngest gamers (and star students!) The system can play nearly every Nintendo 3DS game in 2D, is available at a suggested retail price of only $79.99 and specifically marked packages of the system include the hit Mario Kart 7 racing game, pre-installed. Combining this great package with one of the newly available Nintendo Selects games for Nintendo 3DS gives you a new Nintendo system and two awesome games – all for the great value of less than $100. For more information about Nintendo 2DS, visit http://www.nintendo.com/2ds.

https://youtu.be/8_LLsZUqoks

Patents for button accessory attachment and IR camera

Three new Nintendo patents filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office recently appeared online. They were originally filed on January 11.

It looks like a partial continuation of a previous patent. Two of them explore the hand/gesture tracking functionality in more detail, but the third makes mention of an accessory (buttons) that can connect to the side of a portable device, and use an infrared camera to read button presses instead of using any form of electrical connection between the two.

Here’s the abstract and some related images:

“An example accessory can be attached to an information processing device. The accessory includes a housing, a movable operation section, and a movable portion. An inside of the housing is visible from an outside thereof through at least a portion thereof. At least a portion of the operation section is exposed on the outside of the housing. The movable portion is placed at a position inside the housing that is visible from the outside of the housing through the portion of the housing. A position and/or an attitude of the movable portion changes in response to the operation section being operated.”

You can find more information about these patents in this NeoGAF thread.