January 16 to 22 Nintendo News Roundup

Nintendo at GDC 2017

GDC 2017’s website has now confirmed that Nintendo will be present at the event.

The company is listed as one of the many exhibitors, and will have three booths in the North Hall.

GDC 2017 will occur between February 27 and March 3.

Switch

The first TV ad for Nintendo Switch has now started airing. You can watch it below.

Moreover, Kit and Krysta went hands-on with the Switch in the latest Nintendo Minute episode, which was recorded at the New York event. Check it out below.

Furthermore, several interviews with Nintendo staff were held during the week, revealing extra details about the Switch and surrounding matters. You can find these interviews (both videos and otherwise) listed below.

TIME – Reggie on who the Switch is for, regular stream of games and third-party support, online plans, Wii U’s failure, etc.

GamesBeat – David Young on Switch’s tech specs, battery life, online plans, and leaks.

Kotaku Q&A – Nintendo on Switch backwards compatibility, external memory and hard drives, share button features, new mii options, lack of support for streaming services, region-free stores.

The Wall Street Journal also reported that the Switch’s screen is being supplied by Japan Display Inc., which received an order for 3 million units. The order also calls for over 10 million units to have been shipped by the end of the year, although the number could potentially change. The revenue for Japan Display Inc. is noted to be small.

Finally, Nintendo of America has posted a new version of the infographic listing upcoming Switch releases, stating there are more than 80+ games currently in development for the console. Take a look at it below.

Fire Emblem Direct

On January 18th, Nintendo held a Fire Emblem Direct presentation to share information about upcoming titles in the Fire Emblem series.

You can find each region’s presentation and a link to their official recaps below, but information surrounding each game will be kept in that game’s section after this one.

North America

Official Recap

Europe

Official Recap

Japan

Official Recap

Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia

Nintendo’s Fire Emblem Direct announced a remake of Fire Emblem Gaiden for the 3DS called Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia.

The game is set in the continent of Valencia which is split into two territories. The north holds the Kingdom of Rigel, home to followers of the Duma, while the south harbors the Kingdom of Zofia, where Mila is worshiped. When Rigel invades Zofia, Alm and Celica raise an army to topple Rigel and the Dark God that is backing the conflict.

The remake will be released in North America and Europe on May 19th, and in Japan on April 20th, and aims to update the original game while keeping mostly intact what makes it different from other entries in the franchise. A couple of amiibo figures depicting Alm and Celica will also be released on the same dates, but their functionality hasn’t been explained yet.

Japan is also two special editions, a “Limited Edition” and a “Valentia Complete Edition”. The contents of these are as follows:

Limited Edition (6,980 yen)

– Copy of Fire Emblem Echoes
– A Fire Emblem 0 limited card of Alm
– Download serial to get an extra DLC set that will be available as soon as it’s published
– Sound Selection Echoes: A CD that contains both music from the original Gaiden game from the NES and the arranged versions in Echoes

Valentia Complete (10,980 yen)

– Copy of Fire Emblem Echoes
– A Fire Emblem 0 limited card of Alm
– A Fire Emblem 0 limited card of Celica
– Download serial to get an extra DLC set that will be available as soon as it’s published
– Sound Selection Echoes
– Valentia art book
– Fire Emblem HD Movie Collection Blu-Ray (Collection of HD movies used in the games Radiant Dawn, Awakening, Fates and Echoes)

The Japanese My Nintendo Store will also allow fans to purchase the full set of Valentia Complete Edition bonuses without the Fire Emblem Echoes copy itself, a set which will be priced at 6,980 yen.

You can find the Japanese teaser site here. You can also watch the Japanese trailer below, and take a look at some artwork and the amiibo in the gallery that follows.

Fire Emblem Switch

Nintendo has announced in the Fire Emblem Direct that a new Fire Emblem game is coming to the Nintendo Switch in 2018.

It will mark the return of main series titles to home consoles since 2007 when Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn released on the Wii.

Fire Emblem Warriors

Through the Fire Emblem Direct, Nintendo has now provided us with a better look at Fire Emblem Warriors due to an extended trailer, which you can watch below.

The game has now also been confirmed to be releasing for the New 3DS family of portable consoles alongside the Switch version in the Autumn.

Fire Emblem Heroes

The last game showcased in the Fire Emblem Direct was Fire Emblem Heroes, Nintendo’s new mobile game which will be out on February 2nd for Android and iOS.

You can learn more about the game through the quoted facts sheet below, and take a look at the trailer and a gallery of various artwork after that.

Nintendo’s hit strategy-RPG Fire Emblem series is now reimagined for smart devices.

Fight battles customized for touch screens and on-the-go gameplay. Summon characters from across the Fire Emblem universe. Develop your Heroes’ skills, and take them to new heights. This is your adventure—a Fire Emblem that’s like nothing you’ve seen before!

This application is free to download and offers some optional in-app purchases.

□ An epic quest

A world with two kingdoms: the Emblian Empire, which wishes to rule all worlds, and the Askran Kingdom, which stands in its way.

You are a summoner with the special ability to call upon legendary Heroes from different Fire Emblem worlds. In order to save the Kingdom of Askr from destruction, join the Order of Heroes and face a never-ending challenge.

□ Intense battles

Take part in strategic turn-based battles streamlined for on-the-go play with maps that fit in the palm of your hand! You’ll need to think hard about the advantages and disadvantages of each Hero’s weapon—and even evaluate the map itself as you battle. Lead your army with easy touch and drag controls, including the ability to attack by simply swiping an ally over an enemy.

□ Original characters meet legendary Heroes

The game features numerous Hero characters from the Fire Emblem series and a few brand-new Heroes created by artist Yusuke Kozaki, known for his work on Fire Emblem Awakening and Fire Emblem Fates. Some Her+D3oes will fight at your side as allies, while others may stand in your way as fierce enemies to be defeated and added to your army.

□ Many modes let you play again and again

In addition to the main story, there are many other modes where you can strengthen your allies, compete against other players, and more. Also, free and timely updates will continue to add new Hero characters, content, and other surprises to keep you engrossed with hours of additional gameplay.

● Story Maps: The story brings together new Hero characters along with familiar faces from the Fire Emblem series. Lead your army to victory to save the Kingdom of Askr.

● Training Tower: Engage in battle scenarios of varying difficulty that you can play over and over to earn rewards and experience (EXP) for your allies. Each time you take on these maps, the enemies and terrain change to offer a new challenge.

● Arena Duels: Fight against your rivals around the world. Your high score and ranking will determine your rewards—items that can increase your Heroes’ abilities.

● Hero Battles: Under Special Maps, discover various battle scenarios that are available for a limited time. Defeat the Heroes who oppose you to convince them to join you as an ally.

Battle together with your favorite Heroes, watch them grow, and enjoy an all-new adventure that opens up a path to the future.

[What is Fire Emblem?]

The long-running hit Fire Emblem series comprises strategy/role-playing games with deep tactical elements and depth that increases with every move you make. As you progress through the story, you will meet and bid farewell to many allies.

* Internet connectivity required to play. Data charges may apply.
* You must be at least 13 years or older to use Fire Emblem Heroes.
* We permit our third-party partners to collect data from this app for analytical and marketing purposes. For more information about our ads, please see the “How we use your information” section of the Nintendo Privacy Policy.
* Variations in individual device specifications and other applications being run on a device may affect normal operation of this application.

You can pre-register on the Google Play Store to be warned when the game is downloadable.

According to the Fire Emblem Heroes website, the game is planned for an initial release on 39 countries. These include Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa,
Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and United States.

You might also want to vote in the Choose Your Legends event, which you can learn more about by visiting the site and clicking on Event Details at the bottom of the page.

Finally, it might be worth noting to veteran Fire Emblem players that some maps in the game seem to be inspired by maps in other entries in the series. If you take a look at the gallery below, you will notice that the following maps seem to be inspired by Nabata Desert (Fire Emblem: Blazing Sword – Chapter 22 – Living Legend), the cliffside near Ylisstol (Fire Emblem: Awakening – Chapter 7 – Incursion), Cashmere Bridge (Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem – Chapter 8 – Soulful Bridge), and the area surrounding Galder Harbor (Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon – Chapter 2 – The Pirates of Galder). Taking this into account, it’s pretty cool to see that the mobile game pays homage to the series as a whole in more ways than just the playable characters.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Nintendo has recently provided IGN with a list of similarities and differences between the Switch and Wii U versions of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. You can find the list quoted below.

– Both launch on the same day, March 3.
– Both have a frame rate of 30fps.
– Both versions of the game offer the same content.
– On a TV, the Nintendo Switch version of the game renders in 900p while the Wii U version renders in 720p.
– The Nintendo Switch version has higher-quality environmental sounds. As a result, the sound of steps, water, grass, etc. are more realistic and enhance the game’s Open-Air feel.
– The physical copy of the Wii U version will require 3GB of available memory on the Wii U system or an external drive.
– Some icons, such as onscreen buttons, differ between the two versions.
– A Special Edition and Master Edition of the Wii U version are not available.

Amazon Japan has also put up some comparison screenshots which you can take a look at below (Switch on the left, Wii U on the right).

Also coming from Amazon Japan is abother batch of screenshots and a better look at the map of Hyrule from the collector’s edition. Take a look at them in the gallery below.

Amazon UK has also revealed a few other details about the game through the description of the Breath of the Wild guide from Piggyback, where the number of shrines, Korok seeds, and side quests was revealed. You can read it below.

COLLECTOR’S EDITION BONUS: Premium hardcover, large-size map poster and dedicated 16-page retrospective celebrating thirty years of Zelda games.
AT-A-GLANCE WALKTHROUGHS: Annotated maps and screenshots show you the way through every quest and dungeon.
UTTERLY COMPREHENSIVE: 120 Shrine mini-dungeons, 900 Korok seed puzzles, 76 side quests all mapped out and ready for you to discover and complete! Also includes optional challenges, mini-games, unlockables, Easter eggs, and more.
PUZZLE MASTER: Every single puzzle and riddle unraveled with clear, visual solutions.
EXPERT COMBAT STRATEGY: Practical, reproducible tactics to crush your enemies, even the toughest bosses.
COMPREHENSIVE REFERENCE: Exhaustive appraisals of all items and monsters including key parameters that are hidden in the game.
EXTRA LARGE MAP POSTER: covering the entire game world
QUALITY CONTROL: carefully designed to avoid unnecessary story spoilers.

Moreover, during the Switch Nintendo Treehouse Live stream, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aimé showed off a map from the game’s limited editions, the back of which contained a tapestry with Hylian/Sheikah language. Fans have now been able to decipher it after a lengthy decoding process from Sheikah to Japanese and then english. You can check out what they found about the game’s backstory hidden in the box below, but beware of spoilers if you don’t want to possibly ruin your experience with the gane.

Click me for spoilers!

“Hylians pass stories of a destined time long past, where multiple races lived and worked together in harmony. The Sheikah Tribe’s blue aura breathed through the land, and this mutual prosperity continued, until a cataclysmic disaster struck. The hero and the princess attempted in vain to seal the terror, which became known as the Calamity Ganon. Divine Beasts awoke from four directions, and deployed a mechanical army which made the king and his people fearful. They fractured Ganon’s power and sealed him… But the Sheikah were banished from the land ever since.”

Nintendo has also continued to put up artwork from the game, and the latest piece shows us the game’s deer, as you can see below.

Moving on, Eiji Aonuma has been talking quite a bit about The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and below you can find most of his latest interventions containing some more interesting details.

Eurogamer – Aonuma on Breath of the Wild’s development and challenges, similarities with Wind Waker and learning from Skyward Sword, etc.

Vice – Aonuma on fan feedback, speculation of Link being female, the amount of dungeons, voice acting, tone of the game, timeline placement, bringing the game to switch, etc.

Aonuma has also mentioned that Breath of the Wild won’t have dual audio, and that you can reach an alternative ending if you meet certain criteria while playing.

Finally, you can take another look at the First 4 Figures’ Link figure in the gallery below, which will be releasing sometime in March.

Super Mario Odyssey

Super Mario Odyssey was one of the games shown at the Nintendo Switch Experience in Japan. Due to this a few tidbits about the game were shared, which you can find listed below.

– Development on Super Mario Odyssey is considerably finished
– Producer Yoshiaki Koizumi wanted people to play it, but Nintendo didn’t offer a playable demo because the release is still far away.
– The theme of Super Mario Odyssey is active exploration by players.
– The story still involves rescueing Princess Peach from Bowser.
– Mario goes out from Mushroom Kingdom and travels a “certain Earth” with a hat-shaped airship. Players will be able to go on adventures across various countries.
– Director Kenta Motokura gathered many ideas from the team to implement in the game and they built each one into a playable form. Then they keep playing them again and again to refine them. The team ultimately throws these ideas into the sandbox if they find it to be really fun.
– Mario has more facial expressions, and the hat is still a secret.
– In the Desert area you can enter buildings through doors and explore inside.
– You can go and explore a tower and Tokyo Big site-esque building which you can see far away.
– The Forest is a stage very well-suited for exploration.
– The team is putting effort into showing nice-looking grass and dappled sunlight through trees.
– In the Urban area Mario can jump to the ground from the top of a skyscraper.
– You can also jump and step on humans, which will probably react in a way you can expect when you do that.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

Nintendo has shared some Mario Kart 8 Deluxe artwork that seems to indicate that the game’s Battle Mode might have five different options.

Moreover, another piece of art seems to indicate that a new Mii suit has been added which is unlocked by the Splatoon amiibo.

Finally, Digital Foundry has uploaded a preliminary technical analysis on Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Splatoon 2, which you can watch below.

Mario Sports Superstars

Nintendo has now confirmed that Mario Sports Superstars will be launching on March 30 in Japan, and will cost 4,980 yen.

A release date for other territories has not been confirmed yet, but will probably be announced soon.

The announcement page also featured a few screenshots showing off the five different playable sports (Soccer, Baseball, Tennis, Golf, and Horseback Riding) which you can see in the gallery below.

Super Mario Run

Super Mario Run is now scheduled to arrive on Android devices beginning in March according to Nintendo. The pre-registration can be done here.

On the business side of things, according to the latest data from Sensor Tower, Super Mario Run has slipped out of the top 50 grossing iOS apps in the U.S. It’s now sitting at the 52nd spot.

One significant reason for this decline on the charts is the way the game is monetized. Rather than offering a free-to-play model like the upcoming Fire Emblem Heroes, Super Mario Run features instead a one-time $10 payment.

Poochy & Yoshi’s Woolly World

Poochy & Yoshi’s Woolly World is now available for pre-loading in the North American eShop. 7,793 blocks (974.125 MB) of free space are required to download the game.

Nintendo has also released a new trailer with the Hystory of Poochy, and a new commercial, both of which you can find below, followed by another animated short, some gameplay footage, and an unboxing of the Poochy amiibo.

Pokémon Sun & Moon

A new Japanese commercial for Pokémon Sun & Moon has now shown up. You can watch it below.

https://youtu.be/N2dtAjlgUbg

Nintendo has also recently announced that Pokémon Sun & Moon have sold over four million copies in the United States. The two games now stand at around 4.5 million since their launch in late November. These games were also the second and third best-selling games during the month of December as reported by NPD. Nintendo also explained that the last quarter of 2016 was the “best-selling quarter for software in Nintendo 3DS history”. 7.3 million copies of first-party Nintendo games were sold during that period, and for the seventh month in a row, sales grew year-over-year thanks to the likes of Pokémon, Super Mario Maker, and evergreen titles such as Mario Kart 7.

Pokémon GO

Niantic has prepared a new update for Pokémon GO which brings the game up to version 1.23.1 (iOS) / 0.53.1 (Android). It should be released soon.

The update makes a few small improvements, which you can find in the patch notes listed below.

Updated Apple Watch to display Eggs obtained from PokéStops

Changed distance tracking to better account for GPS drift

Minor text fixes.

Moreover, on the business side, a new report from App Annie suggests that Pokémon GO generated over $950 million in revenue in 2016 since the game’s launch in July. This was only for a six month period, which makes the number even more impressive. The game was also No. 3 in total revenue for the past year, staying behind Monster Strike and Clash Royale only.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2

Monolith Soft has updated its website with a few pieces of concept art from Xenoblade Chronicles 2. Check them out in the gallery below.

ARMS

Nintendo has so far revealed five characters for ARMS, which players will be able to control. These are Spring Man, Ribbon Girl, Master Mummy, Mechanica, and Ninjara.

However, at the Nintendo Switch Experience 2017 in Japan, Kosuke Yabuki confirmed that there are more characters coming which are currently unannounced.

He also shared that some stages will have destructible objects, that special attacks can be guarded against (so you have to carefully use them), and that the special gauge fills when you punch or get hit.

We also got confirmation that you can play the game without using motion controls if you so wish to.

Goodbye! BoxBoy!

Nintendo has now released a new trailer for Goodbye! BoxBoy! and shared new information about the title on the Japanese website. Check out the trailer below and keep scrolling to read up on the new details.

According to the website, in this title Qbby and his friends are riding the Box Ship and trying to save planets eroded by haze to restore the universe to its original form. With the ship, they head to a planet infested by haze, but Qbby ends up falling down to one particular planet. The game picks up from there.

In this game Qbby get some new powers which are as follows:

– Box Rocket: Lets you set up boxes that launch themselves upwards.
– Box Bomb: Boxes that explode after a few seconds destroying terrain, including spikes.
– Box Warp: Qbby can instantly warp to the place where the warp box is.
– Box Remocon: Boxes you can freely control from far away.

The game also features new stage gimmicks. These include:

– Wind area: Both Qbby and the boxes will be blown in a certain direction by strong winds.
– Water area: Qbby and the boxes float in water, but the boxes sink by one box range if Qbby steps on them.
– Scales block: A couple of blocks that will change elevation depending on the weight of the boxes (and Qbby) which are put on either of them.
– Inverse area: An area where gravity turns upside down and the top / bottom become reversed.

Overall, Goodbye! BoxBoy! will have a total of 22 worlds and 150 stages, across three planets, plus 40 challenge stages. Returning features include the ability to quickly retry a stage from a puzzle point, using coins to show hints, and Miiverse community.

Goodbye! BoxBoy! also has amiibo compatibility with the new Qbby amiibo, with which the color scheme can be changed to a Game Boy style. A Qucy costume can be unlocked as well, which allows free usage of hints (perhaps no coins needed). The Kirby amiibo also unlock costumes for their respective characters.

Finally, the game can now be pre-loaded on the 3DS eShop in Japan. Players will need 1,210 blocks (151.25 MB) of free space to download it. A demo for Goodbye! BoxBoy! is also available in Japan if you want to try it out before buying.

1-2-Switch

Nintendo has now opened the North American website for 1-2-Switch which you can access over here. As noted on the site, the game will include over 20 mini-games.

You can take a look at some more off-screen footage from Nintendo World Report TV below.

Miitomo

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

You can find a list of the newly added content below.

Cooler than the tundra! Arctic Friends #1

– Penguin hood (set)
– Penguin suit (set)
– Fluffy seal sweater
– Flared seal skirt

Miitomo Shop Items

– Messy bun wig
– Hero of justice mask (set)
– Hero of justice suit (set)
– Tribal pattern knit dress
– Tall fringed boots

Cooler than the tundra! Arctic Friends #2

– Wolf-ears trapper hat
– Wolfish-detail duffle coat
– Wolf tail
– Scarf w/ snow-leopard print

Lookin’ sweet! Fruit Fashion (returning)

– Pineapple leaf cap (set)
– Pineapple suit (set)
– Tangerine trunks
– Persimmon shoes
– Grapes pin
– Cherry headphones
– Strawberry cap
– Strawberry top
– Fruity dress
– Fruity tights

Mouthwatering style! Fast-Food Fashion (returning)

– Hamburger hat (set)
– Hamburget suit (set)
– Soft-drink straw (set)
– Soft-drink cup (set)
– French fries hood
– French fries suit
– Fast-food crew hat (set)
– Fast-food crew unifrom (set)
– French fry pin
– Pizza bikini bottom (set)
– Pizza bikini top (set)
– Pizza tee
– Hot dog pants

Swapdoodle

Swapdoodle users can now download a new update for the app, bringing it up to version 1.1.

The patch only addresses some unspecified issues, and takes up 136 blocks of space (17 MB).

You can download Swapdoodle’s new patch from the 3DS eShop or from the Home Menu itself.