News
4 CommentsPokémon’s 21st birthday is gonna get wild
Pokémon Day, which commemorates the franchise’s birthday, is Feb. 27, and this year’s looks to be a big one. Pokémon is finally of drinking age this year, and The Pokémon Company is holding several events to honor the big 21.
The whole list of Pokémon Day festivities is on the official Pokémon website, including things to buy and special items appearing in games like Pokémon Go. Here’s the round-up of how fans should spend Feb. 27:
From Feb. 26 at 1 p.m. PT until March 6 at 1 p.m. PT, all wild Pikachu in Pokémon Go will be wearing appropriate party hats to show just how hard they’re celebrating the series’ 21st birthday. These special Pikachu will wear the party hats forever, apparently — because why ever stop partying?
Pokémon TV, the online and mobile streaming platform where fans...
News
52 CommentsNintendo Switch to be available for launch-day walk-ins at GameStop
If you missed out on Nintendo Switch pre-orders, you’ll have a chance to buy one on launch day: GameStop stores will have a “limited supply” of consoles for walk-in customers, the company announced today.
“Customers who were not able to pre-order the system are encouraged to attend GameStop’s midnight launch events,” GameStop said in a news release. The Nintendo Switch will be released worldwide on March 3, nine days from today. Of course, considering how few NES Classic units Nintendo was able to ship to retailers — at launch, most stores were getting allocations in the single digits — the chances of picking up a Switch without a pre-order may be slim.
GameStop also announced that it will sell two different Switch bundles on its website. As is usually the case with these kinds of...
Cover Story
Issue
25
January 9, 2017
Final Fantasy 7: An oral history
30,000 words! 35 interviews! 4 videos! A trivia minigame! We take an in-depth look back at Square’s breakthrough role-playing game.
Read moreNews
42 CommentsTake a look at how itty-bitty the Nintendo Switch cartridge is
The Nintendo Switch console is a tablet on the smaller side, and its cartridge-based games are sized appropriately. But it’s hard to gauge just how appropriately tiny the Switch cartridge is until you’re holding it in your hands — or holding it right up next to a bunch of other familiar objects.
To get a much better sense of the size of the adorably small Switch cartridge, we placed it side-by-side with a ton of different objects. That includes other Nintendo cartridges from throughout the years (along with a special appearance from a PlayStation Vita game), but it also includes some very unrelated things we found lying around the office.
Follow along to see our new favorite game cartridge in all of its baby-sized glory.
The Nintendo Switch — and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild,...
News
18 CommentsAll the Nintendo accounts you need for your Switch
Nintendo has developed a bit of a reputation for sending console and handheld owners through the rigamarole of its online services. The company has juggled friend codes, a variety of IDs, friend codes again and, most recently, an account system that appears to be more akin to that of Nintendo’s competitors. But knowing which accounts are required for what remains inscrutable to Nintendo fans of all kinds.
Now that the Switch is mere days away, it’s time to take stock of every ID, account and service that hopeful owners will need in order to get the most out of their consoles. Laying it all out there should make keeping track of what’s what slightly less terrifying ... even if only slightly.
Nintendo Account
The unified Nintendo Account system is the most important one to have as a...
Latest Nintendo Switch Forum Activity View all posts
Culture
44 CommentsLegend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’s best trailer yet has fans crying ‘spoilers’
A special commercial for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is running in Japan for just 24 hours, and those around the world who have watched it are crying foul. Not because they’re jealous that the ad is a Japan-exclusive, but because, for many, the footage in it constitutes spoilers.
There’s an unofficial upload of the commercial embedded above; note that it has some heavy spoiler warnings in the title, if you’re trying to stay in the dark about anything and everything Breath of the Wild.
It’s a brief but breathtaking trailer. We see the game’s expansive setting, new and familiar cast of characters and a considerable amount of gorgeous action sequences. One of those is a very short scene of Link running alongside a gigantic dragon, which fans quickly pegged as the newest, most...
News
9 CommentsNintendo tag teams with John Cena for living room-inspired Switch demos
After a multi-city tour, to show off the capabilities of the new Nintendo Switch console, Nintendo has one more publicity stunt up its sleeve. The Big N is bringing a portable living room (seen above) to pop-up locations in the California desert, a Colorado ski slope, and Manhattan’s Madison Square Park.
To showcase this unprecedented new style of console gaming on the go, Nintendo is showcasing the versatility of Nintendo Switch across the country with highly visual, interactive living room-inspired spaces in places you would never expect, bringing surprises to every stop.
If you missed the tour, really want to play the Switch, and happen to find yourself capable of making one of these very selective events, well ... here are the details.
Blue Cloud Movie Ranch / Santa Clarita, CA...
News
5 CommentsThe Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth+ will miss Nintendo Switch launch
The Nintendo Switch version of The Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth+ has been pushed back beyond the console’s March 3 launch, publisher Nicalis announced today.
It will still be released in March, just not the day the Switch launches. “We were unable to confirm the revised release date until now (due to issues way beyond our control),” said Nicalis co-founder Tyrone Rodriguez.
The news isn’t all bad, though. Nicalis also announced some new items for first-run copies of the physical Switch Launch Edition of Afterbirth+. The case initially came with a reversible alternate cover and two sheets of stickers featuring the game’s characters. Now the package will also include an Isaac face sticker, as well as a full-color instruction booklet.
“This beautiful homage to an 8-bit era gone-by features...
News
83 CommentsNintendo Switch launch lineup includes Zelda, 1-2-Switch (update)
When the Nintendo Switch launches March 3, it will have at least ten titles available for it, either sold in stores, online or both, led by The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
The latest edition in Nintendo's celebrated action-adventure series will arrive the same day as the console. Additionally, Breath of the Wild will launch for Wii U on the same day for $59.99.
Other launch highlights include 1-2-Switch, meant to highlight the motion aspects of the Joy Con controllers. In the coming weeks and months, early adopters will get Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, with Switch-specific features including all the DLC from previous games, as well as new characters, and Snipperclips.
By comparison, Nintendo announced the Wii U with 51 titles within its launch window, which spanned Nov. 18, 2012 to...
News
47 CommentsNintendo Account IDs now up for grabs
Nintendo refreshed its account system’s landing page this week, adding new functionality to prep for the Switch’s launch on March 3. That includes the introduction of the Nintendo Account ID, yet another username that Nintendo fans need to go set up and link to their systems.
The Nintendo Account ID is different from the Nintendo Network ID, a similar but separate account name used on Wii U and Nintendo 3DS. To choose your Nintendo Account User ID, log into the Nintendo Account website, where User ID is now included under the User Info section.
From there, assigning an ID is easy, although like any username service, there are no duplicate IDs allowed. That means that obvious choices like Mario and Nintendo are long gone, but so are slightly more atypical IDs like Allegra. (I’m coming...
News
19 CommentsAn N64 classic is finally coming to Virtual Console, just in time for Wii U to die
Harvest Moon 64 is heading to Wii U Virtual Console this week, publisher Natsume confirmed on its community forum. The game will be available for the first time on Nintendo eShop this Thursday, Feb. 23 — just eight short days before the Nintendo Switch arrives.
While the game’s release is a major cause for celebration for Harvest Moon fans, it’s also a strong reminder that the Virtual Console’s future remains unknown. Nintendo has said little about what the service will look like on the Switch, or whether previously purchased Virtual Console games will carry over to the new console.
That’s disappointing, because Harvest Moon 64 is a real milestone in Wii U Virtual Console releases. The game bypassed the Wii eShop due to major technical problems, and those same issues were likely to keep...
Culture
23 CommentsThis tiny Nintendo Switch feature is already making fans super happy
There’s a certain sound heard in all Nintendo Switch commercials that fans just can’t get enough of: a quick “click” that’s reminiscent of a clapboard slapping together. That clicking sound isn’t just a sound effect used for marketing, though — it’s actually audible when using the Switch in certain ways, as recent early hands-on videos with the hardware show.
The video above comes from a recent livestream of Disgaea 5, which is coming to the Switch in May. Viewers tuning into NIS America’s event noticed that, when the players attached the Joy-Con controllers to the tablet, they made that familiar clicking sounds that many have come to appreciate. More than that, there’s actually a visual cue that shows that the Joy-Con have been attached correctly.
Your browser does not support HTML5...
News
86 CommentsNintendo Switch download sizes revealed, making extra memory a must
Nintendo has published the file sizes for its lineup of downloadable Nintendo Switch games, and one flat-out says a separate microSD card is necessary for users who wish to go that route.
That's because Dragon Quest Heroes 1 & 2 is a 32 GB download, which is exactly the amount of on-board memory that comes with Nintendo's new console. Set aside 6.1 GB for the Switch's operating system and other software and there's no way to fit this on the console itself. Dragon Quest Heroes 1 & 2 launches with the Switch on March 3 in Japan; it hasn’t yet been dated for the west.
Of course, this isn't much of a surprise and there's always the option of buying the retail version of some of the beefier games. We already knew The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild takes up 13.4 GB of storage space....
News
10 CommentsThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’s rating includes a first: alcohol
The ESRB published the rating for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild over the weekend, and it contains a first for the series: the "Use of Alcohol" content descriptor.
It's still rated E10+ the seventh of the series so rated, and that's not the highest age rating for the franchise either. (2006's Twilight Princess, and its 2016 remaster, were both T.) But it is called out for making a reference to booze, and "mild suggestive themes" involving the appearance of the fairies.
This is the third time the series has gotten tagged with a suggestive-themes content descriptor, which probably means the fairies seen in the other two games (Majora's Mask and Ocarina of Time on the 3DS) to get that label are returning here. The ESRB said "fairies with moderate cleavage and/or exaggerated-size...
News
30 CommentsNintendo Switch in leak videos was stolen, Nintendo says
The Nintendo Switch shown off in a NeoGAF post last week was stolen, Nintendo said in a statement to IGN.
On Thursday, NeoGAF user hiphoptherobot said he was "just lucky" that his retailer shipped a pre-ordered Switch early. The console is due to launch on March 3. Nintendo says that unit was part of "an isolated incident" of theft by employees of a U.S. distributor, which it did not name. One system was illegally resold.
"The individuals involved have been identified, terminated from their place of employment and are under investigation by local law enforcement authorities on criminal charges," Nintendo said in its statement.
The console's leak nonetheless provided some useful information in advance of the launch. The Switch comes with 32 GB of internal storage, and uses 6.1 GB of that...
News
8 CommentsTerraria tops 20 million copies sold
Terraria developer Re-Logic has now sold more than 20 million copies of the sandbox game, the studio announced today.
Re-Logic actually hit the milestone before the end of 2016, the company said. Terraria debuted in May 2011 on Windows PC, meaning that it took about five and a half years for the game to reach the 20 million mark. According to Re-Logic, 8.5 million of those 20 million copies were sold in the 18-month period between June 2015 — the release of the version 1.3 update, a significant one — and the end of 2016.
“The entire team would like to say a massive THANK YOU to all of you for making all of this possible,” Re-Logic said in a news release. “It has been a pleasure to have all of you along on the journey thus far, and we are really looking forward to continuing down that...
Opinion
166 CommentsNintendo is already repeating the Wii U's mistakes with Switch
When Nintendo launched the Wii U in 2012, there were a lot of promises about what the platform meant. Now, less than five years later, the Wii U is an unmitigated failure, not just commercially but creatively, and Nintendo is going to take another crack at a tablet-based home console platform with the Nintendo Switch. And while Nintendo has a lot of ‘splaining to do in general, there is no better litmus test for Nintendo’s future success than how well it handles the console’s online functionality.
It’s not going great so far.
Nintendo held a Wii U reveal event in New York City in Sep. 2012, some 17 months after revealing the project and just two months before its release. And despite the years of inadequate online support for the Wii, Nintendo came equipped to that 2012 event with ......
News
32 CommentsNintendo eShop purchases will finally be tied to Nintendo Accounts
Nintendo Account holders will finally be able to re-download purchases from the Nintendo eShop, according to fine print glimpsed in a recent Nintendo Switch unboxing video. It’s a huge step in the right direction for Nintendo, which has long tied digital purchases to consoles themselves.
FloKO’s Nintendo Switch unboxing video, uploaded by an owner of the new console who somehow received their system weeks early, reveals the major eShop improvement. It’s seen around the three-minute mark of the unboxing, which is embedded up at the top. Hidden in the fine print of the Nintendo Switch’s initialization screen is the Nintendo Account detail, so the average viewer may have missed it.
Would you take a look at this: Purchases from the eShop are tied to your Nintendo Account. p...
News
69 CommentsHere’s 3 minutes of the Nintendo Switch menus, thanks to an early shipment
Nintendo Switch units are currently on their way to the press, but at least one console is in the wild as well. A NeoGAF user got his hands on a system early, and he’s already posted photos and a video of the hardware.
The person, who goes by hiphoptherobot, said he was “just lucky” that a retailer shipped his pre-ordered Switch early. It arrived today, more than two weeks ahead of the console’s March 3 launch date. Hiphoptherobot is located in St. Louis, according to his NeoGAF profile, although he did not specify the retailer or connect his Switch to the internet “in fear of getting the store that shipped it early in trouble with Nintendo,” he said.
Along with unboxing photos, hiphoptherobot posted a three-minute video of himself booting up the Switch for the first time and going...
News
19 CommentsLink looks at frogs, plays baseball and dies in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Nintendo has revealed several minutes of previously unseen footage from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. In a video posted on Nintendo’s Japanese YouTube channel, we see Link participating in some new, exciting activities. Below, we’ve highlighted some of the most memorable moments.
Here, we see through Link’s telescope as he examines Hyrule’s wildlife, presumably with the intent of killing and eating them. Link is going to eat that frog.
Nintendo
Creeping on critters
Next, we get a glimpse of Breath of the Wild’s day/night cycle as Link stands completely motionless for nearly twelve hours. Will somebody please check on Link?
Nintendo
Link stands still for a whole day
All that standing has caused Link to work up a mighty...
Opinion
80 CommentsWho is your video game Valentine?
It’s Valentine’s Day, and for some of us that means curling up on the couch for an intimate night with a beloved game. Maybe you’ll use this sacred day to stuff chalky candy hearts in your mouth and revisit your favorite love interest. Perhaps you will be lulled to sleep by Garrus Vakarian’s sultry musings about calibrations.
The perfect end to a perfect day.
But cruel fate dealt us a raw deal. There are many NPCs who will neither kiss, flirt, nor fuck your avatar. What is to be done?
Let’s take a moment to put on some smooth jazz and remember all the NPCs that remain off-limits to our horny hearts. Here are some of the Polygon staff’s favorite non-romanceable NPCs.
Susana Polo
From the moment that Varric Tethras walked on screen in Dragon Age 2, pinned the man who'd just...
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