News Articles
Sunday14th Feb 2016
News Splatoon Producer on Pre-Release Concerns and the Future of the Franchise
"I'd like to build on online gameplay even more."
Splatoon was, in many ways, a new step for Nintendo. The company has historically been a bit behind the times when it comes to online services, so it appeared to be quite a risk to not only release a game that was almost entirely focused on online multiplayer, but to do so with a brand new IP...
Friday12th Feb 2016
News Pokémon Splatfest Hitting Splatoon in February
A decision harder than choosing your starter
In continuing the celebration of Pokémon's 20th anniversary, the festivities have spread to another popular Nintendo franchise, Splatoon. A Pokémon themed Splatfest will take taking place the weekend of 20th February through 21st February in all regions pitting players against each other based on their...
Friday5th Feb 2016
Rumour New Splatoon Mini-Game Arriving Soon with Fresh amiibo Figures in Tow
And this time there's evidence
After the tide of free content updates in Splatoon was stemmed many fans of the game wondered whether there might yet be more on the horizon for Nintendo's colourful shooter. Recent rumours from data miners regarding references to potential new amiibo figurines got tongues wagging once again, and now even more secrets...
Wednesday3rd Feb 2016
News Wii U Sales Show Promising Growth Courtesy of Splatoon and Super Mario Maker Success
Splatoon continues to beat Mario Kart 8 sales momentum
While current 3DS sales are rather disappointing, Nintendo's most recent financial reports did bring good news for the Wii U, with the system on track for its targets and outperforming the equivalent sales of the year before. In Nintendo President Tatsumi Kimishima's briefing one game's role in...
Tuesday2nd Feb 2016
News Nine Nintendo Titles Pass One Million Sales For This Financial Year
The green and the evergreen
With Nintendo having shared its financial reports for Q3, therefore covering the first nine months of the financial year, we can get an idea of the year's notable successes, especially as these sales figures cover the all-important Holiday period. Overall Nintendo can point to nine of its games that have sold over one...
Monday1st Feb 2016
Gallery These Fan-Made Splatoon Weapons Are Pretty Fresh
Tools of the trade
The Game Party Japan 2016 event has just hosted the Japanese National Splatoon Championship, giving fans of the game the chance to test their skill against like-minded individuals. It also gave the truly dedicated the opportunity to show off their creative talents, as there was a booth which showcased fan-made versions of the...
News Splatoon Producer Hints at More Content Being Added in the Future
"I'm starting to wonder if we can't organize a little something else."
Splatoon had an admirable amount of post release support, with new game modes, maps, clothes, and weapons, being regularly added to the game via free updates. While it was inevitable that there would come to be an end to all the free goodness, the question of more, paid DLC has...
Sunday31st Jan 2016
Rumour Data Miners Find Evidence That Suggests New Splatoon amiibo Are Coming
Guess what they are?
Data Miners have been particularly notorious on the Wii U for leaking information ahead of releases, and while many of the leaks may seem to be bulletproof, it's not always the best idea to take them as hard fact. For exapmle, the track record with Splatoon has been pretty spot on so far, with most weapons and stages being outed...
Saturday30th Jan 2016
Weirdness Watch an Actual Live Splatoon Squid Sisters Concert From Japan
Get your glow sticks in the air!
Splatoon is not only a fun game, but it's also succeeded in getting some of its characters and quirks into popular culture - well, Nintendo culture. The Squid Sisters are a part of this, with their bizarre voices, dancing and singing being part of the game's charm. In Japan, though, these things can go from being...
Saturday23rd Jan 2016
News Details of Europe's Next Splatfest Are Confirmed for 30th January
A battle of warriors
The regular free DLC may be drawing to a close, but Splatoon still has plenty to offer - this includes Splatfests, those weekend events where we choose sides and splat others for glory. Nintendo of Europe has now confirmed details of its next Splatfest, which will kick off on 30th January at 6pm UK / 7pm CET. It'll be a...
Thursday21st Jan 2016
News Splatoon's Last Free Update Map Goes Live Tomorrow
That's sixteen stages
About a week ago, the final weapon for Splatoon's constant stream of new, extra content went live and signaled the end of the long run. Following that right up, the final new stage will go live tomorrow and bring the stage count to its final amount of sixteen. The new stage is Ancho-V Games, and this appears to be one of the...
Tuesday19th Jan 2016
News Splatoon Update to Prompt Server Maintenance and Brief Downtime
Not for too long, thankfully
Version 2.5.0 of Splatoon goes live soon, and the official Tumblr page for the game has advised that implementing the update will necessitate a bit of downtime that'll prevent online play. It's not a lengthy break, but is worth noting for North American gamers planning some evening matches. The following downtime is on...
News Splatoon's Next Update Is On Target For Launch Tomorrow
Version 2.5.0 clamps down on shortcuts
Nintendo continues to make changes and amendments to its ink-based online shooter Splatoon, with the latest lot of fixes coming on Wednesday January 20th - otherwise known as "tomorrow". These include the closing off of various shortcuts and a few fixes to environmental features. There are also some...
Friday15th Jan 2016
News The Custom Hydra Splatling, Splatoon's Last Update Weapon, Goes Live on 15th January
The end of an era
We all knew that this day would be coming, but it's still a bittersweet time. The end of the free Splatoon weapon updates has come, and it will be marked by the launch of the final weapon: Custom Hydra Splatling. The Custom Hydra Splatling is, erm, a custom Hydra Splatling, with the main difference here being that it uses the...
Wednesday13th Jan 2016
News Monster Hunter X (Cross) and New 3DS Continue to Lead the Way in Japan
Splatoon, Super Mario Maker and Wii U also continue decent momentum
The festive period certainly brought cheer for Nintendo in its homeland, as the New 3DS and Wii U enjoyed impressive sales while their key releases led the software charts. The latest Media Create Japanese charts show some understandable drops as January bites, yet the results are...
Saturday9th Jan 2016
Video Splatoon Easter Egg Shows a Friendly Face
Vacant smile, electric whiskers, who else is it going to be?
As if the streams of new weapons and maps in Splatoon weren't enough to tickle the fancy of all the budding Inklings out there, Nintendo has squeezed a previously unseen easter egg into the latest battleground known as Piranha Pit. As with most easter eggs this one isn't immediately...
News Here are Nintendo's Nominees for the Game Developer's Choice Awards
Splatoon is up for three awards, Super Mario Maker is up for one
In a couple short months, it'll be about that time of year for the annual Game Developers Conference, one of the largest events in the industry. Rather than E3, which is centered around new announcements for greater audiences, GDC is primarily focused on the craft of game development...
News Splatoon's Next Splatfest in North America is All About Time Travel
Dinosaurs or Spaceships?
It's getting to be that time again for North Americans to partake in the monthly Splatfest for Splatoon. After last month's decidedly more festive approach to things, we're getting yet another topic that few likely saw coming. The Splatfest's theme will be about whether you'd rather time travel to the past or the future...
Friday8th Jan 2016
News The Sloshing Machine Neo is Splashing Its Way Into Splatoon
Getting sloshed at the weekend
Nintendo has found a more wholesome and healthy way for us to get sloshed this weekend (Google it), confirming the latest free weapon to be heading into Splatoon. Due on the evening of 8th January in North America and the early hours of the morning on 9th January in Europe, the Sloshing Machine Neo will bring a bit of...
Thursday7th Jan 2016
News Splatoon Watches Hit Stores In Japan
*Sigh*, in Japan...
With Splatoon's ink-redible (apologies) popularity, it's only inevitable that Nintendo has been capitalising on the merchandise machine with its hottest new franchise. While the West has been treated to a few things here and there, Japan has certainly had its share of Splatoon spoils since the game's launch in May, such as...
Friday1st Jan 2016
News Get Ready to Add the Octobrush Nouveau to Your Splatoon Arsenal
Ring in the new year with this fresh new paintbrush
As of now, the near constant updates to Splatoon are nearly upon their final hour. Though Splatfests and occasional balancing updates will be continuing for the foreseeable future, the stream of new equipment and stages is set to end in January. All the same, there's still a bit more content that's...
Monday28th Dec 2015
News Piranha Pit is Heading to Splatoon Very Soon
Depending on your time zone...
The festive Splatoon updates continue to roll in, with a new stage next to grace the game before we move into 2016. Piranha Pit is coming 'tomorrow morning', as confirmed by Nintendo of Europe; based on typical update times that should mean the stage goes into rotation at 7pm Pacific / 10pm Eastern on 28th December in...
Sunday27th Dec 2015
News Splatoon Developers Talk Stage Design and the End of Regular Updates
It's been a good run
Splatoon has evolved significantly from its original state at launch, with fourteen stages and over seventy weapons available to gamers. Considering how popular the game has been, and how it's managed to maintain that popularity, it's safe to say at this point that the launch of this new IP has been a resounding success...
Saturday26th Dec 2015
News Nintendo of Europe Announces the Next Splatfest for the Region
Would you rather be fit or rich?
Every time a new splatfest for Splatoon is announced, the topic of the battle is always something interesting. Some highlights thus far have been Autobots and Decepticons, Love and Money, and whether or not pineapple should be on pizza. While it seems like the least popular team is always the one that manages to eke...
Friday25th Dec 2015
News The Rapid Blaster Pro Deco is the Next Weapon to be Coming to Splatoon
A last minute Christmas gift from Nintendo
It seems that just about every week, we receive another update to Splatoon that adds in yet another new weapon, or a variant on an existent model. This week is no different and a new update is due to drop in only a few hours. The new gun that will be made available is not a new model, but another 'deco'...
Tuesday22nd Dec 2015
News Super Mario Maker Scoops Amazon Game of the Year Award
Now, if only Amazon US stocked the system properly
We're not sure what the 'thing' is between Nintendo of America and Amazon US, but the retailer in the region primarily sells Wii U hardware through third-party vendors, often at bizarre prices compared to other stores. Games are stocked and sold by Amazon, but not the systems directly; it's a...
Friday18th Dec 2015
News The Tri-Slosher Nouveau is The Next New Weapon in Splatoon
Posh name for a green bucket
Splatoon is heading towards the end of its weekly benevolence that brings us free extras, so we should make the most of it while we can. As is often the case the development team is serving up a fresh weapon in time for the weekend, and this time it's the Tri-Slosher Nouveau. Well, it's a green bucket, so the name seems...
Thursday17th Dec 2015
News Nintendo Shows Off Splatoon's New Upcoming Stages Through the Art of Dance
Piranha Pit and Ancho-V Games on the way
With Splatoon's free DLC set to largely wrap up in January, beyond balancing tweaks and fixes, its no surprise that it'll try to close with a bit of a bang. Since its May launch the game has expanded a great deal with new modes and maps, and it'll be the latter which gets a boost soon. Piranha Pit and...
News Splatoon Update Improves Matchmaking, Tinkers With Rainmaker And Generally Tightens Things Up
Full list of changes in 2.4.0 update included within
A new update for Splatoon goes live today, and we've got the full list of changes for you to gaze at in wonderment. These include improvements to the matchmaking service, the addition of prohibited areas in the Rainmaker mode and the closing of certain level shortcuts in all game modes. You can...
News Splatoon Developers on the Future of Splatoon and DLC
No future plans for paid DLC, free DLC is done in January
Splatoon has really come a long way since its initial launch. The Splatoon that we were introduced to back in May was still an excellent game, but a strong argument could be made that the game was uncharacteristically light on content for a Nintendo game. Since then, new maps, game modes,...
