News Articles
Friday11th Sep 2015
News H-3 Nozzlenose Heading To Splatoon Tonight In North America, Tomorrow In Europe
Splat attack
Another new weapon has been confirmed for deployment in Splatoon. This time it's the H-3 Nozzlenose, and you can get your hands on this fresh shooter tonight if you happen to reside in North America. European players will have to wait until tomorrow morning. Are you keen to try out this new weapon, or have you found your preferred...
Wednesday9th Sep 2015
News Splatoon Art Book Making A Splat Landing In Japan This Year
300+ pages of kid/squid goodness
As if the Inklings among us didn't already have enough to celebrate, it looks like the 2-disc soundtrack we recently reported on isn't the only piece of Splatoon merchandise emerging from the watery depths this year. Freshly announced by Famitsu magazine and translated by
Monday7th Sep 2015
Video When Nintendo Life Met Shigeru Miyamoto And Takashi Tezuka
Our musical maestro Ryan gets the surprise of his life
Keen followers of Nintendo Life will recall that back in July we were fortunate enough to get the chance to interview one of Nintendo's rising stars, Splatoon co-director Tsubasa Sakaguchi, when he visited the UK. Grasping this fantastic opportunity with as many appendages as humanly possible,...
Saturday5th Sep 2015
Video Unleash Ink-Based Carnage with Splatoon's Brand New Mini Splatling
It's splattering time
Splatoon's roster of weaponry continues to grow, and this time around we're treated to the stripped-down Mini Splatling. Not only is it faster at charging than its heavier counterpart but it also has greatly improved mobility as well as Suction Bombs, and the infamous Inkzooka. You can check it out in action in the video below...
Friday4th Sep 2015
News The Mini Splatling is Next Up in This Week's Splatoon Update
It suits you
Splatoon has a weekly update on the way, as per usual, and Nintendo of Europe has detailed what we can come to expect. It's good news for Splatling fans. The Mini Splatling in on the way in the update today / tomorrow - the new content typically arrives on a Friday night at 7pm Pacific / 10pm Eastern in North America, which is 3am UK /...
News Some Western Splatoon Players Would Prefer Not To Compete With Japan
Online technicalities causing tension?
Reports have recently surfaced via Japanese video game blogs that certain clusters of Western Wii U owners do not enjoy playing Nintendo's competitive online squid shooter Splatoon with players from Japan. Some have even taken to social media to demand that Nintendo enforce regional servers for the game. The...
Thursday3rd Sep 2015
Video Splatoon's Rainmaker Mode is Possibly the Game's Most Cultural Match Type
'Culture Shock' YouTube show explains why
Splatoon has a decent splattering (sorry) of modes nowadays, with frequent updates over the course about three months adding plenty of content. A recent addition was the Rainmaker mode in Ranked Battles, in which you try to take possession of the powerful relic and progress into the opposition's territory...
Wednesday2nd Sep 2015
News Dragon Quest VIII Storms to Number One in Japan and Boosts New 3DS Sales
Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer creeps towards 1 million sales
Wednesday is Media Create results day in Japan, in which we see whether Nintendo and its system's games can maintain strong form in the company's homeland. On that score this week brings more positive news. Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King, the 3DS port of the PS2...
Monday31st Aug 2015
News Splatoon Version 2.1.0 Update to Fix Some Bugs, and Cut Off Some Handy Shortcuts
No more cheeky squid moves
Splatoon wrapped up another Splatfest this past weekend, and continues to evolve and add new content on a weekly basis. The development team remains active in tweaking the game and applying fixes, too, and update 2.1.0 will arrive soon - at 598MB in Japan - to do just that. The update is due to be preceded by some...
Saturday29th Aug 2015
Video Ink Yourself Over Splatoon's Two New Weapons, the Bamboozler 14 Mk I & L-3 Nozzlenose D
Nozzle up your nose
Splatoon's ever expanding list of weaponry has just grown even bigger with the addition of two brand new weapons: The Bamboozler 14 Mk I and the modified L-3 Nozzlenose D. The new Bamboozler 14 Mk I comes equipped with a Splash Wall and a Killer Wail/Megaphone Laser, and whilst it's quick to charge and has decent range the...
Thursday27th Aug 2015
News Two New Weapons Are Heading to Splatoon This Week
Don't forget it's Splatfest weekend, too
The next Splatoon Splatfest kicks off this weekend, which will be an awesome Transformers event in North America and a little more generic in Europe. There'll also be a couple of new w
Wednesday26th Aug 2015
News Splatoon Original Soundtrack Bringing 2 CDs of Noise to Your Pointy Squid Ears
Can you handle these spicy wasabi beats?
One of the pleasantly surprising aspects of Splatoon has been its approach to music. Not only do songs in the game possess a funky blend of styles with dashes of Japanese influence, but in-world groups have been introduced with unique sounds and different K.K. Slider-like vocalists to give a feeling that the...
Monday24th Aug 2015
News Splatoon and Super Smash Bros. Lead a Lonely Fight for Nintendo in the UK Charts
Tomodachi Life squeezes in too
A little while ago a reader asked why we've not been sharing the UK charts on a weekly basis. The fact is we still check Chart-Track every Monday morning, but there's been little happy news from a Nintendo perspective. These charts cover physical retail sales, of course - no eShop figures here - and there are some key...
Saturday22nd Aug 2015
News Next Euro Splatoon Splatfest Sadly Doesn't Feature Any Robots In Disguise
Til all aren't one
It has already been confirmed that the next North American Splatoon Splatfest event will ask players to pledge their allegiance to the heroic Autobots or Evil Decepticons, but sadly that offer isn't being extended to Europe. The Euro Splatfest occurring at the same time will instead ask Wii U owners if they prefer singing or...
Friday21st Aug 2015
News Nintendo Is Bringing Splatoon And More To The UK's Biggest Live Gaming Events
Insomnia and Legends of Gaming Live get some N-Love
Nintendo UK has confirmed that it will be attending Insomnia 55 and Legends of Gaming Live 2015 this year, bringing with it a host of games and multiplayer activities. First up is Insomnia 55, which takes place between 28th and 31st August at the Ricoh Arena, Coventry. The UK's biggest live gaming...
Video Get Dizzy on Splatoon's New Flounder Heights Map
Social tench-ion
A week without more free Splatoon content is a week we'd rather not have. Thankfully the big squid in the sky has been kind yet again and graced us with a new map: Flounder Heights. This new map employs a unique variety of different levels, but without the sheer scale or linear vertical space of Moray Towers. It's certainly one...
Thursday20th Aug 2015
News There's Another New Map Coming To Splatoon
Welcome to Flounder Heights
Nintendo has revealed that yet another new map is coming to its online shooter Splatoon. Flounder Heights appears to be set in a compact network of apartment blocks, with plenty of vertical surfaces to make things nice and tactical. It will be added to the regular map rotation tonight in North America and tomorrow...
Wednesday19th Aug 2015
News Splatoon eSports Tournament Series To Be Launched In Japan
Over $1 million in prize money
It seems like only yesterday that we learnt that North America would be getting a Transformers themed Splatfest in the ever-popular Splatoon. The Splatoon hype train waits for no man however and it's been revealed today that a Splatoon eSports tournament series will be launched in Japan with over $1 million in prize...
Tuesday18th Aug 2015
News It's Autobots vs Decepticons in the Upcoming Transformers Splatfest
Transform and squid out!
Nintendo's regions have had their ups and downs with Splatfest themes, with some being much better than others. Nintendo of America has a doozy on the way, though, tying in with Hasbro for a Transformers event. The 24-hour face-off in North America will be Autobots vs Decepticons, with each player receiving a cool t-shirt...
Monday17th Aug 2015
News Nintendo Announces Another Run of the Splatoon Testfire Demo
Kicks off later this week
Splatoon has been on the market since late May and has proven to be a commercial and critical success on Wii U, yet Nintendo is naturally keen to push the title as an evergreen release. With the continual free content updates, that's not surprising. Intriguingly, it's now been confirmed that there'll be another run of...
Saturday15th Aug 2015
Video Drench Yourself in Splatoon's New Rainmaker Mode
Make it rain
Not content to rest on the wealth of free updates already, Nintendo has launched a new mode in Splatoon called Rainmaker. This mode tasks you and your team to carry a giant golden fish known as the Rainmaker into the enemy's base. You won't be defenceless though, charge this titular little number up and you'll unleash a flurry of ink...
Friday14th Aug 2015
News Splatoon Passes Half a Million Copies Sold in the US as Wii U Game Sales Beat 2014 Figures
3DS hardware results are also up
It's NPD time again - though the figures only represent 'new' sales at physical retail and are therefore limited in scope, they give some insight into the state of the US gaming market. Overall, the market in the July sales is up compared to 2014's equivalent period. From Nintendo's perspective the software top 10 -...
Thursday13th Aug 2015
News Splatoon's Rainmaker Mode Is Coming Tomorrow
Or Saturday morning, if you're in Europe
Splatoon's next ranked battle mode is coming to North America tomorrow night, with a European release arriving on Saturday morning. The new mode involves carrying the Rainmaker item to the enemy's base. The Rainmaker allows the carrier to hurl cyclones of ink, but they're slow moving and will naturally...
Wednesday12th Aug 2015
News Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer Leads as Splatoon Passes Half a Million Sales in Japan
Wii U sales increase, too
The latest Media Create Japanese charts have arrived, bringing with them more positive news of Summer sales for Nintendo. On the software side Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer stays on top with over 180,000 sales in its second week, pushing it beyond 700,000 retail sales already. The two iterations of Yo-Kai Watch...
News Here Are Some Handy Tips for Viewing Splatoon Online Rankings, Statistics and Map Schedules
Inking in plans
Splatoon is a weekly - even daily - treat for plenty of Wii U owners, and with its glut of items, weapons and maps there's plenty on offer. It turns out there's also a neat resource for viewing online rankings alongside others on your Friend List, statistics on weapon usage and gear, and even the next few cycles of available maps in...
News This SquidKid Splatoon Game Boy Mod Aims to Make a Splash
Pre-order details due this week
Nintendo wasn't shy of releasing a whole load of Game Boy designs and variations in the '90s, and in the modern day enthusiasts and modders are more than happy to keep the trend going. There are a lot of cool mods out there - if you can think of a cool design you'd like to see, the odds are reasonable that someone,...
Monday10th Aug 2015
News Splatoon Data Mining Brings More Weapons, a New Stage and Even 'Playable Octolings'
Would ruin the Kid / Squid song
As often now happens with a major update to a Nintendo title, pre-prepared future DLC gets data-mined and shared with the world. It's happened, notoriously, with Super Smash Bros.;as a result die-hard fans knew most of the title's pre-E3 reveals before they actually happened. This means, of course, that if you don't...
Thursday6th Aug 2015
Guide Get Competitive with 1v1 Online Matches in Splatoon
No items, Final Destination
Splatoon's big update to version 2.0.0 means that we can now play custom games online with friends, allowing us to dictate map, game mode, and even the number of players. This means that the much-sought after possibility of 1v1 matches online in Nintendo's ink-em-up is finally a reality, and they're a massive improvement...
Video Get Splatting with Splatoon's New Slosher and Heavy Splatling Weapons
I am heavy weapons squid
Splatoon's massive update to version 2.0 is live right now, and in this new plethora of content we're gifted with two brand new weapons in the form of the Heavy Splatling and the Slosher. The Slosher is a glorified bucket, but don't let its humble origins fool you, this beast can lob a huge amount of ink over a wide area...
News Splatoon's Massive New Update, to Version 2.0.0, is Now Live
Squad Battles! Private Battles! New Level Cap! Fashion! More!
It's finally arrived. One of the biggest updates - to version 2.0.0 - for Splatoon is now live, bringing with it a whole load of enhancements; it should automatically download when you next boot up the game. There are some balancing tweaks, of course, but it's the arrival of greater match...
