UPDATE: Nintendo UK have gotten in touch to let us know that Yo-Kai Watch 2 won't be playable at Gamescom 2016 - the earlier press release was incorrect.
ORIGINAL STORY: Nintendo may be keeping its powder dry as far as NX is concerned, but the company is attending this year's Gamescom in Cologne with a range of different titles and events - an unsurprising occurrence, seeing as Nintendo's European arm is based in Germany.
While the company doesn't have a great deal of new content to show off right now, it's making the effort and will be displaying forthcoming releases such as Pokémon Sun and Moon, Yo-Kai Watch 2 and Mario Party: Star Rush. Evergreen Wii U title Splatoon will also be getting some attention.
Sadly, Zelda: Breath of the Wild won't be playable on the show floor - while the game will be at Gamescom, it's exclusively for 50 lucky fans. You have to live Germany, Switzerland or Austria and have submitted a picture, photo of your Zelda collection or shown off your Zelda cosplay to be in with a chance of winning. Winners of the various tournaments which take place during the event will also get the opportunity to play the game, but it won't be publicly available - which is something of a shame.
Here's the full rundown:
Splatoon Showdown: After battling each other over the last few weeks, only four teams remain in the ESL's Splatoon Showdown tournament. The ESL, the world's largest eSports company, will host the finals in co-operation with Nintendo on the Beta stage of the ESL arena in Hall 9 at gamescom on 17th August from 15:00 CEST, with an introduction from Splatoon producer Hisashi Nogami.
Splatoon Testfire: Players who've still yet to get their ink on will have another opportunity to splat or be splatted when the Splatoon Summer Testfire 2016 – Free Online Demo Event launches across Europe on 18th August. The Testfire will be a free download on Nintendo eShop that players can play until the Testfire period ends on 1st September – an ideal opportunity to see Inkopolis for the first time*.
Nintendo Selects: Want to rediscover a Wii U game you missed the first time around? Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, Pikmin 3, Super Mario 3D World, and Mario Party 10 will become the latest additions to the Nintendo Selects range for Wii U, representing some of the console's most popular games, having sold a combined total of over 2 million units across Europe to date**. These latest Nintendo Selects titles will release on 30th September.
Paper Mario: Color Splash: The first episode in a new video series, "Rescue V", is now available to view on Nintendo's YouTube channel. Starring a team of intrepid Toads, these comical vintage-style videos will release regularly until the launch of Paper Mario: Color Splash on 7th October.
Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon: Game Freak's Shigeki Morimoto will take to the stage in order to show off live gameplay of Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon. Budding Pokémon trainers will be able to tune in to see for themselves via twitch.tv/nintendodeutschland on 18th August at 17:00 CEST.
· New colours of New Nintendo 3DS XL systems: On 11th November, three new colours of New Nintendo 3DS XL systems will be released across Europe, with Pearl White, Orange + Black, and Pink + White joining the range of available systems.Nintendo 2DS + YO-KAI WATCH® bundle: The first of two Nintendo 2DS bundles announced today will come with a blue Nintendo 2DS system and YO-KAI WATCH® pre-installed, giving players a perfect chance to experience Springdale and its haunting inhabitants, and will release on 7th October.
· Nintendo 2DS + Nintendo presents: New Style Boutique 2 - Fashion Forward bundle: The second Nintendo 2DS bundle will come with a pink Nintendo 2DS system and Nintendo presents: New Style Boutique 2 - Fashion Forward pre-installed, allowing players to take their little boutique to new heights of fashion and take on careers, from designer to fashion model, as they aim to make their mark on the fashion industry. This bundle will be released on 7th October.
YO-KAI WATCH® 2: Bony Spirits and YO-KAI WATCH 2®: Fleshy Souls (final localised titles pending): The next big entries in the YO-KAI WATCH® series for Nintendo 3DS family systems are coming to Europe in spring 2017. Telling the story of the origin of the Yo-kai Watch, the games includes an even greater variety of Yo-kai, improved strategy elements and a new multiplayer mode. Up to four players with their own systems and games can team up in a co-op mode to earn rewards that can be used in the single-player adventure.
Mario Party: Star Rush: More Mario action will be available for Nintendo 3DS family systems in the form of Mario Party: Star Rush, available from 7th October. This latest addition to the series has a new approach to the party, with quicker play and simultaneous turns between players, with plenty of strategy waiting to be unfurled. Attendees at this year's gamescom will be able to try a slice of the new Toad Scramble mode for themselves, as it's playable for the first time for fans.
DRAGON QUEST VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past: The next big RPG to experience on the go with Nintendo 3DS family systems will also be present and livestreamed at gamescom, and attendees can also play DRAGON QUEST VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past at the booth, before it releases across Europe for the very first time on 16th September.
Indie titles: Once again, Nintendo will dedicate a section of the booth to talented indie developers who will be showcasing their upcoming titles for Nintendo eShop on Wii U and Nintendo 3DS. This year, Shin'en Multimedia will be demonstrating new DLC tracks for FAST Racing NEO, while Image & Form will be showcasing SteamWorld Collection ahead of both titles becoming the inaugural Nintendo eShop Selects titles for Wii U on 30th September. Additionally, Axiom Verge for Wii U will be present on the show floor, Rain Games will be in attendance with World to the West for Wii U, and 13AM Games will be showcasing Pirate Pop Plus! and Runbow Pocket for New Nintendo 3DS systems.
Are you planning on attending Gamescom this year? What do you make of Nintendo's lineup?
Comments 42
i am so fed up with nintendo hiding games from the public that were publicly available to play at e3, it happened with smash bros wii u and now zelda
@kamikazilucas E3 is a trade show, technically it wasn't open to the public.
@Bluecup @Bluecup
yes but there are people that arent press that went and they were allowed to play the zelda demo because it was free to the public
What an incompetent attitude from Nintendo. If they keep this up, they'll only have 50 fans left.
Seriously, this firm has went down the crapper with a quick flush.
The sooner they go 3rd party only the better. They are an absolute arse of a company, even more so now.
This list only highlights how bad things are on the Wii U and, arguably, the 3DS fronts.
Reveal your new console already, Nintendo.
I didn't win but I wanted to play BotW
still hoping for some good games at gamescom
@kamikazilucas There are more serious things to be fed up with lol. Complaining about making an incomplete game unavailable to the mass public isn't very big of you.
@TMG44 There are on-the-day tournaments are there not?
@GrailUK no not really id rather play breath of the wild than talk about third world problems
@Tsurii the public that was at e3 it was free to so it was free to the public
Haha so Yo-Kai Watch 2 is again coming 6 months later to Europe than North America and Australia!
@kamikazilucas https://www.e3expo.com/attendee/2903/attendee-faq/
Nope, still not open to the public.
@Lzeon the event isnt but the game is
@kamikazilucas You have to be involved in the industry to attend E3.So Gamescom will actually be the first time it'll be available to the general public,albeit a select few who can prove they're huge fans.
@OorWullie and hyper japan and japan expo where they were both not available to the public
@kamikazilucas so aside from a very select few that have been chosen via competitions, the only people that have had access to the demo version of the game are people who work within the industry. I fail to see the problem here. It's still over 6 months until the game will be released on Wii U, I'd be shocked if they unleashed a demo on the public until much closer to release, if at all.
Not going this year but man, Yokai Watch 2 in Spring 2017? Well then, gotta import from Australia again ...
@dorkeybubblehead what are you talking about, there was no competition you had to enter to play breath of the wild at e3
Psst, don't let the people play your only good upcoming game. Give them Federation Farce instead!!
@kamikazilucas What is your definition of "public"? Only people who are in the industry should be at E3 and were able to walk up to a demo pod to play Zelda, but I wouldn't call this being public. The average consumer wasn't able to get to this demo.
@Bluecup where everyone in the event has a chance to play and theres no lucky raffle or tournyment wins for a chance to play
@OorWullie Public people did get to play Zelda at Nintendo NY. They were chosen, but it was as open as this. There are YouTube videos if you look hard enough, I wasn't there.
That's a nice list of stuff, reminds me of a Nintendo Direct. Just need Wii U bundled with Splatoon again, "Bringing back the Splat pack!" could be a marketing get slogan, since they keep pushing that game, and a price drop on the New 3DS XL. One last push for the holidays before NX.
@OorWullie I bet the link would help huh?
https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2016/05/nintendo_ny_store_to_give_500_fans_a_chance_to_play_the_legend_of_zelda_on_wii_u_during_e3_week
@rjejr I can remember reading that now actually.I wonder how they're going to go about it once the NX has been revealed?I'm assuming BOTWNX will be one the main games they'll be showing off relentlessly.Who's going to want to play the Wii U public demo when there's a (hopefully) superior NX version?Once NX has been shown along with it's launch line up that's all we'll be hearing about.
Wow, Black X Orange + Pink X White New 3DS XL are first New 3DS XL with two different body color.
What ?! Mario Party Star Rush on 7 October 2016, same date with Paper Mario Color Splash ?!
Oh, my gosh...
I think I'd like to play Zelda now, but the wait would likely be more unbearable if I did.
This looks a solid promotional event to me. What's all the griping about? Everyone that swayed by the color given in the article?
I see almost no reason to continue letting people play with the Zelda demo in large groups. The marketing narrative surrounding the game is almost unanimously positive. Once everyone has discussed all the great features --which already happened--, the only new Item to discuss is maybe the performance and how spotty it might be at times. Nah, letting a few fans feel special and excited about it is a much better approach.
Surely it can't be much longer before Nintendo finally spills the beans on the NX.
Things have become embarrassing. They need to tease a reveal date for NX or something.
@MarcelRguez The real highlight of how bad things are for Nintendo right now are the dozen or so articles on Pushsquare today coming out of Gamescon while NL hasn't had any news since this article 10 hours ago. I wasn't even sure Nintendo was going to Gamescon. I still stand by my original comment in this thread though, it's not a bad list, Nintendo just needs to market more.
Yeah yeah, already read about it on the Nintendo Gamescom website a few days ago.
Guess I won't be regretting visiting Gamescom then, playing BotW would've been my major motivation to go there.
Although I also would've loved to participate in the Splatoon ESL tournament. But it wasn't realistic to get a team together before the qualifiers, so... I'll be watching the finals on twitch/youtube.
@kamikazilucas You missed the point. BotW demo was NEVER open to the public. e3 was not a public event, so it was not open to the public.
"Only playable for a select few"
Because what with the game drought on WiiU, that will do wonders to ease things. Just... why?
I kinda wished the we would have gotten more B roll out of it...
I hope the EGX line-up will be better! Hoping that I'll be able to play Zelda BOTW and Paper mario colour splash at least! Even better... NX!! But even if the NX is revealed start of September, I still doubt that it will be playable at a public expo! But I think Nintendo should, would be a great way to show off their new console (that's if the reveal is early September)
@rjejr Yeah, I've noticed that too. I don't expect Nintendo to reach those levels of media coverage though, as sad as that might sound. And it's not a bad list when it comes to quantity, but it's very one-sided.
@MarcelRguez "but it's very one-sided."
Is that a 3DS reference, or something more subtle, like a focus on family/casual?
Wii U does get mentioned a few times, which I thought was pretty good for a dead console - Splatoon, Selects, Axiom Verge, PM:CS - but it's certainly the 3DS Family that is in the spotlight this holiday. Nintendo seems to be trying very hard not to go over their yearly forecast of 800,000 Wii U sold April-March.
Does also make me think w'ell get a home console in March though, so that's good, w/ a 3DS replacement around Nov 2017.
As for their family focus, well I've accepted that, and I'm ok if they run with it, I'll always have a Sony console for rated M games.
Nintendo really no longer cares.
@rjejr It's both. I'm not in a hurry to replace my 3DS, but I would like some more core titles, especially from dormant Nintendo IPs. They don't need to be M rated titles either, I don't particularly crave games for the amount of adult content they carry. That Berserk musou is looking good, though.
Since the 3DS can't really expand its userbase that much at this point, now would be the time to give the riskier franchises another shot. With that many units sold, someone has to be interested in whatever they put out. Nintendo losing steam on 3DS as well seems to imply that either all their teams are 100% focused on the Wii U replacement (which would be strange) or that the NX is indeed a replacement for both the Wii U and the 3DS. I have to check the list of dev teams and see what's the latest things they've put out. Retro, NLG, Monolith and the like, I am aware of, but about the former R&Ds, EADs and such, I have no idea.
And yeah, the fact that the Wii U is a dead console at this point was precisely my point. As others have mentioned, I'd like to talk about upcoming games again instead of seeing so much speculation about hardware. These are the times we live in, I guess.
@MarcelRguez "As others have mentioned, I'd like to talk about upcoming games again instead of seeing so much speculation about hardware."
I'm other people. If Nintendo won't show us the hardware, or screenshots of the games, you'd think at this point they could at least drop us a list of "launch window" titles to get us excited for the games. Give people something to be excited about. Yes we know abut Zelda, but what else? Even Nintendo can't launch a new console w/ only 1 game. OK, 1 game and 5 month old Just Dance.
I want to see WORLD TO THE WEST Wii U and if its not on Wii U anymore, well it can bleep right off then.
@kamikazilucas "An Expo Pass for E3 2012, notes Gamasutra, will cost you $795 if you register before April 23rd. It costs $995 after that date." Not exactly free. I mean, your argument is kind of like saying it's not fair that someone who bought movie tickets got to see the movie, but you didn't... only a much more expensive "movie."
I don't expect it, but it would be super cool if they put a demo (they can even restrict it a little more) on the eShop in the near future. I'm not suggesting that we, as fans, are entitled to anything, but it would be a nice gesture that would only serve to make me want the full game even more, and I cannot even fathom how that is possible.
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