
Splatoon 3 is just a handful of weeks away from launch, with the sequel heading to the Switch on September 9th. Despite the fact that Nintendo has been drip-feeding bits of news here and there on Twitter, including new songs, gear reveals, and new multiplayer maps, there's a distinct feeling amongst the community that the marketing around the game has been a bit lacklustre.
It's no surprise, either. The launch of Xenoblade Chronicles 3 has understandably taken up a lot of Nintendo's time over the past few weeks, with the company bombarding fans with new trailers, gameplay footage, interviews, and more. Now that the game is out, though, can we expect Nintendo to shift its focus over to Splatoon 3? Well, yes, theoretically. That hasn't stopped some fans from getting quite worried, though, particularly in the wake of a new Pokémon Presents being announced for later this week (though we fully acknowledge that this is more of a Pokémon Company event rather than a Nintendo one):

Indeed, although we've seen plenty from the game already, there's a general consensus from fans that Nintendo has yet to demonstrate exactly what sets Splatoon 3 apart from the previous two games, and they're wanting more:
Some people are even worried that Nintendo has forgotten about Splatoon 3 entirely (which is, of course, slightly overkill):
Finally, YouTuber Arlo has posted a video in which he expresses his concern around Splatoon 3 and the apparent lack of reveals from Nintendo, stating that the game is essentially "Splatoon... again". While this might be enough for a lot of fans, there are also many others who are eagerly searching for a reason to splash their hard earned cash on a new Splatoon entry. Hopefully, Nintendo will share some substantial details in the coming days and weeks.
What do you think of the concerns surrounding Splatoon 3? Has Nintendo done enough to convince you of its validity? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Comments 164
Last I checked, we have 6 weeks to go. Plenty of time to drop news. Metroid Dread and Xenoblade 3 were from series that needed a big advertising push.
And even so, Splatoon 3 could literally go silent until release and it would sell more than both combined.
R-E-L-A-X, folks!
Oh come on. There's still a month to go. And Arlo is sort of a drama queen. His videos are annoying and whiny.
I am sure Splatoon 3 will be great fun again. Personally new maps and maybe one or two new gimmicks is enough for me, plus some new weapons. Not really worried about it, but then again, I am just a simple gamer.
Personally I’m not worried about it.
If it isn’t worth it, I won’t buy it.
I wish Nintendo as was as good at counting upwards with other franchises
Only reason I haven't gotten into the series yet is because they announce the the next one before a good deal on the previous one ever came.
@DK-Fan
That guy's voice goes through me.
Can't watch him for more than a minute.
I wish Nintendo didn't release sequels to this and just kept Splatoon going with updates over time. I might be wrong, but is Splatoon 3 compatible with Splatoon 2, or will that game just die when 3 comes out? If it just replaces Splatoon 2, I feel they could've done better by releasing updates to 2 to keep the user base strong.
I loved the Octo Expansion, and think it's a perfectly fine way to keep an old game relevant.
As long as Splat3 feels like it's own game and not just something that could have been accomplished with an update for 2, I'll be happy.
One way Nintendo' could differentiate Splattoon 2 from Splatoon 3 is to offer a mandatory update to Splatoon 2 that makes it offline only. That should do it.
Does Splatoon 3 bring enough to the table to warrant another purchase?
From what has been shown, maybe? You'd have to ask yourself what more do you want from the game to justify the release. More single player content? New features in multiplayer? New modes?
I find it funny that some would think of Splatoon 3 as a "2.5" release, when if we're being honest with ourselves, Splatoon 2 felt more of a "1.5" release in many ways. This series isn't going to be an easy "sell" on what constitutes a new game, I feel.
And that's fine. For fans, what's there might be enough. I do feel that it's a bit harder to justify given than unlike 2, which was moving from Wii U to Switch, this one has less "incentive". But if other major franchises can get away with 2-4 releases per generation with that samey feel, why can't Nintendo do it with a 5 year gap between releases?
If they're so worried, they shouldn't buy the game then. I know they'll miss out on all the fun.
@DK-Fan
Remembering the time he reviewed the second Sonic movie, and claimed that most Sonic fans aren't kids and that none of the people who worked on the move knew anything about Sonic.
Also Arlo has pretty narrow tastes in games in general. I remember when they announced the Famicom Detective Club localizations, and he was really passive aggressive about it
As much as I love Splatoon I still haven't really seen anything to be excited about with this game. No idea why Nintendo's being so coy about big new features like the story mode with only a month to go. But hopefully it will get its own Direct soon that will put these worries to rest.
I think Nintendo asked TPC to pause Scarlet/Violet promo to help XC3 (both were marketed as open world JRPGs) so Scarlet/Violet didn't get the usual July trailer that new gen mainline Pokemon games get. XC3 is out now so the Scarlet/Violet promo can continue (Pokemon Presents having the equivalent of both a July trailer and a August trailer).
I did think Splatoon 3 Direct would come first but either order makes sense given the Pokemon news drought.
For something as high quality and fun as Splatoon, more of the same is already enough. For really casual players who haven't played much in the first place I can kinda understand but as someone who has put over 1000 hours into the game, just having a whole set of new maps, special weapons/weapon combinations, music, etc. is going to provide a huge change up from what I know. Also looking forward to getting back into Salmon Run with the changes, building up some new gear from scratch and getting to play more Splatfests. And if they can include single player content as good as Octo Expansion then it's almost worth it for that alone.
But it is more of the same. Was anyone really expecting anything other than that?
My worry is how it will effect Splatoon 2. At the moment it's easy to get a match on Splatoon 2 but if Splatoon 3 isn't that much of an improvement and sells badly, it could still take a hefty proportion of the online players.
Effectively halving the online community for both games.
@DK-Fan I think it's a bit dismissive to call Arlo "annoying and whiny."
Splatoon 3 DOES look like more of the same, but more of the same is still more of a very good game. But as someone not super invested into the game's meta, there doesn't look like a whole lot of new here.
New weapons and abilities aren't enough to grab those who aren't already invested in the metagame imo
i dont get the arlo hate, im a huge splatoon fan but his concerns on the alienating a player base between 2 and 3 are valid. he can play up his videos but his opinions are more common than you think
i still agree they just arent showing anything interesting about 3. im hype for a new story and mechanics, but they've just been showcases the most boring stuff if youre not a hardcore
The difference is that Pokémon has flashy and cool things to show off. Splatoon just needs to make marginal improvements.
Looks like people are jumping the gun for no reason. The Pokemon presents doesn't cancel out the possibly of a Splatoon direct or a big overview trailer for Splatoon 3. Once again, the internet "worrying" for nothing.
Arlo is like the most wholesome YouTuber out there. I really hate to see all the flack he's been getting lately. He was trending on Twitter a couple weeks ago for a joke he made about Kirby fans getting everything while Pikmin fans have been starving for years (which, I mean, isn't wrong). People were hating on him for that take while the dude was laid up in bed recovering from both covid AND having his appendix removed, all in the same week.
In the follow-up video to his Sonic 2 Movie review where he tried to address the criticism after getting a boatload of flack, he ended the video saying something like, "You have no idea what someone else may be going through. Now excuse me while I go take my meds and then throw them up." It was pretty concerning to hear, especially considering Arlo tries to keep his videos lighthearted and family-oriented. I genuinely believe toxic people on social media contribute to like 90 percent of the mental health issues in the world today.
It's fine if you don't like Arlo's content and you're entitled to your opinion about him. But remember to be sensitive with your comments because even if the YouTuber you're criticizing isn't necessarily your target audience, that doesn't mean he or she isn't going to see your hurtful messages. As someone who wants to go into content creation, stuff like that makes it incredibly hard to take the plunge. When you put yourself out there, you're bound to receive so much antagonism. I also find it really ironic that people like to whine and be negative about Arlo being whiny and negative, lol. You're putting out the same exact energy you accuse him of putting out, except while his is about a general company, yours is a personal jab at a singular individual.
Arlo is a good guy. You'd be hard pressed to find a YouTuber with a more squeaky-clean track record than him. He's like the last person I would expect to make a racist comment or have sexual assault allegations surface like so many other internet personalities, but Heaven forbid he's a little negative sometimes.
The dude genuinely cares about his audience, so much so that he ends almost every video with some variation of, "You are awesome, have a great day, I love you, goodbye." Someone with a good heart like that is naturally going to take mean-spirited comments to heart more than others might because his viewers are more than just a statistic to him--he knows they're real people behind the screen names, and that's why it hurts so much. He has empathy, which is an ability a lot of individuals in today's age clearly don't. Frankly, the Nintendo community doesn't deserve him.
I agree with Arlo. (Also how many of the complainers watched the video, he never said that it was going to be bad, just that is 1.5 months from release and doesn’t have a major hook yet).
Pack it in, splatoon 3 is canceled because of Pokemon. /s
August 25th. That's the date for the Splatoon 3 Direct, mark my words. I thought about it and it just works too well.
...okay maybe I'm grasping a little bit at straws, but I still think August 25th will be the date.
with what has been show it doesn't look like a sequel is needed just looks exactly the same as Splatoon 2 just with a few little additions and Nintendo says there that's a sequel slap $60 on it
If it's more of the same, I'll stick with Splatoon 2, which was already more like DLC for Splatoon 1 than a new game.
I personally won’t buy it unless there are a ton of changes and new elements. I don’t want Splatoon 2.5, I want Splatoon 4 Deluxe.
My list of requests include:
-New idols
-Jellyfish as playable characters
-50-hour long open-world single-player adventure
-Actual weapons sans ink, like a flail or a literal flamethrower
-The ability to eat other players
-Steam/Cyber/magic-punk aesthetic
-NFTs of my favorite outfits
-A crossover with the next Avengers movie
-An order of calamari with each physical purchase
Some may say I’m asking for too much, but I’d argue we’re insulting ourselves by not demanding more.
@Not_Soos agreed, it feels more like people jump on the twitter mob mentality cause if you actually pay attention to his stuff his "whining" is more light hearted and jokey than people realize
I'm afraid we actually do know most of what there is to know about Splatoon 3. I loved the first game, liked the second one but I do not plan on buying the third one.
I loved the first splatoons, but desert just really doesn't match the vibe for me. I never played it for the story mode really, so I'm just not hyped for this one.
@Browny I'd argue Splatoon's "same-y" sequels are are how it avoids being accused of not having enough content at launch. Easy to have more from the start if you recycle a lot from what came before.
The only concerning thing is that we don't have a new set of idols yet.
WHERE ARE THEY
D-did they do away with an idol duo?
I'm not worried.
@Browny Good point. I think the only thing that could set a new Splatoon entry truly apart from it's predecessors is something like a huge involved narrative (single or co-op).
Basically It has the same problem a game like Overwatch has
This is a good example for why websites and news outlets should stop using twitter as a 'source'.
Sure, Arlo's in there too, but a quick look online will tell you the vast *vast majority of people are excited for Splatoon 3.
@Not_Soos Absolutely, Arlo shouldn’t be getting flames this much.
People, as in arlo made a video. I’m not worried at all. I still think there’s some kind of mode or catch we don’t know about yet. However, Nintendo tends to encapsulate big core gameplay elements on the box art. I thjnk we all know what we’re getting here for the most part. Totally fine with it. I want it now.
@boxyguy It's also like, who really cares? Even if he were being blatantly negative, it's just video games at the end of the day; why someone would be so offended over a person's opinions they are entitled to is beyond me. There are more pressing matters in the world. It's not like he's weighing in on some heavy political topic like abortion, but people treat fandoms like they're some kind of protected class. (Personally, though, I think even political discussion should remain civil and respectful, regardless of the topic.)
I probably spend more time writing lengthy comments than any other NL user, but I do it because it makes me happy; I can't fathom why anyone would take the time out of their day to dunk on someone who doesn't like the same things they like. I am a rabid fan of the classic Paper Mario games, and I will defend them until the day I die. But if someone else thinks they're absolutely terrible while Origami King is the greatest human achievement of all-time, I'm not gonna think less of them unless they're crapping on the people who feel that way. Which is exactly what the Arlo hate mob likes to do, and it's infuriating.
Josh Thomas (AKA TheBitBlock) is another YouTuber with overwhelmingly negative YouTube opinions. But while Arlo has enough class to remain respectful and goes out of his way to not offend anybody with his takes, Josh calls his own followers stupid and other such insults if they don't agree with him. Somehow, these people can't see that's exactly what they're doing to Arlo. If they replaced video games with pizza, they'd see just how dumb and pointless it is to get offended at somebody for saying they think pizza is the most disgusting food ever made even though it happens to be their favorite.
Whenever I see people share the meme, "Shh. Let people enjoy things," I always want to clap back with "Let people NOT enjoy things too," lol. It's a double-standard. Life would be so robotic and creepy if we were all a singular hive mind that shared the same opinions. Tolerance goes beyond the superficial things like sex and skin color. Diversity is also accepting that people's lived experiences are different from yours, and to welcome diverging trains of thought. But people would rather plug their ears and get mad than accept this simple fact of life. The world doesn't revolve around any singular individual, and their beliefs are not gospel. We all need to be a little more open-minded and accepting of others.
What else is new Arlo stirring up the pot and making people complain and rage... I just love how people defend this guy and his garbage content... He continually makes people angry on any given franchise for clicks when he doesnt even play the games he talks about... I bet people dont even know he pays for others gameplay to show... Who the hell does that.
Maybe Nintendo Life and other outlets should stop pretending one sole youtuber speaks for the entire community at hand. Realize that there's millions of fans of Splatoon out there and just look at how much love the Japanese updates get. Which if you have done some research, get posted almost daily.
If there is no Splatoon Direct before the end of the month, then sure, there is reason to be concerned. Until then, all this "panic" seems like being overly worried over nothing.
I'm not surprised Arlo is among those who are worried - he thinks Breath of the Wild 2 will be enhanced DLC for Breath of the Wild, so it's no shock that he thinks Splatoon 3 will be enhanced DLC for Splatoon 2.
Also, The Pokemon Company always hosts a Pokemon Presents/Direct one or two days before the newest Pokemon game is made available for preorder in Japan. Scarlet/Violet will be made available for preorder in Japan on Aug 4th, hence the Pokemon Presents on Aug 3rd.
@meleehunter
Irony being, if you were there for either the first or second game, the first couple months is ALWAYS dull, slow and apparently lacking in substantial content. Because of their drip feed approach.
@Bizzyb
Pretty much. Nintendo has opted to make a game that's about as close to a "live service" model as they're brave enough to take at this point in time. But because they don't nickel & dime with microtransactions (yet), they need to come up with ways to get more money from the franchise. Another release is the logical step, outside switching fully to the "live service" model.
@Not_Soos
Agree with your assessment of Arlo. Been a fan for years because his videos are lighthearted, and when present his criticisms are fair or at the very least elaborated upon through his own personal biases that they make sense. But this is the Internet, and to put yourself and your opinions out there is to open yourself to attack, justified or not.
Fact is, even for big fans of Splatoon, it's not a clear cut case of "you have to buy this sequel". There's too much about the series that makes you question whether or not to buy a sequel on the same platform, especially with what's been shown so far.
@Sunface I agree. Splatoon 2 was already a bit of a dissapointment over the first one.
Salmon run was way too limited and forgettable. Not much else did Splatoon 2 bring to the table over the first one.
Though Splatoon 2 was excused to be released, since Splatoon 1 was a Wii U title.
There is simply no reason for a Splatoon 3. It could have been receiving continued support with updates and new expansions, like a typical live title.
With the release of Splatoon 3, Splatoon 2 will become instantly obsolete and multiplayer will be dead and done with, since everyone will be flocking over to the new shiny Splatoon 3 that will be hosting new regular Splatfest events.
@Rika_Yoshitake nah if people get angry thats on them. his vids are pretty tame and honestly very tip-toey on being controversial, like he's constantly reaffirming its just his opinion and his tone isnt malicious or serious at all.
people have been concerned on splatoon 3 even before his vid, even core fans. im guessing this is stuff you heard about rather than experience yourself. the fact you didnt watch the part where he says he's a big fan of splatoon shows its all just 2nd hand experience for you lol
I doubt I'll get this game anyways, 2nd game felt more of the same as the 1st game (I never bothered with it), and the mode that interested me was apparently time limited or something...and 3 looks exactly the same.
@Rika_Yoshitake ...You'd rather him not pay them and just steal their footage, uncredited? That would make him more like other YouTubers.
As soon as I saw Arlo I knew this was just going to be a vocal minority complaining, especially from Arlo, he's the biggest manchild Nintendo youtuber and half of his personality is just complaining about paper mario and pikmin not coming.
To be honest we would all like some more information on Splatoon 3, but of course Nintendo are just biding their time and keeping hype levels high, sometimes no information fuels the hype train more than lots.
As for Arlo he is pretty harmless, with his 626k subscribers and around 48k views of this particular video, I would say if he is indeed upsetting people, it's rather a niche audience at best.
We all know a direct devoted to the latest game is coming, we just have to be patient.
@moodycat ? Mario and Zelda change pretty drasticlly from entry to entry aside from a few expections like NSMB or whatever. In fact I feel like Odyssey and BotW kinda set the expectation that the Switch was going to revolutionize more series but it didn't end up happening that much to other franchises.
I was talking about this not too long ago in fact. Whilst I think Splatoon is a series where even just a few new weapons, maps and extra trinkets here and there is more than enough to satsify the really hardcore members of the community like me, I completely understand the concern from the general gaming sphere in regards to the lack of news (if you haven't been feverishly keeping up with the official Twitter accounts, there's been next to nothing of note :l). I'm still in the camp that firmly believes we'll be getting a dedicated Direct at the end of August (especially now that Pokemon's out of the way) but having next to no trailers for the better part of 5 months for a direct sequel? Still rubs me the wrong way, no denying that.
@Solomon_Rambling a single player open world adventure would definitely make it worth while…
I'm not worried per se because as someone who loved Splatoon 2, I know the gameplay will be extremely addicting (I don't quite understand why so many people have such hate boners for "more of the same" sequels) but I do agree that Nintendo have done an absolutely abysmal job adveritising the game.
I genuinely thought by now we would have had a global testfire, at least a direct dedicated to the game and maybe a Splatfest world premier around mid-August to promote the game but so far we've had none of those and the game launches in just a months time. I know they've been advertising brands and weapons on the Japanese social media pages but I don't think you need me to tell you that that's not exactly hype inducing material.
They really have to start promoting the game and showcasing what the hot new mode will be in order to distinguish it from its predecessors because they really don't have much time at this point and they need all the hype they can generate.
I never played a Splatoon game before because I don't like multiplayer focused games. Simply because when the trend dies off and people move on to a sequel or another franchise, the said game becomes worthless. I like going back to games and play them alone on my own.
What I want is a focus on singleplayer, lots of missions or some sort of open world type mode. BOTMATCHES. How can it not have bots by now?
@HammerKirby tbf splatoon is still a very new series, and the formula is nowhere near stale or losing any kind of steam at this point. Not sure a reinvention is needed quite yet
@dojmin the first one actually is still very active. You’ll get more than enough time to enjoy the new and even go back to it some years later
@iLikeUrAttitude what are you talking about people have been worried about this game since its reveal. pro players understand the concern with the game. where have you been to NOT see casuals argue its existence
Yet again it's the nintendo fans try to realize there's more than one dev team challenge. Nintendo doesn't hold TPC captive and tell them when when promote their game
Why the random hate? So because there is a Pokémon Presents coming there can't be a Splatoon3 direct coming in the next six weeks? Sounds legit...
@Browny And the first game in particular is one of only two times Nintendo actually issued an ultimatum to players that support would cease if not enough players were active (the other being Fire Emblem Awakening, though that's a bit different). I guess part of the disdain for the drip-feed approach is a subconscious fear of this happening with any given entry or series, but Nintendo has a history of being explicit when that is actually the case. Otherwise the beauty of these games releasing full-price is that they cost the same to customers whether they wait for more before buying or enjoy what's there right away. Games that are "free" or cost less from the outset require something from the player to add to them, time at bare minimum or more money that probably ends up making the game costing the same, if not more than, those fixed, full-price "rip-offs".
I'm not worried about it. I'm actually excited about it. It's been in nearly every regular Nintendo Direct since its announcement and mostly will have something within the next weeks closer to the release.
I just told a friend, that this new Splatoon feels like a new Call of Duty. More of the same, and I'm just not interested in the same. If there was a new story based single player campaign or a co-op campaign with friends, I'd be way more interested, but otherwise, I'm indifferent.
It’s quite normal for Nintendo to start hyping up games close to launch. In fact, it’s very common. They like a short window before launch
People are being over dramatic, we got time to build hype, and I say this in the nicest of ways, splatoon, is not xc, and I’m pretty sure they wanted xenoblade to release before splatoon 3.
But again, we still got plenty of time, I’m still hyped!
I am on the same boat. I never bothered with Splatoon 2 because it was too much like the first game, which I played enough to not want to play more of the same.
Splatoon 3 gives me the same vibe. The initial reveal had me hoping for something more, but none of the follow up videos demonstrated what I was hoping the reveal implied.
I will probably skip this one like the previous one, unless they reveal something new and exciting.
Just more people who don't know Nintendo, Game Freak, and TPC are separate entities. We'll get some more Splatoon info before launch, and the pokemon presentation won't affect it one way or the other.
I really wouldn't lump a handful of dramatic, attention seekers with all fans.. Xenoblade and Pokèmon getting attention didn't even register as taking attention away from Splatoon 3
Not going to take a video seriously from someone pretending to be a puppet, sorry.
@Snatcher worth noting that acnh looked basically exactly like new leaf until the direct a month before launch dumped loads and loads of info. I highly doubt they would make a splatoon 3 on the same console that was just exactly the same
Yep. I should be itching with excitement for this game but im unfortunately not. They haven't shown me a whole lot that separates Splatoon 2 from 3. And Splatoon (1) wasn't much different than 2.. which I didn't mind because I was just happy to see the franchise get noticed but hopefully Nintendo did something to separate this one from the others.
@Crockin That would be fine, but if they don't any big new innovations they should at least wait till the next console. A big in house Nintendo series getting more than one game on the same console is not something that happens super often and that opportunity feels wasted here even if it will be a good game.
@Crockin This is vary true, we barely knew anything about the game and then bam, content!
ALSO there’s been a huge emphasis on the new setting. A seemingly isolated city in the middle of a vast wasteland. The bow is the big showcased new weapon and the cinematic from the original trailer evoked a feeling of adventure. I think there’s more to this than we know
Are we sure it hasn’t been indefinitely delayed? It shares striking similarities to the ongoing climate crisis. Perhaps now isn’t the right time for a game about water creatures surviving in a drought struck region.
@HammerKirby why does it need to wait? I do t understand. If it’s really good and ready to go on a console that presumably has another 3 or so year lifespan, what is the issue?
I've noticed the same thing Arlo does, if the "big new thing" isn't shown off by this point, generally that means it doesn't exist in the game. It wouldn't be very smart marketing to show something like that off at the last minute because then there's not enough time to get the word out to people that might be on the fence. This game probably is just Splatoon 2.5 at this point.
Pokémon is their own company, and putting out their own direct, Nintendo does own a large stake in Pokémon, but these tweets are off base. Not to mention that fanbase is being starved, just not the news cycle they’re used to in a brand new generation.
That said, I believe it’s very reasonable to be concerned about Splatoon 3, for a company that shelves series they think they cannot do justice for with new sequels, they sure release a lot of lackluster sequels lately.
Nintendo fans should play more Nintendo games rather than getting anxious over nothing on social media. Better use of energy.
@thejuice027 Use DekuDeals. It’s gone on sale multiple times. 2 is still worth playing for the campaign alone.
@Wilforce,
Not sure if your post was being serious, but pretty sure the game has not been delayed for any reason...Nintendo will revel more when they are ready.
This whole article reeks of sensationalism, "People are getting pretty worried about Splatoon 3", how many people are worried is a mystery, but we do know they are pretty worried, honestly more click bate from Nintendo life.
If we take the people who have watched and commented on this video, it's pretty much no one at all.
@Wilforce Thr game is fine, and it will be ready to go, no need to delay it.
Why translate an idiot who can't differentiate the Pokemon Company from Nintendo into blind panic? Weird move NLife. I don't see much panic at all.
@mjco231 Uhh what? What does my point have to do with fans?
I'm hoping for a really awesome single player story mode. What they did with the Splatoon 2 expansion showed they've got interest in expanding the world. Gotta wait and see I guess.
i can't imagine it being just "more of the same"
with the exception of pokemon they're very adverse to releasing "more of the same" on the same platform.
with F-Zero they even state it as the specific reason we haven't seen a new one for several generations.
@Not_Soos Thank you, I know that sometimes I don’t agree with his videos, I thought the sonic review was vary unfair, and yes he has strong opinions, but there just that, opinions, he is a vary nice guy and I never thought of him doing anything malicious, he’s just a awesome guy, doing a awesome channel!
@Not_Soos
I agree with your assessment of the situation. Any instigators of hasty criticism should perhaps go and watch Arlo’s video on opinions…
Crying for views and clicks. Nintendo's not going to push Splatoon 3 while they're making a big deal and hyping the hell out of Xenoblade. Now Xenoblade is out of the way and on the shelves, they can ready the push for their next big game. What is their next big game?
@DK-Fan
I honestly don't think Arlo is much a gamer at all. He seems highly unknowledgeable about the games he covers, and often says "I never really played this series this is the first one I've played". His videos could be much shorter too if he didn't repeat himself but I know he's trying to hit the beloved 10 min mark
I don't even care with splatoon 3 and xenoblade 3.
I will get Pokemon Violet instead.
@Dustopolis This is an important point, TPC's marketing for SV has been just as weird as Nintendo's. We've never cut this close to a Pokemon release knowing this little about the game and having this many questions about basic things like "What's the region name?" or "What are they doing with gyms?". It's not as if Pokemon fans are drowning in SV news right now, all we've had are shots of open world fields with old Pokemon, multiplayer co-op, 3 Pokemon, the rival, and version exclusive professors (which sounds like a lot but it's practically nothing in terms of Pokemon content).
That being said, while normally TPC's marketing is totally disconnected from Nintendo's, I can't help but think the weird silence on SV is related to the weird silence on other Nintendo IPs and games and maybe Nintendo did actually say something to TPC and ask them to hold off marketing on SV. @Grumblevolcano's theory that they were asked to hold off because of Xenoblade may have some truth to it, they're similar genres and Pokemon sells literally 10 times more than Xenoblade, so ramping things up on SV in June/July could've easily cannibalized XC3's sales. Splatoon I'm less sure that they were intentionally holding things back because there weren't really any other games like it on the market right now, but it's entirely plausible that Xenoblade could be the reason for Pokemon's news drought right now.
Meh, people need to just wait and see. There will almost certainly be a Splatoon 3 Direct this month followed by a demo. The month or so leading up to the launch of the first two games followed the same plan. I get the impression from Nintendo’s releases this year that they stay quiet about a game for some time until there’s an explosion of coverage by the very end. Not sure if that’s the best marketing strategy but I think it’s a pattern.
As for whether this will just be the same old Splatoon, it’s too early to say. It may look and feel too familiar right now, but that’s because Nintendo hasn’t shown much over the past year, which is admittedly a little odd and makes me think that the game was announced too soon. I imagine the Splatoon 3 Direct will be a blowout, not just revealing more details like the new pop star duo but much more gameplay and a better look at the hopefully more robust single-player campaign. That’s when we’ll see whether this is Splatoon 2.5 or not. Besides, it’d be too ironic for a game with chaos as a theme ending up being “more of the same.”
@Dustopolis
When has Nintendo ever shelved a franchise whose most recent entry has sold 12+ million copies?
If F-Zero was a 10 million unit seller , you can bet a lot of money that there would be at least one or two F-Zero games on every Nintendo platform from now until the end of time.
I'm not worried about a game I won't buy.
And I may never buy a Splatoon in my life. At least as long as you don't have BOTS to play all game modes offline.
The way the game is, I feel like I'm not missing out on anything.
If there's no Zombies mode with pack a punch, then it's a no go for me I'm afraid.
@Bolt_Strike I think it was in this thread, regardless tho, someone made an interesting point suggesting Nintendo may have asked TPC to hold back on news during July as not to over shadow Xenoblade Chronicles 3, while admittedly hearsay, I think it’s a reasonable hypothesis to a perplexing question.
I’m a fan myself, and an older one so I remember all the modern release cycles and it’s just crazy how little we know so far. I’m excited for Wednesday.
I have to say that I groaned when I first recognized what the announcement trailer was for. Yes, the franchise has its fans, but its "fresh" punk teenage thematics got stale with me long ago. Nintendo probably wants to have this as their "big" multiplayer offering for the back half of 2022, but its appeal frankly isn't universal, certainly not in the sense that Mario Kart or Smash are (and while it's one of their biggest properties, Pokémon doesn't scratch a lot of gamers' itch for various reasons, either). And as has already been discussed in another article, there are at least half a dozen Nintendo IPs I would FAR rather have seen get a release...let alone a second...for the Switch.
Here we are in August already and that Christmas season first-party slate is looking mighty thin, Nintendo. If you have a Direct lined up, better show it sooner than later.
@westman98 that’s fair, I wasn’t really speaking about their business practices when I said that tho, more their philosophy to game design according to their producers.
I was also referring mostly to their Mario Sports franchises which to the best of my knowledge never chart Splatoon numbers. I’m sure Splatoon 3 will be held to a much higher standard, as it’s a Nintendo staple, but I don’t blame anyone for being hesitant.
@DK-Fan
The thing with Arlo is that at least the points he makes about a lot of things are honest and not very sugar-coated. He is very well aware of pricing issues, whether it's in regards to games or DLC.
CUT the SPLATOON 2 servers and everyone is forced to get SPLATOON 3
Splatoon 3 has a lot to live up to, and my biggest question that still hasn't been answered is whether there will be enough content for players who just don't want to pay for NSO.
No full on direct…it’s one of their more popular games.I feel like the Splatoon Community is Nintendos Oliver Twist children yes sir I would like some more please…information.Also I live in the US and NONE of the controllers oled console and case is open for pre orders….as they say in the game HELP ME😳😳😳
I agree with Arlo that at this point there is usually info or there really is nothing else there. I am expecting Splatoon 3 to be mediocre and a 6-7 out of 10. I loved 2 and I have 3 copies so I hope I am wrong.
It's been over 5 years since the last one. That's enough time to justify a sequel. Looking forward to jumping back in. Splatoon 2 is in my Top 5 favourite Switch games. I'm optimistic that 3 will be even better.
@Dustopolis The user I mentioned, Grumblevolcano, posted that theory both here and the SV thread on the forums, yes. That's the person you're likely referring to.
They'll probably never tell us the truth of why they did that (they never really justify their marketing decisions to the public, it doesn't really benefit them), but the announcement of the Presents today, after XC3 just released, adds more fuel to the fire on this theory.
@FawfulDX
But then I would have to listen to his incredibly annoying voice.
You can see the bind that puts me in!
Arlo should not be cited, he is a very negative YouTuber
It’s sad how much everyone has come to hate this game.
@moodycat This is why there is this huge space for indie games. They get to be more experimental in the indie space.
But I get re-releasing games with additional content. It's like watching a movie on streaming. It's not like I'm going to dig out my VHS copy of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. We want games we KNOW we love on our new systems. I don't see that changing.
What the hell is this comment section? I remember watching his video on that topic today and he mentioned how he expects to have a lot of retweets and negative feedback on this opinion piece and I thought it was a joke, like people can't be so offended by an opinion on a videogame but oh my.. Like I don't even agree with him and I feel like this is exactly the same discussion we had for splatoon 2 and that turned out great, but still..
Just don't take opinion pieces so personal, people think differently about things and that is okay. And yeah we all love video games but you know, it's just video games. No need to get personal.
@Li_Bae people fear the unknown
Yeah I enjoyed my time with 2 but nothing shown has gave me enough interest to want to buy 3. Very much feels samey just with some new weapons which isn't enough for $60 + renewing the horribly buggy and laggy NSO just to play the damn thing.
@johnvboy It’a snarky commentary on the extended delay of Advanced Wars.
Like you guys said, pretty sure the Pokémon Company just does its own thing separate from Nintendo's plans and events. Hence why the Pokémon Twitter account announces info dumps, calls them Presents rather than Directs, and links to their own website and YouTube channel.
@DK-Fan Thank you for speaking the truth. Arlo will finally any reason to complain and is one of the most petty content creators around. He actually blocked me on Twitter just because I made a joke that he was gonna do another video about Pokémon Unite when more cosmetics were announced. Again, petty and annoying - sucks that NL is even giving him a platform here.
@Thief the majority of gaming news youtube content is based on grifting whatever issue reddit/twitter is mildly upset about this week and making a huge deal out of it. Negativity drives more eyes in the algorithm than positivity, this has been proven countless times. There's an incentive structure in place to be negative and find things to complain about, because that's where the money is.
@dojmin I think you might actually be missing some of what Splatoon has to offer (which is a shame because I don’t want you to miss out).
You are right that the main focus is multiplayer matches. But that doesn’t hold the franchise back and it certainly doesn’t take away from the single player aspect of the game.
The story is very light, but there is a good amount of single player content, especially Splatoon 2 and the Octo Expansion. There are 32 single player levels in the base game and 80 in the Octo Expansion.
We’re talking a 20-30 hour single player campaign (if you collect all items) and the levels have some of the most unique mechanics and boss fights you’ll find in games.
As for the Multiplayer, even Splatoon 1 is active and that’s only available on the Wii U, with an ever decreasing user base. But a few weeks back my son played some games on it and waited just two minutes for a game. That was a lot less than some other multiplayer games we play that have active user bases.
Additionally, the multiplayer is not hardcore stuff if you don’t want it to be. You can play co-op with the Salmon Runs or you can do turf war where the priority is painting the arena floors over getting kills. So it is very casual friendly also.
In all, Splatoon has a good amount to offer a single player minded gamer, has fantastic multiplayer gaming options, and is one of the coolest and most unique games out there. It’s quirkiness universe is one I would really recommend testing out.
I’m not sure how trustworthy Arlo is as a source, especially when it comes to complaining…
@Kazman2007 There is always "a new story based single player campaign", they're great a lot of fun; 2 even had it's own DLC campaign in addition to the story based single player campaign already part of the game. You just need to find the old man near the sewer drain on the main overworld map. There's actually loads of lore you can discover and the platforming and gunplay is fun, the enemies are fun to kill, worlds are super imaginative, and it's just good fast paced action arcade gameplay you'd expect from Nintendo.
But people talk about the online multiplayer because it's great fun playing with other people in 4v4s, and there's no such thing as unlocking everything and beating all the levels. With good human competition, the game never needs to end. And by the time you finish the single player content, you'll be a pro at the guns and controls and such and have a leg up on your competition. Not that it's even necessary, because the single player content is actually quite good and worth it on it's own. This game's first trailer mentioned the return of the mammalians so that should be quite an interesting story.
I don’t understand comparing marketing for Pokémon games to marketing for any other Nintendo game. I mean, I guess I understand random people on Twitter not getting the distinction, but a writer at NintendoLife should know full well that Pokémon marketing is not handled by Nintendo.
3 people and a puppet show worry
Nintendo Life: "Should we panic?"
... The first person, Viper, has 6 followers. These four tweets don't have fifty likes between them. This is not article worthy.
@KindofaBigDeal
Then listen to it on mute with close captions (but don't do it if you don't want to; I would never force anyone to watch a puppet against their will).
Why do we even have 2 Splatoon games on the same console?
Splatoon 2 was just, "Splatoon 1 again," so this doesn't really seem very surprising. What IS surprising is that Splat3 is an NS game, not an NS2 game.
Given how much the SP is an afterthought, at best, you'd think Nintendo would want to keep it to one release per hardware cycle, like Mario Kart and all the various Sports games.
“More of the same” never seemed to deter CoD fans.
Something feels sinister about a man that pretends to be a puppet.
I put 150+ hours into Splatoon 2 (which is a lot for me). Had a really good time, but eventually moved on. Splatoon 3 hasn’t shown me anything that makes me want to pay for another go. Plus my online subscription will expire in a few months at which point the game won’t get any use unless I renew. Probably not going to do that.
@Snatcher My comment is an homage to Advanced Wars being a finished game and delayed because of real world events affecting about 0.5% of the population while water scarcity affects 40% of the world’s population.
It's just more of the same, only this time you can play with Yoshi. So what?
... is I'm sure what some people would have said about Super Mario Galaxy 2.
@Not_Soos I couldn't agree more!
@HamKnight Are they? I don't actually think I've seen anyone express much excitement for it outside of this thread (which is more people getting angry) in some time. And I say this as someone who played both 1&2 for years.
I do think the improvements to turf wars are going to be a huge improvement when you actually sit down and play them. But other than that... There's a couple new salmon run bosses and... Maybe another super short story mode? I think that's about it that's been shown off.
Like, I'll probably enjoy it, but I don't feel the marketing has made me excited yet. And that does seem to be the general consensus outside of the die-hard fandom.
Completely baffling to see people calling Arlo a super negative whiny baby when his videos are so incredibly tame. Like he’s constantly tip-toeing and qualifying everything he says to avoid people getting angry at him over nothing and yet they do anyways. I’ve seen all of his videos and the one and only time i’ve seen him be unfair in his content was his video about the game awards this last year. Other than that, he’s generally pretty positive and genuine.
They literally just announced their first special edition Switch OLED for this game. I have a hard time believing they’d do that over something they no longer care about or isn’t much different from its predecessor…
A new mode and new idols, that’s all I ask. Just give me something that hooks me like Salmon Run did in 2017 and I’ll be good to go. But I’m growing concerned that’ll be a many-months-post-launch addition like Clam Blitz was in Splatoon 2.
The good news is that if Splatoon 3 doesn’t excite us, we can just pour more hours into Splatoon 2, Nintendo’s best Switch game. It deserves it.
@Thief i find the unwarranted hate he gets more petty tbh. twitter no doubt stoked the flames on his pikmin and paper mario vids, but when you actually watch his vids theyre the most non-offensive, mild-tone opinions ive seen for game critics. i just find his hate oddly escalated for the lack of controversy there actually is around him
I think Grover is a pretty cool guy. eh tweets ShigsyM69 to release Pikmin 4 and doesnt afraid of anything.
Jaggy Thermos?!
I have never played Splatoon. I love FPS and 3rd person shooters but I want single player action mainly. Splatoon 3 will be like all other new Nintendo games with no single player experience (or a short 5 hour one). I wanted Mario Strikers soo bad but I wasn't getting it without a good single player. It seems all new Nintendo games have no single player anymore and for a company that hated making the switch to online they seem to push online for every game with no, or little, single player content. I would love if Splatoon had a great single player experience but I doubt it.
@The__Goomba Pretty much!
@Wilforce,
Ah, I see.
NO, I don't agree at all.
Nintendo decided to focus on marketing Xenoblade, a great IP, but not one to make 10mil sales so totally justified to focus marketing on it.
Nintendo also helped promote Live-a-live (great remake btw).
Now, they focus on Q3/Q4 but the game is still more than a month away, they WILL release direct and marketing PR soon, have no doubts, just that casting shadows on other more niche JRPG exclusive would really not be ideal
Finally, TPC is NOT Nintendo ! Nintendo is just but one stakeholder of TPC, so they do have some form of autonomy in their marketing campaigns, not necessarily linked to Splatoon 3
@DK-Fan
I used to like Arlo a lot, but most of his videos have become very ranty and whiny. He's become the person I was, always complaining about what he doesn't like about Nintendo and their games. A bit entitled. Nowadays I tend to ignore what Nintendo is up to (for the most part) and rejoice whenever they do something I do like. Life is happier this way. But then again, I don't run a monetized youtube channel...
@thinkhector So, your idea is to make Splatoon 2 next to useless for all the people who bought it for $$ because there is a new game coming?
TPC is definitely its own thing, but a Pokémon direct is in turn a Nintendo product as well. TPC doesn’t just blast one out without heavy Nintendo involvement. That said, it still doesn’t matter. There will 1000% be a splatoon 3 info dump this month
@gergelyv It was a bit of a joke. But the Big Three always shut down online services eventually.
@BartoxTharglod My thoughts exactly
To be fair I am not interested in Splatoon, but them not giving out too much information on a new game is good to me as most of the time they give away soo much, there is no point playing it as you have seen it all. Just like some show adverts on Netflix, I see a snippit of the show but it give away so no need to watch it.
@Not_Soos I do agree he shouldn't be getting hate, nobody deserves hate for opinion but I don't think he should be immune from any criticism because he's "wholesome"
I like some of his content but he does have a tendency to have a bad or overblown opinion that puts his fans into a frenzy and gives them ammo.
The joke about Kirby recently came off as petty rather than playful for one example.
I've already sold Splatoon 2 in preparation for Splatoon 3, so I'm not even that bothered if it is more of the same.
We complain about full price games and we complain about free to play games....can game developers even win?
I really don't need more Splatoon. As fun as it is, it all kind of blends together after a while. That's why I'm going to buy Call of Duty: Modern Black Ops Warfare 7 instead!
@DK-Fan That is literally his entire shtick. If it weren't for the puppet gimmick, no one would even know he exists. He'd be ignored like he should be.
@Rika_Yoshitake That's how this site operates nowadays. It's really just a husk of its former self.
@boxyguy People get tired of a Negative Nancy. If that's your entire identity, people will eventually figure that out and move on.
@JeffreyEngineer people will buy a Nintendo game without knowing anything about it. I've already bought a Splatoon 3 Switch OLED, Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Xenoblade 2/3 without any sort of marketing push from Nintendo. I've played Splatoon 1/2 but hadn't heard anything about 3 before I ordered it, I've never played a Xenoblade game and I've only hear about AC:NH gameplay from the Zero Punctuation review. Also, no one's going to cancel their preorder because a whiny puppet says the game will just be a bland copy-paste of previous Splatoon titles. Has he confused "Nintendo" with "EA"?
This makes no sense, people like it how it is already, then if they change it too much you'll all be the first to b!tch and whine about the changes.
@thinkhector That would make zero sense both in the eyes of the company and the consumer. Those new to Splatoon with 3 may want to buy and experience 2 at some point, so taking away the online would cause people to stop buying 2 and cause the games revenue to drop by a lot.
Also, since Splatoon 1 still has an active online and is 7 years old, Splatoon 2 luckily isn't dying anytime soon.
(Also, I understand the joke, just pointing out the legit possibility of that)
@Sakiya Mario 35 was an online game with a huge following. What did Nintendo do?
@meleehunter or you know you could just develop a full-featured game in the 5 years allotted to you.
@Sunface honestly I don’t think splatoon 2 will die. Once the game comes out I don’t think a lot of people will play 2 for a while because people are checking out 3. The first game didn’t die when 2 came out so.
@DK-Fan what arlo talks about in the video isn’t that bad. I’m a huge fan of splatoon, it’s literally the my most hours played out of all my other games. And watching his video at first I didn’t get it what most of his points were but if you look through a player who only plays a couple hours during the day or week it’s understandable.
All I know is that one of the kids in my house plays 2 religiously, and all of their friends in school play it the same. They are all about their rank, timing different modes throughout the day, doing a 1000% on each weapon, bunch of crazy kids!
It's a fun game, but I think Nintendo knows what they are doing even if 75% of 3 is more of the same of the original.
Never played Splatoon, I guess I'll jump in on 3 since I missed the first 2.
That's not news, that's hearsay at best. Contrived nonsense at worst.
But I guess NL is just not a journalistic news site anymore. It's just baseless gossip.
Show Comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...