Tag: Reaction
Reaction Rest Easy, Folks, Your Switch Backlog Ain't Going Anywhere
Backwards coming forwards
In a deft move of redirection, Nintendo has anticipated investor disappointment in its 'numbers are down' six-month financials and changed the conversation by revealing a tidbit about Switch 2: the Switch successor will be backwards compatible with current Switch software. Confirmed by company president Shuntaro Furukawa...
Reaction With Xenoblade Chronicles X On Switch, The Wii U's Demise Is Complete
Farewell, friend
Over the last several weeks, Nintendo fans have been absolutely itching for news on the upcoming Switch successor; news that, if today's announcement is anything to go by, likely won't be occurring until 2025. Alas, the blow has been significantly softened by the reveal that Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition will be making...
Reaction A Little Device That Makes Sounds In Sync To Movements On The Bed?... Oh, Nintendo
Surprise, delight, alarm
You've got to love Nintendo. Here we all are, refreshing our feeds and inboxes every hour thinking that maybe, just maybe, it's the day our favourite purveyor of video games lifts the lid on the mythical 'Switch 2'... and then this. You want new hardware, do ya? Sure, here's your new hardware, pal. Let's not get hung up on...
Reaction Shadow Drops & Surprises - A Stuffed Direct With Something For Everyone
How did you find the Indie World & Partner Showcase?
Have we all recovered yet? On the surface, today's Nintendo Direct Indie World & Partner Showcase wasn't as show-stopping as the main June 2024 Direct. It was never going to be: by name and virtue alone, this is a Zelda and Mario-free presentation. And we're slowly approaching the end of the...
Reaction A Direct That Delivered, And Shows That Switch Still Has Plenty Of Pep
How would you rate it?
Well, well, that was a packed one, wasn't it? We've gotta be honest, expectations were sensibly low around these parts. For every wild card dream we had of a new Mario & Luigi or that 2D Zelda we've been hoping Grezzo would make as a follow-up to Link's Awakening, there was a wise voice in our ear warning us to be...
Reaction Nintendo's Switch Emulator Fallout Is Shocking Only Because It Took This Long
Emulator action
Well, that was quick... But also slow. That Nintendo would take action against programs that circumvent security and open up obvious avenues to playing Switch games without having purchased them is entirely unsurprising given the platform holder's historic 'emulation is piracy' stance. But the speed with which Tropic Haze, the...
Reaction What's Your Gut Feeling On The Zelda Movie News?
Excited? Concerned? Confused? Get your hot takes here!
In typical Nintendo fashion, the company unexpectedly and nonchalantly dropped the announcement last night that it is deep into development on a Legend of Zelda movie with Sony Pictures. It comes as no massive shock given the success of the Super Mario Bros. Movie, but the fact that this Zelda...
Reaction What Did You Think Of The Nindies Spring Showcase 2018?
Vote for your favourite game!
Yesterday, Nintendo aired a special Nindies-focused broadcast which outlined some of the new games coming to the eShop this year. Hosted by Nintendo's Damon Baker and Kirk Scott, the event had quite a few surprises to offer - including fresh announcements and more than a couple of timed Switch exclusives - and...
Reaction Our Early Thoughts on the Nintendo Switch
Thoughts on next-gen Nintendo
It's been quite a day. The Nintendo Switch was revealed, and most of the internet has had its say on social media. There's been a lot of positivity, and naturally some people aren't fans; in any case we now know the core concept that will drive the next generation of Nintendo gaming. We've covered a lot of angles and...
Reaction Key Early Lessons We Learned About The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Nintendo goes all in on the adventure
We started the first day of E3 knowing very little about The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - not even that name - and have ended it with a lot more knowledge. The Nintendo Treehouse, Eiji Aonuma, Shigeru Miyamoto and all involved excelled at demonstrating a lot of fascinating details while also steering...
Reaction Nintendo Shakes Up E3 With No NX and a Focus on Legend of Zelda
It's a contentious topic
Nintendo has made a few surprising announcements along with its annual financial reports, but the news that The Legend of Zelda on Wii U will be the only playable Nintendo game at E3 is perhaps the most stunning of them all. After previously dropping conventional stage-based conferences already and adopting the popular...
Reaction The NX Release in March 2017 and How It Changes the Game
We consider the angles on NX missing the Holiday season
After all of the rumours, analyst reports and speculation, we do have some concrete information about the Nintendo 'NX' system - it'll launch globally in March 2017 and will not be at E3. It won't be revealed or shown before or during the LA extravaganza, with that event to be focused on The...
Reaction Star Fox Zero: The Battle Begins Had Humour, Weirdness, Teases and Lots of Potential
An idea that Nintendo should pursue with all key franchises
Nintendo has made 'events' out of various quirky online broadcasts, with some being surprisingly short and light on actual reveals or details. It wasn't too surprising, then, to see Star Fox Zero: The Battle Begins given the live broadcast treatment, followed by the Nintendo Treehouse team...
Reaction The Pokémon Direct Was Short and Slick, But Had a Blunted Impact
Sun and Moon remain a mystery despite their leaks and then reveal
Well, the first Nintendo Direct of the year has aired, and it was short and snappy. The Pokémon Direct was confirmed to be around five minutes long when announced, and it only edged up to 'approximately 6 minutes' when it actually arrived; there was no double bluffing to be found...
Reaction Nintendo Titles Miss the UK Top 40 Once Again
For the third week in a row
Every week we check the UK chart results, and typically Nintendo has a few titles scrapping away - at the very least - in the bottom half of the top 40. Yet this is now the third consecutive week where not a single Wii U or 3DS exclusive has made it into the all-format top 40. What's going on? It's worth starting out...
Reaction The Nintendo 'NX', and Why We Think a Unified Platform is the Future
Better, together
From now until the start of the new year we're going to be republishing some of what we feel are our best features of 2015. Hopefully this will offer the chance for newer readers to catch up on content they might have missed and allow long-time fans to reacquaint themselves with features they enjoyed the first time around. Today we...
Reaction Nintendo's First Mobile App, Miitomo, Targets the Lucrative Depths of the Blue Ocean
Tom Whitehead mulls over Miitomo and its potential success
Miitomo is a tricky thing to assess early doors, as it's not exactly what many were expecting. In fact, my first reaction in a sleepy fog was that it was a bizarre decision that appeared to go back to the original idea - mooted back in 2013 - of a Mii-driven app. I felt a sense of slight...
Reaction The Concept of eShop 'Early Access' is Both Exciting and Slightly Terrifying
Tom Whitehead thinks it would be the best of times, and the worst
Nintendo is rapidly disproving the suggestion that it's behind-the-curve or old fashioned in the download gaming space. Aspects of the company's decision-making remain cautious, but the Wii U and 3DS eShop stores have not only brought Nintendo up to speed with a number of modern...
Reaction Nintendo's E3 Digital Event Brought Franchises We Wanted, But Not The Blockbusters
Metroid and Animal Crossing in unexpected forms
Nintendo's E3 Digital Event has concluded after the usual hype and build up, and as expected it contained a number of surprising twists. Some of our predictions were on the right track, but Nintendo also left out some releases and IPs that were much anticipated while, intriguingly, other brands we...
Reaction There is a Positive Angle to Nintendo's Splatoon Global Testfire Issues
Lessons learnt
When Nintendo announced the first round of Splatoon Global Testfire sessions we described the idea as a clever Nintendo Direct highlight, as it achieved multiple goals. It created 'event'-style hype, gave curious Wii U owners a look at the game, and also allowed Nintendo to stress-test the online component with an audience of a decent...
Less an event to capture social media, more one-off E3 show
Following Nintendo's outline of its E3 plans last week, we got rather optimistic and hopeful about the Nintendo World Championships 2015, stating that the E3 event could be just the beginning. We cited the ongoing success of the truly global Pokémon tournaments as a potential blueprint,...
Reaction Nintendo's E3 Plans are a Perfect Blend of Humour, Retro Charm and a Hint of Madness
Nintendo World Championships 2015, spread the word
Nintendo has made an event of confirming its plans for a major gaming expo, with pre-announcement hype and some bizarre social media stunts. Welcome to the madness of E3 2015. It started with some particularly peculiar pranking from well-known Nintendo figurehead Bill Trinen, with him joking that...
Reaction The Splatoon Global Testfire Demo Is a Clever Nintendo Direct Highlight
Stress tests servers, creates an 'event' and builds hype all at once
Nintendo isn't quite as old-fashioned as some like to pretend; it is, after all, a multi-billion dollar entertainment company that manufactures and sells consoles. In recent times it's signalled a serious intent to tackle the smart device market, shake up its customer loyalty...
Points to a reasonable lifecycle for the New portable, too
For a decent amount of time Nintendo's been fielding questions about Unity support for the 3DS, and the answer's often been the same - it's being considered and it's a desired inclusion on the portable. The problem is the reality that the 3DS is derived of technology that was ageing even in...
Reaction DeNA and Its Games With Disney
A match made in heaven for Nintendo?
With all the chatter around the announcement of the 'Dedicated Game Platform' Codenamed 'NX' in Nintendo and DeNA's recent presentation, we thought it would be a good idea to brush up on our knowledge of Tokyo based DeNA Co., Ltd. to see what they are likely to do with Nintendo's beloved IP on smartphones...
Reaction Pokémon Shuffle Isn't Quite Microtransaction Hell, But It's Getting There
Tom Whitehead scratches his head, waits 30 minutes, then scratches it again
Microtransactions. It's a grubby phrase in the eyes of many, mainly because it represents a concept that thrives on being small and inoffensive, yet has the capability to lead to extravagant costs or to simply wreck a game's momentum. It's worse than 'free-to-play', as a...
Reaction Super Smash Bros. amiibo Support Shows That NFC For The New Nintendo 3DS Is No Gimmick
Part of a long term plan?
Today Nintendo provided a pretty meaty update for Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, which adds some rather neat data sharing options that'll no doubt see thousands of Mii characters and funny images ping around the internet for our viewing pleasure. Beyond those additions of data swapping and Miiverse posts there was also...
Reaction Nintendo Direct Went Crazy With Reveals, and Was Delightful and Confusing in Equal Measure
Tom Whitehead tries to make sense of 2015's first Nintendo Direct vids
Aside from a few small details that will be saved for a wrap-up article in the very near future, I reckon we've covered most of the important news and reveals from the recent Nintendo Direct broadcasts. It was an absolute bombardment of details, and after quite a few hours and a...
Reaction Picking Apart The New Nintendo 3DS And New 3DS XL
Tom and Damien chew the fat over today's shock reveal
Earlier today, Nintendo shocked the video gaming world by announcing the impending launch of not one but two revised 3DS models. The New 3DS and New 3DS XL take the core template of the original model and add in NFC, a nipple-like C-Stick, additional shoulder buttons and an improved screen...
Reaction Nintendo's Drop in Momentum Is A Bigger Concern Than Initial Financial Losses
Net sales and 3DS performance are down on last year
Nintendo's Q1 financial results have been announced and, in a continuation of the past couple of years, bring losses for the company. We'll repeat the nitty-gritty before assessing some other key points, yet we should perhaps take the positive spin that Nintendo is maintaining its projections for...
Reaction Our Thoughts on Nintendo's Big Day at E3
Lots to consider
With day one of E3 now long closed, it gives us an opportunity to look back at Nintendo's efforts. It was arguably the most sustained onslaught — over the course of 8-9 hours — that Nintendo's ever produced, starting us off with a Digital Event, following up with rolling live demonstrations from the Treehouse team and rounding...
Reaction Mario Kart 8 Accused Of Poor Sales Potential, Ruining Battle Mode And Racism
Mario Kart Hate
Mario Kart 8 launches at the end of this month, and as you'll know if you've consulted our review, it's well worth looking forward to. It would seem that most of the gaming press agrees with us; the game has scored very highly across the board. However, opinions are like belly buttons — everybody has one — and unsurprisingly,...
Reaction Nintendo Direct's Final Flourish of 2013
Damien and Tom share their thoughts on this week's broadcasts
It's like Nintendo read our minds, or at least deduced what a number of enthusiasts may be thinking. Aside from a slightly awkward appearance at the VGX awards to reveal Cranky Kong for Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, we've had festive season advertising but relatively slim pickings...
Reaction Nintendo Reminds Us of the Wii's Glory Days With Wii Fit U and Wii Sports Club
Inexpensive upgrade options are vital for attracting the Wii generation
This week Nintendo didn't so much surprise us with a Nintendo Direct, but left it outside the door unannounced and ran away giggling. Again apparently relying on the rapid influence of word of mouth, or perhaps acknowledging that much of the target audience aren't Nintendo...
Reaction The Pokémon Bank and the Inevitability of Online Charges
Gotta buy 'em all
Today's Pokémon Direct broadcast brought 20 minutes of hype for the upcoming Pokémon X & Y, titles that will practically sell themselves regardless. There was some exciting news about limited edition hardware and, oh yes, the choice of
Reaction Nintendo Surprises Us All With the 2DS and Wii U Price Cut
Some NL staffers share their thoughts
Well, today wasn't a sleepy Wednesday for Nintendo. Somewhat out of the blue, both Nintendo of America and Nintendo of Europe issued some major announcements. Nintendo of America gave more specific details on release dates for the most notable games of the Holidays, but both regions were united in revealing the...
E3 2013 Live Reaction From The Nintendo Life Team
Join us at 5:00PM UK time (12:00 EST) as we chew over today's announcements
The dust has barely settled on today's E3-themed Nintendo Direct, but here at Nintendo Life we're far from idle. Join us as Damien McFerran, Thomas Whitehead, Andy Green and Mike Mason digest the announcements, new footage and other news revealed in the broadcast...
Reaction Our Thoughts on Nintendo Direct - 17th May
A starter ahead of the main course
This week's Nintendo Direct has now digested, and if you still need to catch up you can check out our big summary of the news for the full lowdown. After the last broadcast went big with some significant reveals, it was a more measured approach this time around, with the running time fleshed out with plenty of...
Reaction Our Thoughts on Nintendo's 3DS Direct - 17th April
Deep breath, count to 10...
So, yesterday brought us another Nintendo Direct, or 3DS Direct to be accurate, and once again Nintendo threw caution to the wind and got enthusiastic fans rather excited. There were some major announcements made, alongside a smattering of pleasing release dates, which successfully covered many bases. Keep an eye out for...
Reaction Gunman Clive Provides a Positive Example of eShop Success
A boost for controlled licensing
The video game industry is in the middle of, arguably, its most unstable period — the landscape is evolving almost too quickly to track. Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft are currently sticking to the course as constants, in general maintaining well-worn business practices while attempting to adjust to new challenges...
Reaction Wii U's Social Potential Takes Shape
A bold new direction for Nintendo
With just 11 days until Wii U arrives in North America — at the time of writing — it's perhaps surprising that substantial details on Nintendo's online services have taken so long to emerge. That said, it's not unprecedented, as Nintendo often likes to keep its cards close to its chest, withholding details and...
Not a bad effort, Nintendo
On Thursday the Nintendo Life team watched the various broadcasts and events held by Nintendo to unveil Wii U launch details. After soaking in all that was said and the news that's come out since, a couple of our editors decided to provide some brief thoughts of their own on what Nintendo did right, as well as areas that...
Reaction Nintendo's Steady Start in Retail Downloads
It’s only half of the picture
Earlier today we reported that Satoru Iwata had given loose figures for retail downloads in Japan, which started alongside the launch of 3DS XL on 28th July. Speaking to Wall Street Journal, Iwata-san stated that New Super Mario Bros. 2 retail downloads account for 5% of sales in Nintendo’s homeland, but provided...
Reaction Age Ratings and Video Games
PEGI takes over and makes under-age selling illegal
It may come as a surprise to those who assumed it was the case, but until 30th July there was no unified, legally binding age rating system for video games in the UK. Unlike so many other products available to buy, the guidelines and ratings in place did not automatically lead to prosecution for...
Reaction What Happened to EA and Nintendo's Unprecedented Partnership?
The silent treatment
At last year's E3, EA CEO John Riccitiello shared a stage with Nintendo global president Satoru Iwata and Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime to announce that the two companies would join together in an "unprecedented partnership" for the launch of Wii U. Neither party gave any real indication what this would involve;...
Talking Point Reviewing Nintendo's E3 Press Conference
7/10?
The dust has settled on Nintendo's E3 2012 press conference. Here in the Nintendo Life offices the pizza boxes have been pushed to one side and we've taken a few minutes to collect our thoughts and summarise how we think it went. James Newton, editor: I wouldn't say this was a classic show for Nintendo — a lot of the right components were...
Reaction On First Glance, Nintendo Land is No Wii Sports
System seller?
Nintendo made claims that it had a Wii U title that matches Wii Sports in appeal; a title that sells their new console, both conceptually and literally, just as well as the motion sports game did for Wii. At E3 it presented the proposed title: Nintendo Land, a virtual theme park which incorporates Miis, Miiverse and mini games...
Reaction James, Tom and Mike React to E3 2012
What did we make of it?
Nintendo's E3 2012 press conference is over, and our editorial team James Newton, Tom Whitehead and Mike Mason sat down to dissect and discuss the biggest announcements and speak freely about what we made of it. What's your take on the conference — did it exceed your expectations or leave you cold?
Reaction Ubisoft Bets Big On Wii U
Will it be legendary?
Ubisoft has now finished its E3 conference extravaganza, and unlike EA dedicated a section to Wii U, underlining support for Nintendo's next gen console. In total the publisher unveiled eight titles, not all necessarily for launch day, but in any case representing a broad variety of styles and experiences. So, what stood out?...
Reaction Tom and James Discuss the Big 3DS Rumour
Sizing it up
If Nikkei is right, tomorrow we'll see a 3DS console redesign as Nintendo unveils a 3DS console with a 4.5" screen, 1.5 times bigger than the current model. Our editor James Newton and features editor Tom Whitehead — yes, they of the Nintendo Life podcast! — sat down in video form to chat about what the rumour could mean for...
