Tag: Talking Point - Page 3
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (June 25th)
Preparing for a busy July
Is everyone feeling a bit more chilled out after not-E3? Okay, we're still waiting for a Nintendo Direct, but we did get a Xenoblade Chronicles 3-focused presentation, where a new Expansion Pass was unveiled. The AM2R devs have reunited on a brand new stunning-looking Metroidvania pr
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (June 18th)
A turtle-y good weekend
Is it a scorcher where you are, readers? It certainly has been in the UK this week. But the video game news has been pretty hot too! Hollow Knight: Silksong is alive with a brand new trailer! There are details of a rumoured new Fire Emblem game surfacing online.
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (June 11th)
Bask in the warm glow of not-E3
Well folks, it's been another jam-packed week at Nintendo Life, with plenty of highlights to mention! First up, the excellent Mario Strikers: Battle League launched on Friday and we thought it was a great sports game for the Switch in our review. Similarly, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords...
Talking Point Should Sonic Frontiers Be Delayed? We Discuss Its Bizarre Debut And Fan Reaction
Sonic's latest 3D entry stumbles out the gate
After what feels like a lifetime of waiting, we've finally been treated to a glimpse at what the gameplay for Sonic Frontiers will look like — two glimpses, in fact! Thanks to IGN's month-long coverage deal with SEGA, we now have a better idea of how exploration and combat will work in the game, with...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (June 4th)
What're ya playin'!?
It's June, and this month is PACKED with new game releases and lots of summer gaming events! No, not-E3, although that's what we're calling it — "not-E3". This week, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet got a November release date! And it will officially be the first open-world mainline game. We also got a look at
Talking Point Video Game Music Is More Popular Than Ever, So Why Is Nintendo So Behind?
Make it music to our ears!
There’s been a lot of Nintendo-related music news over the past year that has had me more than a little disappointed. I like to boot up a video game soundtrack while I’m working; I’m a big fan of video game music concerts and I have a small collection of albums and vinyl that I want to keep growing. And with access...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (May 28th)
Pre-summer doldrums?
We're almost at the end of May, and the "E3" build-up is beginning to kick in, which means that things have been a little steady in the world of video games. Three new NES and SNES games have appeared on NSO this week. A dancing Psyduck toy took the internet by storm. And
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (May 21st)
Raze hell
Another week has come and gone, and it's been one of those weird "busy but not that busy" kinda weeks. We saw a bit of new footage from Sonic Origins, and it's looking very tasty. An HD texture pack was showcased for Mario Kart 64, and we discovered yet another bonkers
Talking Point In An Age Of Endless Delays, Nintendo's First-Party Flow Is Extraordinary
The hits keep coming
When Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp was postponed earlier this year in response to current events in Ukraine, there was an interesting perspective that did the rounds. It meant a longer than normal gap between Nintendo retail titles, and we'd have to wait — gasp — for a few weeks to play Kirby and the Forgotten Land...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (May 14th)
Go on, tell us
Well, it's certainly been a bit of a busier week for us here at Nintendo Life! Looking at game announcements, we're going to be getting Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards on the Switch Online Expansion Pass, plus Alan Wake has been confirmed for release on the Switch later this year. Finally, of course, we had a brand new Indie World...
Talking Point As Switch Hardware Sales Slow, How Long Can Nintendo Delay 'Switch 2'?
Stuck between a rock and a global chip shortage
Nintendo's report for the 2021/22 financial year dropped today, and while Switch continues to sell well and software sales are looking healthy, signs that enthusiasm for the five-year-old system is beginning to ebb are also apparent. To be clear, the results present a far from gloomy outlook for the...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (May 7th)
The force is still with us
If you've noticed that things have been a bit quieter this week, that's because it's Golden Week in Japan, a series of four national holidays where a lot of companies grant time off. For others, Star Wars Day was on 4th May (okay, okay, May the 4th), and that's also considered a bit of a holiday, depending on who you talk...
Talking Point If 1-2-Switch Sequel Rumours Are Somehow True, How Could Nintendo Improve It?
1-2-Switch-2
Nintendo rumours and the world of 'insiders' can occasionally be a strange, baffling place. While there's no shortage of legitimate leaks, some of the speculation can come across as tall tales, fever dreams, or even the potential machinations of Nintendo trying to bait and identify internal leakers. One bit of speculation that just...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (April 30th)
Wanna play ball?
Hold on, it's May on Sunday? We're a little bit confused about that here at Nintendo Life Towers — how are we already in the fifth month of 2022? Blimey. Anyway, after the release date chaos of last week, this week has been decidedly more steady. Reggie Fils-Aimé's SXSW talk is now available, and in it, he reveals how the...
Talking Point WATA And The Grey Areas Of Game Preservation - Is There Any Better Way?
WATAAARGH
The game industry is youthful compared to other areas of entertainment and recorded culture - younger than film and TV, and of course a baby compared to printed works. Yet we're now decades into the history of gaming, especially if you go back to the systems of the 1970s, perhaps even a little earlier. Even if you choose to focus on the...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (April 23rd)
It does matter
Phew! It's been a heck of a week, hasn't it? It actually feels like springtime now at least, but our eyes are poised towards the summer with the slate of new release dates we've been handed. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 has been brought forward from September to July! Unprecedented stuff. Splatoon 3 also finally has a release date — a
Talking Point With BOTW2 Slipping, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Launching Early Is Fantastic News
"Bringing together the futures" of its predecessors
Though Xenoblade Chronicles is not the biggest-selling franchise to consistently grace Nintendo's hardware, it's clear that Nintendo is happy to recognise that some brands and genres deserve support for the loyalty they earn among fans. MonolithSoft, a company majority-owned by Nintendo that often...
Talking Point Can It Really Be 10 Years Since Fire Emblem: Awakening Saved The Series?
From niche series to Nintendo staple
10 years ago today, Fire Emblem: Awakening was released on the 3DS in Japan. At the time the series had a core and devoted audience, but it had struggled to make a meaningful sales breakthrough outside of Japan. There was no doubting the development and storytelling talent of developer Intelligent Systems,...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (April 16th)
A long weekend? More time for video games
If you celebrate it, Happy Easter! If not, we hope you at least have a nice, long weekend, or perhaps you're just going to relax more than normal. Whatever you're doing, we hope video games factor into your plans. This week, we got a new Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes trailer, which introduces us to...
Talking Point If Breath Of The Wild 2 Launched Alongside New Switch Hardware, Would You Upgrade?
Gotta have those fluffy clouds
Just a couple of weeks ago, the famed honcho of the Legend of Zelda series, Eiji Aonuma, announced that the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild would be delayed into Spring 2023. It was an announcement that many of us were undoubtedly expecting, particularly given that 2022 is already playing host to the...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (April 9th)
In a backlog far, far away...
Easter is already just around the corner! Or Egg Day. Whatever you want to call it. Really, it's just an excuse to eat chocolate and play video games, right? Did you check out our Indie Spotlight earlier in the week? Well, we'll give you another chance below. After last week's Zelda bombshell, it's been a bit quieter...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (April 2nd)
It's April already?!
It's the weekend - hooray! We hope you've all managed to get through April Fools' Day in one piece. It's been another week of bombshells, with possibly the biggest news being something we all *kinda* expected but didn't want to admit, and that's the news of Breath of the Wild 2 being delayed into 2023. We also got three new...
Talking Point Now That Zelda: BOTW 2 Is Off The Table, Should Holiday 2022 Belong To Mario?
Or even... Donkey Kong?
Nintendo's Holiday 2022 season is looking real quiet. Too quiet, if you ask us. Even though we're about nine months out, it seems a little odd that we don't know what Nintendo's big holiday release might be — Splatoon 3 is scheduled for the Summer, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is due in September, and of course, the previous Big...
Talking Point Nintendo Switch Online, Game Pass, And 'New' PS Plus - How Do They Compare?
Begun, the Sub Wars have
There had been rumblings over the past weeks and months that Sony was going to unveil a revamp to its subscription service to compete with Microsoft's Game Pass; it had a codename of 'Spartacus' for added effect. It did just that in the end, unveiling three new tiers of PS Plus — the lowest tier broadly represen
Talking Point 3DS Is 11 Years Old, And Our Eyes Still Feel Strange
Remembering the magic and buzz at a preview event
Over this past weekend the 3DS turned 11 years old, not exactly the biggest of anniversaries but enough to make us look wistfully at the little portable. It's a real favourite in our team, and I still keep both it and its charger handy when a bit of sentimental play is required — or when I want to...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (March 26th)
All aboard the Karby!
Happy Kirby Week! It's another busy one here at Nintendo Life, with the launch of not only Kirby and the Forgotten Land, but also Rune Factory 5. We loved Kirby, giving it a solid 9/10 in our review, but were a tad more critical of Run Factory, slapping a score of 7/10 on our review. On the news side of things,
Talking Point Nintendo And Mobile Is An Uneasy Alliance, But It's Still Vital
Nintendo's approach to mobile is certainly shifting
Earlier this week Nintendo confirmed that Dragalia Lost will be shut down after some final story updates, to which the response of many may have been a shrug of the shoulders. The mobile exclusive was an interesting title, though, as it was the only new IP that Nintendo had invested solely into its...
Talking Point Should We Still Be Pre-Ordering Games?
Pre-order this feature and get a free plush of me
A year ago, Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town came out on the Nintendo Switch. As the latest instalment in the beloved Story of Seasons (the series formerly known as Harvest Moon) series, it was pretty hyped up in the fiercely-devoted farming game fanbase... only to be more of a fart than a...
Talking Point Nintendo Finally Gave Us Switch Folders, In A Very Nintendo Way
Thanks anyway, Nintendo
No-one can accuse Nintendo of taking its focus away from the Switch now that it's over five years old, in fact it's quite the opposite. The release line-up of major first-party content is looking packed, the eShop is still attracting excellent download games, and Nintendo continues to look at ways to boost the Switch User...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (March 19th)
Fancy a trip to Coconut Mall?
We've needed a calm week here at Nintendo Life, and it sure seemed that way until the release of Wave 1 of the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course Pass. If you're not a Mario Kart Tour fan, then this DLC is for you! Plus you can check out what
Talking Point Which Other 'Old' Switch Games Would You Like To See Get New DLC?
Relight my fire
Hands up now, who honestly thought we'd be getting brand new DLC for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe in 2022? We certainly didn't; we were all primed and ready for Mario Kart 9 to be announced, but Nintendo clearly had other ideas, breathing new life into a game that's now five years old (or eight if you include the original Wii U release —...
Talking Point Not A Mario Kart Tour Fan? Mario Kart 8 Deluxe DLC Gives You The Best Of Both Worlds
Awesome for us Mario Kart Tour holdouts
The internet's a funny place. For years there was wailing and gnashing of teeth as the mobile-only Mario Kart Tour got all-new tracks and much-loved classics — "bring that content to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe!", we demanded. Then the Booster Course Pack is announced and lots of (probably the sa
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (March 12th)
And why is it F-Zero X?
The dust has settled a bit this week at Nintendo Life, but we've still had plenty of bits and bobs to talk about! The big releases this week include the delightful Chocobo GP, which we rather enjoyed, and the N64 classic F-Zero X via Nintendo Switch Online, which is also ruddy good. In other news, we received a lovely...
Talking Point How Long Does Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Take To Beat, Really?
And what does it even MEAN to beat a game, man?
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild turned five years old this week, and to celebrate the momentous occasion the Twitter account for How Long To Beat — a site that tells you how long on average a game will take you to complete — reminded everyone of BOTW's stats: Now, 50 hours sounds about...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (March 5th)
A strategic week
Well, it seems that last week was the calm before the storm, right? It's been a hectic few days in the land of Nintendo Life; chiefly, there was the big announcement of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet during the Pokemon Presents showcase. We also saw the release of Square Enix's Triangle Strategy and thought it was a darn good SRPG, and...
Poll Are You A Fan Of Nintendo Switch Online's Game Pass-Style Missions And Rewards?
Yep, Nintendo is starting to 'get it'
It's always a popular — and accurate — go-to joke that Nintendo's online offering will be largely similar to whatever Xbox and PlayStation did a decade ago. Harsh, but often fair. Maybe, just maybe that's started to change in the Switch era. Now, let's be upfront and say Nintendo is still on the cautious...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (February 26th)
On Switch, too
Another week has passed in the Nintendo Life, and after a few rather frantic weeks in gaming news it was a little calmer overall. There were interesting reveals, though, with Capcom Fighting Collection in particular getting plenty of retro gamers hot under the collar. Meanwhile it was confirmed that Next Level Games has been working...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (February 19th)
Can those old eShops handle the strain this weekend?
Another week, another dollar. Err, yes — that's how that saying goes. Various things happened this week in the world of Nintendo, but by far the biggest story was definitely the lovely Felix joining our lovely video team. What's that? Oh yes, there was also the matter of Nintendo's announcement...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (February 12th)
Time to Switch it up?
It was a big week in the Nintendo Life, with the big N serving up the first major Direct of the year. It was packed with exciting reveals, including the likes of Xenoblade Chronicles 3, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe DLC, Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes,
Talking Point Nintendo Sticks With Mario Kart 8 Through 2023, But What About Switch?
Don't hold your breath waiting for a new generation system
The frenzy and excitement around this week's Nintendo Direct is settling down, and it seems that the general consensus among the majority is that it was pretty darn good. Through first- and third-party reveals, Nintendo has set out a release schedule up to September that is busy, to put it...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (February 5th)
Time, sweet time
Another fun week in the Nintendo Life is finished, and it had some interesting bits and pieces of news. The highlight was probably Nintendo's Q3 financial results, which generally showed that Nintendo is making a lot of money; even shareholders are relatively happy, crikey. For you NFT watchers, multiple projects were
Talking Point Nintendo's Mastery Of Physical Game Sales Hides Limited Digital Growth
Download revenues lag behind rivals
Nintendo's Q3 financial results have been shared and an overall take could probably be a simple "yep, business as usual". Arguably it's a little better than that, though, with an exceptional Q3 (driven by strong sales in the Holidays) allowing Nintendo to increase its projected profits (albeit while shaving a...
Talking Point Who Is Nintendo Going To Buy? Don't Be Shocked If The Answer Is "Nobody"
That's not how Nintendo usually does business
The big news of 2022 is industry consolidation – with Microsoft buying Activision and Sony snapping up Bungie, it's all about big fish gobbling up the smaller fish. As we discussed yesterday, this isn't necessarily something
Talking Point A Poképro And A Pokénoob Discuss Pokémon Legends: Arceus
It's a Tom and Kate debate!
As we all know by now, Pokémon Legends: Arceus has taken the well-trodden Pokéformula of the last 20 years and turned it on its head. For fans who've been playing the games for years, it's an exciting reinvention of the series — but what about people who are completely new to Pokémon? And what about people who really...
Talking Point Triangle Strategy Is A Bad Name, Which Hopefully Won't Matter
Looking forward to the next Mario title, Platform Jumper
Nintendo is starting off the year rather strongly on Switch, with exciting games to keep us busy towards Summer. Despite fierce opposition the Nintendo-distributed game at the top of this scribe's list is Triangle Strategy, which is coming to us thanks to Square Enix and continuing the visual...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (January 29th)
Hm, let's take a guess...
It's been another interesting week in this Nintendo Life, culminating in a rather big release. Yes, Pokémon Legends: Arceus is out and is causing plenty of excitement; we enjoyed it a lot in our review. Though there were a good number of game announcements - particularly for the eShop - and it was also a week full of fun...
Talking Point Do You Consider Pokémon Legends: Arceus To Be A Mainline Title?
It doesn't even have two parallel versions!
Let's get this out of the way, first: Pokémon Legends: Arceus is, canonically, a mainline Pokémon game. Serebii master Joe Merrick confirmed as much late last year: As he puts it in another tweet, "it is not a spin-off... It's no more a spin-off than Super Mario Galaxy is to Super Mario World." He's...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (January 22nd)
The week before you-know-what
Another week has passed, which brought some interesting news in the world of Nintendo and the wider games industry. A lot of attention fell on the planned Microsoft acquisition of Activision Blizzard, of course, and its potential impact on the industry. Back in the Nintendo Life, it was confirmed that Switch was the...
Talking Point Don't Worry, Microsoft Probably Isn't Going To Buy Nintendo - Here's Why
It's not just about money
With this week's unprecedented news that Microsoft is kickstarting the process to acquire Activision Blizzard for a little under $70 Billion, there's been a lot of talk about what the company could do next. The likelihood is not very much for the next 12-18 months; like with the Bethesda deal the process will have...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (January 15th)
What are your gaming plans?
Another week down in this new and mysterious year of 2022. This week we got a new trailer and a March release date for the lovely-looking Kirby and the Forgotten Land, news hit of Among Us getting a manga, the fifth anniversary of the very
