New for Nintendo this (and next) Week (8/6/17-8/19/17)

Two weeks ago, Nintendo had a massive week with the July 21^st launch of Splatoon 2. Then, last week, Nintendo seemingly took a bit of a break, as it was a very slow trickle of releases, primarily very small indie games for the Switch. The next two weeks look to ramp things up a bit, as Nintendo is getting support from all fronts, indie, third party, and first party games. While the next two weeks don’t look the throw out any major releases or set any records, there are a few games worth taking note of. Oh, and it is worth mentioning that next week does see the return of a beloved, little blue hedgehog…

What Will be in Nintendo's Next Direct?

It has now been nearly a month since Nintendo gave fans a Direct presentation. With the Big N setting up the 2017 trend of one Direct type presentation a month, it has to be believed that an announcement is coming very soon. However, with a Direct being imminent, it has to be wondered what will be included in Nintendo’s next digital presentation. Given the time of year, Nintendo’s upcoming schedule of games, and the holiday season being just around the corner, we can make a few educated guesses as to what may be discussed during the next event. Not only can we have guesses as to what WILL be in the Direct, but we can also gather a pretty good idea of what the next Direct will NOT focus on.

New for Nintendo this Week (7/23/17-7/29/17): Hey! Pikmin & New Nintendo 2DS XL

There is a lot coming to Nintendo’s consoles this week! While most of the titles are smaller indie games, or third party games, Nintendo is launching two of its major first party games for the 3DS in the next 7 days. The Nintendo Switch is still riding high with last week’s release of Splatoon 2, but they are not slowing down as a couple more high quality games are hitting the system. The Switch and 3DS are getting plenty of support, meanwhile, the Wii U is still continuing its slide into obscurity. There is a lot to go over this week, so let dive into it!

Legendary Pokemon are Finally Coming to Pokemon Go! What does it Mean?

One year ago, in July of 2016, a new augmented reality mobile game, Pokémon Go, took the entire world by storm. By entire world, I do mean the entire world. This statement does not just include gamers or longtime Pokémon fans, as Pokémon Go invaded the mainstream in a way few other video games ever had. The instant popularity of the game coupled with mainstream coverage drew in even more players to the mobile app. The result was millions of people all across the world roaming around parks and neighborhoods, staring at their phone screens in search of mythical creatures. It really was like we had temporarily entered into some bizarre version of modern society. One year later, the buzz and popularity has significantly died down, leaving a much smaller group of hardcore fans still hoping to “catch ‘em all.” Despite the significantly smaller player base, Niantic, the developer behind Pokémon Go, is still making efforts to support their mobile game. Their efforts have resulted in a much deeper and better game than we had at launch, and has even inspired some Pokémon Go resurgences. On July 20^th, 2017, we awoke to quite possibly the biggest news to hit Pokémon Go fans to date. The arrival of Legendary Pokémon.

New for Nintendo This Week (7/16/17-7/22/17): Splatoon 2

All in all, this is a pretty slow week for Nintendo on all fronts. Not a whole lot is coming out on any of the 3 consoles (Switch, Wii U and 3DS). This includes third party, indie, and first party games. With Nintendo’s recent momentum, it’s weird to see such a lax week. Although, I do feel like I may be forgetting something. I just can’t shake the feeling that I have overlooked a game…

Remembering Satoru Iwata Two Years Later

To most people, July 11^th is just another mid-summer day. Adults will go to work and kids will spend time playing outside getting the most out of the last month of their summer vacation from school. In the case of this year, it is Amazon a Prime day, a day to celebrate with savings! However, to gamers and Nintendo fans, it is a day that lives in infamy, a day of mourning. It is the day that we lost one of this industry’s best, Satoru Iwata.

It has now been two years since the passing of Satoru Iwata, which is hard to believe. It seems like only yesterday that we were getting the heartbreaking news that the man who brought Nintendo news “Directly” to us had tragically passed. As I am sure most of you know, Satoru Iwata was the fourth President and CEO on Nintendo. However, Mr. Iwata was so much more than just another man in a business suit. He was a man who was passionate about his job, Nintendo, and the video game industry in general. Nothing sums this up better than one of his most famous quotes, “On my business card, I am a corporate president. In my mind, I am a game developer. But in my heart, I am a gamer." This exact quote epitomizes just what made Mr. Iwata so special. He was a humble man who knew his roots. Despite climbing the corporate ladder to one of the Industry’s top spots, he still recognized his beginnings as simply a gamer. He was one of us, and that is what made him feel so warm and relatable every time we saw him speak.

Despite his early passing at the age of just 55, Mr. Iwata left behind a legacy greater than most who live much longer lives. Working during the infancy period of the video game industry, Mr. Iwata started developing games in the 70’s, and eventually joined the development team, HAL Laboratory. While climbing the ranks within HAL Lab, Mr. Iwata began working on games for a newly released home gaming console, the Nintendo Entertainment System (Famicom/NES). First producing a port of the arcade game Joust, Mr. Iwata worked on many other games for Nintendo, eventually bringing the beloved Kirby to life. Satoru Iwata had a hand in many of Nintendo’s games, such as their premiere fighting game, Super Smash Bros. Perhaps Mr. Iwata’s best work as a developer with HAL came in the form of the SNES cult classic, Earthbound (Mother 2).

Satoru Iwata climbed the ranks of Nintendo, eventually becoming the company’s fourth President in 2002. At this position, Mr. Iwata oversaw work on consoles such as the Nintendo DS and the Wii, and countless incredible games. He even oversaw early development of the Switch during the finals months of his life. After serving as President for 13 years, Mr. Iwata tragically died of complications from a bile duct tumor on July 11, 2015. Nintendo informed the public of Satoru Iwata’s passing the next day, and entered into mourning for the next several months, even lowering the flags at their headquarters to half-staff.

Today, 2 years after his sudden passing, we remember the life and legacy of Satoru Iwata. While his life ended far too soon, he left an impact on the video game industry that few others ever will. Today, Nintendo, the gaming industry, and gamers all over the world mourn the loss of the former President of Nintendo. Despite no longer being with us, we are still enjoying the fruits of his labor as we play on our Switches, reminisce on Kirby or Earthbound, or even play Pokemon Go. Rest in Peace Mr. Iwata, you are missed. 

My Thoughts on Today's (7/6/17) Splatoon 2 Direct

So Nintendo hit us with a Splatoon 2 focused Direct, and it did not disappoint. This Direct was a decent length, being over 25 minutes, and the whole presentation was full of information. There was also a good flow to today’s Direct, which was a welcome feature, as Nintendo has often struggled with pacing in their presentations as of late. Information was presented clearly and in a timely manner, and even though there was a lot to take in, I don’t feel like I really missed anything. There was also that lovable Nintendo charm present, as they chose to stick with the “Squid Research Lab” theme that myself and many others have come to love. It definitely seems that this direct delivered on almost everything that Splatoon fans wanted, so without further ado, let’s jump into the details.