TGO Daily | September 18, 2020 | Nintendo Direct Mini Recap
+ Playstation issues, 3DS discontinuation, and new game releases
It feels like there has been more games news in the last two weeks than for the rest of 2020 combined. It’s awesome! We’re closing out the week of news today with a lot of really fun stuff.
It’s funny, when I started writing these newsletters, I was worried that it would take up too much time for me to sustain it properly. Turns out I actually love writing them, because it forces me to think more critically about these stories. Even though it takes longer, I always end up wanting to write about more than I can actually fit into podcast episode.
Thanks so much for reading. We’ll be back with the news on Monday, recapping everything from this upcoming weekend :)
— Adrian
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Nintendo Direct Mini Recap
Nintendo held a Direct Mini today, which turned out to actually have some pretty significant news. Most importantly, Monster Hunter is getting two new games added to their lineup.
Mosnter Hunter Rise will be the next mainline open-world entry. This follows in the footsteps of World, with a greater focus on narrative and minimal loading screens, but will likely be smaller in scope. New features for the series include rideable dog companions called ‘Palamutes,’ and a grappling hook that can be used at any time for traversal or combat. As always, there will be new monsters to battle as well. Rise will be releasing exclusively on the Nintendo Switch on March 26th, which will have options for a standard, deluxe, or collector’s edition.
Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin is a continuation of the story based spin-off series, which originally launched on the 3DS. The first game had a turn-based combat system, and focused on monster riders instead of hunters. This one will release exclusively on the Switch at an unspecified summer date in 2021.
Monster Hunter World is the best selling Capcom game of all time, so it’s fair to say that there’s probably even more in the works for that IP. Other than that , it was announced that three games are now available on the Switch. Ori and the Will of the Wisps, an Xbox title, is an absolutely fantastic game that everybody should play. The Long Dark is a great narrative driven survival game that turns around many of the tropes of the genre. Hades is also now available — more on that soon.
If you’d like to hear about other indie games heading to the platform, feel free to read this recap article from Eurogamer, but that’s all the big stuff!
Playstation runs into lots of issues
Hot off their event yesterday, PlayStation is putting out a ton of fires right now. The situation around pre-orders is an absolute mess: at one point they promised that pre-orders for the PS5 would be invite-only for a limited time via email. Then they said the floodgates would open some time on September 17th. In reality they opened the evening of September 16th, a few hours after the event. This has led to most retailers already running out of stock, and people scrambling to get their hands on whatever they can.
The communication around some individual games is also incredibly confusing. Titles like Final Fantasy XVI and Demon’s Souls have at different times been non-exclusive, console-exclusive, and PlayStation-exclusive. Keep a close eye on whatever it is you’re most interested in.
Clearly, Sony needs to work on their messaging and clarity. There shouldn’t be glaring issues like this when you have tens of thousands of people watching your broadcast.
Nintendo 3DS discontinued
The Nintendo 3DS has been officially discontinued. As gi.biz puts it, “For the first time since 1989, Nintendo is now a one-device platform holder.” The eshop and retailers will continue to sell games for the device for the foreseeable future, but they won’t be manufacturing any more of them.
I think it’s fair to say this is the end of an era for Nintendo. With the Switch being so popular, I’d be surprised if they return to a handheld-only device any time soon. As of June 30th, the 3DS family have sold close to 76 million units — roughly half of their best-selling consoles of all time, the DS family.
New game releases
Hades has officially launched out of Early Access. This is a roguelike title from highly acclaimed indie studio Supergiant Games (Transistor, Bastion, Pyre). The game has been extremely loved during its time in Early Access, and the official reviews have nothing but good things to say. If you are into roguelikes, Greek mythology, or any of Supergiant’s previous games, you should definitely check it out. I can’t wait to finally sink my teeth into it now that it’s out of Early Access. (FWIW, you should check out the NoClip documetary series about the game’s development. Everything NoClip does is unmatched in quality).
Also out soon is Super Mario 3D All-Stars. While the general consensus around its release and production have been negative, reviewers are recommending it if you have an interest in playing any of the three titles. A common complaint is that it just feels like a “ROM dump,” but for most people that shouldn’t be a problem.
Crysis Remastered and WWE 2K Battlegrounds are also releasing some time today, but it looks like reviews aren’t out for them yet.
Also In The News
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