Julius

I think that’s a great idea, @Glen-i! Nintendo has been doing reeeeeally well with implementing demos/online tests/tournaments/etc. for the Switch, and whilst Smash doesn’t necessarily need one, I think that it would just be a great tool for Nintendo to use as a PR and hype-building move. On a completely different note, what are everyone’s opinions on the effect that the Smash reveal could have on the Switch community’s/Nintendo fan base’s expectations going into E3? Does it make easier or harder for Nintendo to navigate the waves of fan expectation?

Considering that those games were already revealed prior to the E3 at which they they were the centrepiece, and that we’re not expecting any other major announcements from Ninty (and their subsidiaries) until E3, I think Super Smash Bros. is the most likely game to be at the centre of attention this time around. It’s also a much easier game to hop in and out of on the show floor/in a booth than either a new Pokémon or Animal Crossing entry would be. I also expect a Mario Tennis Aces tournament at E3 this year, considering that they held an ARMS one last year (a few days before its release).

Delayed until 2019.

Yeah, I don’t think we’ll be getting the PS5 for a while yet, simply because of how much Guerrilla and Bluepoint managed to squeeze out of the PS4 with Horizon Zero Dawn and Shadow of the Colossus, respectively. I’m actually not too sure about 2020 as a release year for PS5, though. If the PS4 loses sales momentum and drops off for a while, then putting the PS5 out around then would seem a good idea, and it depends almost entirely on if the consumer base wants - and is ready for - the next and new PlayStation Console. However, if the PS4 continues to sell well, and more and more developers continue to squeeze out what they can from the base model - and then the Pro - I think we could end up actually waiting until the 2021-2023 window for a PS5 release, as console life cycles should, theoretically, only be getting longer from a technological standpoint (not accounting for consumer interest). This is because the visual fidelity of games is already nearing a threshold, and the reason why we’ve been seeing diminishing returns from the visuals of games is because there’s a limit to what the human eye can detect, and also because the observation that the number of of transistors in an integrated circuits doubles over a relatively short period of time (1-2 years; i.e. Moore’s Law) has already been seeing diminishing processing returns since the early 2000s (see below). As the video game industry has been effectively catching up to modern technologies since its inception, and with the end of Moore’s Law nearing (i.e. the point at which we can no longer produce smaller transistors), as well as video game developers having effectively caught up to produce optimal visual results from current systems (be that console or PC), the introduction of new and faster processors with future systems won’t have as much of an impact as it might have before, which means that the industry will have to look elsewhere to continue getting the most out of the modern system. I think this is very likely to be related to more sophisticated AI integration into video gaming (for more efficient asset creation, game rendering, etc.), but, as it takes exponentially longer to produce a sophisticated AI for a video game than it would to simply slip in a new processor, I can see that pushing the next console generation back a fair bit if we are to see more technological leaps made within the industry in the next decade or so with the next set of consoles. We’ll just have to wait and see. We’re at a bit of a tipping point in terms of technological evolution in general, so I think it will definitely be interesting to see which direction PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo — and any other potential console manufacturer — takes next.

Sakurai confirmed.

Seriously, I think that's probably the best Nintendo Direct yet. Flew through the 3DS stuff, threw a couple of Switch titles our way...check the clock and we're only 13 minutes in. A little break for some tennis talk, before returning with a slew of great third party and indie titles, as well as that Dark Souls amiibo. I have to admit, that rather long focus on Splatoon 2 prior to Smash at the end threw me off a little bit, and I though we might be lazily winding it down...but nope. They smashed that Smash button. For now, I think there's a lot to enjoy from this Direct, but it does leave me with some questions going forwards: where's Fire Emblem, and does this make it more or less difficult to manage fan expectations going into E3?

For anyone who missed the Direct...or just wants to watch the Octopath Traveller stuff again

Still, I find it a bit odd that we heard nothing about Fire Emblem. Probably an E3 showing with an October/November release date?

THEY DID IT THEY HIT THE SMASH BUTTON

Nintendo Direct - March 8th The game is revealed at the end of the March Nintendo Direct. Inklings are confirmed, as was Breath of the Wild Link confirmed, though it was unclear if this was a new/replacement character for the existing Link, or a new variant of the existing Link character. Masahiro Sakurai has also confirmed that he will be returning to the franchise with this game.

3DS and Switch for Treasure Tracker? The 3DS is the console that won't die; kudos to Nintendo for sticking to their plan for the console. Edit: Okay, this is only getting better...and my wallet is getting smaller.

The game is releasing July 13th, with a special edition also releasing the same day. The special edition (known as the Wayfarer's Edition) will include a coin based on the in-game currency, a soundtrack CD, a map of the in-game world, and a pretty awesome case.

I think it’s a bit more likely that they had HD models down-ressed to 240p to run on the 3DS, than 240p up-ressed to 720p/1080p; comparatively, it would require a lot less work.

Infinity War will reportedly have a runtime of 2 hours and 36 minutes, which would make it the longest MCU entry to date.

Haven’t played any FE game yet, so this could completely break the game or be a really strange mechanic to include, but what you mentioned gave me a little idea, so I’ll throw it out there How about having fallen allies become members of the opposition — the dead army — and having a way of getting them back later on (via an elixir, for example, which becomes available in the late/post game)? I suggest it because something I frequently see is people rebooting their game to not lose characters, but losing characters in this context could have an impact on the story and they would be made available for use later on? i don’t know, just a short ramble

That’s a good point. Honestly, I think it could go either way; recently, there were some rumblings that the game might be released on March 16th for Switch, and the timing of the Direct doesn’t do too much to negate those rumours. Maybe we could end up with a Nindies Direct by then, though? Because, if I recall correctly, the last Nindies Direct was only a week or two prior to the September Direct. And, as you said, we do seem to be due one.

If by “surprise” you mean the reveal of a new first party AAA title that we know virtually nothing about, I’m inclined to agree; I think the focus has to be on what’s coming between now and E3, (which is the event for which, I imagine, they’re saving their biggest of announcements/surprises). I still expect to be surprised, though, even if the light is exclusively shined on stuff we already know about; I’d be somewhat surprised if Fire Emblem is being released by E3, for instance, or if stuff like Odyssey DLC is revealed.

Yeah, I think it’s time. They announced it at the end of last January iirc, and the games have recently been coming out between February and June (in all territories), so I imagine that it could drop within a month or two of the Direct if it is indeed featured tomorrow. Perhaps we get a Hollow Knight release date — or, dare I say it, shadow drop? — too?

Hells yeah. I’ve got to imagine that it’s time for an update on Fire Emblem Switch and potentially Project Octopath Traveller? (That’s 22:00 GMT if anyone’s wondering)

I think it says a whole lot about where PSG is at when having their star player missing makes the rest of the team look limp and lifeless, and even against an opposition which should in fact spur them on to prove themselves. The problem I think that they’re having is that they don’t have a manager who will light a fire under them to get the results, which is exactly what’s needed in the UCL when they can put out any old team and coast in the league. Emery’s reign as PSG manager is, I imagine, all but at an end, so I think that they now need to find someone with a serious heat and confidence to them — someone like Jurgen Klopp or Diego Simeone — to push this team when the going gets tough. Great result for Madrid, who didn’t look like they had to get out of second gear to get the result that they would have wanted.

I’d heard he was ill too, but this is the first time I’m hearing about this stuff. It’s a bit worrying, actually, because it feels and seems like something pretty shady is going on here, like someone’s trying to exploit him for whatever they can (whether it be a quick news story or otherwise) before it’s too late for them to do so. I want the guys over at Marvel and Disney to start speaking up, because this genuinely seems worrying at face value. Get Robert Downey Jr. to start causing a ruckus on Twitter or something; they need to bring attention to the situation before, as they implied in that article, something bad happens.

That’s awesome! As much as I love the Star Wars films, I really do think that some of the absolute best Star Wars content is tucked away in the subsidiary materials. Watching The Clone Wars before you get too far in Rebels is a good idea, because there are a lot of threads and characters that make a return, and The Clone Wars adds so much depth and nuance to the prequel era that went missing in action in the prequels themselves. Would I be right in assuming that you picked up the box set with S1 - S5, the one with Ashoka on the front? Because, if so, once you’ve completed it - and if you enjoyed it and want more - I’d actually heavily recommend seeking out the ‘Lost Missions’ Blu-Ray; as the show was cut short due to the Disney takeover, it’s a collection of 12 episodes that were planned for S6, and they alone build up the lore a few more notches, and also might give a greater closure than the end of S5 did. Both shows also absolutely have some of the best music and lightsaber fights in the franchise, so you’re in for a real treat! I don’t think you hear Sabine’s Theme until S3 (probably my favourite musical piece in Rebels), and trust me: you’ll know it when you hear it Great book selection of books, too; I have to recommend Lost Stars (a Romeo and Juliet-styled romance far beyond any we’ve seen on-screen in the franchise, which takes you from just before A New Hope up until the Battle of Jakku with the perspectives of star-crossed lovers on opposite sides of the Galactic Civil aware) and Bloodline (the main character is Leia, and it offers a lot of political exposition that was missing in TFA, and is set five years prior to the film). I hope you enjoy reading and watching them all!

Star Wars Rebels came to an end last night, and closed on the highest of Star Wars highs.

Ironically, the only goal that I remember seeing Matic score that was inside the penalty area was a screamer