Latest Switch rumors cover voice chat, battery and charging, Virtual Console, more
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Rumors, Switch | 91 Comments
After spilling the beans on Ubisoft’s apparent plans to bring the next Assassin’s Creed to Switch earlier this week, YouTube user OBE1plays spoke with reliable leaker Laura Kate Dale during a stream yesterday. Dale was more than willing to answer questions about the system. Here’s a roundup of information shared, as collected by Nintendo Life:
Rumor: Next Assassin’s Creed planned for Switch, releasing alongside other versions
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Rumors, Switch | 22 Comments
Ubisoft is confirmed to be bringing Just Dance 2017 to Switch, but we can expect more of the company’s games on Nintendo’s new console. One rumored project is a crossover between Mario and Rabbids. Allegedly, the next Assassin’s Creed entry is targeted for Switch as well.
YouTuber OBE1plays made the first mention of the claim, and also mentioned that the game will launch on Switch alongside the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions. Laura Kate Dale, who has been quite accurate with rumors about Switch, has heard similar things.
Ubisoft making the next Assassin’s Creed for Switch wouldn’t be entirely surprising. Assassin’s Creed III was ready for Wii U’s launch, and Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag also ended up on the system.
More: Assassin's Creed 2017, top, Ubisoft
FCC filing may point to non-removable battery for Switch
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Rumors, Switch | 23 Comments
A new FCC filing is now up for the Switch. Engadget has one takeaway from the listing pertaining to the included battery.
Based on what Engadget has seen from the FCC filing, Switch will likely have a non-removable battery. This is somewhat different from Wii U, as gamers are able to replace the battery in the GamePad for more runtime. With Switch, doing something similar might not be possible. There’s still a slight chance that it could change by March since a production prototype was reviewed, though it’s intended to be equivalent to a mass-produced model.
If you’d like to view the full FCC filing, head on over here. Just be warned that there’s a whole lot of technical stuff involved.
Rumor: Crashmo World was cancelled for Wii U
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Rumors, Wii U eShop | 27 Comments
Nintendo and Intelligent Systems released the successful 3DS eShop puzzler Pushmo before moving on to Crashmo one year later. Pushmo World was then made back in 2014 for Wii U. Apparently, the franchise was intended to have another entry on the console.
After finishing Pushmo World, Intelligent Systems pitched an idea to Nintendo that would give Wii U the same treatment as Crashmo had on 3DS. The working title was, unsurprisingly, Crashmo World. Development moved along in 2015 and progressed for a year, but Intelligent Systems started to shift resources over to Switch.
Crashmo World was actually planned as a 2017 title on Wii U. There was some discussion about potentially moving it over to Switch, though it was ultimately canned instead.
Here’s the full report from Liam Robertson:
More: Intelligent Systems, top
NIS actively developing for Switch
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Rumors, Wii U eShop | 50 Comments
Nippon Ichi Software was confirmed as a partner for Switch, but it’s been unclear as to whether or not the company is actually working on projects for the platform. Fortunately, we can now say that the team is “in proper development”.
Speaking to Japanese website 4Gamer about its ambitions for 2017, NIS president Soheii Niikawa said:
“Nippon Ichi Software will deliver various content from Gifu Prefecture to the world. In 2017 as well, we will actively launch new IP in the consumer game market. But it doesn’t end there. We will steadily take on new initiatives. We also have Nintendo Switch project(s), so please look forward to that. (There has been some skepticism about our company’s participation, but…. we’re in proper development!)”
NIS has been primarily been known as a PlayStation developer, though the company did create some games for Wii and DS (plus an obscure 3DS game during the system’s early days). They’re known for the likes of Disgaea and Phantom Brave.
More: Intelligent Systems, top
Rumor: Laura Kate Dale on the Switch: clarified leaks, bits of new info
Posted on 7 years ago by Matt(@OnePunchMaz) in Rumors, Switch | 148 Comments
Laura Kate Dale, who has leaked quite a bit of info on the Switch in the past few months, did an AmA (Ask me Anything) on the Switch subreddit last night. Obviously, most of the questions were about the Switch and what she knows about it. She did clarify a few points and also revealed some new info she believes to be correct. We’ve collected any new, updated and interesting info below; like always, take any of this with a grain of salt and a healthy amount of skepticism. This especially applies to the following points since most of them don’t come from a proper report that Laura wrote, but instead from an informal series of posts of Reddit. Either way, the big Switch event is only 2 1/2 weeks away, so most of this info should be proven either correct or false by then.
According to Laura Kate Dale:
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Rumor: Nintendo could be working with Nickelodeon on new project
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, Rumors | 49 Comments
Nintendo is starting to starting to branch out in a number of new ways. We’ve seen that through the company’s partnership with Universal Studios, for example. We’ve also heard about Nintendo’s new interest in video content. Movies and TV shows seem to be in the pipeline.
When it comes to video content, Nickelodeon could be one partner Nintendo is teaming up with. Fred Seibert of Frederation Studios – an animation company that has worked on Fairly Oddparents and Adventure Time – made this intriguing comment on the latest episode of Nick Animation Podcast:
“We have a project now that we’re doing that needs to go unnamed, based on one of the most world famous video games of the last 30 years, that we’ve had in our shop for twelve years without being able to get it started. But there were great characters and a great story, and eventually we got it going.”
Seibert didn’t label Nintendo specifically, but there aren’t a massive amount of names that would fit the description here. Something like Mario would definitely make sense – that franchise has been around for thirty years, and has very recognizable characters. Could we see something like a Mario series on Nickelodeon down the road?
More: top
Rumor: Switch’s CPU and GPU clock speeds revealed
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Rumors, Switch | 149 Comments
Digital Foundry and Eurogamer have a new report about the specs surrounding Switch. The big takeaways here concern the console’s CPU and GPU.
Below is a notable excerpt from the new report today:
“As many have speculated, the new Nintendo hardware does indeed feature two performance configurations – and the console is categorically not as capable in mobile form, compared to its prowess when docked and attached to an HDTV. And we can confirm that there is no second GPU or additional hardware in the dock itself regardless of the intriguing patents that Nintendo has filed suggesting that there might be. With battery life and power throughput no longer an issue, the docked Switch simply allows the GPU to run much faster. And to put it simply, there is a night and day difference here.
Where Switch remains consistent is in CPU power – the cores run at 1020MHz regardless of whether the machine is docked or undocked. This ensures that running game logic won’t be compromised while gaming on the go: the game simulation itself will remain entirely consistent. The machine’s embedded memory controller runs at 1600MHz while docked (on par with a standard Tegra X1), but the default power mode undocked sees this drop to 1331MHz. However, developers can opt to retain full memory bandwidth in their titles should they choose to do so.
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Rumor: Pokemon GO no longer coming to Apple Watch
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Mobile, Rumors | 3 Comments
9to5Mac is reporting that Niantic is scrapping plans to bring Pokemon GO to Apple Watch. When it was originally shown in September, the app was apparently an “unfinished port.”
Niantic is thus far not officially commenting on whether Pokemon GO has been cancelled for Apple Watch. However, one user claims to have heard from the company in a customer support email response that plans have ceased, though “if demand for an Apple Watch port increases, we will continue development of a port.”
More: Niantic, Pokemon GO
Rumor: Switch makes use of NVIDIA’s Maxwell architecture
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Rumors, Switch | 86 Comments
According to a GamesBeat report, Switch will be making use of NVIDIA’s Maxwell architecture for its graphics as opposed to the chipmaker’s newer Pascal technology. The site writes that Wii U’s lack of success prompted Nintendo to move quickly, and avoid waiting on the updated Pascal version of the graphics technology. Had Pascal been pursued, Switch would not be able to launch in March as currently planned. The chip would have required a redesign to fit within Nintendo’s “mobile, low-power constraints” as well.
GamesBeat goes on to say that “Switch doesn’t have as much visual horsepower as the PS4 when played on a television, and it may not be able to handle 4K graphics, either.” It’s unclear if Switch is weaker than the Xbox One since “performance may be close.”
