[Let’s Talk] Nintendo at E3 2016

It’s been a strange couple of months as Nintendo shared its plans for E3 2016. We quickly learned that there would be absolutely no NX news, nor a Nintendo Direct / Digital Event. Zelda Wii U is going to be playable, but it’ll be the only game at the show. Nintendo did say recently that its two-day Treehouse stream will feature Pokemon Sun/Moon, Pokemon GO, Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE, Monster Hunter Generations, and Dragon Quest VII in addition to Zelda.

Going into E3, how’s everyone feeling about things? Are you excited to finally get a good look at the new Zelda game? Are you bummed about the company’s approach to the expo this year? Is there anything you hope to see – be it an already-announced game or an announcement – during the Treehouse stream? Let us know in the comments below! We’ll reconvene next week – crazy to thing it’ll all be over by then!

Highlights from last week’s topic: Splatoon, one year later

SpaceLud35

It’ a year later and I’m still playing. There’s enough weapon variety to keep things fresh. The stage variety is good too despite the fact that you can only play 2/2 stages in turf/ranked every 4 hours. Hackers are starting to pop up but I haven’t encountered any yet. Also, they’re mostly clothing hackers which don’t really disrupt normal play, it’s when they start affecting weapons and specials that this game will cease to be fun.

My main complaint is the matchmaking. There are 2 aspects to this, the regions with which you play and your team mates. There is no regional matchmaking outside of Splatfests so more often than not I’m playing against 7 Japanese players while I’m in the Caribbean. It’s challenging in an unfair way as more often than not “I’m already dead” by the time I’ve seen them. They might as well all be named Kenshiro. Thanks lag. The other issue is who you’ve been assigned with as team mates. The game does not take into account which weapons everyone is using as well as their levels. I’ll end up on a team of me + 3 of the same type (rollers, brushes, snipers) while the other team will have a balanced load out. Then most times the players levels appear to be evenly distributed but then you’ll end up with games where 4 level 50 players are challenging 4 lower level players.

All in all, it’s been a solid purchase and I’d like to see the next entry in the series within a year of the NX’s launch. I suppose they’ll pull a Mario Kart and have returning stages along with the new ones.

Igor C.

The thing about Splatoon is a great step for many good directions:
Nintendo never made a shooter before, Goldeneye was Rare’s and Metroid Prime was Retro Studios’, so getting it right the first time while keeping the family friendly appeal is notable.
It is basically their first new First Party IP since the Wii series, and Pikmin.
In the world of DLC, Micropayments and skyrocketing prices for gaming, games like The Witcher 3, Monster Hunter 4 and Splatoon become an example of how truly turn a game into a service, with Free DLC long after launch, making the above really unexcuseable as “mandatory”.

Supporter

Part of me is still hoping for new content like amiibo functionality outside of the Splatoon line, another local multiplayer mode, a new stage that uses Inkrails and Propellers, and a single-player or multiplayer Super Mario Sunshine stage. Of course, some of these could be saved for a sequel.

Otherwise, the game is pretty fun, but I try not to play too much to avoid getting sick and tired of it.

Carlos

Splatoon was a little light on content when it was first released. Over the past year we’ve gotten many more stages, weapons, gear and many fixes that have greatly improved the game. It has grown to become its own entity. It has become the title that I love to play and I play all the time, logging in at 472 hrs. I’m sure there will be another game in the series. It has the potential to become an ip as big as Zelda or Mario, as long as Nintendo keeps putting work into the series.