Below are the latest titles that can be currently pre-ordered at retailers:
United States
* Save 20 percent on pre-orders with Amazon Prime or Best Buy’s GCU. 20 percent off pre-orders on Amazon Canada as well. On Amazon UK, it’s £2 off.
Wii U
Darksiders Warmastered Edition – Amazon
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop
3DS
Dragon Quest VIII – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop (pre-order for case)
Runbow Pocket Deluxe Edition – New 3DS only – Amazon, GameStop, Best Buy
Poochy & Yoshi’s Woolly World amiibo bundle – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop
Poochy & Yoshi’s Woolly World – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop
Story of Seasons: Trio of Towns (pre-order for capybara plushie) – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop
Mario Sports Superstars – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop
amiibo
Poochy – Best Buy
Accessories
Retro Fighters Pro NES Controller to NES Classic Edition Adapter – Amazon
Books
The Legend of Zelda: Legendary Edition, Vol. 2 – Amazon
The Legend of Zelda: Art & Artifacts – Amazon
Pokemon Sun/Moon: Alola Region Collector’s Edition Pokedex & Postgame Adventure Guide – Amazon
Pokemon Sun/Moon: Alola Region Edition Pokedex & Postgame Adventure Guide – Amazon
The Legend of Zelda: Legendary Edition, Vol. 3 – Amazon
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Vol. 1 – Amazon
The Legend of Zelda: Legendary Edition, Vol. 4 – Amazon
The Art of Splatoon – Amazon
The Legend of Zelda: Legendary Edition, Vol. 5 Amazon
Canada
Wii U
Darksiders Warmastered Edition
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
3DS
Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King
Runbow Pocket Deluxe Edition – New 3DS only
Poochy & Yoshi’s Woolly World
Poochy & Yoshi’s Woolly World amiibo bundle
Story of Seasons: Trio of Towns
Books
Zelda: Legendary Edition, Vol. 2: Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages
The Legend of Zelda: Art & Artifacts
Pokemon Sun/Moon: Alola Region Collector’s Edition Pokedex & Postgame Adventure Guide
Pokemon Sun/Moon: Alola Region Pokedex & Postgame Adventure Guide
The Legend of Zelda: Legendary Edition, Vol. 3
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Vol. 1
The Legend of Zelda: Legendary Edition, Vol. 4
Art of Splatoon
The Legend of Zelda: Legendary Edition, Vol. 5
UK
Wii U
Darksiders Warmastered Edition
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
3DS
Dragon Quest VIII
Dragon Ball Fusions
Books
The Legend of Zelda: Art and Artifacts
Pokemon Sun/Moon: Alola Region Collector’s Edition Pokedex & Postgame Adventure Guide
Pokemon Sun/Moon: Alola Region Pokedex & Postgame Adventure Guide
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Vol. 1
The Legend of Zelda: Legendary Edition, Vol. 3
The Legend of Zelda: Legendary Edition, Vol. 4
Art of Splatoon
The Legend of Zelda: Legendary Edition, Vol. 5
Two more English videos have popped up for Dragon Quest VIII ahead of its western launch later this month. Find both of them below.
Update: Added in Sunday’s updates.
Nintendo Badge Arcade has been receiving daily updates since heading to the 3DS eShop. Because it’s continually updated with content, we’re rounding up all of the additions and changes in a weekly post.
Here’s what’s on tap for the week of January 2:
January 2
– 11 Pokemon panels
– 1 Ashley panel
– 1 Nikki panel
– 2 Animal Crossing panels
– 3 Mario New Year’s panels
– 5 BoxBoy! panels
– 7 Rhythm Heaven panels (1 with 1 day left)
– Mario New Year’s theme offer until January 5
– Thank-you campaign badges for 20 purchased plays until January 5
– 2 free plays
Update: We’ve managed to gain access to Nikkei’s full article, and it appears to be more light speculation rather than a true assertion. It talks about how Wii U and Wii both launched at a price of 25,000 yen for instance, and an analyst from Rakuten is expecting Switch to be around 20,000 yen to be a popular item. This isn’t quite like Nikkei’s other articles that really went out of its way to make it clear that it had original information on hand.
Original: Nikkei has published an article with what could be the Japanese price point for Switch. According to the site, Nintendo will be setting the system at 25,000 yen. Unfortunately, we don’t have access to the full piece as a membership is required, but that price is in fact what Nikkei is claiming.
A direct conversion from yen would put Switch at around $213.65. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean Nintendo would price it at $200. A $250 price point in the United States could end up happening – assuming Nikkei’s information is even accurate.
Nikkei doesn’t have a completely accurate record when it comes to unconfirmed reports. That being said, the outlet has been very solid in the past.
Keeping in line with past traditions, Amazon Japan is again offering a pre-order bonus for a Nintendo title. This time, it’s for Poochy & Yoshi’s Woolly World. Those who reserve the game are entitled to a free acrylic key ring.
Poochy & Yoshi’s Woolly World launches in Japan on January 19. North America and Europe follow on February 3.
Muramasa: The Demon Blade was one of the most visually striking games on Wii. The action game possessed a unique style, and was heavily based in Japanese mythology.
Glixel recently caught up with Muramasa’s creator, George Kamitani, as part of an interview opportunity. When asked about what inspired the title, he explained:
“I had consecutively done fantasy titles so I wanted to do something different. The concept for Muramasa: The Demon Blade came from the idea of presenting a ‘ninja Princess Crown’ concept to the person who created the arcade game Ninja Princess at Sega. The story for Odin Sphere was inspired by Shakespearean theatre so if I was going to make a Japanese version, I felt that the setting should be inspired by kabuki, so I collected a lot of kabuki scripts. I also referenced a lot of Japanese classical literature, but the old language was very difficult. And I was somewhat nervous to use Japanese mythology, so there’s more Buddhist theology in the game.
Visually, I was influenced by block prints from the Edo period, and I imitated the ink-wash painting style using bright, vibrant colors. I was also influenced by the classic Manga Nippon Mukashi Banashi anime where there’s a certain comical element to the background. I tried to create an authentic environment that’s different from a realistic style.”
After releasing on Wii many years ago, Muramasa: The Demon Blade came to the Japanese Wii U eShop in 2015. Unfortunately, it’s still not out in the west.
Chronova Games has set a date for Mega Maze, which we first heard about last August. The Wii U eShop title is planned for January 19 on the North American Wii U eShop. The game will cost $3.99.
We’ve included a new trailer for Mega Maze below.
Source: Chronova Games PR
Lots of Dragon Quest news was shared during NHK’s recent 30th anniversary program. We got a new, brief look at Dragon Quest XI with tidbits of information, a message from character designer Akira Toriyama, and more.
On the topic of Toriyama, the television program actually gave a look at some scrapped enemy designs he drew up. Here’s a look:
The enemies are as follows:– Arthur Sion / Arthursion
– Hentekorino (Henteko means weird in Japanese)
– Lizardman
– Halloweenman
– Boss #2
Trio of devs share preliminary Switch thoughts – power, NVIDIA development, what they’re excited for
Well before NX was known as Switch, GamesTM spoke with three developers about the system. The UK magazine previously caught up with DrinkBox co-founder Graham Smith, Rebellion Developments co-founder Chris Kingsley, and Zen Studios VP of Publishing Mel Kirk. Now that we’re starting to get an idea as to what Switch actually is (though much more so next month), GamesTM once again posed some questions to these game makers.
You can read the full Q&A about Switch in this month’s issue of GamesTM. However, we did pick out some excerpts below. Smith, Kingsley, and Kirk shared some thoughts about Switch’s power, developing with NVIDIA hardware, and what they’re most excited about.
Believe it or not, it was almost two years ago when Satoru Iwata first mentioned NX, Nintendo’s next gaming system known as Switch. Now the moment we’ve all been waiting for is almost here. Towards the end of next week, Nintendo will finally tell us everything we need to know about Switch. What’s the final release date? How much will it cost? What are the launch games, and other titles in the production? These important questions will be answered, among others.
Many people assumed that Nintendo would be hosting some kind of event to unveil Switch last year. Yet instead of that, we were teased with a brief announcement trailer. Since we’re about two months away from launch, so Nintendo really needs to fill us in on pertinent details.
The Nintendo Switch Presentation 2017 is what we’re all looking forward to. But even after that, Treehouse Live is returning to give us extensive look at new games. Hands-on events will also begin around the world. It’s almost like E3 in January! Actually, it might be crazier than E3. I know that on my end, there will be a lot more to cover.
So for this week’s Let’s Talk, this is our general pre-Switch reveal discussion thread. We’ll have another one of these next week. Do you have any final predictions? Any last-minute hopes and dreams for the week ahead? Just want to share your excitement overall? You can do all of that in the comments below!