Rumor: Laura Kate Dale on the Switch: clarified leaks, bits of new info
Posted on 8 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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The rumored Switch exclusive game seems to be Seasons of Heaven
Posted on 8 years ago by Matt(@OnePunchMaz) in News, Rumors, Switch | 40 Comments
Laura Kate Dale teased that a Switch exclusive game will be revealed in December, but didn’t give any details beyond that. However, it seems like we may already have a pretty good idea of what the game is going to be.
The screenshots of the game that Laura has posted bear a striking resemblance to artwork shown on the homepage for the book “Seasons of Heaven” (original French title: “Les saisons du paradis”). This book by French author Nico Augusto has been adapted into an audio book – more interestingly, however, a game adaptation of the book is also in the works; the “game” tab on the book’s website doesn’t show anything at the moment, however. The rest of the website is nonetheless worth checking out – the art shown there focuses heavily on the little boy wearing a backpack, his dog and the distinctive tower in the distance – all elements that are present in the screenshots Laura has posted. More tellingly, Augusto tweeted the following on Monday:
https://twitter.com/NicoWav/status/806241075769839616
A not-so-subtle hint at a possible Switch game, right? Any Arts Production seems to be the developer of the game.
None of this is an official confirmation just yet, but all signs seem to be pointing at this being the Switch game that Laura Kate Dale talked about.
More: rumor, Seasons of Heaven
Ubisoft’s 30th anniversary video hints at the rumored Mario & Rabbids crossover RPG
Posted on 8 years ago by Matt(@OnePunchMaz) in Rumors, Switch | 13 Comments
Ubisoft recently held a party in Paris to celebrate the company’s 30th anniversary, and today they released a video that shows some impressions from that event. Interestingly, among the props on display were little figurines of Mario, Luigi and Toad as Ubisoft’s Rabbid characters. Given the recent rumors of a Mario & Rabbids crossover RPG , this could be more than just a coincidence. Naturally, it’s not an official conformation that that game is real, but it is certainly going to fuel further speculations. One way or another, we should know for sure at the Switch event in January.
Rumor: Switch will get a Pokemon Sun & Moon “third version” called Pokemon Stars
Posted on 8 years ago by Matt(@OnePunchMaz) in 3DS, Rumors, Switch | 116 Comments
The Switch rumors don’t stop coming today, and it’s another major one, this time from Eurogamer. The outlet claims that, according to multiple sources, a mainline Pokemon game is currently being developed by Game Freak for the Switch under the codename “Pokemon Stars”. As the name implies, it is supposedly the “third version” to Pokemon Sun & Moon, like Yellow was to Red & Blue, Platinum was to Diamond & Pearl and so on. The game is “already well in development”, according to Eurogamer, and will launch in 2017. The target release date is apparently late 2017, though it was initially planned as a Summer release. This would be the first ever mainline Pokemon game to be playable on a home console – and the first time that games in a single generation of Pokemon will span multiple consoles.
According to Eurogamer, the Pokemon Sun & Moon initial reveal trailer might have already shown footage of this supposed Switch version – the model of Pikipek shown there is apparently from Pokemon Stars:
More: Pokemon Moo, Pokemon Sun, rumor, top
Rumor: Mario & Raving Rabbids crossover RPG will be a Switch launch title
Posted on 8 years ago by Matt(@OnePunchMaz) in Rumors, Switch | 39 Comments
Laura Kate Dale of Let’s Play Video Games has once again come forward with another Switch rumor/leak – and this time, it’s a wild one. According to her sources at both Ubisoft and Nintendo, Ubisoft is developing a Mario & Raving Rabbids crossover turn-based RPG, which will be one of the Switch’s launch titles.
Apparently, the working title is “Mario RPG: Invasion of the Rabbids” and, while Ubisoft is the main developer, Nintendo is overseeing the development to ensure proper use of the Mario IP. As the working title implies, the game will be about an invasion of the Mushroom Kingdom by various Rabbids characters. A new Bowser form based on the design of the Rabbids will apparently be a recurring boss character. The core party will apparently feature various minor characters from the Mario universe, with a particular focus on Yoshi, alongside a playable Rabbid. There will be cameo appearances from some of the more major Mario characters.
Rumor: Switch to launch at £199.99 in the UK; separate SKU at £249.99 will also be available
Posted on 8 years ago by Matt(@OnePunchMaz) in News, Switch | 51 Comments
Laura Kate Dale of Let’s Play Video Games has published another report on the Switch. Again, these are just rumors at the moment, but Laura has been pretty accurate on her Switch reporting so far.
According to two separate sources of hers, the UK-based store GAME “has been informed of the Nintendo Switch’s wholesale price to retailers” and will sell the Switch at a price of £199.99. This is not a price dictated by Nintendo, as console manufacturers are not allowed to set suggested retail prices for their consoles, but it’s pretty likely that the system will be sold across the UK at that price.
Rumor: Switch uses micro SD cards up to 128GB in size
Posted on 8 years ago by Matt(@OnePunchMaz) in News, Switch | 39 Comments
Laura Kate Dale of Let’s Play Video Games has once again delivered another report about the Switch. According to her sources, the Switch will use micro SD cards, just like the New Nintendo 3DS. Supposedly, the current development hardware uses micro SDXC cards up to 128 GB in size. It’s not yet confirmed whether retail models will support the same size or if it will be lowered. Also, keep in mind that the 3DS can use larger SD cards than the officially recommended size if formatted correctly. It’s possible that this applies to the Switch as well.
Additionally, Dale’s sources revealed that the SD card slot will be located underneath the console’s kickstand.
Of course, this all unconfirmed at the moment so take it with a grain of salt, but Laura Kate Dale’s reports on the Switch have been quite accurate so far.
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Rumor: Switch’s Right Joy-Con can serve as an IR pointer to play touchscreen games on TV
Posted on 8 years ago by Matt(@OnePunchMaz) in News, Switch | 13 Comments
On Saturday, we reported on a curious feature of the Switch’s right-hand Joy-Con controller – a sort of glossy panel on its bottom. Laura Kate Dale, who has delivered many correct reports and leaks about the Switch so far, has been digging into this and apparently found out that that glossy panel is indeed an infrared (IR) pointer. The purpose of this IR pointer has to do with the Switch’s supposed touchscreen functionality.
Whether or not the Switch has touchscreen functionality has so far not been confirmed (or denied) by Nintendo. However, multiple reports prior to the Switch’s launch, which so far have been correct, have all said that the console will indeed have a multi-touch screen. Of course, that seems to clash with what we officially know of the Switch so far – if you’re playing it on your TV, then the console (with the supposed touchscreen) rests inside its dock, making it impossible to actually use the touchscreen.
According to Laura Kate Dale, who has spoken with sources at Ubisoft, the Joy-Con’s IR pointer will be used to circumvent that problem – the IR pointer will essentially be used to replicate touchscreen functionality while you’re playing the Switch in “TV mode”. Dale believes that the top of the Switch screen, which is visible even when it’s inside the dock, will serve as a sensor bar – essentially working the same as the Wii Sensor Bar, with the Joy-Con being used like a Wii Remote.
As always, these are just unconfirmed rumors at this point, but it’s quite interesting to think about. What’s your take on this – do you believe the Switch has a touchscreen? And will this be the way to play touchscreen games on the TV?
Rumor: Beyond Good & Evil 2 possibly teased by Michel Ancel via artwork
Posted on 8 years ago by Matt(@OnePunchMaz) in News, Switch | 8 Comments
Ubisoft’s Michel Ancel, creator of both the Rayman and the Beyond Good & Evil franchises, caused quite a stir this morning when he posted some Beyond Good & Evil concept artwork on his Instagram account, along with the line “Somewhere in system 4 … – Thanks ubisoft for making this possible !” The artwork seems to show Pey’j from the first game, only much younger, leading fans to speculate that Beyond Good & Evil 2 might be a prequel.
It also doesn’t seem like Ancel made this post by accident or without approval from the higher ups at Ubisoft – the Ubisoft France Twitter account urged fans to take a look at the Instagram post.
While this all seems to be pretty conclusively pointing at a Beyond Good & Evil sequel, keep in mind that it’s not quite an official confirmation yet, and also that this might not be on a Nintendo platform. There have been rumors that Beyond Good & Evil 2 might be a Nintendo-funded NX exclusive, but of course, these might just be rumors and nothing more. We will keep you updated.
More: Beyond Good & Evil 2, Michel Ancel, rumor, Ubisoft
Developers MercurySteam refute the rumor that they were working on a Metroid prototype
Posted on 8 years ago by Matt(@OnePunchMaz) in General Nintendo, News | 38 Comments
About a year ago, we reported that Spanish developers MercurySteam once pitched a prototype for a new first-person Metroid game to Nintendo. This info came from Liam Robertson, who has uncovered tons of info on cancelled or never released games in the past.
Today, Eurogamer published an extensive interview with Enric Alvarez from MercurySteam and producer Dave Cox, who is working with them on their current project. The supposed Metroid prototype game is also briefly discussed – and dismissed by Alvarez:
Eurogamer: Is the rumour that you created a Metroid prototype for Wii U and 3DS also bullshit?
