Tag: Switch

Categories
Mobile Syrup

Nintendo’s next ‘gaming system’ won’t release until 20XX

Even though the Switch OLED model isn’t a month old yet, Nintendo is already talking about its successor — well, sort of.

During its recent presentation to investors, Nintendo stated that it plans to “continue to expand its business around the core concept of creating unique integrated hardware-software products.” Reading between the lines, this likely means that the company plans to release more video game consoles in the future — surprise.

However, the actual release window when this successor to the Switch will release remains unknown. In the presentation (which you can find here), Nintendo says that its “next gaming system” will drop at an undefined date in “20xx.” Other than stating it has plans to create another video game console in the future, the company doesn’t let any further details slip.

Though the OLED Switch is a decent refresh to the original Switch, it’s far from a true successor. It features the same overall design as the OG Switch, and, more importantly, it isn’t an internal hardware upgrade. For months, reports swirled that Nintendo planned to release a new version of the Switch capable of playing 4K titles when docked, but those rumours have yet come to fruition.

While the Switch is a great console, it’s nearly five years into its life cycle, and especially in the face of the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5, its hardware is starting to show its age.

Source: Nintendo Via: IGN

Categories
Mobile Syrup

Nintendo now expects to ship 24 million Switch consoles this year

In its latest earnings report, Nintendo revealed a slightly lower Switch sales forecast, bringing the expected number down to 24 million from 25.5 million between April 2021 and March 2022.

The Japanese gaming giant says the sales expectations shift is due to “the extended impact of both COVID-19 and the global semiconductor shortage creates a state of continued uncertainty.” However, Nintendo isn’t revising its expected revenue and still expects its operating profit to be four percent higher than its previous prediction.

This past quarter, the Switch sold 3.83 million units between July and September. This is a stark decrease from the 6.86 million units the console sold during the same period last year. However, to be fair, the Switch’s sales last year were buoyed by the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The company’s net sales for the year are down 18.9 percent to 624.2 billion yen ($6.8 billion CAD) compared to last year. Regarding sales projections, Nintendo says it plans to match its total revenue from the year prior at 1,600 billion yen ($17 billion CAD).

In total, Nintendo has sold 92.87 million Switch units since its release roughly four and a half years ago. The console is currently on track to surpass the Wii’s lifetime sales if it manages to hit its upcoming sale targets given the Wii sold 101.63 million units in total. The fact that the Switch OLED model was recently released should also help boost the handheld-home console hybrid’s overall sales.

Moving into the holiday season, Nintendo’s release schedule is relatively sparse. While Metroid Dread and Mario Party Superstars recently released, the only major releases coming up are the remakes of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl. 

Source: Nintendo 

Categories
Mobile Syrup

Nintendo confirms plans to close Toronto and California offices

Nintendo confirmed it will close offices in Toronto, Ontario and Redwood City, California.

In a statement to The Verge, Nintendo of America confirmed the change, which was first reported by Kotaku on Friday:

“Nintendo of America headquarters are in Redmond, WA, and Vancouver, BC. We are moving more of our employees and operations into those headquarters and will be closing small satellite offices in Toronto, ON, and Redwood City, CA, over time.

“Devon Pritchard, Executive Vice President, Business Affairs and Publisher Relations for Nintendo of America (NOA), will assume interim leadership of Sales, Marketing and Communications following the departure of Nick Chavez. Ms. Pritchard will oversee strategy and execution of sales, marketing and communications across the U.S. and Canada.”

Kotaku also reported that the decision will displace about 100 employees from the Redwood City offices — it’s not clear what impact the closure will have on Toronto employees. That said, it also sounds like some employees will be able to relocate to other headquarters (such as the one in Vancouver, B.C.).

Unfortunately, Nintendo didn’t elaborate on why it was closing the offices.

Both the Redwood City and Toronto offices remain on the Nintendo of America Careers website. Nintendo describes the Redwood City site as a place for sales and marketing departments, while the Toronto location is the “sales office for NOCL.”

Considering both locations are listed as sales and/or marketing offices, the closures likely won’t impact any of the games Nintendo is currently working on. It’s also worth noting the closures come after the launch of Nintendo’s OLED Switch and Metroid Dread, one of the company’s biggest games of the year.

Source: The Verge, Kotaku

Categories
Mobile Syrup

Animal Crossing’s Happy Home Paradise DLC lets you design homes for visitors

Happy Home Paradise, Animal Crossing: New Horizons first paid DLC, allows players to meet vacationing NPCs, learn their decoration preferences and then lets you start building them a new custom home.

The DLC is focused on players working for Lottie’s Paradise Planning business. During the New Horizons-focused Direct, Nintendo showed off how players will be able to select different lighting options, use different-sized countertops and generally change nearly everything about a home’s interior.

The game will also suggest different items to the player to better pull together a home’s design. Other new features in the DLC include fixing up Lottie’s island with new buildings, including a restaurant and school. The paid DLC arrives on November 5th alongside a free update that includes the return of Brewster, Kapp’n and Harriet and additional farming and cooking recipes.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons Happy Home Paradise costs $32.99. It’s also part of Nintendo’s $63.99 ‘Expansion Pack’ online subscription tier that includes N64 and Sega Genesis titles.

Image credit: Nintendo

Categories
Mobile Syrup

Nintendo’s Switch Online N64 and Sega Genesis games cost $64 for 12 months in Canada

After revealing that N64 and Sega Genesis titles were coming to its Switch Online services through an ‘Expansion Pack‘ subscription tier a few weeks ago, Nintendo has confirmed pricing and availability for the service.

An Individual Membership costs $63.99 for 12 months, while a Family Membership costs $99.99 for 12 months. The service officially launches on October 25th. This is a significant jump in subscription pricing from Switch Online’s current $24.99 yearly cost that includes NES/SNES games and cloud saves.

The additional subscription tier gives players access to retro Nintendo 64 and Sega Genesis titles. For example, Mario Kart 64, The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time, Mario Tennis, Super Mario 64 and more are coming to the N64 catalogue. Nintendo has confirmed that games like Banjo-Kazooie, Pokémon Snap, The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask and Paper Mario are coming in the future.

On the Genesis side, notable titles like Shinobi III, Streets of Rage 2, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Golden Axe, Eco the Dolphin and more are coming to the platform.

While expensive, this moves the cost of Switch Online more in line with Xbox Live Gold and PlayStation Plus.

During its presentation today, Nintendo also confirmed that the Expansion Pack cost includes Animal Crossing: New Horizons‘ upcoming DLC, Happy Home Paradise.

In other Switch-related news, Nintendo’s N64 and Genesis gamepads are now available to order in Canada for $64.99 each.

Source: Nintendo 

Categories
Mobile Syrup

Nintendo’s Switch OLED model is now available

If you’ve been eagerly awaiting Nintendo’s Switch OLED model, your time has finally arrived.

The Japanese gaming giant’s incremental update to its home console-portable hybrid system is now available online and in-store at several retailers, including Best Buy, The Source, GameStop and more for $449.

It’s important to note that the OLED Switch might already be sold out at some retailers due to significant pre-order demand. For example, Shoppers Drug Mart recently tweeted that it will have the OLED Switch in stock in-store “following Thanksgiving.”

To put the refreshed console’s cost in perspective, this is $70 more than $379 standard Switch and $190 more expensive than the handheld-only Switch Lite.

While the OLED Switch’s display is undeniably great looking, the new version of the system is very similar to the first Switch beyond slightly better speakers and a better kickstand. In fact, Nintendo didn’t even update the OLED Switch’s Joy-Cons to solve the dreaded drift issue.

For more on the Switch OLED model, check out my review of the handheld. The Switch OLED model starts at $449. 

MobileSyrup utilizes affiliate partnerships. These partnerships do not influence our editorial content, though MobileSyrup may earn a commission on purchases made via these links.

Categories
Mobile Syrup

Nintendo could have plans to reveal a new Kirby game

It seems Nintendo now has a history of accidentally leaking its biggest upcoming games.

A few hours ahead of Nintendo’s upcoming Direct, a new Kirby title was briefly added to the gaming giant’s Japanese ‘upcoming releases‘ page featuring a title called something along the lines of Kirby Discovery of the Stars or Kirby’s Dream Land Discovery.

As expected, Nintendo has already removed the page, but Nintendo Life was able to snap a screenshot of the game’s title card.

We won’t have to wait long to know for sure what Nintendo has planned, given that its next Nintendo Direct is set to stream tonight at 6pm ET/3pm PT.

Rumours indicate that the Direct may feature the reveal of Game Boy titles coming to the Switch, the final Smash Bros. Ultimate character, additional information about Splatoon 3 and more.

Image credit: Nintendo (via Nintendo Life)

Source: Nintendo Via: Nintendo Life 

Categories
Mobile Syrup

Nintendo could be making new Switch controller, hopefully without Joy-Con drift

Based on a recent FCC filing, there’s a possibility Nintendo could be working on a new controller for the Switch.

The filing, first uncovered by Vooks, features the model code ‘HAC-O43,’ which is just one number higher than Nintendo’s SNES controller for the Switch. The only other things we know about the gamepad are that it uses Bluetooth, it draws more power than the current Joy-Cons, and, according to The Verge, look different in some way.

However, other than this, the gamepad is a bit of a mystery and photos included in the filing are listed as “confidential.”

It’s possible Nintendo could be working on a new version of its Joy-Cons that don’t feature the dreaded drift issue. On the other hand, this could be a successor to the excellent Switch Pro Controller or possibly an entirely new gamepad designed for the OLED Switch releasing in October.

It’s unclear if the OLED Switch’s Joy-Cons have been redesigned to solve the gamepads’ drift problem, though early signs point to them being identical to the standard Switch Joy-Cons.

In other Nintendo-related news, the gaming giant added Bluetooth audio support to the console more than four and a half years after its release in 2017. I guess Bluetooth finally coming to the Switch is better late than never, right?

Source: FCC Via: Vooks, The Verge

Categories
Mobile Syrup

Unable to pair Bluetooth headphones to your Nintendo Switch? This might help

After the out-of-nowhere announcement that the Nintendo Switch is getting Bluetooth audio support to pair wireless headphones, a lot of excited users were left frustrated when their handhelds failed to detect and establish a connection.

Users even reported that pairing a wireless headphone caused their Switch to lag, with the device taking upwards of 20-25 seconds to wake up.

According to Nintendo, you can fix the pairing issue by making sure you’re running the latest system version. Below are steps Nintendo says will fix the problem:

  1. Restart the console by holding down the POWER Button for three seconds, then select Power Options and Restart.
  2. Power off your Bluetooth audio device and then power it on again. Ensure it is charged and in a searchable state or pairing mode.
  3. Follow the instructions for your specific Bluetooth audio device to enable it to be paired.
  4. Make sure you are not using local wireless features on the Nintendo Switch system, such as local multiplayer across multiple systems. Bluetooth audio cannot be used at the same time as local wireless.
  5. Make sure no more than two wireless controllers are paired to the system. Up to two wireless controllers can be paired while using a Bluetooth audio device.
  6. Move your Bluetooth audio device closer to your Nintendo Switch system and ensure there is no metal or electronic equipment between the audio device and the system.
  7. Return to the Bluetooth Audio settings in System Settings and select Pair to search for Bluetooth audio devices in range again. Select your Bluetooth audio device’s name when it is found.
  8. Further, according to folks over The Verge, who have come up with a different way of fixing the Switch’s Bluetooth audio issues, you need to shut down your handheld completely, turn it back on and go to the Bluetooth settings. Then, proceed to unpair/forget any paired audio device and completely turn off your Switch again.

Turn it back on, and the issue should be partially fixed, and you can proceed to pair a Bluetooth audio device to the Switch.

However, in some instances, the above-mentioned procedure didn’t work, and an “Unable to find Bluetooth audio devices” message appears, following which the Switch would take a while to wake up.

According to The Verge, the Switch turns on Bluetooth audio whenever it suspects you’re going to use it, but you can force it off by removing paired devices and performing a full device shutdown.

Considering that the Switch was released four years ago with Bluetooth hardware built into the console, the fact that it just gained Bluetooth audio support with a haphazard rollout is disappointing. However, Nintendo might release a future update to fix the pairing and lag issue completely.

Source: Nintendo 

Categories
Mobile Syrup

Nintendo’s Switch just got a permanent price cut in Europe

Nintendo has permanently lowered the price of the Switch in Europe, the company has confirmed to Eurogamer.

The Switch now costs £260 in the U.K. (about $455 CAD) and €300 (about $448 CAD) in other parts of Europe, compared to the previous £280 (about $490 CAD) and €330 (about $493 CAD).

In a statement to Eurogamer, a Nintendo spokesperson said the significant price drop was made based on “a variety of factors, including currency exchange rates in Europe and the upcoming launch of Nintendo Switch – OLED Model.”

For context, the Nintendo Switch is priced at $379 CAD, which is $20 less than what it was priced at launch in March 2017. It remains to be seen, then, whether a price drop will happen in Canada.

The OLED Model is set to release worldwide on October 8th at a cost of $449 CAD. It’s been rumored that the base Switch will go down in price in the U.S. to coincide with the launch of the OLED Model. The new Switch features mostly the same specs as its predecessor, with the exception of a slightly larger display with OLED, a new kickstand and an ethernet port.

Via: Eurogamer