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At this point, it's safe to say that The Super Mario Bros Movie is on track to become one of the most successful animated films of the entire year. In addition to the instant brand recognition the film offers with its titular characters, the movie also has the potential to tap into the collective nostalgia of gamers that also have a gaggle of children. — Read the rest
Regardless of the medium, art exists at the intersection between passion and precision. Whether it's summoning the appropriate technique or implementing the proper tools, crafting a masterpiece is almost always an exercise in exactitude. Few mediums capture the profundity of art's dichotomous nature as potently as video games. — Read the rest
Enlarge / Can Call of Duty run on the existing Switch? Does Microsoft have inside details on Nintendo's next hardware? Or are we in for some contractually obligated potato skirmishes? (credit: Aurich Lawson)
[Update 3:35pm 02/21: This post has been updated with information about Microsoft's deal with Nvidia's GeForce Now, along with comments from Brad Smith in Brussels regarding both Nintendo and Nvidia deals.]
Microsoft appears to have made good on a promise to offer Call of Duty on Nintendo devices, a move seemingly aimed at calming antitrust concerns about its acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
Microsoft President and Vice-Chair Brad Smith tweeted the news early Tuesday morning, stating that Microsoft had "signed a binding 10-year contract to bring Xbox games to Nintendo's gamers." The contract is "just part of our commitment to bring Xbox games and Activision titles" to "more players on more platforms," Smith wrote.
Enlarge / Watch out, if SMB3 is any guide, he breathes lasers...
Nintendo is often referred to as "the Disney of video games." But while Nintendo has long matched Disney's reputation for family-friendly home entertainment, it had nothing that could compare to Disney's domination in the physical world of theme parks.
That started to change in 2021, when Super Nintendo World finally opened in Osaka's Universal Studios Japan. Now, a very similar experience is coming to America with the opening of the Super Nintendo World section of Universal Studios Hollywood.
Ars got a sneak peek at the new section of the park just ahead of its Friday opening and came away utterly enchanted by the charming interactivity and Disney-esque attention to detail apparent throughout the park's newest themed area.
Enlarge / "Link gets an ancient-tech ATV/combine/dragster" was not in most people's list of likely content in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. (credit: Nintendo)
Today's Nintendo Direct livestream gave those with sky-high but long-deferred Zelda hopes just enough to stay excited: ominous tones, real gameplay footage, a tease at a playable Zelda, and a definitive May 12 release date and preorder offer. And, not for nothing, a $70 price tag.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom was announced in mid-2019, given a May 2023 release date, and had most of its details held back until today. At the end of Nintendo's regular showcase, Nintendo loosened the leash a bit on the Breath of the Wild sequel. Speaking over footage of dark, misty, eternally beset Hyrule, arch-villain Ganon speaks in his best after-school-cartoon-villain mode: "Rise, rise, my servants. Sweep over Hyrule. Eliminate this kingdom and her allies. Leave no survivors!"
The February 8 Nintendo Direct, with more games than you can keep up with at typing speed (ask me how I know).
In the quick-cut moments that follow, you can see familiar elements, like Sheikah technology, the blood moon, hang-gliding, and horse-riding. But there's also rail-riding, blimp-floating, a four-wheeler, a quad copter-like glider, the Hyrule equivalent of a rocket launcher, a high-tech glove, and, again, a real release date. Toward the end, Zelda's voice says, "Link, lend me your power," offering a loose but still real hint that the princess could be playable in this title.
Enlarge / Screenshots you can hear.
Update (5:35 pm ET): As user Cuesport77 points out on Reddit, Nintendo offers a system-level button remapping function that can get around most of the issues highlighted in this piece. Going into the Switch's system settings and swapping the left and right analog stick inputs (as well as the inputs for any other buttons you want) can help provide more standardized "dual stick" controls for the game.
This isn't the most convenient option, as players will have to undo the customizations when switching from GoldenEye to any other Switch game (and then back when going back to GoldenEye). These customizations also don't seem to be available on any controller connected to the system when in portable mode.
Nonetheless, Ars regrets not recognizing this option existed before publishing the below story, which is included in its original form (with a few noted updates) below.
Enlarge / Nintendo's promotional key art for the launch of GoldenEye 007 on Switch. (credit: Nintendo)
Today marks the long-awaited rerelease of the Nintendo 64 classic GoldenEye 007 on the Nintendo Switch. As was announced before the launch, the game supports widescreen. When I learned that, my first thought wasn't "Oh, nice!" Rather, it was "OK, but what about the rest of the library?"
To be clear, there's no easy way to make old 4:3 games fill up a modern 16:9 aspect ratio, and that's not something I would recommend in this case. But the solution used by the rest of the library of old games running within the Nintendo Switch Online service—enclosing every game in horribly distracting and potentially destructive gray borders—is, well, awful.
So as Nintendo finally adds one of the most beloved Nintendo 64 games to Switch Online, allow me a moment to vent some frustration on behalf of many players.
A scene from the upscaled Xbox version of GoldenEye 007.
Fans of '90s split-screen shooter classic GoldenEye 007 (not to be confused with the loosely related 2010 Wii title of the same name) will only have to dig out their N64 controllers for a few more days. After 25 years, the game will finally see its first rerelease on modern consoles, with Switch and Xbox versions hitting on Friday, January 27.
As previously announced, the Switch version will be part of the awkwardly named Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack membership, which costs $50 per year. New footage of that emulated version of the original game shows the same blocky characters, muddy textures, and pixelated sprites that players know (and love?) from the original game. In addition to the previously announced online multiplayer support, the Switch version will also feature a widescreen mode to expand the 4:3 aspect ratio of the original game.
GoldenEye 007 as it will appear on the Nintendo Switch starting Friday.
Xbox One and Series S/X owners, meanwhile, will be able to enjoy GoldenEye 007 as part of an Xbox Game Pass subscription or as a free DLC download that's now included with the purchase of 2005's Rare Replay. The first footage of that Xbox gameplay shows this version's upscaled 4K visuals, which smooth out those low-res original textures and the aliased edges on authentic low-polygon character and object models. This version only promises a "legendary local multiplayer mode," though, in addition to "alternative control options" for a modern Xbox controller.
What the what?! You have to see this gaming setup by Alexander Girbinger to believe it. It hangs on the wall like an oversized Nintendo Switch with blue-and-red Joy-Cons but, as the video shows, it then opens in three different ways to reveal hidden secrets. — Read the rest
Nintendo has built its brand as "the cute/kid-friendly" game company. Whereas its rivals at Microsoft and Sony are focused on catering to an older demographic that is intent on consuming graphic violence and sexuality, Nintendo has no problem building its entire brand around "kid games." — Read the rest
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