Nintendo

Nintendo Will Hold Smash Bros. Switch Tournament In June

The debut of Super Smash Bros. on the Nintendo Switch is finally within spitting distance. On June 11-12, Nintendo will host a Smash Switch tournament at E3 where invited players will compete at the recently-announced title. At the same time, Nintendo’s Splatoon 2 World Championships will take place, featuring top teams from Canada, Europe, Australia…

The Switch’s Joy-Con Is Getting A D-Pad From Hori

This July, Japanese peripheral maker Hori is releasing a Joy-Con with a proper D-pad. Thank goodness for that! You will, however, have to trade some standard features for it. The current left Joy-Con features face buttons as does the right one. But if you mostly play in handheld mode, a left-side D-pad might be more…

Splatoon Was Originally A Game About Rabbits

“You’re a rabbit now; you’re a kid now” doesn’t have quite the same ring to it, but Splatoon almost went there. Nintendo’s stylish shooter once starred bunnies, and before that, tofu blocks. During a panel at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco today, Splatoon producer Hisashi Nogami gave a presentation on how he and…

Microsoft Executive Is Open To Putting Banjo In The New Smash Bros

Banjo and his partner Kazooie haven’t been in a Nintendo game since 2005’s Banjo-Pilot thanks to complicated intellectual property rigamarole that cropped up when Microsoft acquired Rare in 2002. With a new Smash Bros. coming to the Switch, there’s plenty of speculation about new fighters. Microsoft’s Executive Vice President of Gaming seems completely fine with…

Nintendo Reveals The 10 Best-Selling Indie Games On Switch

Players of indie games on Switch are driven in great part by “nostalgia,” Nintendo said today at a Game Developers Conference event at which it revealed the top 10 best-selling Switch indie games, a list that includes Celeste, Stardew Valley, and Shovel Knight. “Nintendo fans really tap into those games that share inspiration, or have…

ACTION RPG HYPER LIGHT DRIFTER IS COMING TO THE NINTENDO SWITCH THIS SUMMER.

Nintendo’s Newest Line-Up Of Switch Indie Games Includes Promising Ports And A Cool-Looking Pool Game

A remastered version of the classic stealth game Mark of the Ninja headlined a quick video presentation of indie games coming to the Nintendo Switch this spring, summer and fall. A bunch of cool-looking games were shown, but there were no shock announcements. For Spring: Garage, a gritty top-down shooter with VHS-inspired graphics, from Tiny…

The Switch is getting Lumines? We’re so doomed. Tetsuya Mizuguchi’s rhythm puzzle game is coming to the Switch this spring as Lumines Remastered. We’ll be Shinin’ like it’s the 2005 PSP launch. Update: It’ll also be out on Xbox One, PS4 and PC. Look for it in May.

Nintendo’s newest showcase for indie games heading to the Switch kicks off at noon ET. It’s tied to the Game Developers Conference and is in part a way to recruit more indies to the platform (not that they’re hurting for them!). Watch it here. If you’re feeling nostalgic, you can alsoread about the indies they…

Kotaku ‘Shop Contest: Amiibo Gold Rush, Winners!

The triumphant return of the ‘Shop Contest brought many entries, but the capricious soul of victory chooses the best of the best! Thanks to everyone who spent the last week making images of amiibos. I don’t own any of those fun little toys, but I would be more likely to buy them if they were…

Tips For Getting The Most Out Of Your Switch

The Nintendo Switch is a piece of hardware with a lot going on. It’s a console. It’s a handheld. It’s got tons of games to play, options to tweak and accessories to play with. Here are tips to help you get the most out of the latest Nintendo entertainment system. Stuff All Switch Owners Should…

Retro Japanese Game Cartridges Make For Excellent Art

Twitter user Sakura is famous for two things: having a big collection of old Famicon cartridges and using those cartridges to create cool retro style art. Since various companies made Famicom cartridges in different colors, they’re perfect for this. Here is my favorite. Amazing, no? Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing…

The Tiniest Lil’ Nintendo Switch Game Cases

Reader Mahir, who last year designed a bunch of full-size Switch cases for downloadable titles, has come back in 2018 with something different. And much smaller. He’s created a range of Switch cases that are just big enough for the cartridge, and that’s it. Cons: you could lose all of these in around 17 seconds.…

This Puzzle Platformer Is Giving Me Mario 2 Flashbacks

Uurnog Uurnlimited feels like a knock-off Super Mario Bro 2. It’s a blocky platform puzzler where you pick up and throw everything, from enemies to bombs. It’s a bit rough around the edges, but its freeform approach to puzzle design means that you’re able to come up with your own solutions. It’s a sneaky little…

Seriously Though, Maybe Get A Switch Stand

I’ve had my Nintendo Switch for a little over a year now, but I only just bought a stand for it last week. I shouldn’t have waited so long. I spend about half of my Switch time playing docked, and the other half in handheld mode. Before last week, when I was in handheld mode,…

The Game Franchises That Will Exist 100 Years Into The Future

Video games are still a relatively young medium. Many of the most iconic characters weren’t created that long ago. But what about a century from now? Which ones will remain? A thread on 2ch, Japan’s most popular bulletin board, covered those same questions. The answers probably won’t be a surprise, but here are some, but…

Killer7 Doesn’t Explain A Damn Thing And That’s Fine

Last night, I continued my playthrough of Suda51’s cult classic Killer7 on Kotaku’s Twitch channel. The game has a reputation for being weird, and as I keep playing I’m discovering that its unflinching dedication to not explaining a damn thing is one of its most compelling quirks. Released in 2005 on the Nintendo GameCube, Killer7…

Barely a year old, the Nintendo Switch just got a 5.0 firmware update (the four-year-old PS4 is up to 5.5). No huge changes. More ways to add friends, new profile pictures and enhancements to parental controls. Still no cloud save support (nor the ability to back-up saves on a computer, something the 3DS and Wii…

One Of The Best Nintendo Switch Ideas I’ve Seen

While Nintendo Labo looks cool, this Switch holder might just be one of the best ways you can play. Twitter user Ukiwa recently uploaded this image of a Nintendo Switch holder, showing how it can be used while lounging in bed. The holder can also be used for smartphones and tablets, but thanks to the…

Nintendo’s New Rewards Program Is Actually Pretty Good

This week Nintendo finally rolled out its new rewards program. After a year of only letting players redeem coins for discounts on Wii U and 3DS games, people can finally start leveraging their purchases to save money on Switch games. Compared to the rewards programs elsewhere in gaming, it’s actually pretty good. The updated version…