Category: Gaming

Nintendo Switch Lite is a handheld only Switch

A handheld only Switch!

Nintendo Switch is finally announcing a new version of it’s console. Rather than a Pro or an upgraded version, it is a handheld only Switch, aka Nintendo Switch Lite. It will release this September 20th for $199.99.

What are the Differences?

The Nintendo Switch Lite can only be played in handheld mode. It can not connect to a Switch dock to project the gameplay on a television. The Joycons are not detachable; however, it can connect to external Joycons, the Switch Pro Controller, and the Poke Ball plus. It can still connect to Wifi, Bluetooth, and NFC. It will also have a D-PAD!!!

It also has longer battery life. According to Nintendo, it should last for 3 – 7 hours. It isn’t too much longer than the original. It also comes in three colors: turquoise, gray, and yellow. I imagine future Nintendo Switch Lites will come with special designs for special editions.

Some features it doesn’t have are the HD Rumble support or the IR camera included in the normal Joycons for the Switch. This means it won’t work for certain games such as 1-2 Switch or Super Mario Party when using the attached Joycons. It’s not a huge feature to lose but it can take away from certain games. New Nintendo Switch games will come with a sign in the back on whether the game is “handheld compatible.”

Now that Nintendo has announced a cheaper Nintendo Switch option, will you buy one?

Shenmue 3 Backers are Getting Refunds

Shenmue 3 was announced back in 2015 at E3 by PlayStation. It was also announced that people could help support the game’s release by backing it on Kickstarter. While it is rare to hear triple-A games have Kickstarters, the series hadn’t finished their story for over 15 years. Shenmue 2 release back in 2001 for the Sega Dreamcast and the game ended on a cliffhanger for the next in the series. The game had a niche audience and the Dreamcast wasn’t as popular as the PlayStation One or the Nintendo 64 that were out at the time. The opportunity to help finance the 3rd game that fans so desperately wanted was exciting for them. However, this past E3 shocked and angered some fans as it was revealed that Shenmue 3 would release exclusively on the PC through the Epic Store.

Why are fans mad?

Many fans who backed the game were expecting to download the game via Steam. It was the promised distribution service when the game was announced. The change to the Epic Store was quite surprising and last minute considering the game will finally launch this year. The Epic Store is infamous for lack of security log-ins, poor interface, and their launching games exclusively on their system (Which PC never had the issue before). Not only that, the developers stated they will not refund backers who paid for the PC version of the game. Surprisingly, Epic is coming to the rescue.

Refunds from Epic

Epic Games has so much money, they are actually refunding backers who paid for the PC version of the game. Rather than having Ys Net (Developers of Shenmue 3) or Deep Silver (Publishers) return the backer money, Epic will so that cost isn’t taken away from the development of Shenmue 3. CEO of Epic, Tim Sweeney, also announced that for any games backed on Kickstarter that went from PC to Epic Store exclusive will be refunded by the company if fans demand it. So fans can be happy about getting their refunds but still be angry about the game being on Epic Store. It will be interesting to see if being Epic Games exclusive on PC will reduce the sales.

Shenmue 3 will finally release on PlayStation 4 and the Epic Store on November 19th, 2019. 

Tariffs against China could increase Video Game Console prices

Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo have united together to ask to not have tariffs against China. 96% of video game consoles are manufactured from China as it’s the cheapest and fastest country to manufacture products. If the United States Government increase the tariffs by 25% against China, this could lead to an increase in video game console prices to compensate.

What are tariffs?

Tariffs are taxes a nation imposes on goods and services imported from another country. They are paid by companies that import the products, not by the countries themselves. Although China and the United States have tariffs against each other for exporting goods to each other countries, the video game companies have to pay the price which can lead to people paying more money for goods.

What are Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo’s Argument?

The video game industry is one of the fastest growing industry. From 2017 to 2018, video game consoles have sold 20% better than previous years in the United States. They also employ around 8000 people across the United States. Consoles are also sold at a much lower price then they should sell for which makes earning profits on console sales difficult. To keep the price down for people, the tariffs should not be implemented according to the gaming companies.

It is entirely up to the US President on whether the tariffs continue to rise against China. While it may not seem to affect many gamers, this could lead to a potential price increase for consoles in the near future. This could make competition for Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo difficult as cloud gaming has become more popular.

Sources

Regulation.Gov

Kotaku

 

EA Origin has an Exploited Security Weakness

EA Origin is Electronic Art’s online PC game platform. It sells and acts as an online source for all games under their brand. There are approximately 300 million players who utilize EA Origin. According to security researchers from Check Point (A vulnerability research company), there is a huge security flaw that could affect many players.

The security flaw allowed hackers to steal people’s accounts without using the user’s logins and passwords. They could steal a Single Sign-On authorization token which Origin provides for players to stay signed in. This can be stolen without any user participation. Similar occurrences have happened to Fortnite and Facebook accounts. Through this loophole, hackers could gain access to EA’s subdomain and send malicious pages to players through EA websites. This could fool players as it would be their an actual EA website rather than a fake.

CyberInt and Check Point told EA back in Feb 19th but it still looks like they haven’t fixed it. However, EA’s Head of Security stated they are currently working on fixing it.

If you’re using EA Origin, be careful on whatever websites you are sent from EA.

Sources

CNET