TLDW: POKEMON DIRECT June 6, 2017

The Pokemon Team and Nintendo held a Direct specifically for Pokemon today. They announced:

Pokken Tournament DX:

An updated version of Pokken for the Nintendo Switch. It will come with 5 new characters. 4 Pokemon that were only released in Japan’s Arcade: Darkrai, Empoleon, Scizor, and Croagunk and the new addition is Decidueye from Pokemon Sun and Moon. They will also include new support Pokemon as well. The game will also include a 3v3 mode, Daily Challenges, and everything will be unlocked. If you are attending E3, you can play the demo available there. Pokken Tournament DX will release September 22, 2017.

Pokemon Ultra Sun and Moon: Not much was revealed but it is an alternative story from the original Pokemon Sun and Moon. There will be new Pokemon, moves, and a new form for Solgaleo and Lunala. The forms are shown on the image below and you can see influences from Necrozoma, the Legendary Ultra Beast Pokemon. The game will be released November 17th, 2017 worldwide.

Pokemon Gold and Silver will be released on Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console on September 22nd. The Pokemon can also be transferred into the Pokemon Bank which will allow you to transfer them into the current generation games.

For the Entire stream and my source, you can check out the Nintendo Direct below.

NINTENDO’s Online Service Date Announced!

Nintendo’s Upcoming Network Plan

If you own a Nintendo Switch and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, you’ve been appreciating the free online multiplayer. Well, a countdown to the end has begun. Nintendo will release its premium online service: Nintendo Switch Online by 2018. Similar to Playstation Network and Xbox Live, this will be a paid monthly service.

Pricing^*

1-Month Membership

$3.99 (USD)

3-Month Membership

$7.99 (USD)

12-Month Membership

$19.99 (USD)

Enjoy online services for free until the paid service’s official launch in 2018.

Features:

An Online lobby and voice chat through a dedicated phone app. You can invite friends to play online, set play appointments and chat with your friends. The phone app will be released during summer 2017 for free in a limited form.

You will also gain access to “Classic Game Selections” that will include online play for certain games. Whether these last as long as you have the subscription or you have to pay for them, remains to be seen. You’ll also have more deals for eShop. This will not be replacing the Virtual Console.

Opinion

In the end, it is cheaper than PSN and Xbox Live currently but the Switch still has limitations. There is no Netflix or common apps that most modern consoles have and only a few games for the Switch warrant the online service. Whether or not Splatoon 2 or Mario Kart 8 Deluxe holds your attention online will dictate how valuable the service will be. While popular online franchises like Call of Duty or Battlefield may release on the Switch in the near future, Nintendo doesn’t have the back catalogue for most gamers to invest in the service. We’ll see how popular the Nintendo Online Service will be. I think it’ll do well depending on the “Classic Game Selection,” especially if they offer the games fans have been asking for. This includes the Super Nintendo, N64, and GameCube titles.

Sources:

Nintendo

IGN

Shenmue 3 will not be at E3

Fans of the old Dreamcast Japanese game, Shenmue, were excited to hear the series would be receiving their 3rd title. Announced at E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) 2015, Shenmue 3 excited fans since the last entry in September 6, 2001 ended unconclusively. A Kickstarter was announced and raised over $6 million thanks to fan support. The game would be released on the Playstation 4 and supported by Sony as well.

Unfortunately, Ys Net, the developers of the game, have announced they will not be attending E3 or any summer game shows for Shenmue 3. They did release a Development Report Video which is below. It doesn’t show much but a simple character model moving.

Ys Net also stated that the game will most likely miss their December 2017 initial release date. Despite the amount raised, it takes a long time to fully develop a game, especially as massive as Shenmue 3. Developers often overestimated their release date which gives fans false hopes. While fans are disappointed, I hope they haven’t given up hope on the project.

Sources:

Eurogamer.net

Gematsu

Upcoming Game News 5.22.2017

Destiny 2 will be coming out September 8, 2017 on PlayStation 4 and Xbox one. It will be released at a later time on PC. For the PC, the game will exclusively be on Battle.net, the Blizzard online platform, and will support a 4K resolution and uncapped frame rate. This means you will not be able to play it on Steam or buy the game independently.

PS4 users will receive year-long timed–exclusive content ahead of Xbox One and PC users. It will most likely range from weapons, armors, and loot maps similar to the first game.

There is a ton of new information in the sequel and I’ll attach the link below if you’re interested. This includes story, weapons, new game modes, and even DLC!

Destiny 2 update

South Park: The Fractured But Whole was delayed from its holiday 2016 release to October 17^th, 2017. Pre-ordering the game will give you South Park: The Stick of Truth and “in-game assistant” Towlie from the cartoon for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One users. If you haven’t played the first one but enjoy the humor of the cartoon and a decent RPG, I recommend still buying this game. You can check out the trailer below to see if you might be interested in the sequel.

Trailer

Red Dead Redemption has unfortunately been delayed to 2018 with no specific release date yet. As of now, there are only screenshots from the series itself. No news on the story, whether it be a sequel to the game or a potential prequel.