Switch

EPISODE NOTES

Kingdom Hearts 3 Development update!

Tatsuya Nomura – On the subject of Kingdom Hearts III, he said, “While I can’t make a sweeping statement because the development process is different from what we’ve done so far, there are still worlds untouched. Production is progressing on unannounced worlds, in a state that we cannot show them off. In terms of the state of development, there is still some way to go.”

 

Woody Harrelson joins Han Solo movie

Peter Dinklage joins Marvel for 2 Avengers movies

Star Wars confirms that Fisher finished episode 8 scenes before death

Star Trek Discovery begins filming: Releases this May

Blizzard Bans 10,000 players in Korea for using aimbots

Microsoft creates a “Game Mode” for PC which optimizes performance

 

“Retailer GameStop today announced that it has sold through all of its Nintendo Switch stock, at least its first batch of systems. Preorders opened at GameStop on Friday, January 13, just hours after the big-time Switch presentation where the console’s price and release date were announced.”

 

Everything we know about the Nintendo Switch:

Release Date: March 3, 2017 for $300 US

• Includes Switch, Dock (TV Connector), Joy Con Controller (Colored or Black), Joy Con Connector, Joy Con Straps, AC Adapter, and HDMI
• No region locking

Switch charges using a USB C connector that ships with console, if it is like my Surface, it will only charge with that adapter and not a standard USB C

Switch Console:

• Connect up to 8 other consoles via local Wifi for multiplayer games
• 6.2 inch 720p built-in screen
• Battery life ranges from 3.5-6.5 (Can be charged while playing in handheld mode)
• 32Gb of internal memory, but expandable with MicroSD cards
• Docked resolution: 1080, Handheld 720
• Touchscreen similar to smartphone, less like 3DS

Prices:

• Pro Controller $70
• Pair of Joy Con $80 Individual Joy Con $50
• Switch TV Dock (Dock, Charging cable, HDMI) $90
• Joy Con Wheels – Pair of 2 $15

Joy Con Controllers Featurette: (Will have more buttons than standard controllers)

• Will last 20 on battery life
• Charges while connected to the Switch Platform
• Can also be charged with a Charging Grip ($30)
• HD Rumble pack
• Motion controls and an IR Gesture Sensor
• Amiibo reader (Right) Capture button (Left)

Games: $60

1 2 Switch – Features gameplay outside of a screen, wholly party games, interesting future, $50

Arms – Competitive, motion controlled fighting game (No mention of Smash)

Splatoon 2 (Spla2oon) – Releasing Summer 2017

Super Mario Odyssey – Holiday 2017

Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – Launch March 3

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – Wii U port with added features, April 28

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 – Sometime in 2017

Fire Emblem: Warriors – No release date, but there will be a Nintendo Direct on Jan. 18 dedicated solely to Fire Emblem. Expect to hear more about the Fire Emblem Mobile Game.

Octopath Traveler – Square Enix RPG with no release date

Skyrim – Officially announced, not Special Edition – Fall 2017

Dragon Quest 10 and 11, Fifa, NBA 2K

Ports

 

Online Features (APP)

IT’S AN APP, FOR YOUR SMART PHONE. IT’S NOT EVEN INCLUDED ON THE DEVICE

Paid services starting Fall 2017, free until then. $5 a month

Will Have:

• Friend invite and messaging
• Party chat “during online matches in compatible games”
• Set appointments (I assume a push notification)
• Free download of NES or SNES game FOR THAT MONTH ONLY
• Discounts on digital media

54: The Nintendo Switch

Logan Trailer

Tim Miller leaves Deadpool 2 after “creative differences with Ryan Reynolds”

Red Dead Redemption 2 Trailer

• Releasing Fall 2017, could be prequel to Red Dead Redemption 1, which took place in 1911 and dealt with the ending of the West.

• Playstation Exclusivity with early access to select online features.

Large DDos attack on US Friday

Taking out popular services like Netflix, Etsy, Reddit, Twitter, and PSN, one of the largest DDoS attacks on the US and Europe happen on Friday, October 21. Also affected was Amazon Web Service which is used by over 1 million companies, including GE, Newscorp, and Capital One. As far as I can tell, no responsibility as been claimed, but the White House and Department of Homeland Security is looking into it. Could be PoodleCorp, Lizard Squad, or even Russia, however, PoodleCorp did say in September that they would be taking down the Battlefield 1 servers on October 21, but this was much larger than that.

Voice actors on strike

On October 21, 2016 the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists or SAG-AFTRA has gone on strike after nearly 2 years of negotiations with video game companies. SAG- AFTRA is a union consisting of about 25% of all voice actors for video games. The strike is set to target large video game companies such as: Activision, Disney Character Voices, EA, Insomniac, Take-Two and WB Games. Union workers have gone on strike against any game that was started after February 17, 2015, anything before that was protected under a No Strike Clause.

During negotiations, SAG-AFTRA was looking for a pay increases from $100/hr to around $200/hr, No more than 2 continuous hours of “vocally stressful” recordings, a lack of secrecy from gaming companies (actors have complained that they don’t know what roles or games they are even auditioning for) and an increase in overall pay based on specific sales figures of games. The union workers would like to receive additional full scale payments for every 500,000 copies of the game sold, maxing out at 4 payments at 2 million copies sold.  

Video Game Companies offered a 9% wage increase and a maximum of $950 per game based on number of voice acting sessions. This can equate up to a 23% increase in wage for some actors. Gaming companies are also requesting a fine against SAG-AFTRA if there is not an agent representing the union worker during all auditions, fines can range to “tens of thousands of dollars.” They also want the ability to fine the actors themselves $1,000 if they do not show up on time or are not fully invested in the voice work.

There is a picket scheduled on Monday, October 24 at EA’s California offices.

Nintendo Switch info

• Nintendo Stock down after announcement of Switch
• Concept? Console and mobile
• Is there a battery that will be able to support this vision?
• Internet connectivity?
• What does the 3rd party support look like? Bethesda, squareenix, EA, Activision, havok, Konami, SEGA, oppsiesoft, Capcom etc.
• Wii u had similar support when launched and slipped away with low sales numbers.
• https://www.destructoid.com/nintendo
• Switch will not be compatible with wiiu and 3ds physical games.
• The switch will support Amiibos