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‘Ninja Gaiden’ and other NES classics are coming to Switch Online
The NES games keep coming as an added incentive to get you to sign up to Nintendo's Switch Online subscription service, aside from online play and cloud saves, of course. A trio of new titles have been announced today: side-scrolling action-platformer Ninja Gaiden, Tetris-style puzzler Wario's Woods (featuring Wario and Toad) and Adventures of Lolo, which bundles together puzzles from the Eggerland series. All three will be available on December 12th and Nintendo is also pledging to bring more NES games to Switch Online in January.
Nintendo Switch Online now includes an easier version of 'Zelda'
Nintendo had previously said that three new games would arrive on its instant-access NES catalogue today, and it's delivered on its promise -- and then some. In addition to the anticipated Solomon's Key, NES Open Tournament Golf and Super Dodge Ball, Nintendo's also released a fourth game -- a hyped-up spin on a Zelda classic.
Nintendo Switch Online lands today, complete with strange cloud saves
Welcome to 2018, Nintendo. After 38 years in the gaming-hardware business and 15 years after the launch of Xbox Live, Nintendo is finally offering an online subscription service in its latest console, the Switch. Nintendo Switch Online goes live on the evening of Tuesday, September 18th, allowing players to access multiplayer, cloud saves and a collection of 20 classic NES games for $20 a year. However, there are a handful of caveats. Nintendo operates outside of the standards established by Xbox and PlayStation, its two main rivals in the console market. Both Xbox and PlayStation have offered online subscription plans for well over 10 years, with Xbox Live launching in 2002 and PlayStation Network in 2006. Nintendo has offered barebones connection options for a handful of games in the past, but Switch Online is its first attempt at a subscription scheme. And, like many of Nintendo's grand plans, it's wrapped in red tape.
Catch the September 2018 Nintendo Direct right here, right now
The time has come. Nintendo delayed the September edition of its Nintendo Direct live stream after an earthquake rocked Hokkaido, Japan, earlier this month, but it's full steam ahead today. The show kicks off at 6PM ET / 3PM PT, and Nintendo will finally share details about the Switch's coming online features. Watch it in the embedded stream below, and we'll break out all of the big news as it lands, so keep the Engadget homepage fresh.
Frustration over 'Splatoon 2' cheating leads to leaderboard hack
Splatoon 2 has had a cheating problem for a while, with unscrupulous players quickly wiping out entire teams in what's supposed to be an accessible, kid-friendly shooter. And now, frustration over the cheating is reaching a fever pitch. Nintendo has banned a player's accounts after he orchestrated a leaderboard hack to draw attention to the cheating problem. The gamer used a combination of power editing and a little luck to make the leaderboards for different game modes spell out "please add anti cheat," drawing more than a little attention to the issue.
Cloud saves are coming to Nintendo Switch this September
Nintendo has finally revealed more details about its long-awaited Switch Online service. In addition to giving you access to NES games adapted for the console, the service will also come with cloud-based backup -- a much-requested feature that will give you access to saves in case you lose or break your device, or in case you buy a new Switch. The subscription service will set you back $4 per month, $8 for three months or $20 for a year and will launch with 20 NES titles you can play either online or offline.
Nintendo Switch Online will launch in September
We knew Nintendo's new online service would launch this year, and now we know Switch owners will be waiting until September for it. The company tweeted that Nintendo Switch Online will launch then, but didn't reveal much else, other than the fact that it will remain free to use until the official launch (which will come about a year after gamers were expecting it). Meanwhile, Nintendo also recently announced that with the Wii Shop channel scheduled to close in a year, it will stop letting owners add Wii Points to their account on March 26th. Nintendo has revealed a few of the features (like access to archived titles) and that it will cost $20 per year, but that's about it for now. Right now, its use is limited to a few games making use of its mobile apps for things like voice chat and game invites. For now, Nintendo's flooding the channel with news, including word of its Mario Kart Tour mobile game, and a Mario movie in development.
The 'Splatoon 2' multiplayer web portal heads to the Nintendo app
Splatoon for the Wii U made a strong argument for competitive multiplayer gaming on Nintendo consoles, but in a lot of ways, it was half baked. It had great characters, fun maps, ranked modes and tournaments -- but failed to integrate any kind of official voice chat. It also had a companion web portal, but it offered only the barest of functionality. The game's Nintendo Switch sequel is trying to fix both of those problems with SplatNet 2: a smartphone app that lets players view match and player stats, buy in-game gear and organize voice chat with teammates.
