nintendoswitch
Latest
How to stop the Nintendo Switch's Joy-Con from losing sync
It seems as if your left Nintendo Switch Joy-Con hasn't lost sync with the console yet, it's only a matter of time before that could happen. As we saw in iFixit's teardown of the console, the pair are almost identical save for a few things like antenna placement. And that's where the problem resides according to YouTube user Spawn Wave.
The Switch is the fastest-selling console in Nintendo history
If you've had a hard time finding a Nintendo Switch at the store, there may be good reason for that. The Friday through Saturday sales for Nintendo's latest console surpassed the first two-day sales for any system "in Nintendo history," according to tweets from the New York Times' Nick Wingfield. The info comes from an interview with Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime.
iFixit teardown reveals what's inside a Nintendo Switch
Now that Nintendo's newest console is on store shelves you may be familiar with the outside of it, but what's inside? The crew at iFixit has completed its teardown of the Switch, pulling apart the console and those Joy-Con controllers. Within, they predictably came across its NVIDIA Tegra CPU, a total of 4GB of RAM and a 16Wh battery.
Sticker company warns against skinning the Nintendo Switch
Given the portability of the Nintendo Switch, owners may be tempted to personalize theirs. The only problem is that according to dbrand, a company that makes covers for devices like phones and laptops, the system and its controllers don't react well to vinyl wraps. As described in a Reddit post and a series of tweets, the company indicates that it tested a few options with a pre-release console and a retail model, and found that its screen-printed coating has peeling issues.
Nintendo Switch locks eShop games to your 'active' console
Nintendo's excellent but imperfect Switch console is hitting stores and shipping out to homes today, but there's still a few odd details sprouting up. It appears that the Nintendo Account, which replaces the Nintendo Network ID, ties itself to whichever Switch you're playing on when you sign in. If you want to play games on a different console, you'll have manually disengage your account from the first one before signing in on another machine.
The Engadget Podcast Ep 30: I Can Change
After surviving The Great AWS Outage of 2017, managing editor Dana Wollman and senior editor Devindra Hardawar rejoin host Terrence O'Brien to debate some of the biggest tech stories of the week. First they'll pit YouTube's live TV offering against its competitors, then talk through Twitter's new tools for fighting online harassment. Plus they'll address the latest controversy surrounding Uber CEO Travis Kalanick and discuss whether or not it's time for him to resign. Then they'll turn their attention to Nintendo's Switch, Zelda and where the console still needs to improve. They'll also briefly recount their own history with Nintendo's machines and gaming in general. Plus Terrence threatens to fight Devindra for his Switch
Nintendo Switch still uses friend codes for some reason
As recently as January, we were told that Nintendo's awful friend code system for finding and adding buddies for multiplayer games would be no more. That made us hope a better system for adding Switch contacts was on the way. Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime even told CNET, "There are no friend codes within what we're doing." It turns out that's not true at all, as the company revealed that friend codes are very much alive and well.
'Breath of the Wild' is the best 'Zelda' game in years
I replayed the first 30 minutes of Rise of the Tomb Raider the other day. In it, I scaled a mountain, leaping from platform to platform while the environment around me crumbled. I then headed into a tomb, worked through a few puzzles, and triggered a high-octane escape sequence. A year ago, I enjoyed those opening moments immensely. After playing The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, though, they felt lifeless and stale. From Tomb Raider to Uncharted, the modern adventure game is a tightly choreographed charade, a 20-hour quick time event (QTE) with a clearly defined path. When I jumped to evade an avalanche, Lara landed exactly where the game's developers wanted her to. When I needed to solve a puzzle, the game began pointing, beckoning me to do what the developers wanted me to do. In Breath of the Wild, I had heart-stopping, adrenaline-filled moments, I solved complex puzzles, but through it all, I walked my own path.
Nintendo finally gives us a glimpse at the Switch eShop
The launch of Nintendo's very hyped (and very strange) Switch is only a couple of days away. And we're only just now getting our first look at its digital storefront the Switch eShop. If you've touched an electronic device at all in the last few years, the interface should seem pretty familiar. It's clean and simple, with sidebar shortcuts for search, new and upcoming releases and a place to enter download codes. On the right games are listed as a grid of cards with cover art and prices. It's not all that different from any other app store really, and looks quite a bit like the Google Play store. And you'll find most of the features you'd expect from a modern console -- like a wishlist and the ability to download games in sleep mode -- baked in.
Nintendo Switch will launch without a Virtual Console
With the Switch launch only eight days away, Nintendo has finally broken its silence on what online features gamers can expect at launch. Disappointingly, the gaming giant revealed that early adopters won't be able to dip into the game company's vast back catalog, with Nintendo confirming that the Switch's Virtual Console service won't be there day one. In a bid to appease fans, Nintendo has revealed that the F-Zero inspired indie racer FAST RMX will be arriving on the eShop day one, alongside two entries in the Shovel Knight series. Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment is the game's latest campaign which will be a timed exclusive for the Nintendo Switch. Alongside this, Yacht Club Games will also be bringing Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove to the eShop for launch - which serves as a collection of all the existing series content to date.
Claim your Nintendo Switch online account name right now
We're a little over a week away from Nintendo releasing its next console, the Switch, and the company is prepping the launchpad. If you want to secure your Nintendo Account user ID for the system, now's the time to do so. Apparently, this replaces the Nintendo Network ID from previous consoles, according to the ever-vigilant Wario64. That's not confusing or anything. If you manage to get your account set up (a few of us here are just being hit with password-reset pages), let us know in the comments.
Nintendo Switch eShop purchases will be tied to your account
Rejoice, Nintendo fans! Your eShop purchases on the Switch will be tied to your account and not the hardware, according to a new unboxing video.
'Street Fighter' on Nintendo Switch flings first-person hadokens
News keeps trickling in for the Switch as we await its public release next month. Befitting a Nintendo console, they range from exciting to bizarre, often taking the system's novel points and running into unpredictable territory. Such is the case with the upcoming Ultra Street Fighter II, as a new video emerged confirming rumors that we will, at last, get a first-person hadoken-throwing experience.
'Zelda: Breath of the Wild' has a $20 DLC season pass
If you thought Nintendo's next Zelda game didn't look expansive enough, then you might be intrigued / already sold on a $20 season pass that will go on sale March 3rd. Producer Eiji Aonuma took to YouTube to explain how Hyrule will benefit from the first main series expansion content pack. (Games like Triforce Heroes have seen extra content after launch.) Penned for two release dates, one in the summer and one in Winter 2017, you can expect extra chests and clothing for Breath of the Wild right from the start. Pack One will add a new Cave of Trials and hard difficulty setting, as well as an intriguing "additional map feature." Pack Two will add not only a new original story, but also a new dungeon and "additional challenges" -- whatever they'll be. The extra DLC sounds far meatier than just some new skins and level packs.
The Morning After: Tuesday, February 14 2017
The unlimited data battles of yesteryear are back as T-Mobile and Verizon offer all the data you might need (with fair usage caveats), and silly Nintendo party games are also making a return on the Nintendo Switch.
A closer look at Nintendo's '1-2 Switch' mini-games
I played plenty of Nintendo Switch titles during last month's launch event, but it was the mini-game collection 1-2 Switch that I couldn't get out of my head. (I suppose virtually milking a cow with highly suggestive gestures has a way of sticking with you.) It was unlike anything I've ever played -- it often has you glaring at your opponent and following audio queues, instead of looking at a TV screen. It's more like an actual party game, but instead of reading off cards or booklets, you're relying on a console.
Nintendo's '1-2 Switch' has 28 ridiculous minigames
Weird Nintendo is the best Nintendo. We now know there are a total 28 minigames in Nintendo's upcoming party game 1-2 Switch, according to the official Japanese website. One eagle-eyed Reddit user also spotted unlisted trailers for the bite-sized activities on the company's Japanese YouTube channel. We already knew about the simulated cow milking and sandwich eating; Nintendo revealed them weeks ago during a Switch presentation. But that was apparently just the tip of the quirky iceberg.
How indie game 'TumbleSeed' made it to the Nintendo Switch
Greg Wohlwend is an accomplished independent game designer and artist whose résumé includes critically acclaimed mobile titles Threes, Ridiculous Fishing and Puzzlejuice. His games tend to be whimsical and playful, and his latest project, TumbleSeed, is no different in this regard. TumbleSeed is a "rolly roguelike" -- players guide an adorable rolling seed up a treacherous, procedurally generated mountainside pockmarked with deadly holes and dangerous creatures. Fall into a hole or run into a nasty beast, and players are sent back to the base of the mountain to begin the climb all over again. The concept is easy to grasp, but the game itself is difficult to master, Wohlwend says. In that sense, it's reminiscent of early Nintendo Entertainment System games like Tetris or Dr. Mario. That's one reason Wohlwend wanted to bring TumbleSeed to Nintendo's new console, the Switch.
Nintendo's engineers have embraced Unreal Engine
If there's one thing that Nintendo has struggled with, it's enticing third-party developers to create games for its consoles. But according to VentureBeat, the company is looking to change that with the advent of the new Switch. At an investor Q&A session, Shigeru Miyamoto revealed that Nintendo engineers have been learning how to use third-party development tools like the Unreal Engine.
Nintendo is taking the Switch on a UK tour this month
Are the Joy-Cons too small? What is ARMS really like to play? If you have these or any other Switch-related questions, there's only way to get some definitive answers: Try the system yourself. Following its US preview tour, Nintendo is taking its latest console to Great Britain. From February 10th to 12th, the system will be available to play at the Boxxed warehouse in Birmingham. The console-portable hybrid will then appear at the Cobden Rooms in Manchester for three days starting on February 17th. Finally, it'll stop by the Tanner Warehouse in London from February 24th to 26th.
