Celebrate E3 and new ‘Zelda’ with this lavish Nintendo sale

E3 2016 is in full swing, and there’s already a bevy of titles being shown off that we can’t wait to get our hands on, particularly The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and the upcoming Pokémon Sun and Moon. Nintendo know this very well, and thus is running a special E3 sale from now through June 21 with up to 40% select digital games.
With an additional 10% off certain games for My Nintendo members, there are some real bargains here for digital copies of favorites like The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past for $4.79 and The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD for $29.99. The Zelda franchise isn’t the only one to get in on the savings, with the Game Boy hits Pokémon Trading Card Game and Pokémon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire available for $3.59 and $4.79 respectively.

If neither Zelda or Pokémon are on your radar, there are some decent savings on 3DS games like Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, Shin Megami Tensei IV, Story of Seasons and Zero Escape: Virtue’s Last Reward as well as scores of other titles. Wii U fans can pick up Splatoon, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and more for a discount as well.

Time to pick up some titles to expand your collection while finishing off that backlog. The wait for the new Zelda isn’t that far off, after all.

The new Zelda game will give us the first ‘flexible’ Amiibo

The next Legend of Zelda game is introducing big changes to the series. It features a big, open world. Our hero can jump, climb and cook. For the first time in 30 years, Link actually changed his shirt — but it’s changing more than the gameplay of one franchise. It’s also changing Nintendo’s toys-to-life figures: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’s toy series will feature the first Amiibo with moving parts.

Nintendo says three figures will launch with the game — an Amiibo featuring Link using a bow, one with the hero on horseback and a third of a “Guardian,” the large spider-like creature we saw in the game’s 2014 teaser trailer. That last one is the flexible toy, presumably offering limited movement in the guardian’s tendrils. The Wolf Link Amiibo that shipped with The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD will be compatible with the new game too, and will summon Wolf Link to help the player in battle. If you played Twilight Princess on the same console, it’ll even import your character’s health stats. Neat!

Those figures won’t be available until the game hits stores early next year — but collectors can look forward to a new line of Super Mario Amiibo, with figures for Daisy, Boo, Diddy Kong and more.

Follow all the news from E3 2016 here!

Source: Nintendo

Where to watch Nintendo’s E3 announcement stream

Microsoft and Sony made some pretty major announcements yesterday, but we’re not done yet — Nintendo is holding an online press conference this morning. Things may already be winding down on the Wii U era, but we expect Nintendo to show off details on the next Legend of Zelda game as well as some news for Pokémon fanatics. Hopefully there will be some other surprises, as well. It all kicks off at 9AM PT / 12PM ET, and you can watch the YouTube stream below. Of course, we’ll be covering all the news as well.

‘The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’ is Nintendo’s next classic

Nintendo kicked off its E3 2016 livestream with a frankly gorgeous Zelda trailer, showcasing what we’ll get to play and experience when the game eventually lands in 2017 on the Wii U and NX. The style of the entire thing is somewhere between Wind Waker and Twilight Princess, albeit cranked to the max. This is Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and it already looks pretty amazing. Was that voice-acting? At least four outfits, including armor? Cooking? Gliding? Oh boy.

Update 1PM ET: Following a lengthy demo of the new Pokémon games, Nintendo is now showing off full gameplay from the new game, and there’s a lot to take in here. First off: The world is massive. Just as promised, Hyrule feels far more alive than ever before, and a quick look at the map makes it seem like the world you’ll get to explore is as huge as Nintendo claims.

There’s also been surprisingly more voice acting than ever before, with a Navi / Midna-type narration in much of the game’s intro. However, the first NPC you encounter is voiced by text on the screen, in classic Zelda fashion. Link also hasn’t yet said a word. There’s also very little fully-scored music to speak of thus far, but there are lots of lovely environmental audio and subtle musical flourishes in the first segment of the game.

Another notable detail from the lush world is that there’s a lot more to collect than ever before — someone on the Nintendo stream mentioned that you wouldn’t pick up hearts in this game. Instead, you forage for food to replenish life. Similarly, you’ll find tools all around the world to use in your quest. One of the first weapons you come across is a “rusty broadsword” that breaks after just a few enemy encounters, so you need to keep finding more items. Those items will often be foraged from enemies you defeat, it seems.

Going along with the open-world theme, it looks like Link has the ability to go pretty much wherever he wants — you can climb walls and there’s a button to let you jump for the very first time in a Zelda game. The game also does very little hand-holding at the beginning; there’s no backstory to speak of. You’re just thrown into the world and need to find your way, a refreshing change from the hand-holding that most games put you through at the beginning these days.

We’ll keep you updated with any other noteworthy details Nintendo drops!

Nathan Ingraham contributed to this report.

PS Vita slasher ‘Severed’ is coming to iOS, 3DS and Wii U

Back in April developer Drinkbox Studios, best known for the colorful platformer Guacamelee!, launched a little game called Severed on the PlayStation Vita. As much as we love Sony’s handheld, it’s not a popular system, so we’re not surprised to hear that the game is headed to other platforms. Specifically, the Nintendo 3DS, Wii U and iOS. If you need a quick recap, Severed is a first-person dungeon crawler starring a one-armed warrior named Sasha. The touch-based controls have you fighting monsters and solving puzzles to overcome its bright but creepy world.

The game, which was well received by the press, has been tweaked a little for the new systems. On the Wii U, for instance, you’ll be playing with the chunky GamePad and, most likely, its slide-out stylus. Drinkbox is promising some graphical improvements and support for “Off-TV Play,” meaning you can continue adventuring while someone else is hogging the TV. The studio will also support cross-buy, meaning you can purchase the game once and play it on both your Wii U and 3DS. The App Store version will, of course, be a separate purchase for iPhone and iPad owners.

All three ports are slated for “this summer” and there’s no word yet on pricing. But as a frame of reference, it’s currently $14.99 on PSN.

Extra E3 news! Severed is coming to iOS this summer! https://t.co/u52ZoEpwV9

— DrinkBox Studios (@DrinkBoxStudios) June 14, 2016

‘Pokémon Sun and Moon’ will offer four-player battle royales

There’s more to Pokémon Sun and Moon than new locations and monsters. Nintendo has announced during its E3 livestream that the game will also introduce a four-player battle mode called ‘Battle Royal.’ Each trainer selects a Pokémon and then enters the ring at the same time. On your turn, you can choose to target any of the three creatures in front of you — this opens up new strategies as you focus on particular opponents and form uneasy alliances. Our only concern is the wait times — four trainers mean it could be a while before you can select and execute a fresh attack.

Follow all the news from E3 2016 here!

The good, the bad and the weird at the Tokyo Toy Show

This year’s Tokyo Toy Show failed to turn up anything as impressive as the things I cooed over back in 2014. (Perhaps that’s why it’s only held every two years.) However, I did get another glimpse into what (the hell) Japanese toy companies think about shoppers: nearly all girls’ toys here are smothered in pink, gemstones and giant-eyed manga characters, while boys get a mix of trains, trains with cameras, trains that connect to your smartphone, and maglev … trains. Barring the Disney/Star Wars juggernaut, as a non-Japanese resident of the city, I don’t get the appeal of most of these things — but then again, I’m also more than willing to lay down cash for a Magikarp coin purse. So maybe I’m not the best judge.

Japanese ‘Pokemon’ fan poll crowns a favorite other than Pikachu

Pikachu is undoubtedly the most famous Pokemon out there, but as it stands, apparently it isn’t the people’s favorite. According to the Pokemon General Election 720, the distinct honor of “favorite” Pokemon goes to a very different monster: Greninja.
Surprisingly, Pikachu didn’t even place in the top three, with Greninja, Arceus and Mew rounding out the top spots. These results came quite early after voting began on April 15, and the preliminary results even placed Greninja, Arceus and Mew at the lead. When ballots closed on May 9, the full results found everyone’s favorite electric mouse in fourth place, with Pokemon like Charizard, Eevee, Sylveon and others filling the slots.

The final evolution of starter Froakie from Pokemon X & Y has been quite popular with fans over the last year or so, which could be attributed to the fact that Greninja has both appeared in Super Smash Bros. as well as Pokken Tournament as a playable character, and a formidable one at that. The Greninja amiibo that was previously released likely had a hand in its popularity as well.

The complete results are as follows:

1. Greninja
2. Arceus
3. Mew
4. Pikachu
5. Sylveon
6. Genesect
7. Rayquaza
8. Zygarde (50% form shown)
9. Charizard
10. Meloetta (Aria form shown)
11. Mewtwo
12. Eevee
13. Jirachi
14. Darkrai
15. Lucario
16. Diancie
17. Hoopa
18. Keldeo
19. Victini
20. Manaphy

Which Pokemon is your favorite?

Via: Anime News Network

Nintendo’s Power Glove transformed into drone controller

Nintendo’s Power Glove may have been forward-thinking and innovative during its time, but unfortunately it didn’t always function as well as we hoped it would. Luckily one creative computer engineering grad has given it a new lease on life as a wireless drone controller.

Debuting at Maker Faire 2016, Nolan Moore tore down the Power Glove, then reassembled it with a Wi-Fi transmitter, flex sensors and a wealth of additional components to transform it from so-so retro peripheral into a powerful controller that can alter the course of a drone with simple hand movements. For instance, making a fist gets the drone to roll, which a flat hand makes the drone hover in place.

Moore’s work is impressive, and you can see it in action in the video below. But that’s not all he plans on doing with the glove. In the future he’ll be replacing the Wi-Fi module with Bluetooth, an RC or IR transmitter or other custom RD or USB HID dongle. The final form for this hacked Power Glove will be a Universal HID. And so far, the project is looking really, really good.

Via: Popular Mechanics