Latest news with #Splatoon
Metro
21-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
The average Nintendo fan is around 30 years old according to new data
A new survey breaks down the average age and gender of fans of popular gaming franchises like Pokémon and Final Fantasy. Compared to Sony and Microsoft, whose priorities lie in appealing primarily to adult gamers, Nintendo has long benefited from catering to the whole family. The Nintendo Switch 2's initial line-up perfectly demonstrates this, with Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza being simple, easy to understand experiences for kids yet offering enough depth to appeal to adults. And yet according to new research on average age and gender ratios for popular video games, it appears the average Nintendo fan is in their 30s, while online live service games are where theyounger audiences are. The research was conducted by GEM Partners and Nikkei Entertainment, which surveyed 30,000 people across the ages of 15 to 69, and has been handily compiled and translated over on the ResetEra forums. While it focuses solely on the Japanese market, there are still some interesting takeaways regarding the more globally recognised gaming franchises. Nintendo franchises appear to skew more towards older audiences. The average age of players of the Super Mario, Kirby, and Pokémon games falls between 30 and 32, with The Legend Of Zelda and Animal Crossing sharing an average player age of 35. Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning. The one exception is the Splatoon series, where the average player is aged 27. Perhaps this is a result of Splatoon being much newer, with the first game only coming out in 2015, whereas the other franchises are over 20 or 30 years old and thus more appealing to older, nostalgic fans who grew up playing the original games. Japanese outlet Kultur reports that the average age of gamers is around 30 years old, so Nintendo does appear to have cracked the code of ensuring its most popular franchises are appealing to the most common demographic. Intriguingly, these Nintendo franchises have a near even split in terms of gender ratio. Pokémon and Zelda have a male to female ratio of 60:40, while Splatoon's is 65:35. Super Mario's audience is mostly male at 70:30 but Kirby, and especially Animal Crossing, are more popular with female players, with ratios of 45:55 and 25:75, respectively. Elsewhere, the data shows that the average age of players of live service shooters such as Valorant, Apex Legends, and Fortnite are in their 20s. All three examples also have the same gender ratio of 85:15, with very male dominated player-bases. On the opposite end, you have Square Enix's Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest franchises, which still skew heavily towards male players but have an average player age of 42. Both franchises are long-running role-players that have been around since the 80s, so it makes sense for their core audiences to be older people who've been playing them since the early days. More Trending However, it also shows that both franchises have struggled to make themselves appealing to younger audiences. In Final Fantasy's case, this could be a contributing factor as to why both Final Fantasy 16 and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth underperformed in terms of sales. Of course, this doesn't necessarily reflect the gaming habits of the Western market. Mobile gaming, for instance, is even more popular in Japan than it is here, as evidenced by how prominent mobile games are in the collected data. It also demonstrates how console gaming is being predominantly held up by the older generations, with console franchises like Resident Evil and Like A Dragon having average player ages in the late 30s while mobile games like Brawl Stars and Project Sekai have average player ages of 18 and 22, respectively. This can be attributed to how mobile games are typically free-to-play and thus there's less of a barrier of entry for kids, teenagers, and unemployed or underpaid young adults. Email gamecentral@ leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter. To submit Inbox letters and Reader's Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here. For more stories like this, check our Gaming page. MORE: PS6 and next gen Xbox could cost over £1,000 based on AMD chip leak MORE: Nintendo and Steam crack down on hentai and other 'eSlop' filling up game stores MORE: Video game spending has dropped almost 25% amongst young people
Geek Dad
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Dad
‘Donkey Kong Bananza' – Not Just the Same Old Kong
My only disappointment regarding the recent launch of the Nintendo Switch 2 didn't have anything to do with the lack of an OLED screen or the Joy-Con 2 construction or even the battery life. Indeed, it wasn't hardware-related in the slightest. My one knock against the system was that Donkey Kong Bananza , a game that I've been lauding since I first picked up a Switch 2 controller, wasn't available on day one. Fast-forward a month and some change, though, and Bananza is soon to hit store shelves, at last righting that singular great injustice. I've been fortunate enough to spend the last couple of weeks digging deep (both literally and figuratively) into this groundbreaking title, and I'm happy to say that the initial little piece of gameplay I sampled at the Nintendo Switch 2 press event scarcely scratched the proverbial surface. Bananza sees DK partnered with a sentient rock creature that is quickly revealed to be none other than a younger version of the songstress Pauline. Abducted by VoidCo, a capitalist cabal of sinister simians, for her powerful voice, Pauline joins Donkey Kong as he delves ever deeper into the underground world in an attempt to recover the stolen Banandium Gems and undo VoidCo's cruel, exploitative plans—a mission accomplished through careful deliberation and peaceful compromise. I'm kidding; it's actually solved by a potent blend of physical violence and wanton devastation. If Bananza transformations aren't in the next Smash Bros. I'm going to be disappointed. image: NOA Though I initially described Bananza as an updated take on The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction , it's really more of a mix between Nintendo Switch standouts Super Mario Odyssey and the Splatoon series. From the former, it draws its expansive worldbuilding and the concept of an almost seamless partnership between combat and platforming. DK's movement is both additive, in that it drives him ever forward/up/down, and degressive, in that it blasts through enemies and the very earth itself. It's a beautiful economy of action that makes the game instantly addictive. Its more Splatoon -y elements include its over-the-top character design and a reliance on music as an element of storytelling. In Donkey Kong Bananza , the soundtrack does more than simply provide an audio backdrop for your continuing adventure; Pauline's soulful melodies are tied directly to the power-ups and puzzle-solving needed to protect this deceptively fragile planet. Controls in Bananza are wonderfully intuitive, with A and B used to jump and pound, Y to punch, and X to uppercut (which is especially useful when tunneling underground). The L trigger activates Pauline's song, while ZL sends DK rolling. Similarly, R employs Donkey Kong's hand slap, and ZR is used to tear up chunks of the environment to toss at enemies or surf on across hazardous materials. With movement and camera ably handled by the left and right thumbsticks, the D-pad is reserved for supplementary actions. Use left and right to scroll through your available Bananazas, up to check your skills and character status, and down to enter photo mode. The + button takes the player to a pause screen complete with options and amiibo functionality, while – quickly switches to a nicely detailed map. Donkey Kong Bananza is my new gold standard as far as map systems are concerned. image: NOA As outlandish as this game world is—and trust me, it gets really weird really fast—there's a wonderfully crooked logic at play in Donkey Kong Bananza . Not sure where to go? Pauline's song will point the way. On the hunt for collectables? DK's crushing hand slap serves as sonar to uncover hidden goodies. Even as you dive ever deeper into the unknown, Bananza rewards your curiosity. Challenge rooms abound, and the tests within run the gamut. Timed enemy battles, Donkey Kong Country -style side-scrolling and minecart runs, inspired environmental puzzlers, and destruction-based challenges all await, each rewarding the player with precious gold and/or hard-fought Banandium Gems. As our dynamic duo continues ever lower, new and more fantastical environments are encountered, complete with crystalline and animal inhabitants that add a fun narrative flavor to each stratum. This helps make otherwise run-of-the-mill sublayer themes—ice and snow, verdant jungles, fiery lava pools, slimy ooze—feel unique and inviting. Plus, the further DK and Pauline dig, the hardier these destructible environments (and their sinister interlopers) become. Thankfully, Bananza has no shortage of specialized currencies to help you out. Fossils can be exchanged for clothing that allows for customization of DK and Pauline and can add helpful buffs. Gold, available in abundance from the game's earliest sublayers, helps build up Bananergy for the titular Bananza transformations, lets players continue after an untimely death, is employed to craft Banandium Chips into a proper Banandium Gem, and can even be used to purchase Getaways where your team can rest up to restore health. The Edlers are all very cleverly designed… and also enormous. image: NOA Those prized Banandium Gems are important for leveling up DK's skills. Collect five Banandium Gems to unlock a skill point, which can then be used to boost stats, increase the range of the DK's item-detecting sonar, or further power up your already impressive Bananza forms. Earned by reuniting animal Elders with their prized records, each Bananza offers a massive new form that not only increases DK's already considerable brawn but can similarly supplement his speed and allow for things like limited flight. The closer you draw to the planet's core, the more gold and Banandium you acquire, the more Bananza forms you unlock, and the more mini-bosses you best, making for a wonderfully smooth learning curve as you perfect your own personal approach to combat and exploration. Backtracking is encouraged but seldom required, and Donkey Kong Bananza 's logically layered map and eel-based fast travel system make transportation a snap. Assist and co-op modes go even further to make Bananza accessible, allowing for quicker progression and giving Pauline's voice its own destructive powers, respectively. There's also a DK Artist feature where future Michelangelos can try their hand at virtual sculpture… with a Donkey Kong twist. In a title already perfectly polished and packed with content, all these little extras feel positively decadent. DK Artist uses the Joy-Con 2 mouse functionality. image: NOA While long denied top billing in favor of company mascot Mario, Donkey Kong is truly a character who has stood the test of time. By the same token, Donkey Kong as a property has encompassed everything from simple arcade action to challenging platformers to puzzle and rhythm games, all without ever losing sight of how innately magical this big, buffoonish gorilla is. Bananza manages to channel the very best elements of every Donkey Kong title that's come before into a remarkable adventure that surprises and delights, rewarding innovation and encouraging experimentation while never failing to let fun be its true focus. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this means that Donkey Kong Bananza holds the honor of being the Switch 2's first must-play release. As much as I enjoy Mario Kart World , Mario Kart is an iterative affair, and while World gets so much right, it stops short of redefining the property. The Cyberpunk and Bravely Default launch titles that I've likewise put so much time into showcase the flexibility of the Switch 2 as a platform, but both games were also well served on other systems as well. Donkey Kong Bananza , though? This is the system seller Nintendo's been looking for. Maybe it doesn't have Mario or Luigi, but it features plenty of returning classic characters and a host of exciting new gameplay opportunities that make this the most enticing Donkey Kong title to date. Even if our primate protagonist does, at times, tend to go a little bananas. Review and promotional materials provided by Nintendo of America. This post contains affiliate links. Kid Pauline > Baby Peach. Liked it? Take a second to support GeekDad and GeekMom on Patreon!
Hindustan Times
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Nintendo unveils Splatoon game for Switch 2 with major Splatoon 3 update incoming
Nintendo has revealed plans for a new game in the Splatoon series, titled 'Splatoon Raiders', set to launch on its upcoming Switch 2 console. The announcement came through Nintendo's mobile news app, but the company shared limited information about the game's content or release date. 'Splatoon Raiders' will take players to the Spirhalite Islands, where they will join forces with a fictional pop group called Deep Cut to solve a mystery. The game appears to focus on a single-player experience, branching off from the main ink-based shooting gameplay of the franchise. Nintendo has not yet confirmed when the game will be available to the public. Also read: Nintendo sells record 3.5 million Switch 2 consoles in four days This announcement follows closely after the launch of the Switch 2 on June 5, which debuted alongside 'Mario Kart World', a new open-world racing game. In addition, Nintendo used its app to inform fans about a delay in the live-action 'Legend of Zelda' movie, pushing its release date back by a few weeks. Meanwhile, the existing title 'Splatoon 3' will receive a significant update on June 12. The update, version 10.0, will introduce 30 remixed weapons and bring back the Urchin Underpass map from the original 'Splatoon' on the Wii U. The update also includes technical improvements tailored for the Switch 2, offering enhanced visuals and smoother gameplay in certain areas. Players on both the original Switch and the Switch 2 will be able to compete together without restrictions. Nintendo will provide this update free of charge. Also read: Microsoft launches Xbox Copilot beta on Android app to assist gamers with real-time support Among the new features in the 'Splatoon 3' update, the weapon Freshness caps will increase, and players will gain access to new in-game badges. A 'Series Weapon Power' stat will also be added to help match players based on weapon performance, allowing gamers to try out different weapons without risking unfair matchups. For Switch 2 owners, improvements will include upgraded visuals in locations such as Splatsville. Cross-platform play between the Switch and Switch 2 will remain a key feature, maintaining the community's ability to connect regardless of hardware. Also read: Mafia: The Old Country releasing on 8 August, 2025: Here's everything you need to know In other news, Nintendo reported that it sold 3.5 million Switch 2 consoles worldwide during the opening weekend, exceeding the sales of the original Switch over the same time period. The company attributes this strong performance to high demand for its new generation console, released eight years after the original model. Nintendo's figures highlight the Switch 2 as the fastest-selling Nintendo hardware in its first four days on the market. The Switch 2 launched in major markets, including the United States, where fans queued at midnight to purchase the device. Unlike previous Nintendo launches that introduced major innovations, such as the Wii's motion controls or the DS's touch screen, the Switch 2 focuses on refining and expanding the original Switch's features.
Time of India
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Nintendo announces new Splatoon game for Switch 2 console
Nintendo has announced that a new Splatoon spinoff game, Splatoon Raiders, is currently in development for its upcoming Switch 2 console. The announcement was made via Nintendo's mobile news app. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now However, the Japanese gaming company has revealed few details about the new game so far. Splatoon Raiders will transport players to an area known as the Spirhalite Islands, where they will investigate a mystery alongside the fictional pop group Deep Cut . It appears that the game may be a single-player offshoot of the popular ink-shooting franchise. Moreover, Nintendo has yet to confirm its official launch date. The announcements come a few days after the release of the Switch 2 on June 5, which was launched alongside the open-world racing game Mario Kart World. Recently, Nintendo also used its app to confirm that the live-action Legend of Zelda movie had been delayed by a few weeks. Splatoon 3's new update is set to roll out soon: Here's what's changing Meanwhile, the online shooter Splatoon 3 is set to receive an update on June 12, bringing it to version 10.0. The update will add 30 remixed weapons and reintroduce the classic Urchin Underpass map from the original Splatoon on the Wii U. The game will also see enhancements for the Switch 2, with what Nintendo describes as 'more detailed visuals' and a 'smoother appearance' in certain areas. Players on both platforms will be able to compete with each other. The update will be available at no cost. The upcoming Splatoon 3 update raises weapon Freshness caps, adds new in-game badges, and introduces a "Series Weapon Power" stat to match players based on weapon performance. This helps users experiment without being at a disadvantage. Switch 2 players will also see improved visuals in areas like Splatsville, and cross-platform play between Switch and Switch 2 will be supported.
Digital Trends
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Digital Trends
Why Splatoon Raiders already has my full attention
In a very unceremonious move, Nintendo announced an upcoming Switch 2 game not at a Direct or in an official press release, but on the Nintendo Today App. Alongside a load of details on a new Splatoon 3 update coming on June 12, including its Switch 2 performance boost, we also got a tiny teaser of the first official spinoff game in the Splatoon universe: Splatoon Raiders. While details are incredibly scarce right now, there are some big hints at the new direction this game will take that have me very excited. Recommended Videos A constantly evolving franchise Even though Nintendo is calling Splatoon Raiders the first official spinoff — and this is technically true as a stand-alone product — it is far from the first time Splatoon has ventured into other genres. The core three games are multiplayer shooters, of course, but at this point they've also branched out to include linear single player campaigns, PvE hoard mode, roguelike mode, and even a card game. Few franchises even dare to stretch themselves into that many genres. Splatoon not only did, but has proven that it can pull them off. With Splatoon Raiders, the only official description we have is that 'players will go on an adventure in the mysterious Spirhalite Islands alongside the splat-tacular Deep Cut trio.' Between that and the little bit of footage shown above, there are strong signs that this could be Splatoon's take on a survival game. The idea of expanding the Splatoon world with a larger map to explore, perhaps some base building, and a robot buddy to possibly upgrade all fit within the Splatoon ethos while experimenting with the series in fresh ways. Style and expression have been the heart of the series, so it feels like a natural evolution to expand that beyond our character and allow us to build our own little worlds. We already know how creative Nintendo can be using the ink system for traversal and platforming in the single player modes, so translating that to a more open environment with secrets and hidden challenges would be a perfect fit. Plus, the possibility of new tools for traversal and building opens up entirely new avenues for gameplay. Being a Switch 2 game, I fully expect it to take advantage of the new mouse control system in that regard. It has never been the primary focus before, but Splatoon has always had a rich (and somewhat dark) lore beneath all that bright ink and hip-hop music. Splatoon 3 did bring it a bit more to the forefront, but Splatoon Raiders being a spinoff could be a great way to test the waters for a more front-facing narrative. Splatoon Raiders has no release date now, but will be a Switch 2 exclusive.
