Latest news with #Switch2Direct
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Mario Kart World's Free Roam Looks Like The Burnout Paradise Sequel I've Been Dreaming Of
I'm excited to play Mario Kart World for all the obvious reasons, not least among them that it's the first new Mario Kart in 11 years. But today's mini Mario Kart Direct confirmed for me that I'm most interested in the Free Roam mode. It's the Burnout Paradise sequel I've been waiting for since 2008. When the Switch 2 Direct earlier this month first announced that the launch title Mario Kart World will let you drive between the race tracks and hinted at an explorable world, I found an immediate greater interest beyond that of 'MORE MARIO KART!' The idea of just aimlessly driving around a Nintendo-created world sounds completely brilliant. Today's Direct assured me that my suspicions were correct—that there was no way the developer would be able to resist packing the world with secrets, bonus items, missions to complete, and collectibles to find. And honestly, I find that even more enticing that shaving microseconds off of my best times on my favorite tracks. (OK, admittedly, I've not actually lost too many hours in that particular pursuit since an obsession with the N64's Koopa Troopa Beach level.) It reminds me of another gaming obsession: smashing every barrier and smashable billboard in Burnout Paradise. Not playing driving games properly is a bit of a habit. And the best driving games are the ones that positively encourage it, like BP, and also the wonderful Forza Horizon games. Sure, there are races and cups and what-have-you, but what if I just drive over there? There might be a windmill! There might be yellow fencing I've yet to knock over. I return to Burnout Paradise with a concerning frequency, almost never replaying all the races, my enthusiasm focused on smashing my way around Paradise City. It's a passion strong enough to get past the game's interminable opening screens and the contemptible babble of Worst Character In All Of Fiction, DJ Atomika. Mario Kart World, albeit without all the barriers to break, is giving me that same drive (sorry) to aimlessly explore. The footage shows so much stuff to find out there! All those pads to jump off, blocks to bop, blue P switches to trigger, and then coins and who knows what else. It's going to be just so much fun to veer away from the races and uncover the secrets. Or just pootle about, nudging at the edges, seeing if I can break the boundaries, and approach the kart racer like a third-person action game. It'd be nice if it didn't cost such an absurd amount of money, although I've been fortunate enough to pre-order the bundled version (the magic of being a foreigner to your shores). I really hate that. I don't care for any of the half-assed arguments about 'worth' and 'value'—I just hate that it means the game and all the joy it looks like it could offer will be cut off from so many more people. Privileged as I am, I'm now far more hyped for this than I was before, my hopes of an open-world game beyond the racing seemingly validated. And then the racing on top of that, too! It's fun to be this pumped for the ninth entry in an ongoing franchise. . For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Former PlayStation exec Shuhei Yoshida gives the Switch 2 Direct a 7/10, and he says it would be even lower if FromSoftware didn't show up with The Duskbloods
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Shuhei Yoshida, the former PlayStation executive of 30 years probably best-known for his run as PlayStation Studios president during PS3 and PS4 eras, was disappointed by the recent Switch 2 Direct. "I wanted to see more new game announcements," he told MinnMax (via PushSquare) in a recent livestream (timestamped here.) " There are a couple of games, but mostly remakes or ports." When asked what he would rate the Direct out of 10, Yoshida gave a pretty brutal assessment. "I would say 6... until the FromSoftware game came out. I would give it a 7." Yoshida is referring to The Duskbloods, the new PvPvE game from FromSoftware mastermind Hidetaka Miyazaki. Yoshida did admit that he found the Switch 2's camera peripheral "really nice" and "neat" and said that "getting to see other people's gameplay even if it's a different game is really nice." He also praised Welcome Tour, which looks like Nintendo's answer to Astro's Playroom, although it'll be sold separately while Playroom was bundled in with the PS5. I think it's safe to say at this point that the Switch 2 Direct didn't land the way Nintendo was hoping, with a price point higher than many had expected and a relatively slim launch lineup headlined by Mario Kart World and The Duskbloods. That said, many developers have been expressing optimism about the new hardware's potential, comparing it to a mid-tier PC rig, which sounds impressive for a mobile console. I played The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker on Nintendo Switch 2, but it's a bittersweet reminder that we're not getting the game at its best.
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Nintendo Defends Controversial Switch 2 Pricing Strategy And Says $450 Isn't Because Of Tariffs
All of the cool stuff revealed in last week's Switch 2 Direct was quickly overshadowed by worries about its higher prices, including $450 for the console and Mario Kart World being Nintendo's first $80 game. Then the company halted pre-orders in the U.S. in the face of unprecedented tariffs that could push prices even higher. Now Nintendo has gone on record to defend those prices and claim tariffs weren't part of the original arithmetic. 'Put [the April 2nd announcement] aside,' Nintendo of America president Doug Bowser told The Verge. 'Any previous tariffs were not factored into the price itself.' There's still no new date for when pre-orders for the Switch 2's June 5 launch will begin. 'The news is fresh, and like many companies right now, we are actively assessing what the impact may be,' he added. Bowser defended the Switch 2's existing $450 price tag by pointing to its bigger, newer LCD screen, stronger GPU, better Joy-Con, and new features like GameChat, a Discord-like voice and video chat option gated behind a Switch Online subscription. 'We want to make sure that this is a device that is approachable, that consumers will see as part of their overall entertainment experiences and will understand that it has longevity to it,' Bowser told The Verge. 'And all of those factors really go into the consideration of the price.' He did hint at something interesting, which is that the existing Switch models are part of the calculus. The 2017 edition has still never gotten a price drop and remains $300. The Switch OLED is even more at $350. If Nintendo continues selling them, it's not shocking that the Switch 2, a generational leap, would be $100 more. 'You want to consider pricing relative to the Switch since we still have that in distribution,' Bowser said. Mario Kart World's $80 price tag is arguably what's been upsetting fans even more, and leading them to spam Nintendo Tree House Live demos of the game on YouTube with wall-to-wall 'drop the price' comments. Bowser confirmed to The Washington Post it's not the new 'benchmark' for Switch 2 games, and the company will continue exploring variable pricing. But why make Mario Kart World the canary in the $80 mine right at launch? 'We just look at what is the experience, and what's the content, and what's the value?' Nintendo of America's VP of product and player experience Bill Trinen told IGN. He also suggested that there are tons of new details about the game that haven't been revealed yet that will win fans over. 'Mario Kart World, I think especially as you see from the Nintendo Direct, not to give you any hints or anything, but I did read your article this morning and I think you had mentioned that you didn't find a lot to discover when roaming around. So I would say tune into our Mario Kart Direct to see what, maybe you'll be able to find out about that,' he said, referring to a deeper dive into the game slated for April 17. He continued: But honestly, this is a game that is so big and so vast and you will find so many little things in it to discover. And there's still some other secrets remaining that I think as people end up buying and playing the game, they're going to find this to be probably the richest Mario Kart experience they've ever had. Trinen also confirmed Welcome Tour, the Switch 2's Astro's Playroom-style mini-game explainer for the new hardware, is a $10 digital-only download. Why not a pack-in for the console, like Wii Sports? 'Just the amount of care and work that the team put into it, I think it was decided that, 'Yeah, this feels like $9.99 is not an exorbitant price. It feels like a good value for what you're getting out of the product,' he said. The veteran Nintendo employee also weighed in on why games like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom will be $80 on Switch 2 for their upgraded content, despite having been released several years ago at this point. 'Well, again, what I would say is that we just look at each individual game and we look at the content and the value of that game, and then we say, 'what is the right price for the value of this entertainment?' What I would probably counter to some of that is that really what you're looking at is for the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, that's the physical price for somebody that has not bought the base game,' Trinen said. Poor Donkey Kong Bananza. At just $70, Nintendo must not think it's as good or just not the same 'value' as some of its other games. One big question remains, then. Is $70 the new $60 on Switch 2, or the new $50? I hope Welcome Tour has a The Price is Right mini-game. . For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Hollow Knight: Silksong purportedly arrives this year
Silksong, the long-awaited to sequel to 2017's Hollow Knight, will arrive later this year, according to a brief sizzle reel Nintendo shared during today's Switch 2 Direct. In fact, the snippet was so short you might have missed it if you blinked, and featured the same section of gameplay we first saw during the game's announcement trailer back in 2019. Of course this being Silksong we're talking about, I wouldn't count on the game's developer, Team Cherry, sticking to that date until we have the game in our hands. If you recall, back in 2022 there was speculation the game would arrive by June 12, 2023 after Microsoft included it in a Xbox Game Pass trailer and said all the titles featured in said clip would be available within 12 months. Well, June 12, 2023 came and went with no release of Silksong.
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Nintendo Switch 2 Direct live coverage: All of the details around the company's latest console
After giving us a glimpse of the Switch 2 in January, Nintendo is finally divulging all of the details around its new console in a Direct livestream today. There's a lot we know already: The Switch 2 basically looks like an evolved version of the original Switch, with a larger screen and Joy-Cons that magnetically attach to its sides. Early photos and Nintendo's own announcement video also teased a unique optical mouse feature for the Joy-Cons, something that could be useful for strategy games. (And who knows, maybe we'll eventually see the long-awaited Mario Paint revival.) During the 60-minute Switch 2 Nintendo Direct, Nintendo will finally be able to show off all of the ways the Switch 2 differs from the original console. Expect to hear a lot more about the new Joy-Cons, the screen improvements and more details about upcoming Switch 2 games. Nintendo isn't the sort of company to geek out on technical specs, but we might hear more about what's powering the Switch 2 internally. Nintendo isn't exactly aiming for the portable PC gaming crowd (a trend the Switch directly inspired), but it would be nice to see how the Switch 2 compares to powerful new PC handhelds. Check out our roundup of all of the rumors and early details around the console. And be sure to join us for live coverage of the Switch 2 launch event before it kicks off at 9AM ET on April 2. Hello everyone and thanks for joining us bright and early (or near dinnertime, for those in Asia). Nintendo's Switch 2 Direct should be kicking off in just a few hours, so we're glad you're already here on Engadget. Hello everyone and thanks for joining us bright and early (or near dinnertime, for those in Asia). Nintendo's Switch 2 Direct should be kicking off in just a few hours, so we're glad you're already here on Engadget.
