Fans Keep Designing Animal Crossing Switch Lites And Now We Need One
Designs by JackofHearts-odb / cutestkaiju
The award for biggest and most anticipated Nintendo Switch game on the horizon (get it?) probably has to go to Animal Crossing: New Horizons. It’s been a while since fans of the franchise have had a brand new core series game to enjoy, and excitement for the new title is running high.
It’s running so high, in fact, that a surprising number of folk out there are designing their very own Nintendo Switch Lite consoles, no doubt hoping they’ll either pop out of the screen as a real product or that Nintendo itself will gobble up their ideas. Or perhaps that’s just our wishful thinking?
Either way, we’ve rounded up some of our favourite fanmade designs below. You never know, Nintendo might be reading…
A set of four designs now – the white one with purple icons is our favourite.
A smarter looking design, but just as lovely.
And finally, super-bright colours everywhere. We like it.
Are you a fan of any of these designs? Would you like Nintendo to reveal an official Animal Crossing Switch console? Will one be announced in the next Nintendo Direct? Place your bets below.
Following on from our reader-voted Top 50 Games of the Decade, Nintendo Life staff members will be picking their personal favourite Nintendo games between the years 2010-2019. Today, Alan sums up what made Nintendo’s short-lived mobile experience so gripping…
Miitomo is not just my Nintendo Game of the Decade, it’s Nintendo’s Game of the Decade. Whether or not you choose to acknowledge that is not my problem.
On the long, winding road towards my favourite Nintendo experience over the last ten years, I found out the hard way that no number of awarded degrees from multiple academic institutions could ‘mature’ me out from my seemingly carnal desires for fully-voiced Miis that can say “butts”. Why would Nintendo make this game? I don’t know. But I have proof that they did.
Miitomo was Nintendo’s highly-anticipated mobile game debut, released on Android and iPhone back in 2016. It was, at the end of the day, the product of dozens of engineers, designers and artists all collaborating with Nintendo so we could say “butts” to our friends. Again, that’s what I used it for. That was the best way to play it.
I sense your scepticism that anyone would hold this game in such high regard. Admittedly, while the game hit 3 million downloads in 24 hours and 10 million within two months, it was largely abandoned by most people shortly thereafter, then discontinued only two years later.
But tell me, Nintendo fan, what do you most wish you could do on your Nintendo Switch system today (I mean, besides play Metroid)? Here in the year 2020, is it not true that you still cannot talk with your friends while playing rounds of Smash and Mario Kart end to end? Well, in Miitomo, here was a game only about talking to your friends. I mean, that’s literally the only thing you could really do with it.
If you think about it, Miitomo was the pure inverse of Nintendo game philosophy. You didn’t struggle to communicate here, you were rewarded for it.
As a concept, Miitomo is like if someone took psychologist Arthor Aron’s 36 Questions to Fall In Love survey – a popular questionnaire circulating in the middle of the last decade which promised participants a newfound profundity with whomever they took it with – and bolted push notifications to it. Except with Miitomo, its ambitions were lower than love; Nintendo had its sights on making you feel strange ways towards your friends: confusion, intrigue, anger… maybe even shock.
To be a part of this social experiment, all one needed to do was download the free app and design an avatar of themselves using a more robust version of Nintendo’s ubiquitous Mii creator. This was easy enough, given this was a task literally 100 million people were already familiar with thanks to the Nintendo Wii. After you were done, your little ‘you’ would simply stand there, staring up at you from your phone screen like a modern-day lady in the radiator. It would ask you weird crap about yourself. It would ask you weird crap about your friends. It was bizarre.
Whether or not players found this boring or exciting probably depended on how many of their friends were on it. It also hinged on what kind of friends you had.
What do I mean by that? Well, take for instance this question/answer sequence I once had with Nintendo Life’s very own Alex Olney:
He probably didn’t think this was very funny. He (literally) did not like this answer. If I had to bet, Alex must have uninstalled Miitomo rather quickly after this. (Or maybe he blocked me.)
The “real” way to play Miitomo, so said Nintendo ahead of its release, was to harness the platform of cell phones to cleverly learn intimacies about your friends. What sort of foods do they like? What do they do for fun? What are their earliest memories?
Here is a relevant anecdote about Miitomo being played as intended: a Miitomo-playing friend of mine once actually invited myself and some friends over, secretly using all of our answers regarding what our favourite foods were to cook us personalized meals. This was an incredibly thoughtful gesture Nintendo themselves would likely be delighted to know they helped incite.
But like most people, my friend soon stopped played the game. If I had to guess, the people who used Miitomo in earnest were the ones who most quickly got bored with it.
But as you know by now, I did not use Miitomo in earnest. For me, the game was an exercise in bone-soaked cynicism. It was a platform to one-up my friends with as much silliness as I could possibly crank out. It was a chance to turn the tables on squeaky-clean Nintendo and make my Mii say stupid stuff while wearing stupid things. It was glorious. And because I played it this way, this was probably the reason my kind-hearted friend handed me a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos at that same dinner… he thought that was seriously my favourite food.
What’s your favourite season? Mine is arugula. What’s your favourite TV show? I told people on the app, “The scratchy static of my untuned television set, which recently began projecting a malefic accident scene only I can see. It’s on the CW.”
I used all of you. The short-lived audience from the hype of this being Nintendo’s first mobile game gave me power. I had more fun with Miitomo than with Nintendo’s future mobile titles like Super Mario Run, Dr. Mario World, and Animal Crossing: Pocket Campcombined.
I don’t blame myself for using Miitomo to troll. No, this was largely Nintendo’s fault, given that the game was directed by Yoshio Sakamoto, known by most people as the director of Super Metroid, but known by cool people as the producer of the 3DS title Tomodachi Life. In Tomodachi Life, the “goal” of the game – and I would use multiple quotation marks if that were grammatically appropriate – was to live among your friends. How did you do that? Well, yet again, you created them through a Mii maker, you stuck them in rooms, then you did stuff like give them weird-as-hell, two-dimensional gifts, appear on quiz shows together, have love quarrels, and go row boating. Sometimes your Miis would have fights, then dress up as astronauts, then explore dreams. Nothing in Tomodachi Life made any sense. It was, in itself, a trolling of the entire life simulator genre.
Miitomo, then, using the identical engine and development team and graphical style of Tomodachi Life, finally brought us the singular aspect sorely missing from its predecessor: online functionality. You didn’t have to make-believe with Miitomo, you actually were talking to your friends that on the 3DS were simply stand-ins. The one major problem with Miitomo was that literally every single other gameplay element, minus a game of Plinko, was stripped out so that it could be a quick mobile experience.
So is it really my fault that I infused the spirit of Tomodachi Life back where it belonged? Of course it isn’t. I’d like to think that when I paid real life money so I could upload pictures of male strippers into my Miitomo house that Yoshio Sakamoto would have been proud of me.
Miitomo was not just Nintendo being unintentionally weird on a massive, global level, it was Nintendo accidentally leaving the front door unlocked. It was Super Mario Maker without filters or restrictions. (And okay, sure, without the gameplay either, whatever.)
After witnessing a blockbuster run of unforgettable gems like Splatoon, Fire Emblem: Three Houses, and Super Mario Odyssey this last decade, I know Nintendo. I know how they think, I know what they set out to do, and I know when they’ve succeeded. And I know chance-taking nonsense from eminent creators when I see it.
Can Link say “butts” in Breath of the Wild? No. Link can’t say anything.
Posted by: xSicKxBot - 01-14-2020, 06:50 AM - Forum: Lounge
- No Replies
Morbius Trailer Proves Vampires Can Be Scary And Not Sparkly
Sony is pushing forward with its Marvel-character universe that has nothing to do with the MCU. 2018's Venom raked in over $850 million globally. Now, the second installment in Sony's Marvel franchise is Morbius, starring Jared Leto as the titular vampire. We got a look at the character over the weekend through a leaked photo, but now the first trailer has been released.
In the new trailer, which you can check out below, Leto plays Dr. Michael Morbius, a biochemist who learned he had a rare blood disease. He tries to heal himself but ultimately ends up turning him into a vampire, gaining fantastic abilities, at a cost: he has a need to feed on human blood.
The living vampire Morbius made his Marvel Comics debut back in 1971 appearing in Amazing Spider-Man #101. While this isn't a part of the MCU, there are a few moments that have us scratching our heads, like a Spider-Man poster labelled "Murderer" appearing in the background and the inclusion of Michael Keaton, who played Vulture in Spider-Man: Homecoming. There's no way to tell if he's reprising his role from Homecoming in the trailer, but it's interesting nonetheless.
Jared Leto released a photo when production began back in 2019, but there wasn't much going on in it. Morbius will be directed by Daniel Espinosa (Life, Safe House), and joining Leto in the cast is Matt Smith (Doctor Who) as Loxias Crown, Adria Arjona (True Detective), Tyrese Gibson (Fast & Furious series) as Simon Stroudm, and Jared Harris (The Terror) in an unnamed role.
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX Switch eShop File Size Revealed
Earlier this week, the Pokémon Direct revealed the original Pokémon Mystery Dungeon games from the GBA and DS generation would be remade into a single Switch release titled, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX.
If you’re considering picking up this game digitally, you might be interested to know just how much room this release will take up on your system. The current demo, which is free to download right now from the eShop, takes up approximately 1.1GB, and the Switch eShop listing has now confirmed the full game will take up 2.1GB of space. This is a much smaller size than your average Switch release, and its price is $59.99 / £49.99.
For anyone who lives in a region where Nintendo Switch Game Vouchers can still be purchased and used (that’s places like the UK and Australia), keep in mind you’ll be able to redeem the DX version of Mystery Dungeon on Switch with one of these vouchers. You’ll also earn 200 Gold Points in the process.
Did you plan to buy this upcoming release in physical or digital form? Leave a comment down below.
Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare Is Raising Money For Australian Bushfire Relief
Activision is raising money for the ongoing bushfire relief effort in Australia through an in-game charity campaign with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. The "Outback Relief Pack" is available now, and it contains Australia-themed items and gear.
The Outback Relief pack costs 1,800 Call of Duty Points, which works out to around $18 USD. 100 percent of the net proceeds will be donated to help fire relief efforts in Australia. It's unclear exactly where the money is going, but GameSpot has followed up with Activision in an attempt to get more details.
The content includes a Bushranger operator skin, a koala charm, and the blueprints for the legendary "Big Game" sniper rifle. There is also a new sticker, gun art, operator quip, and finishing move, as well as a token to skip one tier in the Modern Warfare Battle Pass.
Here's everything in the Outback Relief DLC
In a tweet, Activision said, "Our thoughts go out to all those affected by the bushfires in Australia." The message also confirms that the donation campaign runs until January 31.
As of January 12, there are still more than 100 bush and grass fires burning in Australia, 40 of which are not contained. The New South Wales Bureau of Meteorology is projecting a good amount of rain across Australia for the coming week, which the NSW Rural Fire Service says would be a very good thing.
If this @BOM_NSW rainfall forecast comes to fruition then this will be all of our Christmas, birthday, engagement, anniversary, wedding and graduation presents rolled into one. Fingers crossed. #NSWRFS#nswfirespic.twitter.com/R9VfD0bqu2
Welcome again to Box Art Brawl, the weekly bout that sees regional variants of retro games compete to see which has the most attractive box-based visage.
Last week featured a load of old balls – monkey balls, that is – as Super Monkey Ball 2 bounced off itself in battle. You lovely people decided that the European variant was the most deserving contender with over half of the overall vote. North America came in second with Japan falling into the abyss of third place.
Staying on the theme of sequels, this week we’re returning once again to the Resident Evil franchise. We’ve already hadResident Evil 4 blast its way through the Brawl, but today we’re jumping back two games and one generation to Resident Evil 2 on the Nintendo 64. The GameCube port adapted the art from these versions in each region, so you’re getting a cheeky 2-for-1 this week.
Despite our requests to Santa, the wonderful remake of this game which launched on other consoles last year has failed to materialise on Switch. Of course, it’s a technically taxing title and a potential port would be quite a feat – some might even say it couldn’t be done. After the wonderful ports we’ve seen on Switch, though, we’d have to disagree. And while this Nintendo 64 version had its limitations in comparison to the PlayStation original, it was also rather special in its own way (as Digital Foundry has detailed in the past). RE2’s got form when it comes to remarkable ports, then. Come on, Capcom!
Enough talk – let’s head into Raccoon City…
North America
The North American variant has a brushed metal logo with some pointy bits and a malevolent red bloom behind it. The creepy-eyed zombie catches the attention and there’s a hint of teeth behind the fingers clawing at the ‘2’. The digits themselves have pale, lifeless skin stretched over them, although to be fair we’ve seen worse fingernails on a zombie. In the bottom left corner you can make out an unfortunate policeman who’s succumbed to the G- or T-virus (we forget which) and you can also glimpse another nasty occupying the space to the right behind the logo.
It’s all rather creepy until you get to the standard red strip on the right which spoils the mood somewhat. It’s not bad, but we probably prefer the other variants for the way they establish and maintain a mood. Let’s head to the east next…
Japan
The Biohazard 2 cover takes renders of Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield side-by-side, locked-and-loaded ready to blast some brain-munchers. They’re posed like buddies on a movie poster on the mean streets of Raccoon City and with the big red ‘BIOHAZARD 2’ logo at the bottom, we rather enjoy the simple composition here. It’s meat-and-potatoes, but sometimes that’s just what the doctor ordered. Tasty.
Europe
Once again with the RE series, Europe gets a ‘moody PAL’ cover. The stark black and white of the cover (minus the N64 logo in the top right) contrasts beautifully with the bright red logo that matches the font of the Japanese version. The nasty-looking chap in the background is blurry and obscured – as if captured fleetingly on a TV monitor – but there’s something about the power of suggestion that feels more evocative than the grisly sinews and detail of its American counterpart.
Each to their own, of course, but we’ve always been suckers for art which complements the tone of the game as opposed to more explicit images or posed key art in an eye-pleasing configuration.
So, three quite different takes on the old survival horror, but which one gets the hairs on the back of your neck a-tinglin’? Click your favourite and hit the vote button below:
Thanks to GravyThief for the suggestion this week. We’ve got a few contenders lined up for the Brawl over the coming weeks, and we’ll almost certainly return to Raccoon City again in the future, but if you’ve got any suggestions feel free to drop them in the comments. We’ll see you next time!
We know you’re busy and might miss out on all the exciting things we’re talking about on Xbox Wire every week. If you’ve got a few minutes, we can help remedy that. We’ve pared down the past week’s news into one easy-to-digest article for all things Xbox! Or, if you’d rather watch than read, you can feast your eyes on our weekly video show above. Be sure to come back every Friday to find out what’s happening This Week on Xbox!
PvZ: Battle for Neighborville’s First 2020 Festival is Snow Joke The future is now, Neighborvillians! It’s 2020 and, while we all assumed that robots would have taken over the world by now, the only artificial intelligence running rampant these days are those pesky zombies. So, grab your friends and juice up those electric roller skates as the battle for brainz rages on in Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville!
Infiltrate and Eliminate in Silent Assassin, Now Available on Roblox for Xbox One Silent Assassin, the hit stealth action game on Roblox, has been unleashed on Xbox One! Blending fast-paced, cat-and-mouse style combat with the unpredictable antics of a frenetic multiplayer shooter, this is one unique thriller nobody should miss out on.
Available Today with Xbox Game Pass for Console: Grand Theft Auto V You know us at Xbox Game Pass, we like to make memes and jokes about our games. I am sitting here giggling to myself about something Trevor Phillips said in Grand Theft Auto V, and then realized that there is no possible way I could repeat that out loud without getting in trouble. I am productivity personified, and here to tell you that GTA V is available today with Xbox Game Pass for Console!
Next Week on Xbox: New Games for January 8 to 10 Welcome to Next Week on Xbox, where we cover all the new games coming soon to Xbox One! Every week the team at Xbox aims to deliver quality gaming content for you to enjoy on your favorite gaming console. To find out what’s coming soon to Xbox One, read on below and click on each of the game profiles for pre-order details (dates are subject to change).
Free Play Days – DiRT Rally 2.0 Free Play Days is back this weekend with another exciting game for you to play! Carve your way through the competition in DiRT Rally 2.0. Featuring iconic locations in New Zealand, Argentina, Spain, Portugal, Australia and the USA, develop your team and cars and rely on instinct in the most immersive off-road experience yet.
Video: Understanding the bottom-up design philosophy behind Crashlands
In this 2018 GDC talk, Butterscotch Shenanigans’ Seth Coster breaks down the studio’s bottom-up design approach and discusses the implications for project and team management on games like Crashlands.
Coster offered fresh perspective on the indie game production process, sharing examples of how, through bottom-up design, Butterscotch Shenanigans has discovered its most iconic characters, mechanics, and worlds.
In addition to this presentation, the GDC Vault and its accompanying YouTube channel offers numerous other free videos, audio recordings, and slides from many of the recent Game Developers Conference events, and the service offers even more members-only content for GDC Vault subscribers.
Those who purchased All Access passes to recent events like GDC or VRDC already have full access to GDC Vault, and interested parties can apply for the individual subscription via a GDC Vault subscription page. Group subscriptions are also available: game-related schools and development studios who sign up for GDC Vault Studio Subscriptions can receive access for their entire office or company by contacting staff via the GDC Vault group subscription page.
First, Nintendo shared a download code for another bundle of rare Poke Balls on the Switch News channel. You can get 10 Premier Balls by entering the code AREAS1LVESTRE in Mystery Gift. Premier Balls have the same catch rate as standard Poke Balls, but they look much fancier.
On top of that, Nintendo has shared a second new download code, this one to commemorate Pokemon Sword and Shield's next online competition. If you enter the code GALAR in Mystery Gift, you'll receive a Bottle Cap. Bottle Caps are used to Hyper Train your Pokemon at the Battle Tower in Wyndon, maxing out one of their base stats.
Both download codes are available through the end of February, so you have until then to redeem them and get the free gifts. However, time is running out to claim a few other freebies, including Gigantamax Meowth, which will only be available until January 15. You can see all the free Pokemon Sword and Shield gifts available right now in our roundup.
In addition to the freebies, Nintendo recently rolled out a new update for Pokemon Sword and Shield that lets players experience a very small taste of the games' upcoming expansion pass content. Once you've downloaded the update, you can head to Wedgehurst Station and encounter a new character from the Isle of Armor expansion. There, you'll also have a chance to catch a new Pokemon: Galarian Slowpoke.
ArmorPaint just released version 0.7 containing several new features including additional texture file formats, plugin support and even live preview support for Unity and Unreal game engines. ArmorPaint is built on top of the Armory3D game engine (tutorial available here) and is an open source alternative to Substance Painter.
