A new patent from Nintendo was recently made public which seems to confirm that, yes, the upcoming Switch 2 will indeed feature mouse support. Phew.
However, upon digging into the patent a bit more, we discovered a couple of additional nuggets that might be of some interest. Namely, it appears that Nintendo has showcased what looks to be a Joy-Con for the original Switch with the additional optical sensor on the side (alongside that extra ‘C’ button below the Home button, by the way – don’t ask us why it’s missing on the left image below).
Hi-Rez Studios have laid off an unknown number of the studio’s employees, only one month after launching MOBA sequel Smite 2 as a free-to-play beta. It looks like management has cut at least 20-30 jobs and the full number is likely higher. As a result, three other games that have been long-running staples of the studio will no longer get any updates. Smite, Paladins, and Rogue Company will have nobody to man the code cannons, so they’re being left to gather cobwebs from now on. Although they will remain playable.
Super Smash Bros. creator Masahiro Sakurai has re-posted the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct date and time announcement with a single sound of excitement and fans are freaking out about it teasing a new entry in the beloved brawler series.
As reported by Automaton, Sakurai shared the Japanese version of Nintendo’s announcement that it will fully unveil the Nintendo Switch 2 on April 2. “Ooh!” he said in the post, and while this could just be his own excitement, fans are hoping it means a new Super Smash Bros. game is coming to the next-generation hardware.
Nothing has been announced regarding a new Super Smash Bros. game, however, and Sakurai said previously he doesn’t know how the franchise can get any bigger or better than the Switch entry, which even includes characters from beyond Nintendo like Sephiroth from Final Fantasy 7, Sora from Kingdom Hearts, Joker from Persona 5, Steve and Alex from Minecraft, and many more.
But it seems likely there will be a new Super Smash Bros. game for Switch 2, given the incredible sales success of Ultimate (35.88 million and counting). And it’s worth remembering Nintendo has released a new Super Smash Bros. game for each of its consoles ever since the launch of the original Super Smash Bros. for N64 in 1999.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.
What great hopes I had for the Christmas holidays. Finally, I thought, I would have time for some of the recent blockbusters I’d not yet played: Indiana Jones And The Great Circle, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 and more would fill those dusty days and nights in the taint of 2024.
Then I mentioned in a review that I liked Picross games, which for me can dissolve hours or entire weekends like sugar in water. “I don’t know if that means I should recommend Mark Ffrench’s games Proverbs and Mega Mosaic to you, or warn you to steer clear and avoid flowing away forever,” responded commenter SeekerX.
You see where this is going. Friends, I played Proverbs for 36 hours over Christmas.
Put your red and white scarf back on the coat rack, football friends. The match has been called off. The entire season, in fact. Football Manager 25 has been cancelled because it has not met a high enough standard in time for its intended release next month, according to developers Sports Interactive. Anyone who pre-ordered the game will be given a refund, they say.
Civilization 7 is out, and while the game has launched to a ‘mixed’ user review rating on Steam, the boss of parent company Take-Two believes hardcore fans of the series will eventually come to love it.
Firaxis’ 4X strategy sequel is currently available to those who pay more for advanced access, typically more hardcore fans of Civilization. And they’re certainly letting their voices be known in Steam user reviews, highlighting issues with the user interface, a lack of map variety, and a feeling that the game has launched without a number of features fans have come to expect.
Firaxis has responded to this feedback, promising improvements to the UI, the addition of teams to multiplayer games so people can play co-operatively, and a wider variety of map types, among other things.
In an interview with IGN ahead of the release of third quarter financial results, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick acknowledged that Civilization 7 had received some negative reviews from press and players, namechecking Eurogamer’s 2/5 review, but insisted that the “legacy Civ audience” will come around the more they play, and called Civilization 7’s early performance “very encouraging.”
“The Metacritic reviews are at 81, which is really solid,” Zelnick said. “We have more than 20 press reviews with a score over 90. We have some negative outliers as well, including a 40 from Eurogamer.
“We think that as people play the game longer, the sentiment improves because with every launch of a new Civ, the team pushes the envelope a little bit and our legacy Civ audience is a little bit nervous about what they initially see and then they realize, wow, this is actually really incredible, and they dive in.
“So we feel really, really good about it. We know we have a couple of issues. We have a bit of an issue with the UI, for example. We’ll address that. So I wouldn’t say the early access release is perfect in every way. I think it’s very, very encouraging and I think the areas that are concerning are areas that we can and will address, and as you can tell, we’re quite mindful of them.”
Zelnick’s mention of hardcore Civ players being a little nervous about Civ 7 at launch is no-doubt a reference to some of the dramatic changes Firaxis has made to the game.
A full campaign in Civilization 7 is one that goes through all three Ages: Antiquity, Exploration, and Modern. Once the Age is completed, all players (and any AI opponents) experience an Age Transition simultaneously. During an Age Transition, three things happen: you select a new civilization from the new Age to represent your empire, you choose which Legacies you want to retain in the new Age, and the game world evolves. The Civilization games have never had such a system. Clearly, Zelnick believes Civ fans will come to love it over time.
In the shorter term, Firaxis has work to do turning sentiment around, particularly on Steam. A game’s Steam user review rating is crucial for its success on Valve’s platform. Not only is it a very public indication of what a player base thinks of a game, but it affects visibility on Steam itself.
Photographer: Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg via Getty Images.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
Sega and Sports Interactive have officially cancelled Football Manager 25 after extensive internal discussion and careful consideration.
Sports Interactive says it’s “very sorry” to have let down fans and will now shift its focus to the next annual release. The reasoning behind this decision, although it’s not specifically mentioned, seems to be the transition to the new game engine. It was planned to be the “biggest technical and visual advancement in the series for a generation” laying the foundations for a new era.
In some surprise news in the land of Puyo Puyo, it’s today been announced the Switch eShop release Puyo Puyo Champions will be getting a hard copy here in the west.
For a limited time, Amazon has brought back one of its best power bank deals from Black Friday. The Anker Zolo 10,000mAh 30W USB Power Bank is back down to only $12.94 after you clip a 17% off coupon on the product page. This is an excellent deal for an Anker-branded 10,000mAh power bank that can fast charge a Nintendo Switch console at its maximum rate. The Zolo is compact, can completely recharge a Switch console more than once, and has a couple of unique nifty features, like a built-in USB cable and a discrete digital display. Plus, it’s decked out in pleasant pastel blue, pink, and white color schemes.
Anker Zolo 10,000mAh USB Power Bank for $12.94
There are two reasons why this power bank is a great battery backup for your Nintendo Switch console: capacity and charging rate. A 10,000mAh (37Whr) power bank can charge a Nintendo Switch OLED from completely empty to full about 1.9 times. Provided you fully charge your Switch from the get-go, that nearly triples your total playtime. At the same time, a 10,000mAh power bank still maintains a pretty small footprint; for example, this particular model is about the size of an iPhone and weighs under 8oz. The Anker Zolo power bank also boasts a 30W charging output over USB Type-C. The Nintendo Switch console accepts a maximum charging rate of 18W. That means this power bank will be able to charge your Switch at the same rate as the official Nintendo charger.
The Zolo has a built-in USB cable, however it’s not retractable. Instead, you plug it into itself so that it forms a secure loop that’s strong enough to be used like a lanyard. I have this power bank myself and I can tell you the loop is quite sturdy. There’s also a separate USB Type-C port that be used for either input or output. Finally, there’s a simple digital display that shows you the remaining battery charge as a percentage.
TSA-Approved
Note that the TSA requires all power banks to be brought in carry-on bags; power banks are not allowed in check-in regardless of capacity. The Anker power bank’s 10,000mAh capacity is well below TSA’s 27,000mAh carry-on limit, so it can be brought onto planes. It’s also low-profile enough that no one will take notice in the first place. If a TSA official actually does take the initiative to test the wattage on your power bank, you’re well in the clear.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn’t hunting for deals for other people at work, he’s hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
Hasbro has announced it will work to bring Magic: The Gathering to screens everywhere.
The Hollywood Reporter says Hasbro is working with Legendary Entertainment to create a shared Magic: The Gathering universe that will include both movies and TV shows, with the movie the first priority.
“We pride ourselves on being thoughtful caretakers of singular, beloved IP, and no property better fits that description than Magic: The Gathering,” says Legendary’s chairman of worldwide production. The studio is behind such films as Dune and the western Godzilla movies like Godzilla vs Kong, and Detective Pikachu.
While it’s not totally clear, based on the report it sounds like the movie and TV adaptations at Legendary are going to be unrelated to the Magic: The Gathering animated series announced for Netflix. Though it could also mean that plans have changed and the animated series is now part of this larger shared universe.
Magic: The Gathering is a card game created by Wizards of the Coast in 1993 and has since grown to become one of the most popular trading card games in the world. Wizards of the Coast was acquired by Hasbro in 1999.
Hasbro is no stranger to creating movie adaptations of its products, which range from G.I. Joe, Transformers, and Dungeons and Dragons. The company has several projects already in the works including new G.I. Joe movies, a new Power Rangers film, and even a Beyblade movie.
