Hello and welcome to this week's Nintendo recap. You can always expect that as we draw closer to the release of a Pokémon game that things get kind of crazy in the Nintendo world and this week has been no exception. Scarlet and Violet release next Friday but we'll go over how the games have already leaked online.
In other news, Nintendo released its most recent financial reports showing that Switch hardware hasn't sold as much as in previous quarters, but it's still doing really well. Of course, these numbers are likely to change in the coming months.
Additionally, there was also an exciting Indie Direct that gave more information on one of the most highly-anticipated indie sequels, someone impersonated Nintendo on Twitter, and much more. Without further ado, let's dive in!
Beware Pokémon Scarlet and Violet leaks
The entire Pokémon Scarlet and Violet game has already leaked online which means there are tons of spoilers on various social media platforms. Dataminers have already pulled the games apart to get all of the information regarding new Pokémon, gameplay mechanics, and Abilities on the internet. If you don't want to see these spoilers before experiencing the games yourself then you might want to mute certain keywords or avoid the internet for a few days.
Don't click on the tweet below unless you want to see spoilers.
Here's a compilation of all datamined information from Pokémon #ScarletViolet! Includes all new Pokémon, stats, abilities and moves.https://t.co/BNne53qF87November 11, 2022
We are not covering these leaks on iMore since Nintendo is very protective of its properties and would simply have us remove any images or information anyway. If however, you do want to dive into spoilers, Centro LEAKS on Twitter has a convenient compilation to look through.
Pokémon job listing for next-gen Nintendo hardware
Last weekend, u/Joseki100 on Reddit posted about a Creatures job listing spotted on Doda.jp that mentions "R&D for next generation hardware". For those who might not be aware, Creatures, Inc. owns one-third of the Pokémon franchise while Nintendo and Game Freak hold the other two-thirds, so this is legit evidence that Nintendo is already working towards future Pokémon games for future consoles. That's really not surprising considering that Pokémon games have always been popular and they've done extremely well on Nintendo Switch.
creatures_co_pok%C3%A9mon_3dcg_modeler_job_listing from r/GamingLeaksAndRumours
A next-gen Nintendo console is probably already far into design and potentially even prototyping behind the Japanese gaming company's closed doors. After all, the Switch has been out for over five years now and gaming console lifecycles tend to be between five and seven years. Perhaps we'll get news of a next-gen console within the next year or two.
Of course, Nintendo's focus has long been on making a fun and unique playing experience as we've seen time and time again like with the Nintendo Switch's hybrid design. So who knows exactly what we can expect with the console that comes after Switch. Hopefully, it will feel like the next step forward which also includes backward compatibility.
Nintendo investors report
On Tuesday, Nintendo released its latest financial reports for investors. Because of this, we now know that the Nintendo Switch has sold over 114.33 million units in its lifetime with more than 917.59 million software sales. That means it is only five million console unit sales away from Sony's PS4, which is currently the fourth best-selling gaming console in history. Considering how many Switch consoles got purchased within the last six months, it's very likely that Nintendo's hybrid will overtake the PS4 next year.
Switch hardware sales have slowed down this last quarter by 19.2%, but Nintendo cites chip shortages as part of that problem since it was unable to manufacture as many consoles. With more components getting manufactured and becoming easier to acquire, it's possible that the Switch's hardware sales will perk up in 2023. If nothing else, the launch of the highly-anticipated Pokémon Scarlet and Violet games next week is bound to lift both hardware and software sales even higher.
As part of these investor announcements, Nintendo also released an official notice stating it has established a joint venture company with DeNA Co. For any who might not be aware, DeNA has worked with Nintendo to make several mobile games in the last few years, such as Super Mario Run, Fire Emblem Heroes, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, and Mario Kart Tour. So it will be interesting to see what additional mobile games are developed for Nintendo going forward.
Sonic Frontiers reviews
Sonic Frontiers released on Tuesday and has received mostly positive reviews in general, although there have been a number of mixed responses as well. In my own Sonic Frontiers review, I noted that this is the best Sonic game in a long time as the "open-zone" exploration and throwbacks to retro levels make it quite enjoyable.
At the time of writing, the Switch version sits with a 73 Metascore and a user score of 8.8 on Metacritic. While not something that blasts gamers out of the water, it's a major improvement over the last several Sonic games, especially Sonic Forces which received abysmal scores on its release. So if you're a Sonic fan, you really ought to check his latest adventure out.
All games shown during Indie Direct
On Wednesday morning, the most recent Indie World showcase went live on YouTube and gave us a look at the exciting indie Switch games on the horizon. A total of 22 exciting titles were shown and some included insights from developers.
Arguably the most exciting news was at the very end when Sports Story, the sequel to the popular Golf Story, was shown. This sequel expands upon the original game's mechanics by quite a bit. In addition to golf, players can rise in the ranks while playing tennis, soccer, and more. Not to mention, players can go on quests, dive into dungeons, ride a train, become a detective, and engage in more RPG elements. Anyone interested won't have to wait long as it launches on Switch this December. I've personally already added it to my eShop wishlist.
Nintendo impersonated on Twitter
For anyone who hasn't been paying attention to Twitter, the social media giant has been experiencing a calamitous change since Elon Musk took control a couple of weeks ago and fired several employees. This week, Musk rolled out the controversial Twitter Blue plan, which gives accounts that shiny verified icon for $8 a month. It didn't take long for several accounts impersonating real companies to pop up and spread false information.
It's like this now, I'm sure advertisers will stick around pic.twitter.com/OE8PZxA5zxNovember 9, 2022
Nintendo of America was one of the accounts that got impersonated, although it was in a more comedic way. The imposter account posted an image of Mario flipping the bird and garnered several likes before the account was suspended.
Musk responded to these imposter accounts by tweeting that Twitter will now suspend any account that doesn't clearly specify "parody" in the name.
Switch games to play this weekend
I know we're all patiently waiting for Scarlet and Violet to launch next weekend, but some really awesome games have already become available this week. Don't miss out on these adventures.
Just one week to go!
That was a ton of news to go over and things will likely just get even crazier later this year. By this time next week, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet will have released and I'll have dived far into the adventure with my Sprigatito. We at iMore will be covering dozens of Gen 9 guides, so check back here for assistance in all kinds of areas.
Until next time.
- Rebecca Spear
