Nintendo recap: Let's discuss those Pokémon Scarlet and Violet 'leaks', Switch heat warning, and more

Hello and welcome to this week’s Nintendo recap! Things have literally been heating up this week, causing Nintendo to issue a heat warning for the Switch. Excitement for Pokémon Gen 9 has also been ramping up and several “leaks” for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet found their way online this week thanks to someone claiming to be a QA tester. 

In other news, Nintendo has made another acquisition, but it isn’t a gaming studio. Meanwhile, Pokémon Unite is celebrating its first anniversary with several new features and events. There’s plenty more to discuss so let’s dive in.   

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet 'leaks' seem to leave little left to discover

Over the last few weeks, tons of “leaks” for the upcoming Pokémon Scarlet and Violet have made their way online from someone alleging to be a QA tester. The Twitter user went by a few names, including Mr. K and Mr. Kaka, but has since deleted their account. Fortunately, others have compiled lists of their posts, so they aren't lost to the internet void.

The leaks include blurred pictures for the upcoming games, an explanation of Gen 9's gimmick, a list of Pokémon that will or won't be included, and much more. It’s gotten to the point where many people, including fellow leaker CentroLeaks on Twitter, are wondering if there is anything left to discover before the games come out this November. If you don’t want spoilers ruined for you, be careful when looking around online until then.

I don’t want to spoil anything for anyone who doesn’t want to learn more, but for those who are curious, you can learn about all of the supposed “leaks” by going to the bottom of our Pokémon Scarlet and Violet page. Remember that all leaks and rumors should be taken with a huge grain of salt. Some are outright false while others could include things that change between now and when the game launches.  

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 leaks online

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 releases next Friday, July 29, for Nintendo Switch. However, it seems the full game has already leaked online, and some people have even posted images of the physical version. This, of course, means that plot spoilers are likely to show up in various places, so be careful when browsing the internet

Pokémon Unite celebrates its first anniversary with updates and new features

That's right! The simple MOBA, Pokémon Unite, already reached its first anniversary this Thursday. To celebrate, a big update with several events was announced, including new playable Pokémon that will release every couple of weeks. Here's a breakdown of everything happening for the anniversary: 

We've been told that additional events will also be made available in September to continue the celebrations. If you haven't played in a while, you might want to jump in and see what changes have been made. Maybe at least work on getting that free Glaceon. 

Wii U and 3DS eShop closure updates

We've known for a few months now that the Wii U and 3DS eShops will close for good in 2023 and that the process would begin in mid-2022. However, this week, Nintendo of America gave us additional details on the closures.

The big takeaway is that starting Aug. 29 of this year, both eShops will no longer accept additional funds. Then, starting on March 27, 2023, both digital stores will no longer accept purchases of any kind regardless of if your account has funds. 

In a follow-up tweet, Nintendo went on to say that "even after 3/27/2023 and for the foreseeable future, it will still be possible to redownload games and DLC, receive software updates and enjoy online play on Wii U consoles and Nintendo 3DS systems."

If you've already purchased digital games on either of these stores, you should be able to redownload and play them from your account — at least for now. Nintendo could eventually shut down these remaining services, including online play, making it impossible to redownload purchased games or play online multiplayer on Wii U and 3DS. This is the problem with games existing online. They can be taken away from us even if we purchased them.

Daisy and Shy Guy join Mario Strikers: Battle League with first free update

Before Mario Strikers: Battle League was released on Switch in June, many players were upset to find that Princess Daisy was not on the roster. This situation has been rectified with the game's first free update, which brought the princess and Shy Guy to the field as playable characters on Friday. Additionally, the update provides new equipable Knight-Themed Gear and a dry Desert Ruin Stadium to play in. 

Nintendo of Europe also tweeted a roadmap, which revealed two additional updates that will come to the game sometime in 2022. We do not know the exact dates for these updates, nor do we know what features they will bring. However, we know that "new characters, stadiums, and gear sets" will be included. 

There are several notable characters from past games who are still not on the roster, such as Birdo, Diddy Kong, and Petey Piranha. It will be interesting to see what additional characters and locations will come to the crazy soccer game in the coming months. 

Nintendo veteran becomes PlatinumGames' new vice president

In a surprising bit of news this week from Famitsu, (thanks to Siliconera), we learned that Takao Yamane, who previously worked at Nintendo for over 27 years in roles such as the managing director of Nintendo of Europe, has been hired as PlatinumGames' new vice president and chief business officer. It's expected that this new position will bring "significant change" to the gaming company.  

PlatinumGames is known for creating titles like Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, Nier: Automata, and Astral Chain, but it doesn't own the rights to many of the hit games it has produced. Even the upcoming Bayonetta 3, which releases for Switch on Oct. 28, belongs to Nintendo and not PlatinumGames. It seems that Yamane coming to the company is meant to fix this with future projects. 

Currently, the company is working on Project G.G., which is larger in scope, has been funded by Tencent, and will belong 100% to PlatinumGames. We also know that the company is working on several other projects that belong to other publishers. 

According to Famitsu (thanks to Nibel on Twitter), Yamane will be in charge of the publishing division while the company aims to hire significantly more staff and work to publish more of its own projects. Hopefully, Yamane's presence will help guide this project in a direction that will be beneficial for the company. 

Nintendo acquires Dynamo Pictures

Nintendo has acquired three studios this year Next Level Games, SRD, and, now, Dynamo Pictures, as reported by NintendoLife. According to the official document, the Dynamo Pictures acquisition was made to strengthen visual content. 

"Nintendo has decided to acquire 100% of the outstanding shares (excluding treasury shares) of Dynamo Pictures and make it a wholly owned subsidiary to strengthen the planning and production structure of visual content in the Nintendo Group," the document read.

Dynamo Pictures has previously worked with Nintendo to create Pikmin Short Movies and has a long repertoire of shorts for various franchises, including Monster Hunter World, Death Stranding, and more. It's also done a lot of work with motion capture, which means that these same abilities will transfer to the new Nintendo Pictures.

Nintendo is already partnering with Illumination Entertainment to bring the Super Mario Bros. movie starring Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, and more to theaters next spring. Having its own studio could give Nintendo additional liberty to produce the shows and movies it wants. 

We'll be on the lookout for what the Japanese gaming company has in store for Dynamo Pictures once it officially changes to Nintendo Pictures. With any luck, we’ll hear about some projects for The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, or other franchises that haven’t gotten a lot of good representation in non-gaming media recently. The acquisition is currently set to finalize on Oct. 3, 2022.

Nintendo issues heat warning for Switch and Switch OLED

You’re probably aware of the massive global heat wave breaking records and causing problems this summer. This includes Japan, which is experiencing the worst heat ever recorded. 

In response to these extreme temperatures, Nintendo took to social media to warn its Japanese players not to use any Switch device in temperatures hotter than 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit). Doing so can cause the air intake and exhaust vents to get blocked and lead to the console getting hotter internally, leading to potential damages. 

This same heat warning was not relayed through other Nintendo Twitter accounts, but it's still good to be aware of regardless of where you live. Make sure to drink plenty of water during these sweltering months and only use your console in more moderate temperatures to keep it operating smoothly.

What to play on Switch this weekend 

Square Enix’s remake of the SNES game, Live A Live, hit store shelves on Friday. It’s a great match for anyone who loves classic JRPGs and that beautifully iconic HD-2D art style. Our own Miles Dompier is playing it this weekend and will write his thoughts up sometime soon.

While not available to play until October, the Bayonetta 3 Trinity Masquerade Edition is finally available for preorder. This special edition sells for $90 and comes with a 200-page art book and three alternative box covers that work together to create a panoramic picture. It's a great buy for any Bayonetta fans out there. 

Until next time. 

- Rebecca Spear