Nintendo Says It’s ‘Focusing’ on Existing Switch Models, Rather Than Potential Switch Pro
Nintendo is focusing on existing Switch models rather than the heavily-rumored Switch Pro, according to Nintendo of America president Doug Bowser.
In a new interview with Polygon, Bowser touched on the rumors of a Switch Pro and whether or not the company is looking at a refreshed Switch with more powerful hardware down the line. He said the success of the current models, the Switch and the Switch Lite, allow the company to view life cycles differently and that Nintendo's focus is on the momentum of those models at the moment.
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"It allows us to manage the life cycle differently, I would say," Bowser told Polygon when asked about the success of the Switch and whether or not it gives the company time for a model refresh if needed. "I think that's the easiest way to put it. Right now, with the momentum that we have, our focus will be on the existing form factors."
Bowser also spoke to the rumors that Nintendo may be holding back certain yet-to-come titles for a rumored Switch Pro model and according to the Nintendo of America president, the company is currently leaning into what it sees as a "very strong lineup for this holiday." He also said Nintendo will continue to release content on a "regular cadence year-round" and that there's a lot more to come that will be released when it's ready.
When pressed further by Polygon about a future hardware refresh, Bowser said Nintendo is changing the trajectory of the console life cycle with the Switch.
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"However, we also see right now [...] that the momentum on Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch Lite in the fourth year is strong," he said. "And we believe we're changing the trajectory of another typical console life cycle. And we will continue, for the foreseeable future, to really lean into both of those platforms and the content that comes with it, because it's the symbiotic relationship that makes the real difference. And it's why Nintendo Switch is so differentiated."
Bowser also said the company is always looking at technology and whether or not it can "enhance and improve the gameplay experience." Whether that can be done on a current platform or a future one, Nintendo is always looking into it, he said.
The rumors of a Switch Pro began in 2019 where it was believed by some that the Pro could arrive in 2020, but Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa said back in January that the company would not release a new Switch model in 2020. Then, in August, a new report claimed that a new Switch model — believed to be the Pro — would launch in 2021. Bowser's comments could seem to contradict that report so we'll have to wait and see what 2021 brings.
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Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes.
Nightwing: Injustice Creative Team Charts a New Direction for Dick Grayson in 2021
DC's monthly Nightwing comic will resume in March 2021, and it's got quite the creative team attached. Injustice: Gods Among Us and Suicide Squad's Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo will take over the series beginning with Nightwing #78.
Though DC isn't relaunching Nightwing with a new #1 issue, the series will still offer a fresh jumping-on point, as Dick Grayson forges a new path for himself following the events of Joker War and recovering from his amnesia. Taylor and Redondo's run will focus heavily on the dynamic between Nightwing and Batgirl, and also deal with Dick's struggle to accept the fact that a relative of Tony Zucco (the mobster who murdered his parents) is now mayor of Bludhaven.
Check out the slideshow gallery below for a closer look at Nightwing #78 and Dick Grayson's new three-legged canine sidekick, and then read on for exclusive commentary from Taylor:
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"I’ve always been a huge Nightwing fan (despite, awkwardly, killing him twice in DCeased and Injustice)," Taylor told IGN. "Having been a professional juggler, performer, and fire-eater, and having spent years doing circus training, I like to think I have a pretty unique perspective on Dick Grayson. I’ve always considered Nightwing an A-list DC hero. This series is about showing that. It’s about putting Dick Grayson back on that pedestal where he belongs."
Taylor continued, "While there’s definitely an evolution here, it’s an evolution built on embracing the past. It’s about taking everything Bruno Redondo, [colorist] Adriano Lucas, [letterer] Wes Abbott, [editor] Jessica Chen and I love about Nightwing, and testing him in a completely new way. It’s about seeing how Dick reacts when faced with impossible odds, and with the life-changing opportunity that comes his way in our very first issue. Also… it’s about giving him a puppy."
Taylor also confirmed the Batgirl in question is Barbara Gordon. Barbara is going through changes of her own in the aftermath of Joker War, and the series will feature her both as Batgirl and Oracle.
"I’ve always loved their relationship," said Taylor. "There aren’t many characters who know each other so well. They’ve been through so much together, respect each other, and have always been there to support one another. They’re not Batman and Robin. There’s no side-kick here. They’re equals in every way and Babs will be a big part of our story, as Batgirl and as Oracle. Bruno and I have told some huge stories with giant casts between Injustice, Star Wars and Suicide Squad, and we’re very excited to focus on a smaller cast and imbue this book with as much heart and hope as we can."
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Despite the more intimate approach to the series, Taylor teases some big conflicts to come for Dick and Barbara, as well as a bit of interplay with the other titles in the Batman family.
"We have a big story planned for Nightwing, and it’s all centered in Blüdhaven," said Taylor. "This is about Nightwing’s home, not Batman’s. This is about Dick’s crusade and the people beside him as he pushes against the impossible. It’s about him fighting for the soul of his city. While his past will come back to haunt him with the name ‘Zucco’, this is definitely a story for the future. Some life-changing and character-defining events are coming for Dick Grayson."
Taylor continued, "All that said, everyone in the Gotham group are keeping in close contact with regular face-to-face meetings, and we have big plans for 2021 and beyond. It was great to see some of my favorite people in comics at our first Bat-meeting. This is a group of people with good hearts who love comics and are going to be telling some brilliant bat-stories. I’m really honored to join them and to be a part of the Bat-family’s future."
Nightwing #78 will hit stores in March 2021.
In other recent DC news, Joker is getting his first ongoing series in 45 years and Brian Michael Bendis may be taking over Justice League. Also be sure to check out IGN's nominees for the best comic book series of 2020 and vote in our reader's choice poll.
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Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.
Shadow and Bone: Netflix Announces New Original Series Premiering April 2021
Netflix has announced that Shadow and Bone, a new original series, will premiere globally on the streamer in April 2021.
Based on Leigh Bardugo's worldwide bestselling Grishaverse novels, the series will explore a world that is cleaved in two by a massive barrier of perpetual darkness, where unnatural creatures feast on human flesh, and a young soldier uncovers a power that might finally unite her country, though it may take more than magic to survive, as dangerous forces start to plot against her.
Jessie Mei Li will star as Alina Starkov, the central protagonist, alongside Archie Renaux as Malyen Oretsev, Freddy Carter as Kaz Brekker, Amita Suman as Inej, Kit Young as Jesper Fahey, and Ben Barnes who will portray General Kirigan in the upcoming series, which is coming from Shawn Levy's 21 Laps Entertainment, together with Eric Heisserer, Leigh Bardugo, Pouya Shahbazian, and Lee Toland Krieger.
The eight-episode series will combine the Shadow and Bone trilogy and the Six of Crows duology, both of which exist in the same universe, but take place across different timelines, meaning that fans of the fantasy book series' will be able to witness the two stories come together to form a new cohesive narrative, with "certain characters meeting certain other characters" from the two different timelines. "We've taken the stories of Shadow and Bone and the characters of Six of Crows and we've brought them together in what I think will be a really unexpected way," Bardugo said of the upcoming Shadow and Bone series. "Eric [Heisserer] and our writers' room and our directors have built something entirely new that still somehow stays true to the characters and to the heart of the stories. "Eric took two fantasy series — with powers and creatures and horrors and heists — and molded them into this cohesive, incredible thing. I don't think I could've been more lucky in the person that we found to hand the keys over to. It wasn't just the keys to a book or one series, it was a whole world I had been working on for the better part of my career." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/04/new-to-netflix-december-2020"] Bardugo, the bestselling author of the two fantasy book series' on which the Netflix series is based, also explained why she thinks the show will appeal to both longtime fans of the books as well as brand new viewers, saying that audiences are going to "encounter a world that feels fully realized" yet unlike "any place they've been before." "When I was on set, I didn't want to leave. I wanted to stay in that world longer," she said. "When you start an endeavor like this, you don't know what's going to happen. To have your expectations surpassed, to see magic on top of magic, and to see things come to life in a way that is bigger and more beautiful than you ever could have hoped, it's impossible to fathom." Over the years, Netflix has garnered a reputation for spending enormous amounts of money to secure original streaming content for its platform in a bid to stay ahead of its competitors in the increasingly crowded streaming landscape. In fact, it was projected earlier this year that Netflix would be spending $17.3 billion on new content for 2020, up from $15.3 billion last year. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-10-best-reviewed-shows-on-netflix-in-2020&captions=true"] For more on Netflix's entertainment offerings, check out everything that is new to the platform this month. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.You and I are going to change the world. Shadow and Bone is coming April 2021, only on Netflix. pic.twitter.com/5Z8cONCdJD
— NX (@NXOnNetflix) December 17, 2020
Devotion Developer Responds to GOG Announcing and Pulling the Game
Update: Red Candle Games says it "won't stop striving" after GOG unexpectedly delists Devotion.
New Among Us Airship Map Playable on Switch Through Glitch
A glitch is letting Nintendo Switch Among Us players try the new Airship map early.
As we can see in this GameXplain video, there's a trick Nintendo Switch players can use to tour the new map early, even though it isn't necessarily in a playable state.
Here's how to do it, step-by-step:
- Hit 'Local' on the main menu and create your own game
- Select the 'Airship' map via the laptop
- Exit the lobby, then hit 'Online' and host a room without choosing a map
- You can then load into the Airship map once four players join
Hades Now Has Cross-Save Between Switch and PC
Supergiant Games has announced that Hades now supports cross-save between PC and Nintendo Switch.
In an announcement tweet, the developer revealed that the system is now live and allows both to and from saves between platforms, meaning you can interchange between Switch and PC at will and continue playing the same save file. When quitting the game, your PC client (Steam or Epic Game Store) or Switch will sync your save with the cloud, allowing it to then be used on another platform. It has been noted that if you have separate saves on PC and Switch, and they are both in the same slot, then it would be wise to transfer your PC save to a different slot. This is to prevent one save overwriting another and deleting one of your progress files. You can transfer your PC save to a different slot by renaming the save file, for example from Profile1.sav to Profile2.sav. These files will be stored in a folder on your PC - usually the Saved Games folder in Documents - but this may vary depending on how you customized your installation. Full details are in the Help & Info section of the cross-save menu. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/09/17/hades-review"] If you've not begun your descent into hell in Hades, then we highly recommend it. Our Hades review gave it a big 9/10, and we love it enough for it to be in the running for IGN's Game of the Year 2020. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer.Hermes is here with some good news: Our Cross-Saves update for HADES is out now on Nintendo Switch!
Please read the in-game Help & Info section for details. This update also includes various other improvements from our post-launch PC patches. #HadesGame #NintendoSwitch pic.twitter.com/UgwBRQsUOo — Supergiant Games (@SupergiantGames) December 16, 2020
Google Stadia Is Now Playable on iPhone and iPad
Google Stadia is now playable on iPhone and iPad through the Safari web browser.
iOS users with the latest system firmware can head to Stadia.Google.com, log in to their account and start playing, regardless of whether they are on a free or paid subscription to Google's game streaming service.
On the Stadia homepage in Safari, it's recommended that users tap the share button and then tap 'Add to Home Screen' so that it functions more like a web app and less like a browser page when you open it from the home page of your iOS device.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/15/cyberpunk-2077-21-minutes-of-google-stadia-gameplay-1080p-settings"] This is the first time Google Stadia games have been playable on iOS devices since the launch of the service in November 2019. The Stadia app has been available on iOS for some time, but it only lets users set up an account or manage settings while they play. Google has been hamstrung by Apple's App Store Game Streaming Services policy, which is why it is using a web app as a workaround, rather than delivering functionality to the app itself. In other Google news, Gmail, YouTube, Pokemon GO, Google Docs, Stadia and more Google services briefly suffered an outage earlier this week. If you're interested in checking the service out, Cyberpunk 2077 is available on Google Stadia right now. Here are 21 minutes of gameplay at 1080p. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.Stadia is now available on iOS devices! Yes, you read that right. Starting today, you can sign into https://t.co/AoYhdVnzGu on your Safari iOS browser and begin playing your favorite games. Try it for yourself today! pic.twitter.com/iQhoAu8NtX
— Stadia (@GoogleStadia) December 16, 2020
Full Details on Cyberpunk 2077 Content For PC Version of Death Stranding
IGN can exclusively announce the full details about Kojima Productions' released free, PC-exclusive Cyberpunk 2077 content for Death Stranding, which is available in-game today – and it's more than just cosmetics.
If you're running game version 1.05, you'll be able to access new missions, featuring Cyberpunk characters and lore (although we're not sure which ones right now), as well as access new equipment - both game-changing and cosmetic.
Check out a trailer below, and read on for a full list of equipment additions:
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Cyberpunk 2077 / Death Stranding Crossover Content
The crossover adds a new Hacking function that allows you to disable MULE sensor poles, stun enemies with Odradeks, and short circuit enemy vehicles. You'll also be able to unlock the following: • Cyberpunk 2077-themed Reverse Trike vehicle. • “Johnny Arm” modeled after Johnny Silverhand’s robotic arm that can be equipped and used in game. • New holograms and a “Trauma Team” floating vehicle hologram for certain constructions. • Several fashion items, including Johnny Silverhand’s sunglasses. Check out images of some of the new additions in the gallery below: [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=death-stranding-cyberpunk-2077-crossover-screenshots&captions=true"] This content is PC exclusive, and no indication has been given that it will arrive in the PS4 version of the game. It follows the Half-Life: Alyx crossover that came alongside the Death Stranding PC release earlier this year. The crossover is perhaps not a huge surprise, given that Cyberpunk studio CD Projekt Red scanned Hideo Kojima as an in-game model earlier this year - having him sir on the very bike design the legendary developer has now added to his own game, no less. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.Overwatch 2 Update Announced for BlizzCon Online In February
If you’re eagerly anticipating Overwatch 2 you’re only going to have to wait a few more months as Overwatch director Jeff Kaplan confirmed an Overwatch 2 update is scheduled for BlizzCon Online in February.
In a quick, new developer update Kaplan confirmed that Overwatch fans will learn more about the upcoming sequel at BlizzCon Online which takes place on February 19th-20th. The two-day event is an all-digital replacement for the company’s annual BlizzCon, which is typically a live fan event in Anaheim, California.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Blizzard announced that it will skip its physical event in 2020, and host an all-digital alternative in 2021. Other conventions such as GDC and PAX also moved online this year as a result of the pandemic.
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Overwatch 2 is a sequel to Blizzard’s competitive PvP shooter that will expand the lore and universe with a story-focused PvE mode. There will also be new competitive maps, modes, and heroes, but these additions will also be coming to the first Overwatch for free.
The rest of Kaplan’s developer update is focused on a new free-for-all deathmatch map called Kanezaka. Based on a Japanese location, Kanezaka is a free map currently available for testing on the PTR. Overwatch’s Winter Wonderland 2020 event is also ongoing and will last until January 5.
Read IGN's Overwatch 2 hands-on preview here.
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Matt T.M. Kim is a reporter for IGN.
Everything Coming to Disney+ in January 2021
Kicking off the new year, Disney+'s January 2021 lineup includes the series premiere of Marvel's WandaVision on January 15. In case you missed it, Disney conjured up a new trailer for WandaVision during an investor call, along with the first trailer for Loki and the full trailer and release date for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. For more, we have a rundown of every cast member and character in WandaVision right here. Plus, Disney+ is releasing another new series on January 8, titled Legends, which will showcase the "most iconic moments from the MCU, one character at a time," beginning with Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany).
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The streamer is also dropping The Wolverine starring Hugh Jackman on January 1, Emily Blunt's Mary Poppins Returns on January 15, and all four seasons of the beloved '90s sitcom Dinosaurs on January 29.
Check out the slideshow gallery below for a spotlight of some of the most notable January Disney+ releases, followed by the full list:
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Friday, January 1
- 700 Sharks
- Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who!
- Great Shark Chow Down
- Mega Hammerhead
- Mr. Popper’s Penguins
- Wolverine, The (2013)
- Earth to Ned (All 10 episodes)
- Extras - Beyond the Clouds: A Firm Handshake
Friday, January 8
- Disney Fam Jam
- Ferdinand
- Star Wars Forces of Destiny: Volume 1
- Star Wars Forces of Destiny: Volume 2
- Star Wars Forces of Destiny: Volume 3
- Star Wars Forces of Destiny: Volume 4
- Toy Story That Time Forgot
- Extras - Beyond the Clouds: The Anatomy of Emotion
- Marvel Studios: Legends
Friday, January 15
- Disney Elena of Avalor (s3)
- Doctor Doolittle 3
- Isle of Dogs
- Mary Poppins Returns
- WandaVision, Episode 1
- Extras - Beyond the Clouds: The Concert of a Lifetime
Friday, January 22
- Wild Uganda
- Pixar Popcorn
- WandaVision, Episode 2
- Extras - Beyond the Clouds: The Finishing Touches
Friday, January 29
- Dinosaurs (season 1)
- Dinosaurs (season 2)
- Dinosaurs (season 3)
- Dinosaurs (season 4)
- Epic
- The Incredible Dr. Pol
- Ramona and Beezus
- Texas Storm Squad
- WandaVision, Episode 3
- Extras - Beyond the Clouds: A Promise Kept