Nintendo Says It’s ‘Difficult’ to Make All the Sequels Fans Ask For

Nintendo appreciates its passionate and patient fan base, but says it's difficult to make (and remake) all the games it's asked for.

At the company's annual general meeting (independently translated by IGN), Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa was asked if there were any plans to release remakes or new entries in long-dormant franchises such as F-Zero.

"In truth, it is difficult to fulfil all the requests we receive for new titles, remakes, or sequels in Nintendo series," he said. "That said, we are grateful to our fans and their patience in these matters."

Another Nintendo executive, Shinya Takahashi, also weighed in, saying that making fun games was always the priority, whether that comes through a remake, sequel, fresh franchise, or whatever else.

"We always take a broad perspective, looking at ways to make new and remake titles enjoyable for as many people as possible," he said. "Previously, at the 79th Annual General Meeting of Shareholders (held in 2019), we were asked if we had any plans to remake the “NES Detective Club” series, and it so happened that we were planning a remake in that series.

"We cannot comment on plans regarding remakes of specific titles, but we are always considering various possibilities in our development efforts so that our customers can enjoy our games."

Remakes of Nintendo games aren't uncommon, of course, with Pokémon perhaps headlining its efforts in that department - most recently with Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. As it stands, however, a bundle of the first two Advance Wars games is the only remake in development that we know of.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

EA Makes Fun of Single Player Games – The Internet Does Not React Kindly

A joke made by EA's official Twitter account making fun of single player games did not go well for the company – and the internet's reaction forced the company to address its mistake.

Getting on board with a popular meme, EA tweeted (below) "they're a 10 but they only like playing single-player games". The tweet in itself was a little odd, given that EA itself publishes plenty of single player games including Mass Effect: Legendary Edition, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, and The Sims 4, but what started as perhaps just a poorly-chosen joke escalated once the post gained traction.

Twitter users, including the head of EA's Respawn Entertainment Vince Zampella, YouTuber Jacksepticeye, and the Game Awards host Geoff Keighley all shared in the disparagement in the replies, while plenty of others made fun of and criticised EA in retaliation.

Some tweets compared Jedi Fallen Order with EA's multiplayer Star Wars game, Battlefront II – which was heavily criticised when it was launched for its microtransactions and loot box system – while others pointed out that EA has recently announced a remake of the (single player) Dead Space and (another single player game) Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.

The mostly negative 10,000 quote tweets and nearly 9,000 replies prompted EA itself to acknowledge the blunder. Four hours after the original post, the company tweeted: "Roast well deserved. We’ll take this L cause playing single player games actually makes them an 11."

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

EA Makes Fun of Single Player Games – The Internet Does Not React Kindly

A joke made by EA's official Twitter account making fun of single player games did not go well for the company – and the internet's reaction forced the company to address its mistake.

Getting on board with a popular meme, EA tweeted (below) "they're a 10 but they only like playing single-player games". The tweet in itself was a little odd, given that EA itself publishes plenty of single player games including Mass Effect: Legendary Edition, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, and The Sims 4, but what started as perhaps just a poorly-chosen joke escalated once the post gained traction.

Twitter users, including the head of EA's Respawn Entertainment Vince Zampella, YouTuber Jacksepticeye, and the Game Awards host Geoff Keighley all shared in the disparagement in the replies, while plenty of others made fun of and criticised EA in retaliation.

Some tweets compared Jedi Fallen Order with EA's multiplayer Star Wars game, Battlefront II – which was heavily criticised when it was launched for its microtransactions and loot box system – while others pointed out that EA has recently announced a remake of the (single player) Dead Space and (another single player game) Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.

The mostly negative 10,000 quote tweets and nearly 9,000 replies prompted EA itself to acknowledge the blunder. Four hours after the original post, the company tweeted: "Roast well deserved. We’ll take this L cause playing single player games actually makes them an 11."

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Nintendo Has Launched a Switch Repair Subscription in Japan

Update: Nintendo has provided the following statement to IGN: “This service is available only in Japan. We have nothing to announce regarding the development of similar services outside Japan.”

Nintendo has launched a Switch repair subscription service in Japan that costs the equivalent of around $18 / £15 a year.

As reported by VGC, Wide Care covers all Nintendo Switch hardware (standard and Lite) plus Joy-Con controllers, the TV dock and AC adapters for any natural breakdowns or accidental damage. The service costs ¥200 (around $1.50 / £1.25) a month and entitles subscribers to up to six repairs a year, including two hardware repairs with costs covered up to ¥100,000 ($739 / £615).

Nintendo has only announced the subscription service for Japan so far but IGN has asked the company if it plans to bring Wide Care to other regions.

While the Nintendo Switch hardware itself has proven fairly sturdy, the same cannot be said for the Joy-Con controllers, which have become infamous for their "Joy-Con drift" that the company hasn't been able to properly address in the Switch's five years on the market.

It announced a free repair service for this specific issue back in 2019 but it recently materialised that the repair centres themselves were so overwhelmed that mistakes were made when the controllers were meant to be fixed. The issue is so persistent that Nintendo has faced several lawsuits as a result of its Joy-Con malfunctions.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Nintendo Has Launched a Switch Repair Subscription in Japan

Nintendo has launched a Switch repair subscription service in Japan that costs the equivalent of around $18 / £15 a year.

As reported by VGC, Wide Care covers all Nintendo Switch hardware (standard and Lite) plus Joy-Con controllers, the TV dock and AC adapters for any natural breakdowns or accidental damage. The service costs ¥200 (around $1.50 / £1.25) a month and entitles subscribers to up to six repairs a year, including two hardware repairs with costs covered up to ¥100,000 ($739 / £615).

Nintendo has only announced the subscription service for Japan so far but IGN has asked the company if it plans to bring Wide Care to other regions.

While the Nintendo Switch hardware itself has proven fairly sturdy, the same cannot be said for the Joy-Con controllers, which have become infamous for their "Joy-Con drift" that the company hasn't been able to properly address in the Switch's five years on the market.

It announced a free repair service for this specific issue back in 2019 but it recently materialised that the repair centres themselves were so overwhelmed that mistakes were made when the controllers were meant to be fixed. The issue is so persistent that Nintendo has faced several lawsuits as a result of its Joy-Con malfunctions.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Robots Could Be Umpiring MLB Games as Early as 2024

The MLB could introduce "robot umpire" systems as early as 2024 according to commissioner Rob Manfred.

While this conjures images of C-3PO style bots taking to the field, it's instead baseball's automated ball strike-zone system, more akin to goal-line technology in soccer.

In an interview with ESPN, Manfred addressed fan concerns over the length of stoppages in MLB games caused by video-replay reviews of umpire calls. He appeared fairly confident that the technology is ready, saying simply that "we have an automated strike zone system that works", and could be introduced as early as 2024.

The automated robot system would seek to speed up the process in a number of potential ways. It's currently being tested in minor league games and has reduced the time of games by an average of nine minutes so far.

One example given would see the technology call every pitch and transmit the balls and strikes to the home play umpire via an ear piece.

Managers may also get a set number of challenges each game, somewhat similar to the coach's challenge system in the NBA, in which a replay review system of balls and strikes would then be used.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Thumbnail credit: Chuck Savage/Getty Images.

Robots Could Be Umpiring MLB Games as Early as 2024

The MLB could introduce "robot umpire" systems as early as 2024 according to commissioner Rob Manfred.

While this conjures images of C-3PO style bots taking to the field, it's instead baseball's automated ball strike-zone system, more akin to goal-line technology in soccer.

In an interview with ESPN, Manfred addressed fan concerns over the length of stoppages in MLB games caused by video-replay reviews of umpire calls. He appeared fairly confident that the technology is ready, saying simply that "we have an automated strike zone system that works", and could be introduced as early as 2024.

The automated robot system would seek to speed up the process in a number of potential ways. It's currently being tested in minor league games and has reduced the time of games by an average of nine minutes so far.

One example given would see the technology call every pitch and transmit the balls and strikes to the home play umpire via an ear piece.

Managers may also get a set number of challenges each game, somewhat similar to the coach's challenge system in the NBA, in which a replay review system of balls and strikes would then be used.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Thumbnail credit: Chuck Savage/Getty Images.

Bethesda Keeps Offering Jobs to Fallout London Modders

The team behind Fallout 4's DLC-sized mod, Fallout London, has certainly caught the eye of Bethesda as the developer keeps offering its members jobs.

The Fallout London Twitter page shared an update (below), which explained that lead technical adviser Ryan Johnson would be leaving the modding team to start working for Bethesda. This marks the second time (that we know of) the developer has hired straight from the Fallout London team after lead writer, Stephanie Zachariadis was also hired by Bethesda in August 2021.

Not only that, but Fallout London's project manager Dean Carter was also offered a position at Bethesda's UK office to work on Fallout 76, though they declined in order to see the mod's development through to the end.

The post said development would not be impacted by the departure of Johnson, meaning it should still be on track for its recently announced 2023 release window. "We have known about this move for a while and thus [Johnson] has helped collate his knowledge into invaluable design documentation so the rest of the team can work on in his stead seamlessly," it said.

"More so, [Johnson] finished all of his expected level design tasks as well as a few extra ones we didn't expect him to do. The man's professionalism and dedication will honestly and truly be missed and felt throughout the team, however it brings us hand on heart joy to know that he will be taking his amazing talents to a company we all love."

Fallout: London - which lets players explore the British capital post-apocalypse - is likely the only taste of the franchise (albeit unofficially) that fans will get for a long time. Director Todd Howard revealed recently that Fallout 5 is planned to be released after the Elder Scrolls VI, which is likely still years away given it was put to one side while Bethesda focuses on its space RPG Starfield.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Bethesda Keeps Offering Jobs to Fallout London Modders

The team behind Fallout 4's DLC-sized mod, Fallout London, has certainly caught the eye of Bethesda as the developer keeps offering its members jobs.

The Fallout London Twitter page shared an update (below), which explained that lead technical adviser Ryan Johnson would be leaving the modding team to start working for Bethesda. This marks the second time (that we know of) the developer has hired straight from the Fallout London team after lead writer, Stephanie Zachariadis was also hired by Bethesda in August 2021.

Not only that, but Fallout London's project manager Dean Carter was also offered a position at Bethesda's UK office to work on Fallout 76, though they declined in order to see the mod's development through to the end.

The post said development would not be impacted by the departure of Johnson, meaning it should still be on track for its recently announced 2023 release window. "We have known about this move for a while and thus [Johnson] has helped collate his knowledge into invaluable design documentation so the rest of the team can work on in his stead seamlessly," it said.

"More so, [Johnson] finished all of his expected level design tasks as well as a few extra ones we didn't expect him to do. The man's professionalism and dedication will honestly and truly be missed and felt throughout the team, however it brings us hand on heart joy to know that he will be taking his amazing talents to a company we all love."

Fallout: London - which lets players explore the British capital post-apocalypse - is likely the only taste of the franchise (albeit unofficially) that fans will get for a long time. Director Todd Howard revealed recently that Fallout 5 is planned to be released after the Elder Scrolls VI, which is likely still years away given it was put to one side while Bethesda focuses on its space RPG Starfield.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Lena Headey Was Cut from Thor 4 – and Is Apparently Being Sued for It

Lena Headey is reportedly being sued by her former agency for $1.5 million over unpaid commission fees relating to several projects, including her cut Thor: Love and Thunder role.

Variety reports that U.K. agency Troika, who previously represented Headey, has filed a lawsuit against the actor over outstanding commission fees connected to multiple projects. The agency is seeking $1.5 million in total, which includes $500,000 - around 7% of her fee - for her earnings on Thor 4, though she does not appear in the final cut of the Marvel movie.

According to court documents obtained by the outlet, Headey joined Troika in 2005 and remained on their books until 2020, the same year the agency rebranded as YMU. However, the company claims that Headey owes them a hefty commission under the terms of their agreement, while Headey alleges that she never actually signed a contract with Troika.

Headey also claims that Troika was not involved in the negotiations regarding her now-axed role on Thor: Love and Thunder, as director Taika Waititi personally reached out to her about the part. In addition to her MCU fees, the agency is said to be seeking at least $300,000 from her lead role on 9 Bullets, and $650,000 for her titular role on scrapped Showtime series Rita.

Headey has allegedly disputed all of Troika's claims for these commission fees in her legal filings, asserting that the agency has been correctly paid up for the projects they had a hand in while they represented her. It's also noted that Troika wasn't her sole agent and therefore didn't lead all negotiations because she was simultaneously signed with CAA in the U.S.

It's unclear why Headey's role was cut from Marvel's upcoming Thor: Love and Thunder, but she wasn't the only actor to have scenes removed during post-production. Christian Bale recently told Prensa Escenario that he had filmed scenes with Peter Dinklage's dwarf king Eitri, and Jeff Goldblum's Grandmaster, but both encounters ended up as deleted scenes.

In addition to these cut cameos, some scenes with the existing cast also ended up on the cutting room floor. Bale, who will be making his MCU debut as Gorr the God Butcher in Thor: Love and Thunder, said that one scene was excluded because it was deemed a little "too extreme" for the movie, while plans for a Kate Bush dance scene also never came to fruition.

Thor: Love and Thunder will release on July 8 and sees Chris Hemsworth's character take on Gorr with the help of Natalie Portman's Jane Foster, who will wield the Mjolnir as Mighty Thor.

Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.