Hey Fang Gamers!
Just here to give you a Nintendo 2022 Wrap-Up recap from our friends over at Nintendo. Here is a review of the content covered in the conversation had by member's of Nintendo's team: Ollie Reynolds, Staff Writer; Gavin Lane, Editor; and Allana Hagues, Staff Writer. I think we can all agree that 2022 was an eventful year in gaming and especially back at Nintendo, where we saw two major Pokémon titles launched and the delay of a big game, Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. But as we know, the devil is in the details, so let's dive in!
In January, it was mentioned that we saw Microsoft make a move to acquire Activision Blizzard. Seems like the smaller companies are getting sopped up, as this has been a year of acquisitions, Hagues points out. Not too long ago, MS made a 10-year commitment to bring Call of Duty over to the Switch platform. After years of seemingly ignoring Nintendo, it seems like a ballsy claim. I personally hope they can do it. We will see.
February raised us the announcement that 3DS and Wii U e-shops would be closing down. Allana pointed out how this is a real unfortunate downfall of digital-only stuff. A February Nintento Direct also brought attention to rumors of the announcement of Mother 3 and Earthbounds "Out Now" on NSO.
Moving on to March... we got the news that BoTW's sequel (then known as BoTW 2) was being pushed back on it's release to May 2023. But, I mean... are we really surprised? I was not a big fan of the BoTW game, but that does not make me any less curious about its highly anticipated sequel. Reynolds even pointed out that it's pushback cemented Elden Ring's eventual win of GOTY for 2022. Welp! No Zelda, but we did get a true Kirby 3D game! And I hear it is an absolute treat.
April brought us some Sonic stuff! We got to see Sonic Origins and the second Sonic movie launched in the US. Jumping into June and we have another Nintendo Direct: Mini Partner Showcase. In this showcase, we got to get the 411 on the releases of Persona, Return to Monkey Island and Nier Armata.
July really turned on the summer fun with Live A Live and Xenoblade Chronicles 3. What is so special about XC3 is that its original launch was projected for September. The early release was certainly a treat! Alana mentioned that it came out without any major hitches (ignoring the special edition fiasco). And she says there is more XC3 to come in 2023!
August was quiet but September brought Splatoon 3. Reynolds said they questioned whether or not it was necessary to launch, but millions of sales later and I think all doubt it removed!
October was all about Bayonetta 3 (ya'll know about the drama with the Bayonetta team and the original voice actress, Hellena Taylor? No? Here ya go!) We also got Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope and Persona 5. Oo oo! And we can't forget the new Mario Movie trailer. (I have never witnessed so much hoopla over an animated booty).
Navigating November with Sonic Frontiers and Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. There's quite a bit of controversy around the new Pokémon releases. Hagues went on to detail that they have huge problems that aren't related to the Switch hardware. It seems that the Pokémon franchise is haunted with technical issues on the Switch.
There was a quick mention of some releases for next year announced at Summer Game Fest: Hades II (YES PLEASE!), Bayonetta Prequel, Hellboy (inspired by Mike Mignola's original art) and Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster. Some may look on the surface and not see the success of the year Nintendo has carried. It absolutely has been up and down, but overall there has been a staggering amount of software changes, hardware work and adjustments and game releases. All without mentioning the Switch Pro 2...
BUT! I'll leave that to you all to discuss in the comments! That's a wrap on the recap!
Sink Your Teeth Into The Game,
ShadowXxFang, Lead Writer
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