biteho.com

Nintendo entered 2018 riding a wave of momentum following the successful launch of the Switch. The hybrid console hit the market in March 2017 and quickly became one of the fastest-selling systems in the company’s history, thanks in large part to a steady stream of major exclusives such as The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and Super Mario Odyssey. Whereas Nintendo’s focus in 2017 was on establishing its new platform, its goal this year was to sustain the impressive momentum it had built, and it did so by releasing another solid string of exclusives for the console, along with additional system features like cloud saves and the Nintendo Switch Online subscription service.

But while 2018 was generally another strong year for the company, it certainly wasn’t without its missteps. Despite keeping up a regular release schedule, Switch hardware sales dipped compared to the console’s debut year, and new ventures like Nintendo Labo, a line of games bundled with DIY cardboard peripherals, were met with very modest commercial success–certainly not in the league of Wii Fit or any of Nintendo’s other mass market breakthroughs on the Wii and DS. With 2018 coming to a close, let’s take a look back at how the Switch fared during its sophomore year.

A Solid Year of Game Releases, Despite No Clear System-Seller

Since the Switch launched, Nintendo has released at least one notable first-party game for the console nearly every month, and that trend continued throughout 2018. While none of this year’s releases thus far were quite on the level of Breath of the Wild or Super Mario Odyssey, the system still saw a handful of well-received exclusives in Kirby Star Allies, Mario Tennis Aces, Octopath Traveler, Super Mario Party, and Pokemon: Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee, while its biggest release of the year–Super Smash Bros. Ultimate–arrives on December 7.

With fewer original games lined up for the console this year than in 2017, Nintendo relied a little more heavily on Wii U ports to buoy the Switch during its quieter months, and that undoubtedly was reflected in slower hardware sales compared to last year. Still, software sales remained impressive, and this year’s spate of re-releases included some of Wii U’s finest games. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze arrived on Switch four years after it first launched on Wii U and has since become one of Nintendo’s best-selling games on the console. Bayonetta 2, Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, and Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition all released for Switch as well, giving them another chance to shine on the newer hardware.

A few of Nintendo’s biggest titles from 2017 also received substantial new pieces of content this year, further bolstering Switch’s library. Splatoon 2‘s first paid DLC, the Octo Expansion, arrived in June and added 80 new single-player-focused challenges to the game, while Xenoblade Chronicles 2‘s expansive prequel story, Torna – The Golden Country, launched in September, both as part of the game’s expansion pass and as a standalone release. Nintendo also rolled out a steady stream of free updates for both Kirby Star Allies and Mario Tennis Aces in the months following their release, introducing new characters, gameplay modes, and other content to extend their longevity.

Moreover, Nintendo continued to make inroads in courting more third-party and indie support. While the company has traditionally struggled to attract other developers to its platforms, this year saw a number of major third-party titles arrive on Switch. Epic’s phenomenally popular battle royale game, Fortnite, released for the console in June and has since been downloaded on “nearly half” of all Switch systems worldwide, but it was far from the only notable third-party game to hit the platform. Mature titles like Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, Dark Souls Remastered, Warframe, and Diablo III: Eternal Edition all also launched in 2018; the latter is particularly notable as it marked the first Blizzard game to come to a Nintendo console in nearly two decades.

Likewise, indies continued to thrive on Switch, and this year saw the release of Celeste, Dead Cells, Into the Breach, Hollow Knight, and other critically acclaimed gems. Despite the lack of a Breath of the Wild-calibur system-seller, 2018 proved to be another all-around good year for Switch software.

Nintendo Switch Online Finally Launches, But It’s A Mixed Bag

After several delays, Nintendo finally rolled out its paid online subscription service for Switch in September 2018. While online features were free on the console up until then, Switch owners are now required to subscribe to the service in order to play games such as Splatoon 2, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate online with other players. Subscribers also receive a number of other benefits as part of the service, including access to cloud saves, special offers through Nintendo’s website, and a library of classic NES games on Switch, all of which now support some form of online play.

Given that the service only recently launched, it’s still fairly early to pass a verdict on Nintendo Switch Online. That said, there are already some clear positive and negative aspects of the service. While it doesn’t seem to offer nearly as many perks as PlayStation Plus or Xbox Live Gold–both, for instance, give members a selection of free games every month, something that Nintendo’s service currently lacks–Nintendo Switch Online subscriptions are significantly cheaper than the competition. A yearly NSO membership runs for $20 (as opposed to $60 for PS Plus or Xbox Live), while an annual family plan costs $35 per year and can be shared between eight Nintendo Accounts across multiple systems.

The included NES library is also a welcome benefit. While it certainly isn’t a replacement for the Virtual Console, having unlimited access to a selection of classic NES games as part of your subscription is more appealing than having to purchase the titles individually, as you had to on previous Nintendo consoles, and the addition of online play is a nice new feature. However, Nintendo has been slow in introducing additional NES games to the library; only three new titles have been added each month since the service launched, and it’s still missing some of the console’s most iconic games. On top of that, there is still no word on whether Nintendo will bring SNES, N64, or other legacy titles to Switch either through the NSO service or the Eshop, which remains frustrating.

Moreover, despite a subscription now being required to play Switch games online, the actual online experience isn’t appreciably different from when the service was free. Features such as voice chat are still handled through the separate NSO smartphone app rather than being built into the service–a confounding decision when Fortnite implemented native voice chat directly through the console. If it is able to, there seems to be no reason why other games couldn’t follow suit.

The aforementioned special offers through Nintendo’s website have potential to be worthwhile, but the two sole offers thus far are fairly disappointing. In addition to a set of free gear in Splatoon 2, NSO subscribers can order an exclusive pair of NES-style Joy-Cons. These resemble the classic NES gamepads and look quite neat, but they come with a few caveats that make them little more than a novelty. Overall, the Nintendo Switch Online service has room to grow, but its offerings thus far have been middling.

3DS Still Has Some Life Left

While Switch was naturally the focus of Nintendo’s attention in 2018, the company didn’t abandon the dual-screen 3DS line just yet. Despite being over seven years old at this point, the platform received a handful of notable releases over the past year, among them Detective Pikachu, the Pokemon spin-off that would inspire the upcoming live-action movie starring Ryan Reynolds. On top of that, this year also saw the release of WarioWare Gold, Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology, Yo-kai Watch Blasters, and a remake of the GameCube classic Luigi’s Mansion.

It remains to be seen just how long Nintendo will continue to keep the 3DS line afloat, but it’s clear the company has plans to support the platform for the immediate future, with another batch of 3DS games on the way in 2019. In the first half of the year, Nintendo will release a remake of Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story and Yo-kai Watch 3, while a port of the charming Wii platformer Kirby’s Epic Yarn is slated to arrive at some point in 2019. Atlus’s Etrian Odyssey Nexus, the final 3DS installment in the acclaimed dungeon crawling series, is also set to hit the handheld in the early part of the year, and there may yet be one or two surprise releases still in store for the platform before Nintendo finally ushers it into the sunset.

A Promising Look Ahead

Nintendo used its E3 2018 presentation to reveal a ton of new details about this year’s marquee Switch release, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, but it also provided a tantalizing glimpse of what lays ahead for the system in 2019. Among other things, we got our first look at Fire Emblem: Three Houses, the upcoming Switch installment in the long-running strategy-RPG series, as well as surprise announcements like Daemon X Machina, a stylish new mech-action game from Armored Core veteran Kenichiro Tsukuda.

In the months that would follow, Nintendo would reveal additional titles coming to Switch in 2019, painting a very promising picture for the console’s future. Perhaps most notably, the company finally confirmed that an Animal Crossing game is indeed in development for Switch and is set for release next year. We also learned about Luigi’s Mansion 3 and got another look at the beautiful Yoshi’s Crafted World, which is now slated to arrive in Spring 2019.

Additionally, The Pokemon Company reiterated that the previously announced “core” Pokemon RPG for Switch will release in 2019, and Pokemon developer Game Freak has another RPG in the works for the system tentatively titled Town, which is likewise slated to launch next year. There’s also New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe, which releases in January and combines both New Super Mario Bros. U and its more challenging DLC expansion, New Super Luigi U, together into one package.

Taken together, it appears Nintendo has laid the groundwork for another year of steady Switch releases. There will likely be even more surprise games in store for the console throughout 2019, and that’s nothing to say of Metroid Prime 4 and Bayonetta 3, both of which Nintendo has publicly announced but not shared any details about just yet.

Other Matters, In Brief

• Following its initial shipment in 2016 and cancellation in 2017, Nintendo re-issued its notoriously hard-to-find micro console, the NES Classic, this past summer. Together with the SNES Classic, the company has sold a combined 10 million-plus micro consoles to date.
• Nintendo released its fifth mobile game, Dragalia Lost, on iOS and Android this September. Co-developed by Cygames, the title launched to mixed critical reception but generated more revenue during its first two weeks than the company’s previous mobile game, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, did during that same point in its life.
• With the exception of Hulu, the Switch still lacks many dedicated entertainment apps, but a YouTube app finally arrived this November. Netflix, meanwhile, has said it is still “exploring the opportunity” to bring its app to the console.
• Nintendo’s long-lost arcade game, Sky Skipper, was unearthed and finally received a proper North American release through the Switch Eshop this summer as part of Hamster’s Arcade Archives line.
• Tatsumi Kimishima, who has served as Nintendo’s president following the passing of Satoru Iwata, stepped down from the role in June and was replaced by Shuntaro Furukawa, a longtime member of the company who has held high-level titles across marketing and corporate planning.
• Nintendo announced it is working with Despicable Me studio Illumination on an animated Super Mario movie, with Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto involved as a producer.

The Verdict

Between a handful of well-received exclusives, some big-name third-party releases, and Nintendo’s continued support for older games, the Switch had another solid software lineup in 2018, although the lack of a true heavy hitter like Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey resulted in slightly slower hardware sales this year. The long-delayed Nintendo Switch Online subscription service is also fairly weak in its current state, but it has the potential to grow as Nintendo rolls out more classic games and exclusive offers for subscribers.

After the disappointing performance of the Wii U, it seems Nintendo has struck on a winning formula with Switch, and the early glimpse we’ve gotten at the system’s 2019 lineup suggests its best days are still ahead of it.

The Good	The Bad
Another steady stream of well-received exclusives and notable third-party and indie games	No clear system-seller this year on Switch besides the still-to-be-released Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Cloud saves and NES games with online play are welcome additions	Nintendo Switch Online’s other features and benefits feel lacking
Switch’s 2019 lineup is already shaping up well, with many future big-name exclusives revealed in 2018
3DS continues to receive a steady amount of support

Unlike past games, EA’s plans for Battlefield V post-launch support consist of free updates. Tides of War will see a series of major free expansions added to the game, the first of which–Chapter 1: Overture–is now available on PC, PS4, and Xbox One. Alongside a huge list of changes and adjustments, as detailed in the full patch notes, this introduces new content, primarily in the form of a new map and War Story, both of which you can see in the video above.

The map is called Panzerstorm, which is set in Belgium and focuses on tank battles. The War Story is called The Last Tiger and puts you in the role of a German soldier who pilots a tank. Aside from this, there’s also the new Practice Range where you can experiment with weapons and vehicles as a training mode of sorts.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is almost here to close out the year for Nintendo, and controller manufacturers aren’t wasting any time putting out new controllers to ride the wave of excitement with Smash fans. The series’ competitive roots are grounded in the GameCube entry, Super Smash Bros. Melee, and thus using the GameCube controller is for many the preferred way to play. Nintendo isn’t blind to this, releasing another round of GameCube controllers emblazoned with the latest Smash logo, just as it did for the Wii U game, but they aren’t the only options out there.

Below is a quick look at a few of the options that players can consider when shopping around for new controllers, and even though they aren’t the real deal straight from Nintendo, they come with selling points all their own that Nintendo doesn’t have an answer for.

Editor’s note: these items are highlighted as examples, not as endorsements by GameSpot.

Nintendo GameCube Controller and GameCube Controller Adapter $25/$20

Nintendo’s official products are a great place to start if you are looking for a reliable, no frills way to play Super Smash Bros. Ultimate with a GameCube controller. There are cheaper options available from no-name manufacturers, but you can generally count on the real deal to get the job done.

Though you can likely convince your friends to play a few rounds with you using Joy-Cons, they are far too fiddly to be effective during competitive matches. The GameCube Controller Adapter is the first step to ensure all four fighters are on an even playing field. You will, of course, need an adapter if you use Nintendo’s controllers anyway, because of their GameCube-style plug.

– Buy Nintendo GameCube Controller on Amazon

– Buy Nintendo GameCube Controller Adapter on Amazon

PowerA Wireless Controller for Nintendo Switch – $50

PowerA is taking a unique approach compared to the other third-party manufacturers on this list. Its controller is built like a GameCube one, but on the inside, it’s effectively a Switch Pro controller–it’s wireless and support motion controls. It’s unfortunately not rechargeable–it requires two AA batteries–and it lacks rumble support, but it’s the simplest wireless solution that offers GameCube-like controls on this list.

– Buy PowerA Wireless Controller for Nintendo Switch on Amazon

8Bitdo Gbros. Wireless Adapter for Nintendo Switch – $20

If you definitely want to play wirelessly with a proper GameCube controller, you can alternatively pick up 8bitdo’s Gbros. wireless adapter. It allows you to plug in a GameCube controller and have it work wirelessly with Switch, and the adapter has buttons to account for Switch functions not represented on the controller itself. You can also connect NES Classic, SNES Classic, or Wii controllers on the opposite end of the adapter. And the icing on the cake? There’s a toggle that lets you convert the adapter to work with a Windows PC.

– Buy 8bitdo Gbros. Wireless Adapter for Nintendo Switch on Amazon

PDP Nintendo Switch Wired Fight Pad Pro – $25

PDP’s new controllers aren’t wired for GameCube the way Nintendo’s controller is–PDP’s connect via USB directly to the Switch. Otherwise, the design is mostly in line with Nintendo’s own, with a couple of exceptions. PDP is obviously going for a more colorful approach, with branding to entice Pokemon, Mario, and Zelda fans, but a 10-foot cable and a swappable C-Stick/Analog Stick introduces a unique feature that no other controller on this last can match. It’s not a critical feature, but it could make a difference for the right player.

– Buy PDP Nintendo Switch Wired Fight Pad Pro – $25

Hori Nintendo Switch Battle Pad

Hori’s Smash Bros. Ultimate controllers follow a similar path as PDP’s solution: themed controllers with a 10-foot USB cable. Hori does offer a few more color options, and most of the controllers sport a semi-transparent casing. They do not, however, feature the swappable C-Stick option.

– Buy Hori Nintendo Switch Battle Pad on Amazon

Season 7 of Fortnite is nearly here. The new season is scheduled to kick off this Thursday, December 6, and developer Epic Games has been building up excitement by sharing a series of teaser images each day leading up to it. The studio has now shared the final teaser, and it hints that some rather big things are in store for Season 7.

The image, which you can see below, zooms in on the ziplining character spotted in the background of the second teaser. “Ascend to new heights,” the accompanying tweet reads, suggesting that Season 7 will feature a greater emphasis on verticality. What’s even more interesting, however, is that the image also features a biplane in the background, which seems to hint that Fortnite will receive its first aerial vehicle.

Epic hasn’t confirmed many details about Season 7 beyond its start date, but we’ve gotten a good idea of what to expect from the three teaser images it has shared so far. The first featured an icy silhouette of a character with the caption, “A bitter ice spreads…” seemingly confirming fan theories that the new season will be winter-themed. The image also featured a character snowboarding down the side of the silhouette.

Hints that Fortnite’s next season would be snow-themed first began to appear within the game itself a few weeks ago, when players began noticing distant clouds in the ocean surrounding the map. Since then, some users on Reddit have discovered that the clouds are actually shrouding an iceberg that is slowly approaching the island.

We’ll find out soon just what changes await Fortnite in Season 7, but we do know something else that’ll be arriving alongside it. Epic announced a new sandbox-style mode called Fortnite Creative, which will allow players to design their own games and unique Fortnite experiences. Fortnite Creative will be available to everyone on December 13, but those who purchase the Season 7 Battle Pass will get access to the mode beginning December 6.

In the meantime, you still have a few more hours to complete any remaining Season 6 challenges and unlock the last few Battle Pass rewards. If you need pointers, we’ve put together some helpful tips on how to complete the game’s trickier missions in our Season 6 challenges guide.

Seems like it used to take a long time for games to dip down to half price. Battlefield V has only been out a few weeks and it’s already available for $30 (or $40 for the Deluxe Edition). The only catch is that you have to own and have access to a recent Battlefield game. But if you don’t? You can still get the standard edition for $40 from various retailers.

The Battlefield subreddit has been abuzz with people posting that the deal has popped up when they’ve signed in to games like Battlefield 4, Battlefield Hardline, and Battlefield 1. We tested it out on Battlefield 1 on Xbox One, and sure enough, the deal appeared in the game’s start menu. So if you have a previous installment and are interested in trying out the new one, boot it up and grab the deal.

Everyone else can get the standard edition of Battlefield V on PS4, Xbox One, and PC for $40 from Best Buy, Target, and Walmart. Just click the appropriate link below.

PS4

Xbox One

PC

As for how the game is, critic Michael Higham scored it 8/10 in our Battlefield V review, writing, “The Battlefield series has a winning formula that Battlefield V doesn’t deviate far from, at least for now. Conquest and the map roster don’t mesh well together, however, Grand Operations–and the other modes within it–steal the show and foster some of the greatest moments the franchise has offered.”

Battlefield V is scheduled to get numerous free DLC expansions in the coming months, the first of which, Chapter 1: Overture, is available now. A free battle royale mode called Firestorm is scheduled to arrive in March.

Peter Parker met a tragic end in Avengers: Infinity War, but we can all rest easy knowing he’s already bouncing back from his Thanos-related injuries and filming the follow up to his MCU solo debut Spider-Man: Homecoming, the playfully titled Spider-Man: Far From Home. While details about the specifics of the plot have remained unsurprisingly vague, the rumors of Jake Gyllenhaal joining the cast to play villain Mysterio were confirmed by on-set photos of Gyllenhaal in costume. That begs the question: Just who the hell is Mysterio, and what does his entrance into the MCU actually mean for Spidey?

The name Mysterio actually refers to four different Marvel villains dating all the way back to 1964, and while there has been no official confirmation of which version Gyllenhaal is actually playing, the safest bet is the first and most prolific of the lot, Quentin Beck, who premiered in The Amazing Spider-Man #13 in 1964.

Beck’s vintage origin story is your typical ’60s superhero fare. He was a struggling special effects artist and wannabe actor who eventually realized that his skills as an artist could be used to turn a real profit if he used them to build a villainous alter ego. Of course, after carefully constructing his costume (complete with his iconic fishbowl-style mirrored helmet) and making his debut, Beck was stopped and humiliated by Spider-Man–which, unsurprisingly, led to a life long vendetta. He joined the original incarnation of the Sinister Six, a team that also included Vulture, Dr. Octopus, Kraven the Hunter, Electro, and Sandman.

Over the years, Mysterio became a perpetual thorn in Peter’s side. Beck has no real superpowers, but his exhaustive knowledge of special effects trickery and illusions make him formidable in his own way–typically he’d set up elaborate gags involving smoke machines, stage magic, and even robotics to pull of his plots. Occassionally, his smoke based illusions are actually laced with hallucinogenic drugs, making him more similar to someone like Batman’s Scarecrow than a hoaky magician. He trained in hypnotism, inventing a second alter-ego he called Dr. Ludwig Reinhart, and generally did his best to try and force his victims to lose their minds with elaborate gimmicks and cons designed to make them believe all sorts of wild lies.

Sometimes the lies were pretty goofy. Other times, they were considerably less so. he tried to force Peter into believing he’d been shrunk down to action figure size. He later tried to con Aunt May out of house and home using a revolving door of disguises and assumed identities designed to gaslight and confuse her. Eventually, and with the help of Kingpin, he set his sights on Daredevil, trying to manipulate him into insanity using mood altering drugs and by targeting and manipulating his friends. At one point he actually tried to convince Matt that a baby was the biblical antichrist. True story.

That particular plan didn’t work out all that well and ended with Beck apparently committing suicide after Daredevil unmasked and beat him within an inch of his life. Of course, in typical comic book fashion, the death didn’t stick. And although Beck’s resurrection was never completely explained in any concrete way, the simplest answer was that he had staged his own death and gone into temporary hiding–though some stories insinuate that he really did die, and in fact spent some time in Hell before being magically revived.

Beck resumed his antics, rejoining with the Sinister Six as the need arose. He briefly retired (and built himself a robot daughter–don’t ask) in Las Vegas, but was prompted to pick up the Mysterio mantle yet again after getting wrapped up in some complicated, demonic dealings with Ben Reilly, the Scarlet Spider.

All told, Mysterio’s place in the Marvel universe is malleable. He’s a bit less prolific and recognizable than someone like Green Goblin or Doctor Octopus, and that slightly-less-than-top-tier notoriety, coupled with his expansive repertoire of skills, means he can fit into stories in any number of ways. He’s been the campy comic relief, the dangerous mastermind, the bumbling gloryhound, and the vicious sociopath, depending on the needs of the moment.

Thematically speaking, it seems more likely that we’re going to be seeing Gyllenhaal as one of Beck’s softer sides in Far From Home, especially considering the multilayered approach Homecoming took to his Sinister Six teammate Vulture. It’s certainly not impossible that we’re going to see a Mysterio on the big screen who is furious at Spider-Man for ruining his shot at fame and stardom, but it’s maybe a bit improbable.

There’s also the potential for Gyllenhaal’s character to borrow from the other incarnations of Mysterio: Daniel Berkhart, a con who temporarily replaced Beck at both Beck’s behest and after being hired to impersonate him by J. Jonah Jameson; Francis Klum, a mutant with teleportation powers who briefly took over the mantle while Beck was dead; and Mysterion, a mysterious new incarnation who was brainwashed and forced to join a team called the Superior Six lead by Otto Octavius. While none of the other Mysterio mantle wearers have quite the history Beck does, the MCU’s willingness to play fast and loose with classic characters means they probably shouldn’t be ignored.

One of the benefits you get for subscribing to the Nintendo Switch Online service is access to a growing library of classic NES games. Nintendo has been rolling out new titles for the service every month since it launched this past September, and now the company has confirmed that another batch of titles is scheduled to arrive next week.

Three more classic NES games are coming to the service on Wednesday, December 12. This month’s lineup consists of the falling block puzzle game Wario’s Woods, the notoriously challenging sidescroller Ninja Gaiden, and the puzzle adventure game Adventures of Lolo. You can take a look at them in the trailer below.

This marks the third batch of NES games that Nintendo has added to the service since it launched. October’s update brought NES Open, Super Dodge Ball, and Solomon’s Key to the library, while Metroid, TwinBee, and Mighty Bomb Jack arrived in November. With December’s additions, there are now 30 NES games available on Switch.

On top of the three new titles added each month, every batch of NES games thus far has come with an additional surprise: a special save data for a game in the library. In October, Nintendo added a version The Legend of Zelda that gives players access to Link’s entire arsenal of weapons and a ton of Rupees from the outset, while November’s update brought a special save of Gradius that starts you off with a fully-upgraded ship.

While Nintendo hasn’t confirmed if another special game save will arrive with its latest batch of NES games, the company has previously teased that more “fun new entry points into fan-favorite games” are coming, so we’ll likely see another surprise addition next week. The company also says that more NES games will be added in 2019 beginning in January, but it has yet to announce what the next titles will be.

NES games on Switch can be played with a special set of NES-style Joy-Con controllers. These resemble the classic NES gamepad and are only available to order through Nintendo’s website for Nintendo Switch Online subscribers. Each set comes with two controllers and costs $60. Nintendo says the first shipment will be sent out next week.