The Blog

Back in November 2022, Nintendo announced plans for a considerable shift in how they handle their business in Europe. During that initial announcement, Nintendo announced the schedule for these mergers and shifts, and today officially brings us into phase 1.

As of today, Nintendo France and Nintendo Benelux have been absorbed into Nintendo of Europe. Coming over a year later in August 2024, Nintendo Ibérica will join that collective. All of these branches of Nintendo will operate under Nintendo of Europe SE moving forward.

Nintendo says they are making this change to improve business efficiency and accelerate decision-making. NOE’s corporate form will be changed to Nintendo of Europe SE as the new central regional headquarters in Europe.

An update is available for Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection. You can see the patch notes for this update below.

The Atelier Ryza 1 & 2: Official Visual Collections were announced roughly one year ago, and most of that time since has been radio silent. Today we finally get a new shred of information, thanks to the official Amazon listings for both books being updated.

According to the Amazon listings, Atelier Ryza 1 & 2: Official Visual Collections will see release on Dec. 5th, 2023. Each books is priced at $36.51 a piece, and pre-orders are live right now

Atelier Ryza: Official Visual Collection 1 & 2 compile the gorgeous artwork behind this refreshing entry in the Atelier series. Included are key illustrations, character concepts, and weapon & monster designs. Also, no JRPG fan will want to miss an exclusive interview with the game’s developers, plus a new short story set in the world of Atelier Ryza.

You can take a look at the listing for Atelier Ryza 1 here and Atelier Ryza 2 here.

The Tetris 99 34th MAXIMUS CUP event runs from 12 a.m. PT on July 7 to 11:59 p.m. PT on July 10. To participate, any Nintendo Switch Online member* just needs to play the Tetris 99 online mode during the event period. Players will earn event points based on their placement in each match. Once players have accumulated a total of 100 event points, a new theme will unlock, featuring background art, music and Tetrimino designs inspired by Pikmin 4.

In Pikmin 4, you’ll raise a crop of plantlike Pikmin and guide them on an endearing expedition. Create your own explorer and navigate a big planet from a pint-sized perspective. You get a space dog, too! Oatchi can help with things like smashing obstacles and carrying Pikmin throughout your adventure.

You can even download a free demo of Pikmin 4 to start playing now. Then, if you decide to buy the full version, your save file will transfer over when the game launches on July 21. This means you can keep the character you created and pick up where you left off on your journey. The Pikmin 4 demo and the Tetris 99 34th MAXIMUS CUP are great ways to spend some time with these plucky pals until the game launches!

In addition to Tetris 99, with a Nintendo Switch Online or Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack membership, you can enjoy online play with compatible games, growing libraries of classic games and several other benefits and special offers. For more information, and to learn about a free seven-day Nintendo Switch Online trial, go to the Nintendo Switch Online section on the Nintendo Switch HOME Menu.

You may remember rumors from years ago about Konami working on a Castlevania movie. Well, it turns out those rumors were true, and we almost got one hell of an actor in a main role.

Quite a few years back, director James Wan was attached to a Castlevania big screen adaptation. That project obviously didn’t come to be, but Wan has recently revealed that he had chats with none other than Nic Cage about a role in the film.

According to Wan, he was talking to Cage about taking on the role of Dracula in the Castlevania movie. That film never got off the ground, but Cave did eventually make it to the role of Dracula with the recently-released Renfield.

The Pokémon North America International Championships took place over three exciting, match-filled days in Columbus, Ohio, from June 30 to July 2, 2023. As the final International Championships event of the 2023 Championship Series season, the event featured heated competition across the Pokémon Trading Card Game, Pokémon Video Game Championships, Pokémon GO, and Pokémon UNITE.

North America played host to the final International Championships of the 2023 season, but the competition isn’t over yet! The 2023 Pokémon World Championships are set to take place in Yokohama, Japan, from August 11–13. Players from around the globe will compete for the title of World Champion in the Pokémon Trading Card Game, Pokémon Video Game Championships, Pokémon GO, and Pokémon UNITE.

Test Drive Unlimited: Solar Crown was originally announced all the way back in 2020, but the game has suffered multiple delays since. Last we heard, the title would be seeing release sometime in 2023, but apparently that’s no longer the case.

An updated financial report for publisher Nacon has stated that Test Drive Unlimited: Solar Crown is now set to arrive sometime in the first quarter of 2024. Outside of that, no other information is given on the delay. If this is indeed the case, hopefully the game finally makes it out the door this time around.

Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown is an open world driving and lifestyle experience in a real-world location built at 1:1 scale. Grab your keys and live your life of luxury. Remember, social status is everything in the world of TDU.

With confirmed marques so far being Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche, Koenigsegg, Apollo, Dodge and Bugatti, you’ll have to really work your way up to have the privilege to drive them. Customisation is not reserved for your cars only, but for your avatar as well and even better than ever. You’ve got to dress to impress.

During the most recent Nintendo Direct, Nintendo revealed that they were working on a remake of Super Mario RPG for the Switch. Fans were no doubt happy to see this remake announced, but now we know that a major team member from the original game is not returning for this project.

Chihiro Fujioka was the director of Super Mario RPG when it released on the Super Nintendo all the way back in 1996. Unfortunately, Fujioka will not be returning to handle Super Mario RPG on Switch. As a matter of fact, it sounds like Fujioka didn’t even know the project was in the works.

When a fan asked Fujioka on Twitter if he’d be returning for this remake, Fujioka responded by saying he wasn’t involved, but he was “very surprised and pleased” to see that the project was in the works.

The Nintendo and LEGO collaboration has brought forth a massive wave of LEGO Super Mario content, and soon enough you’ll be able to expand your collection once more with yet another offering.

LEGO and Nintendo have revealed the LEGO Super Mario ‘Larry’s and Morton’s Airships Expansion Set,’ which launches on August 1st, 2023. If you want to make this expansion set your own, you’ll have to cough up $80.

Take the LEGO® Super Mario™ action into the skies with Larry’s and Morton’s Airships Expansion Set. It features brick-built versions of these 2 Koopalings’ airships. Place LEGO Mario, LEGO Luigi or LEGO Peach (figures not included) in the cockpits and ‘fly’ the airships to activate sound effects and fight a virtual cannon battle. Morton’s airship can also be opened up to create a battle zone in a LEGO Super Mario level. Note: the 71360, 71387 or 71403 Starter Course is required for interactive play.

This playset, which makes a fantastic gift for kids aged 8 and up, includes 3 LEGO Super Mario figures: Koopalings Larry and Morton, and a Goomba.

Includes the following:

2 iconic airships for play and display – Kids can add flying fun to their LEGO® Super Mario™ levels with this 71427 Larry’s and Morton’s Airships Expansion Set

3 LEGO® Super Mario™ figures – Larry, Morton and a Goomba

Cannon battle – Place LEGO® Mario™, LEGO® Luigi™ or LEGO® Peach™ (figures not included) in the cockpits and ‘fly’ the airships to activate sound effects and fight a virtual cannon battle

Fly and battle – Morton’s airship measures over 9 in. (23 cm) high, 7.5 in. (19 cm) long and 5 in. (12 cm) wide and opens up to create a battle zone where you must topple Morton to defeat him

This 1,062-piece building set makes a fun birthday present, holiday gift or treat for kids who own a LEGO® Super Mario™ Starter Course and any Super Mario™ fan

If you’d like to get a closer look at this expansion set or place your pre-order, you can do so through this link.

Sure, Nintendo loves making games, but they might like promoting them for years after even more. Nintendo absolutely adores a longtail seller, which is why they keep sharing commercials for games years after they’ve released.

Nintendo continues that trend of promoting years-old games today by sharing two commercials for Switch games that have been available for quite some time. In the spot above, you can see Animal Crossing: New Horizons get the spotlight. Below, you’ll see a spot featuring Minecraft on Switch.

You likely know all there is to know about these games by now, but Nintendo is still trying to reach Switch owners who haven’t given these games a shot, alongside newcomers who might be jumping into Switch for the first time.

Sure, Nintendo loves making games, but they might like promoting them for years after even more. Nintendo absolutely adores a longtail seller, which is why they keep sharing commercials for games years after they’ve released.

Nintendo continues that trend of promoting years-old games today by sharing two commercials for Switch games that have been available for quite some time. In the spot above, you can see Animal Crossing: New Horizons get the spotlight. Below, you’ll see a spot featuring Minecraft on Switch.

You likely know all there is to know about these games by now, but Nintendo is still trying to reach Switch owners who haven’t given these games a shot, alongside newcomers who might be jumping into Switch for the first time.

Diehard Nintendo fans love all of the company’s franchises, and that includes the ones that we haven’t seen installments in for quite some time. When the topic of dormant franchises comes up, F-Zero is almost always the first mentioned. Now we might have a little bit of insight as to why.

VGC had the chance to speak to Takaya Imamura, a former Nintendo developer who worked on the F-Zero series. Imamura was asked why a series like F-Zero gets considerably less attention from Nintendo than something like Star Fox, which is certainly a quieter Nintendo franchise as well, but gets a bit more love. You can see Imamura’s response below.

You could always tell that Miyamoto was especially attached to Star Fox, so there’s no doubt his sway helps bring about new games in that series. Unfortunately, it seems that the success of Mario Kart has pushed F-Zero into a corner for the time being, but hopefully someone at Nintendo comes along to be the champion for F-Zero soon.

The launch of Season 6 in Overwatch 2 is going to bring with it a round of story missions, which is something fans have been waiting to see for quite some time. Hopefully those same fans find plenty to enjoy with that release, as it’ll be quite some time until the next round of story content arrives.

Overwatch 2 executive producer Jared Neuss recently popped in on a Twitch stream with Emongg, and he talked about what’s in the works for Overwatch 2. The upcoming Season 6 story missions were a bit topic of discussion, which is where Neuss revealed that the wait between story mission drops will be of considerable length.

Get connected with fellow Trainers by joining the conversation at the official Pokémon Community Forums! You can stay up to date with the latest Pokémon news, discuss who your favorite Pokémon is, and even help the community at large by submitting bug reports for Pokémon TCG Live or Pokémon UNITE.

There are currently dedicated forums for the Pokémon TCG, Pokémon TCG Live, and Pokémon UNITE, as well as general forums for all things Pokémon—so if you have a burning question or just want to meet like-minded Trainers, it’s the perfect place to start your journey.

A Pokémon Trainer Club account is needed to register an account for the Pokémon Community Forums and can be created here. Enjoy connecting, Trainers!

Delphox with the Mightiest Mark is coming to Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet black crystal Tera Raid Battles! You can try putting a stop to Delphox’s Mystical Fire from Thursday, July 6, 2023, at 5:00 p.m. to Sunday, July 9, 2023, at 4:59 p.m. PDT, then again from Thursday, July 13, 2023, at 5:00 p.m. to Sunday, July 16, 2023, at 4:59 p.m. PDT. Delphox cannot normally be encountered in Paldea, and the Delphox appearing during this event has Fairy as its Tera Type. Be prepared—this Pokémon is a formidable foe, and it’s got the Mightiest Mark to prove it!

When choosing which Pokémon to send into a 7-star Tera Raid Battle, it’s important to plan for your opponent’s original type as well as its Tera Type. Although Poison- and Steel-type moves are usually a Fairy-type Pokémon’s worst nightmare, keep in mind that any Fire- or Psychic-type moves known by Fairy–Tera Type Delphox will benefit from a same-type attack bonus on top of being super effective against Poison- or Steel-type Pokémon.

For the opportunity to encounter this Pokémon in Tera Raid Battles, you’ll need to have downloaded the latest Poké Portal News. You can do this by selecting Poké Portal in the X menu, then Mystery Gift, then Get Poké Portal News. After that, whenever you see a sparkling pillar of light shining from a Tera Raid crystal, you can walk up to the crystal and interact with it to start a Tera Raid Battle with a Tera Pokémon.

To challenge Delphox, Trainers will need to either complete the postgame events that follow the main story or join a 7-star Tera Raid Battle hosted by a Trainer who has completed those events. This special Delphox can be caught only once per save data. You can still participate in Tera Raid Battles against this Delphox if you’ve already caught it to obtain other rewards—including significant amounts of Exp. Candy for leveling up your Pokémon, treasures that can be sold at Pokémon Centers, items for improving your Pokémon’s stats, and Fairy Tera Shards for changing your Pokémon’s Tera Type.

Be warned: Delphox is certain to put up a tough fight. If you’re looking for more tips on how to defeat this powerful Pokémon, head on over to our Tera Raid Battle Tips article. Learn the ins and outs of Tera Raid Battles in the Paldea region so that you never miss a chance to catch a powerful Pokémon or earn handsome rewards.

The action is getting hot in the Kalos region thanks in no small part to the ambitions of Team Flare in Pokémon the Series: XYZ, coming soon to Pokémon TV.

In this 19th season of the animated series, the villainous Team Flare has sinister plans for the Legendary Pokémon Zygarde. They’ve also been experimenting with Mega Evolution—what could they be plotting? They’re not the only ones studying Mega Evolution, though. Ash and his friends encounter Alain, a Pokémon Trainer who, along with his Mega Charizard X, hopes to find the source of the powerful evolutionary technique. Thankfully, our heroes will have some more strength on their side when Ash and his Frogadier reach surprising new heights, just like Gym Leader Olympia predicted!

When you tune in to watch Pokémon the Series: XYZ, remember you can visit watch.pokemon.com or load up the Pokémon TV mobile app and enjoy these classic episodes on the go!