As in previous years, Nintendo took its typical mixed-tactics approach to E3 2018. This meant a (relatively) brief and slickly produced Nintendo Direct broadcast—made available to watchers the world over, as opposed to just those at the Expo itself—followed by a series of gameplay and interview features via the Treehouse Live stream.
Early on Reggie Fils-Aime, Nintendo of America’s President and COO, expounded upon the recent Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee! news, including showing us a bit more about the Poké Ball Plus accessory. It was revealed that the Poké Ball Plus includes its own analog stick and button, meaning you can play through the entire game with it, comes with the Mythical Pokémon Mew already onboard, and can be purchased separately or as part of a $99.99 game bundle.
Battle Royale phenom Fortnite joins Fallout Shelter (announced yesterday by Bethesda) as another free-to-play Switch title you can download right now, and further down the line, new entries in the Mario Party (Super Mario Party), Fire Emblem (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), and Overcooked! (Overcooked! 2) series were also announced.
We similarly received updates on previously known titles like Hollow Knight and Octopath Traveler; the former is available today, while the latter will receive an updated demo on June 14th ahead of its July 13th launch.
The lion’s share of the time, however, was reserved for the latest iteration of iconic fighter Super Smash Bros. Dubbed Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, this edition promises GameCube controller support, every single playable fighter from the franchise’s decades-long history, and, in a move fans will surely be crowing about until well after its December 7th launch date, the addition of Metroid‘s villainous Ridley to the roster.
Check out the video below for all this and more, and stay tuned to Nintendo Treehouse Live for additional E3 goodness.
The Lets Go Pokemon games are a blast! I got the Eevee one and I haven’t put it down since I got it. Really like how the integrate Pokemon Go into it too.
They really are great titles! We’re still loving ’em in my house as well.