Nintendo Directs tend to be rapid-fire reveals and updates that can be difficult to keep up with and the E3 2019 showcase was a prime example of this. Nintendo revived long-dormant franchises, announced new JRPGs, and a whole lot more. The big finale for Nintendo’s E3 2019 showcase was the reveal that a sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is in development. The trailer showed Link and Zelda exploring caverns and encountering some dark beings that have seemingly taken up residence beneath Hyrule. The teaser showed something rising from the earth as well.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate stepped into the spotlight to open Nintendo’s E3 2019 showcase and, with no hesitation, introduced Dragon Quest characters to the brawler franchise. The crossover goes down this summer and is perfect timing as Dragon Quest 11: Echoes of an Elusive Age for Nintendo Switch releases in November. The trailer featured the hero from Dragon Quest 11 and a handful of echo fighters from the Dragon Quest series. Another new face for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was revealed near the end of the showcase as well. Banjo-Kazooie, characters created by Rare, are joining the largest crossover in gaming.
Adding to the series of JRPGs available on the Nintendo Switch, a new Mana title was revealed. Gameplay for Square Enix’s action-RPG Trials of Mana was shown and it will be getting a global release in early 2020. The original three games, Final Fantasy Adventure, Secret of Mana, and Trials of Mana (Super Famicom version), will be available as part of the Collection of Mana which released on Tuesday, June 11.
It was rumored that The Witcher series would be making its way to Nintendo Switch and it was confirmed during the E3 2019 showcase. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Complete Edition comes to Switch later this year.
A few long-dormant franchises were revived during the showcase and will be coming to the Nintendo Switch soon. Contra Rogue Corps hits the Nintendo Switch on September 24 and Panzer Dragoon is due this winter. The No More Heroes series hasn’t been dormant quite as long as the other two, with this year’s Travis Strikes Again keeping the franchise alive, but No More Heroes 3 was officially confirmed during the showcase and it’s due in 2020.
Platinum Games’ Astral Chain was revealed in 2018 and the newest trailer featured some new gameplay and the release date: August 30. This reveal was immediately followed by a title from Paradox Interactive and Romero Games. The Romeros previously worked on Doom and Quake but this new game, Empire of Sin, looks like an isometric open-world game set in the prohibition era.
The rivalry between two legendary mascots continues this November the launch of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games. The Summer Olympics are being held in Tokyo in 2020 so this will be a nice way to celebrate the event.
There were a lot more games thrown into the mix during Nintendo’s E3 2019 showcase but one particular reveal was bittersweet. Fans have been waiting for more information on Animal Crossing for Nintendo Switch and they got it but it came with a delay announcement, too. The game is called Animal Crossing: New Horizons and, instead of releasing later this year, it will launch on March 20, 2020.
Acer’s Predator Atlas 8 finally has a US release date and price, several months after the company first showed off the handheld in May. The highlight is the Intel Arc G3 Extreme chip inside, which has been adopted by only a couple of other consoles besides the Atlas 8. This version will go on sale exclusively at Best Buy on November 1 for $1,299.99.
Acer originally said the Atlas 8 would arrive in North America in October, but left pricing open at the time. The launch came amid the ongoing DRAM crunch, which has made memory more expensive across the PC industry and complicated pricing for hardware makers.
Gaming laptops and I have a complicated relationship. One of my first gaming rigs was an Acer Predator that was already outdated when I bought it. I was a broke college kid, and that was the best I could afford. So trying out high-end gaming laptops is always fun. But ASUS' ROG Zephyrus G14 is a lot more than a laptop that can run AAA games. It is portable, so you're not lugging around a 2.5kg machine everywhere you go. It is built well, none of that plastic chassis, and can even function as a normal laptop outside of just gaming.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.