Everything on show during Nintendo’s ‘Museum Direct’.
The Nintendo Museum is finally opening this year and now that Nintendo has given us a preview in the latest Direct broadcast, we’ve put together this gallery capturing its retro history.
As previously revealed, the museum is built on the site of Nintendo’s original factory (the Nintendo Uji Ogura Plant) where it made Hanfuda and playing cards. Quality checks also happened at this location during the Famicom era.
Pokémon World Championships competitor Ian Robb had seemingly defeated opponent Fernando Cifuentes in the quarterfinals of the Pokémon Trading Card Game, advancing to the penultimate round of the Pokémon’s most prestigious competitive event. But when the next round began, Cifuentes was in Robb’s place, sparking confusion among observers and throwing the bracket into chaos.
As it turned out, Robb had been issued a loss over what The Pokémon Company International Global Esports and Events Director Chris Brown called an “unsporting conduct penalty” in a follow-up interview with IGN.
“It was an unsporting conduct penalty,” Brown said. “We applied it to the match that had just occurred and the standard penalty for that’s a match loss.”
Ian Robb 選手の非紳士行為何かと思ったけど、準々決勝の最後に取った自慰行為のジェスチャーがダメだったっぽい。
The unsporting conduct Brown was referring to was a motion that Robb performed after claiming victory that many took to be an offensive gesture. The result was that Robb was removed from the tournament, though he was allowed to keep his prize money for placing in the final eight. Quarterfinalists receive $15,000 while the winner receives $50,000.
The decision was criticized by some fans for altering the tournament, though others came forward to defend The Pokémon Company’s judgment.
“When I first heard about it I assumed Pokemon was being soft, but after seeing the clip I think they made the right call. He should know better. It can’t be emphasized enough how much Pokemon is geared towards children. I fully understand them wanting to discourage gestures like that,” one fan wrote on Reddit.
Robb, for his part, has been mostly silent, though he did post his support for Cifuentes on X/Twitter. “I’m cheering for him today. After meeting him and his dad I could tell how much making cut at worlds meant. He’s a deserving champion.”
Ultimately, Cifuentes won the tournament, defeating runner-up Seinosuke Shiokawa in the Masters division.
Asked for more detail on how the rules are enforced in such situations, Brown said it’s a “little tricky” in Pokémon due to the way the tournament is structured. “Generally the match is not considered to be over until you’ve actually signed your match slip…And so that’s sort of that key moment. There’s other kind of moments, and this is really fine detail and sort of the rules and policies, but in the [Swiss-system tournament] for example, when the information is actually put in the computer could be a factor, because then we have to pair the next round. Single elim is a little different. But ultimately we looked at it as that penalty basically was assessed for the match that was in progress.”
Pokémon World Tournament wrapped up on Sunday, crowning its overall winners while revealing info where the next tournament will take place. The Pokémon Company also shared the release date for Pokémon TCG Pocket and other info. You can find everything announced at the Pokémon World Championships right here.
Kat Bailey is IGN’s News Director as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.
Pokémon World Championship competitor Ian Robb had seemingly defeated opponent Fernando Cifuentes in the quarterfinals of the Pokémon Trading Card Game, advancing to the penultimate round of the Pokémon’s most prestigious competitive event. But when the next round began, Cifuentes was in Robb’s place, sparking confusion among observers and throwing the bracket into chaos.
As it turned out, Robb had been issued a loss over what The Pokémon Company International Global Esports and Events Director Chris Brown called an “unsporting conduct penalty” in a follow-up interview with IGN.
“It was an unsporting conduct penalty,” Brown said. “We applied it to the match that had just occurred and the standard penalty for that’s a match loss.”
Ian Robb 選手の非紳士行為何かと思ったけど、準々決勝の最後に取った自慰行為のジェスチャーがダメだったっぽい。
The unsporting conduct Brown was referring to was a motion that Robb performed after claiming victory that many took to be an offensive gesture. The result was that Robb was removed from the tournament, though he was allowed to keep his prize money for placing in the final eight. Quarterfinalists receive $15,000 while the winner receives $50,000.
The decision was criticized by some fans for altering the tournament, though others came forward to defend The Pokémon Company’s judgment.
“When I first heard about it I assumed Pokemon was being soft, but after seeing the clip I think they made the right call. He should know better. It can’t be emphasized enough how much Pokemon is geared towards children. I fully understand them wanting to discourage gestures like that,” one fan wrote on Reddit.
Robb, for his part, has been mostly silent, though he did post his support for Cifuentes on X/Twitter. “I’m cheering for him today. After meeting him and his dad I could tell how much making cut at worlds meant. He’s a deserving champion.”
Ultimately, Cifuentes won the tournament, defeating runner-up Seinosuke Shiokawa in the Masters division.
Asked for more detail on how the rules are enforced in such situations, Brown said it’s a “little tricky” in Pokémon due to the way the tournament is structured. “Generally the match is not considered to be over until you’ve actually signed your match slip…And so that’s sort of that key moment. There’s other kind of moments, and this is really fine detail and sort of the rules and policies, but in the [Swiss-system tournament] for example, when the information is actually put in the computer could be a factor, because then we have to pair the next round. Single limb is a little different. But ultimately we looked at it as that penalty basically was assessed for the match that was in progress.”
Pokémon World Tournament wrapped up on Sunday, crowning its overall winners while revealing info where the next tournament will take place. The Pokémon Company also shared the release date for Pokémon TCG Pocket and other info. You can find everything announced at the Pokémon World Championships right here.
Kat Bailey is IGN’s News Director as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.
Nintendo held a Direct today, but it wasn’t a traditional presentation filled with new game announcements and release dates. Instead, the company turned to its history by giving us our first look at the completed Nintendo Museum in Kyoto, Japan, which is now scheduled to open on October 2, 2024.
The presentation was hosted by none other than Nintendo legend Shigeru Miyamoto, who walked through the main exhibits and activities museum attendees can expect at the new facility. Read on to learn everything announced at today’s Nintendo Museum Direct, including the existence of enormous Wii Remotes!
Miyamoto Introduces the Museum
The presentation began with Miyamoto sharing the history of the museum site, revealing that the Nintendo museum is built on the same grounds as Nintendo’s original playing card factory, which was then used for quality checks during the Famicom (NES) era. The entrance to the museum greets visitors with a Mario-themed plaza, complete with warp pipes, a question block, and more Super Mario Bros. items.
You Can Play Nintendo Games With Enormous Controllers
The highlight of the presentation was seeing the enormous recreations of Nintendo controllers visitors will be able to use to play a selection of classic Nintendo games from the NES, SNES, Nintendo 64, and Wii eras. While we got an extended demo of Miyamoto playing Super Mario Bros. alongside a museum staff member, the star of the show was undoubtedly watching two museum staff members working together to play Wii Sports Resort using a giant Wii Remote’s motion controls. Just look at it!!
Attractions that Pull from Nintendo’s Toymaking Days
The Direct only showed off three of the eight interactive experiences, but the official Nintendo Museum website details the rest. This is the full list of unique play experiences the Nintendo Museum will offer on the first floor:
Shigureden SP
Explore Hyakunin Isshu poems using smart devices and the giant screen on the floor.
Zapper & Scope SP
Experience shooting using the Zapper and Super Scope in the world of Mario that spreads out on the giant screen in front of you.
Ultra Machine SP
A batting-cage experience inside a room. Hit the balls pitched by the Ultra Machine.
Ultra Hand SP
Use the Ultra Hand to grab the balls rolling down the lanes, and drop them into the pipes.
Love Tester SP
Two people join hands and work together on tests that measure their Love Level.
Game & Watch SP
Play Game & Watch games using your own shadow.
Nintendo Classics
Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Nintendo 64. Choose from over 80 games to play.
Big Controller
Controllers from past hardware generations made giant. Two people must work together to take on challenges in games released back in the day.
Visitors Can’t See Every Attraction with a Single Ticket
One odd wrinkle about the Nintendo Museum is that visitors can’t experience all eight exhibits with a single ticket. As detailed on the official website, digital coins are required to experience the interactive exhibits, and each visitor is only granted 10 coins upon entry. You can’t purchase additional coins once you run out, so as of now it seems you’ll need multiple visits to the Nintendo Museum to get your hands on everything it has to offer. We’ve reached out to Nintendo for comment and clarification on this.
A Rotunda of Nintendo Products
The second floor has a gallery of products created and published by Nintendo from NES to now. This includes games and consoles in Nintendo’s catalog, complete with different iterations of hardware and game boxes to account for differences across Japan, North America, Europe, and other regions. Each section of the exhibit is marked with a big (but not quite as huge) replica of each Nintendo controller and handheld.
There are also exhibits for products played by moving your body, the evolution of the Question Block, the evolution of graphics in games like Mario and Zelda, and an exhibit of products Nintendo made before it entered the video game business, like a copy machine and even a baby stroller.
Make Your Own Hanafuda Cards
The Nintendo Museum harkens all the way back to the beginning of the company with an interactive experience where visitors can design their own Hanafuda cards. This hour-long experience does cost extra, but participants will get to take home the four cards they made. There is also a Play Room where visitors can learn to play one of the most popular versions of Hanafuda.
Along with a museum restaurant and shop Miyamoto teased at the very end of the presentation, that’s what Nintendo fans can expect if they make the long trek to the Nintendo museum in Kyoto. Tickets will cost 3,300 yen (~$23 USD) for adults, with cheaper price ranges for children. Right now, the museum is holding a lottery drawing for the chance to purchase tickets for dates beginning with the museum’s grand opening on October 2, which you can enter here.
What did you think of today’s Nintendo Museum Direct? Did it make you want to take a trip to Japan to see it for yourself? Let us know in the comments. And, be sure to check out the first details on the Donkey Kong theme park expansion at Universal Studios Japan, the next big entertainment endeavor from Nintendo.
Logan Plant is IGN’s Database Manager, Playlist Editor, and Super Ninfriendo on Nintendo Voice Chat. Find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.
“A free Nintendo Account is required to make a reservation”.
Well, we’ve just had our first proper look at the Nintendo Museum, courtesy of Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto and at the very end of the broadcast, an opening date was confirmed.
The official date is now confirmed as 2nd October 2024, following previous statements from Nintendo mentioning how it would be opening its doors in Fall 2024.
Minecraft Realms have been struggling with downtime and other connectivity issues for almost a week now, and fans are taking notice.
Fans trying to access Realms have been reporting long loading times, connection errors, and other problems since at least August 13. It appears to have started around the release of Minecraft update 1.21.20, which included updates to Realms invite links as well as various bug fixes.
On August 15, Mojang tweeted that the Realms team was working “around the clock” to resolve the Bedrock Realms service issues. It subsequently reported that service had been restored, but connectivity issues continued throughout the weekend.
We are still hard at work to bring Realms back online for all players. As of now roughly 70% of players should have access. As part of this work we have had to block traffic to Realms on 1.21.20 on all platforms other than Switch (until Switch gets the hotfix). -DK
“We are still hard at work to bring Realms back online for all players. As of now roughly 70% of players should have access,” Mojang wrote on August 17. “As part of this work we have had to block traffic to Realms on 1.21.20 on all platforms other than Switch (until Switch gets the hotfix).”
Minecraft Realms are personal servers that are available to players via subscription. It’s touted as an area where fans can “easily and safely play online with their friends in shared worlds across devices.”
As of August 19, fans are still reporting connectivity issues with Minecraft Realms, which is corroborated by a large spike on Downdetector. IGN reached out to Mojang representatives for an update, but have not received a response.
Kat Bailey is IGN’s News Director as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.
Who remembered that Gamescom gives out awards? Yep. At the end of every event, the show hands out awards to all eligible games that are present at the Cologne-based expo. One of these categories is the ‘Best Nintendo Game’, which has been around since 2012. However, the award won’t be handed out this year as the organisers have scrapped the award for 2024.
TheGamer, who reported on the story, reached out to Gamescom’s organisers about the decision to scrap the award, and their response revealed that there were “too few submissions” for the category. Here’s the brief statement in full:
While Nintendo still has a few first-party games like The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom and Mario & Luigi: Brothership in the works for 2024, it appears Nintendo’s gamescom presence is so small that even the event organizer has confirmed it will not issue a Best Nintendo Switch Game award this year.
A gamescom spokesperson confirmed to TheGamer today that it will not issue a “Best Nintendo Switch Game” award because the event organizers received a small number of submissions to warrant an award at gamescom 2024.
“There were too few submissions for the Best Nintendo Switch category this year,” the spokesperson confirmed to TheGamer. “The award committee, therefore, decided to cancel the category.”
This marks the first year the Nintendo Switch will not have its own award category since the hybrid gaming system was released in 2017. Last year, the recipient of the Best Switch Game award was The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, which also won three additional awards, including Best Audio and Best Gameplay.
Of course, it may come as a surprise to no one. In April, Nintendo of Europe representative Games Wirtschaft told IGN sister site GamesIndustry.biz that Nintendo would not be physically appearing at gamescom 2024. This news is part of the wider rumor mill as Nintendo begins to gear up for the next hardware successor for the Switch, which is often regarded as the “Switch 2.”
gamescom 2024 is set to kick off on August 2024 with Opening Night Live, which will provide a ton of major news, reveals, and announcements. For more on gamescom 2024, check out our piece, where we predict what we can expect from this year’s event and what streams are scheduled throughout the week.
Taylor is a Reporter at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.
Baldur’s Gate 3 is getting a big bad new ending for the Dark Urge playthrough in September and developer Larian Studios has shared a first look at its cinematic.
In a post on X/Twitter, the studio showed (spoilers ahead) what appears to be the Dark Urge protagonist sacrificing their beloved companions Shadowheart, Lae’zel, and Wyll, using mind control to force them to jump to their deaths.
The “cinematic teaser” is 52 seconds long, suggesting the full version must be fairly significant. It will arrive alongside the final full update to beloved role-playing game Baldur’s Gate 3 sometime in September, though no specific release date has been announced yet.
Father would be so proud.
Embrace your destiny and feast your eyes on a new evil ending cinematic teaser for the Dark Urge, landing this September 👇
“Father would be so proud,” reads the post. “Embrace your destiny and feast your eyes on a new evil ending cinematic teaser for the Dark Urge, landing this September.”
Baldur’s Gate 3 was the surprise hit of 2023, as the Dungeons & Dragons-based game captured the attention of fans in unprecedented ways with its seemingly unlimited ways to tackle a seemingly unlimited number of situations.
In our 10/10 review of the game, IGN said: “With crunchy, tactical RPG combat, a memorable story with complex characters, highly polished cinematic presentation, and a world that always rewards exploration and creativity, Baldur’s Gate 3 is the new high-water mark for CRPGs.”
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.
Tactical Breach Wizards is a tactics game for people that don’t like tactics games. Magically, it’s also a tactics game for people who love them like nothing else. It’s permissive and demanding; playful and tense. Its globe-spanning plot covers conspiracies, PMCs, and brutal theocratic dictatorships. It also features a traffic-summoning warlock named Steve wearing a hi-vis robe. It’s finding that one absolutely, perfectly ridiculous XCOM turn, every turn…and at the same time knowing it’s absolutely, perfectly fine if you don’t. In short: it’s one of the most enjoyable tactics games I’ve ever played, and the only tactics game with a pyromancer so rubbish he relies on making his enemies pass out from heatstroke.
