Tag: North America

The Winner Of The Second ‘Splatoon’ North American Splatfest Is…

by Josh Jackson

Team Roller Coasters!

Splatoon Splatfest 2 Screen 1

Over the weekend, Nintendo held the second Splatoon Splatfest in North America. These online competition has players vote for one of two teams, then makes them go head to head in Turf Wars for 24 hours to claim team supremacy. Once over, points are tallied between popularity and number of wins, with the victorious team walking away with bragging rights and a larger share of Super Sea Snails. These items can be exchanged for either additional ability slots on your favorite gear, or randomize the perks you already have if the clothes you’re using it on are already full by heading over to the local drug dealer sea urchin.

In this war between Team Roller Coasters and Team Water Slides, the latter couldn’t pull off a victory despite having a higher popularity percentage. Like cats vs. dogs, the more popular team failed to win more battles, but this time, the difference in wins was enough to put Team Roller Coasters over the top. On the other side of the world, Japan’s battle of Team Eating vs. Team Sleeping predictably ended in Team Eating’s victory, likely because their opponents weren’t actually awake to play.

What side were you on? What do you hope are the next subjects for future Splatfests? And why do people with bad taste keep winning more matches? Share your theories in the comments below!

The First North American ‘Splatoon’ Splatfest Has Been Postponed Due To Matchmaking Issues!

by Josh Jackson

Seems like we’re going to have to wait a little longer to find out if dogs or cats are the superior pets.

Based on a message from the official Splatoon Tumblr page, the first North American Splatfest, which was supposed to take place during the weekend of June 20th, has been postponed due to matchmaking issues that made finding games during the Japanese event unreliable.

The official post reads:

Unfortunately, a matchmaking issue was discovered in the first Japanese Splatfest that resulted in long wait times and players unable to join matches. We have been working on a solution but will need a little more time to resolve the issue. In order to ensure that fans have the best possible experience and can enjoy the fun they’ve come to expect from Splatoon, we have decided to postpone the first North American Splatfest. We’ll have details on a new date soon!

Who knows, maybe this is for the best? After all, we’re still recovering from E3, and Father’s Day is the same weekend. I mean, I’m sure your father would have loved to watch you pretend to vandalize public spaces with infinite amounts of ink in the pursuit of pet superiority while he’s neglected on his special day, but maybe this could be a great opportunity to actually bond with the guy!

Still, the news is disappointing to say the least. Who knows, maybe we’ll get a few free Sea Snails out of it? We’ll be sure to let you know when the event is rescheduled, but let’s hope it won’t be long before we get to partake in our overdue Splatfest with strangers across the continent.

Rumour: New 3DS To Hit North America In February?

by Derek Kraneveldt

Briefly: Nintendo fans have been waiting patiently to find out just when the newer, faster 3DS models would be coming to North America, and an apparent leaked Gamestop ad has revealed that the new iteration may be coming sooner than we thought:

Gamestop

If the ad (via NeoGAF) is real, it states that the new 3DS (or at least the XL model) will be available on February 13th (just in time for my birthday). What’s really interesting here is that the left side of the ad also shows the 3DS version of Majora’s Mask, which I really didn’t think we’d be seeing that early.

Only time will tell if the ad was real, and by time, I mean the Nintendo Direct presentation that Nintendo has scheduled for tomorrow. Keep your eyes on Geekscape for the confirmation (and keep your ears on the next episode of Geekscape Games, as I’m sure we’ll have a lot to talk about).

Will you be picking up the new version? Sound out below!

Slimmer, Sexier PS Vita To Launch In North America On May 6th

by Derek Kraneveldt

Briefly: It was announced back in February that Sony’s slimmer, lighter Vita 2000 would be making its way to North America in the Spring, and now we know just when you’ll be able to get your hands on one.

Sony revealed today that the Borderlands 2 PS Vita bundle will launch in stores on May 6th (while the standalone game will launch on May 13th).

The bundle includes a black Vita 2000, a copy of Borderlands 2, and an 8Gb memory card all for $199.99.

Again, the new Vita 2000 is about 20% thinner and 15% lighter than the previous model, and also has 1Gb of built-in memory (up from nothing). It gets about an hour of extra battery life too (which it desperately needed). The only downside? It uses a standard LCD over the gorgeous OLED from the original model (which is apparently not a huge deal as those who have used both units).

Will you be picking up the new unit? Do you already have a Vita? Be sure to let us know!

Slimmer Playstation Vita Finally Coming To North America!

by Derek Kraneveldt

Briefly: It’s already out in Japan, and will be releasing soon in Europe, but Sony just made the slimmer, lighter Playstation Vita official for North America.

The Vita 2000 will launch exclusively in a Borderlands 2 bundle this Spring. The 2000 is about 20% thinner and 15% lighter than the previous model, and it also has 1Gb of built-in memory (up from 0), and about an hour of extra battery life. The only downside? It uses a standard LCD over the gorgeous OLED from the original model.

The bundle actually sounds fantastic. It (of course) includes Borderlands 2, but it’ll also come with a decently-sized 8Gb memory card. I’m running an 8Gb in my Vita right now, and it’s been enough for about 3 full Vita games, plus some download-only titles like Spelunky, OlliOlli (which I’m still obsessed with, check out my review here), and Lone Survivor.

I haven’t been a fan of the Vita for most of its life (though I did buy one on launch day), but with the myriad of indie games now available on the console, an astonishing Playstation Plus collection, and Remote Play for PS4 (and Playstation Now down the pipeline), it’s really becoming a decent system (though memory cards are still far too expensive).

Will you be picking up a Vita? Check out the announcement video below, and let us know!