Splatoon: tweets, pics and video of the day (May 18), interview

18 May 2015 Lite_Agent Splatoon

Squid Research Lab

Today, the Squid Research Lab posted several tweets about the SplatFests, in Splatoon. Those are special events, during which players have to answer questions like “Which kind of music do you prefer? Pop or Rock?”. They have to pick up the team corresponding to their answer, and then fight to determine the winner.

During those SplatFest events, the Inkopolis plaza’s appearance change radically:

During each SplatFest, the question will change. In Japan, the first one will be: “What do you prefer for breakfast? Rice or pastries?”.

During SplatFests, messages of support for each team that are sent via Miiverse will appear in-game as illuminations.

During SplatFests, winning matches will allow you to get some points for your team, with a ranking system separate from regular matches. At the end, if you have enough points, you will be rewarded with some Super Shells.

Finally, they published a brand new video, showcasing the Splattershot and its set of secondary/special weapons:

Nintendo UK Interview

In an interview with MCV UK, Chandra Nair (Marketing manager) from Nintendo UK explained that Nintendo’s goal is to provide “great gameplay experiences that are fun, immersive and make people smile”. If an idea is best realised with existing characters, Nintendo will use them instead of creating a new IP.

But on the other hand, if the idea can only be realised with a new IP, Nintendo won’t try to brute force in an already existing IP. With Splatoon, the various mechanics involving ink worked best with new characters (Inklings and Octarians), and the overall premise is very different to the other Nintendo IPs, which is why the company chose to create a new one.

Splatoon is a third-person shooter, which is a brand new genre for Nintendo. However, it’s still something Nintendo is quite skilled at: multiplayer fun. After all, it really does feel like a Nintendo game, and it has all the values fans have come to expect. In other words: you’re going to love Splatoon, according to Chandra Nair.

Once again, Nintendo makes the comparison with Mario Kart, and explains that if you love that series, chances are you’re most likely going to love Splatoon too. Games like this one don’t come very often, so Nintendo is going to advertise it a lot with TV campaigns for kids, 12-25 boys and men, the whole family, and gamers in general.

Nintendo believes that Splatoon is a system-seller, which will be able to appeal to lapsed Nintendo fans too. For Chandra Neir, the Wii U has a fantastic line-up, so Splatoon should be the game that will tip over the edge players who were still reluctant to get one.