Game Bites: Pokemon’s Post-E3 News And Switch Pro Not Likely

(Ed. note: My apologies for the late column this week. Christina filed it on time but things got in my way.)

Hey all you Need Caliber gaming fans, E3 has come and gone and with it we can finally get back to a sense of normalcy for video games. Luckily for us there was some interesting news that came out after E3.

Following Nintendo’s showcase, many fans were confused that Pokemon Co. did not reveal anything during the presentation. It’s known that Pokemon Co., while under the Nintendo banner, is still its own company and it likes to do things itself. On Thursday it had a special short direct about the first ever Pokemon MOBA game called Pokemon Unite, which is releasing in July for Nintendo Switch and in September for mobile. 

There was more news from Nintendo coming from head of Nintendo America himself, Doug Bowser. In an interview with the Washington Post where the reporter asked him about the massive rumors of a new Switch Pro, Bowser had this nothing burger to say: “As we enter into our fifth year, Nintendo Switch really is redefining what a console life cycle can look like, and the vibrancy of that overall life cycle with a strong cadence of content.” It seems like Nintendo doesn’t plan to reveal any new console anytime soon and instead will be focusing on the games they release instead. We will see what the future has in store. 

This week Five Nights at Freddy’s creator Scott Cawthon retired amid his ongoing controversy. Recently it had come out that Cawthon had been making numerous political donations to Republican candidates, including the former President. It hurt many of his fans who are part of the LGBTQ+ community, as the candidates he was supporting were against their rights. There was a Reddit post from Cawthon stating that he didn’t mind if he was cancelled but in his recent post about his retirement he states he is doing so to spend more time with his wife and six children. 

Cyberpunk 2077, another well-known controversial game, is finally getting brought back to the PlayStation 4. Sony stated on Twitter that the game was up on their virtual store, adding “Work on the PS4 version continues, with fixes and updates to be released throughout the year. For the best experience on PlayStation, playing on PS4 Pro or PS5 consoles is recommended.” CD Projekt Red, the Polish game developer, has been under investigation by the Polish government regarding the processes behind the development of Cyberpunk 2077, including allegedly misleading marketing materials used to control consumer reactions. It will be up to the fans now to decide if the PlayStation 4 version is acceptable or if it should forever stay off the store. 

Since E3 we have had many games released. On the 9th we had Alba: A Wildlife Adventure, (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch), and Steam releases for No More Heroes and No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle, as well as Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis (Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC). On the 10th was Chicory: A Colorful Tale (PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, PC), Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade (PlayStation 5), Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection (PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC). June 11th had releases of Game Builder Garage (Switch), Guilty Gear -Strive- (PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, PC), Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (PlayStation 5) and Wave Break (Switch, PC). And released on the 15th was the Switch version of Strange Brigade.

That’s all for this week in gaming, don’t forget with summer and cons coming to stay safe and healthy in your area. Tune into next week for more video game news.