Since Nintendo revealed the Switch Lite a few weeks back, there’s been a lot of discussion surrounding the updated, but simplified, version of the Nintendo Switch.
Whether or not to get one if you already own a Switch (check out the results of our poll), the reason why there isn’t there a Switch Pro, and most recently the issue of “JoyCon drift” have all been hot-button issues. Of course, the biggest question is, if you are going to pick up a Switch Lite, which one are you going to get?
Nintendo has released its earnings report for the first quarter of the fiscal year 2019, which covers the period from April to June 30. Not only did the company move another 2.13 million Switch consoles worldwide during that time frame, bringing the system’s lifetime total close to 37 million, it also launched one of the system’s most anticipated releases this year, Super Mario Maker 2, and the game is off to an impressive start.
According to Nintendo’s earnings report, Super Mario Maker 2 sold 2.42 million units worldwide during the fiscal quarter. What makes this especially impressive is that the game launched right at the end of the quarter, on June 28, so it managed to move more than 2 million copies in only three days of availability.
Mario Maker 2 wasn’t the only Nintendo game that performed well during the recent fiscal quarter. The company’s best-selling Switch title, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, shifted another 1.2 million units worldwide, bringing its lifetime sales up to 17.89 million. The star-studded mascot fighter Super Smash Bros. Ultimate also continues to perform well; the game now sits at 14.73 million units and will likely soon overtake Super Mario Odyssey as Switch’s second-best-selling game. You can see Nintendo’s revised top 10 Switch best-sellers list here.
Nintendo recently increased the number of levels players can upload in Super Mario Maker 2. Prior to the update, players could only share a maximum of 32 courses on the game’s online Course World hub, but that limit has now been doubled. Nintendo says it will increase the level upload limit one more time in the future. The company will also release an update that allows players to play online with friends, although it hasn’t yet announced when that update will go live. You can read more about the game in our Super Mario Maker 2 review.
Nintendo is releasing a cheaper, portable-focused version of the Switch–dubbed the Nintendo Switch Lite–this September. This iteration of the console removes some of the system’s features, such as its detachable Joy-Cons and ability to connect to a television, to better suite handheld play. Meanwhile, the base Nintendo Switch is also receiving a modest revision, with much longer battery life. The revised Switch will cost the same as the original model ($300 USD) and will launch in the US sometime in mid-August.
Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled has a new Grand Prix coming to Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. Starting early this August, you will go back in time to race with and against baby versions of both Crash and Coco on prehistoric tracks reminiscent of the Stone Age.
Back N. Time is the second piece of free DLC for the kart racing game. Running from Friday, August 2 at 7 AM PT / 9 AM CST / 10 AM ET / 3 PM BST to Sunday, August 25, this Grand Prix gives you access to a plethora of unlockables. These include a new track (the Prehistoric Playground), three new characters, additional karts (like the Probulot 2000 kart from Crash Tag Team Racing), and more, as well as customization items and alternative skins for characters and karts.
A blog post by publisher Activision says there are “18 new items to earn through your Nitro Gauge,” a tier system that unlocks rewards with the Nitro Points you earn in-game. Back N. Time is available to download for free for anyone who owns the game and has an internet connection.
The official Crash Bandicoot YouTube channel also published a video with game announcers Chick and Stew giving a brief rundown of what you can expect in the Back N. Time Grand Prix. Check out the announcement video below.
In our Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled review, we said, “When the nostalgia fades, Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled remains fun and engaging enough to keep you racing on with a smile on your face for much longer yet. It’s good to have Crash back.”
Solstice of Heroes 2019 is live in Destiny 2, marking the final big event to take place before the Shadowkeep expansion arrives in September. This year’s event again centers around obtaining and upgrading a series of Solstice armor for Titans, Hunters, and Warlocks, but it also involves partaking in a brand-new mode called the European Aerial Zone. We’re still digging into everything the event has to offer following the release of the new update, but based on our experience so far, we have some tips on how to quickly upgrade your armor, how to get the most out of your EAZ runs, and how elemental orbs and buffs work.
As the name suggests, the European Aerial Zone features a lot in common with the European Dead Zone, at least in terms of visuals. The “aerial” part of the name comes in when you look at how the area is laid out–this is the most vertically oriented area in Destiny. The area has small groups of floating islands surrounding the outside, but the landmass is primarily composed of familiar EDZ elements. However, the ruined cityscape has you going through buildings and ascending to rooftops quite frequently. It’s a much different way of navigating the world than we’re accustomed to, and you’ll want to do what you can to familiarize yourself with the general layout. It’s easy to get lost and generally waste time, and speed is the name of the game.
A run through the EAZ consists of a few rounds:
You’ll want to focus on the miniboss targets throughout the first section; it’s easy to get distracted by small skirmishes that don’t matter. Having your team of three split up and take out as many minibosses as possible seemingly dictates the number of chests that open once you kill the boss. The boss fights are relatively straightforward encounters (although there is some potential wrinkle where a Prismatic Taken spawns during this stage, though we’re not entirely sure how that plays out yet).
Once you’ve slain the boss, a chest will appear nearby. Once you open that, a countdown will begin before a series of chests spawn around the map. Just before they appear, you’ll briefly see their locations on your HUD–make sure to look around and make note of the general direction of each one. Once the chests actually spawn, you’ll have to get close to them in order to see them pop up on your HUD again. As with the minibosses, spreading out to cover more ground is your best bet, because you only have a limited time to open as many chests as possible. Any player who opens the chest earns the rewards for everyone in the group, so you don’t need to worry about hitting up each one yourself.
You should earn a Solstice Package from each EAZ run, along with a series of key fragments. The packages seem to consist of a variety of random gear and items, including planetary materials and armor. You’ll need 15 key fragments in order to open a package. While you can earn key fragments from the EAZ, there are other ways to earn them, including completing patrols, public events, and Solstice bounties.
Early in your adventures in Solstice of Heroes, Eva Levante at the Tower will grant you a set of green-tier armor (dubbed the Drained version). Each one has a series of objectives attached to it (seen by hovering over it in your inventory), and you’ll need to complete all of these in order to upgrade the set to the next level of rarity.
These objectives run the gamut–some are tied to running through the EAZ and opening the aforementioned chests, while others ask you to generate elemental orbs (more on those below), complete public events on a specific planet, kill opposing players, or open those Solstice Packages. The specific objectives vary by class.
The key thing to be aware of with these is that you need to have the armor equipped in order to register progress. If you’re eager to do this as quickly as possible, pay attention to the objectives that overlap. You may need to complete Crucible or Gambit matches while also needing to collect Void orbs in those modes, so you’ll want to ensure you’re equipped correctly to make that happen.
One of the core parts of Solstice of Heroes is the element of the day, and the accompanying elemental orbs that can be generated. Throughout the event, a specific element will be chosen each day–Arc, Void, or Solar–and as you earn elemental kills (meaning final blows with an elemental weapon or ability), corresponding orbs will be dropped on the ground. Pick up 30 of these, and you’ll receive a temporary buff, Empowerment, that grants you a different effect. Here’s how Bungie describes each of them:
Once your Empowerment buff activates, your stack of orbs–designated in the bottom left of the screen by “Elemental Charge” followed by the number you’ve collected–will be consumed. However, you can begin picking up orbs while Empowerment is active.
As noted above, these orbs are also tied to the Solstice armor objectives. You can luckily create whatever type of orb you need for these objectives regardless of the daily element, but if you’re looking to collect orbs, you’ll need to be fast. Unlike Orbs of Light, these elemental orbs disappear fairly quickly.
Also bear in mind that all of this is true across the game. While the elemental buffs aren’t available in Gambit Prime or Competitive playlists, they are present everywhere else. As such, you don’t have to rely on the EAZ to generate the orbs you need for armor objectives. In fact, based on what we’ve seen so far, your best bet for rapidly acquiring orbs might be Heroic public events, particularly those in confined spaces.
Solstice has only gotten underway, and we’ll report back with more information as we further learn how everything works. This is all now live for all Destiny 2 players, as is a slate of event-specific items that can be bought from the Eververse store.
The new trailer for American Horror Story: 1984 is here. As the title suggests, the ninth season of the hit horror anthology series is influenced by horror movies of the 1980s, and it’s set to premiere on September 18 on FX.
While the trailer doesn’t reveal much about the story–or stories–of the new season, it definitely captures the ’80s slasher movie vibe. It opens with a group of partying teens heading down the highway towards Camp Redwood–unfortunately there’s a knife-wielding killer hanging onto the underside of their truck. We then get various shots of the camp, and another nasty surprise for a sunbathing teen. It’s got a cool ’80s soundtrack and faux film scratch marks to evoke the era–check it out below.
This trailer follows the cast announcement teaser that was released earlier this month. The cast of the new series includes Emma Roberts, Cody Fern, Gus Kenworthy, Billie Lourd, Matthew Morrison, Angelica Ross, DeRon Horton, and Zach Villa. There was also this first promo which teased the series’s slasher movie influences.
While Roberts, Lourd, Fern, and Grossman have all appeared in previous seasons of the show, one series regular who won’t feature much–or possibly at all–is Sarah Paulson. As reported by Variety, Paulson won’t have “a significant role” in Season 9, and the most we can expect to see her in is a cameo.
For more American Horror Story coverage on GameSpot, check out our look at how the previous 8 seasons are connected.