According to Time, the popular sandbox game runs at 720p in both docked and mobile modes. Some fans might have wanted to see 1080p, but this is not possible due to “issues currently experienced shifting from one resolution to the other when docking/undocking,” Time reported (via DualShockers), citing a Microsoft representative. According to the spokesperson, the Switch’s power is not holding the game back from reaching 1080p, but instead the “issues” laid out above are to blame.
As Time points out, it is possible that Minecraft for Switch could reach 1080p if those items are sorted out. We will report back with more details as they become available.
Priced at $30, Minecraft for Switch features local and online multiplayer support as well as Mario-inspired skins, as you can see in the image gallery above.
In other Switch news, the eShop got a welcome upgrade recently, as it now allows users to store their credit card information. Previously, you had to enter it every time you made a new purchase, unless you were willing to add credit to your digital wallet on the system.
The Switch already has its own version of Minecraft, and it’s easily the best portable edition the game has ever seen.
When Phil Spencer, the head of Xbox, tweets to say that Minecraft is perfect for Nintendo Switch you know there’s probably something in it. He is in a peculiar position though, in that Microsoft now owns developer Mojang and could easily make Minecraft an Xbox and Windows exclusive if they wanted to. Thankfully, they’ve been more sensible than that, and Minecraft is still available on all Sony consoles. It took a long while for it to arrive on the Wii U though, despite it fitting the format, and the Nintendo audience, perfectly. But no such mistake is being made with the Nintendo Switch.
We’re still surprised that Nintendo themselves (or Lego) weren’t the ones that bought Mojang in the first place. But while they could easily have afforded the $2.5 billion price tag, that’s just not the way the company has ever worked. Even sweet-talking other publishers into bringing multiformat games to their consoles is usually beyond them, but as with much else they seem to have changed their ways with the Switch. And in so doing provided the console with what could easily be regarded as another killer app.
Although the details vary between versions this is fundamentally the same game that’s available on all the other console formats. There is some extra Super Mario-themed texture packs and music throw in (as well as a few other mash-up packs, which seems to be meant as justification for the slightly higher price tag), and good use is made of the Switch’s various multiplayer, but this is still the same old Minecraft at heart. And frankly it’s never felt as at home on any other console.
If you somehow don’t know what Minecraft is – which presumably means you also haven’t been near any children in the last five years – it’s basically digital Lego. Not literally (there’s Lego Worlds for that) but the appeal of building whatever you want out of small building blocks is very similar. You start the experience in a huge, randomly-generated, game world where everything is made out of small cubes composed of different materials such as wood, dirt, stone and other more precious minerals. These can be excavated and used to create a huge range of different items, from tools like shovels and pickaxes to bedroom furniture, boats, and armour.
Most people will play the game in Creative mode, where you’re left to do whatever you want, but there is also a more structured Survival mode, which imposes de facto goals – such as building a shelter to survive the monsters that appear at night. But from there you can still do anything you like, from catching a fish with a fishing rod (that you made) on a stove (which you also made) to making pets of the wandering wild animals.
Although the in-game tutorial does its best the set-up is very disorientating at first, but that’s actually part of the charm. Getting your head around the game’s internal logic takes a little while (the effect of gravity is implemented inconsistently, for example, so trees will happily stay standing even with the middle of their trunks removed). But working out what everything can be used for is a primary appeal and the help system almost ruins it at times by giving too much away.
Minecraft: Nintendo Switch Edition (NS) – four-player is probably best left to TV mode
When it comes to the Nintendo Switch version, this sits somewhere between the Xbox 360 (and Wii U) version and the Xbox One in terms of performance. The maximum world size is ‘medium’, compared to the Xbox 360’s ‘small’ and the Xbox One’s ‘large’. The performance is a smooth 60fps throughout though, even in two-player split-screen mode. There is a little slowdown in four-player split-screen, but given you need both Joy-Cons, or a Pro Controller, for each player that’s probably not going to be an option for most people anyway.
That instantly makes it the best portable version of the game ever seen, especially given the numerous compromises of the Pocket Edition. The draw distance is quite short when in handheld mode though, and there’s a real inconsistency in when and how the touchscreen is used. For some reason you still have to use an onscreen cursor with the inventory, but you can use the touchscreen when crafting.
The other problem with the Nintendo Switch version is that it’s not the latest console update, but is instead stuck back where the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 were in late January. It should be easy for it to catch up, but we’ll have to wait and see if it actually does. The online options are also predictably limited in terms of whose games you can join. You’re fine if you join someone already on your friends list, but there’s no in-game chat of any kind.
The Nintendo Switch Edition is a small step-down from the other current gen console versions, although to the casual observer it will seem all but identical. As a portable version of the game though, this is easily the best there’s ever been. And given how versatile it is in terms of multiplayer and playing it on the TV it’s easy to imagine it becoming many people’s favourite version. So while technically this is just another port, it’s also further proof of just how energising the Switch can be for even the most familiar games.
Minecraft: Nintendo Switch Edition
In Short: The definitive portable version of Minecraft, with almost all the features of the current gen home console editions combined with the convenience of the Nintendo Switch.
Pros: A good port of the original, with excellent performance in both handheld and TV mode. Minecraft is naturally well-suited to Switch, and there a few fun extras with the mash-up pack.
Cons: World sizes aren’t as big as the PC or other next gen consoles. Restrictive online options and not the latest update. Inconsistent use of the touchscreen.
Score: 8/10
Formats: Nintendo Switch Price: £19.99 Publisher: Mojang Developer: 4J Studios and Mojang Release Date: 12th May 2017 (currently eShop only) Age Rating: 7
It didn’t make the cut as one of the many announcements to emerge from Microsoft’s Build 2017 event this week, but this morning the company unveiled that Minecraft – the game it acquired a few years ago for $2.5 billion – has now made its way to the Nintendo Switch. The new game will include the same features found in console versions, Microsoft says, including the multiplayer mini games, Battle and Tumble.
But it will also take advantage of the Switch’s flexibility, allowing eight players to get together online or play locally if everyone has a Switch; or up to four can play together in a split-screen view on the TV from a single console. Players can also use the device’s kickstand to play in tabletop mode if the TV is unavailable, which will also support up to four players through a split-screen mode. And players can use either Joy-Cons or the Pro Controller, depending on their preferences.
Because the Switch is portable, you can continue to play when you venture out of the home – Microsoft claims the game will run smoothly at 60fps and 720p resolution, no matter if you’re playing on the big screen TV or in the handheld mode.
In this edition of the Minecraft game, Microsoft is also introducing a Super Mario Mash-Up Pack. (The Wii U version has Mario textures and skins, too.)
This includes a Mario-themed world with mushrooms, chomping plants, and the iconic pipes, as well as the Mario music and characters. There are 15 tracks from Super Mario 64 included and 40 characters from Mario games, including Princess Peach, Toad, Yoshi, the Koopalings, Wario, and others.
The Nintendo Switch version of Minecraft adds several extra worlds, too, like Chinese Mythology, Halloween, Festive and Greek Mythology, plus more skin packs including Redstone Specialists, multiple Battle and the Beast skin packs, and two of the Festive packs.
Microsoft says the game is launching today, but will first be available on the Nintendo eShop in North America, before rolling out in Europe and Japan tomorrow. A physical version will arrive in the future.
I’m frankly a little surprised we haven’t started hearing more E3 leaks yet, but everyone seems to be playing everything pretty close to their chest for the show which kicks off in a month. But one little tidbit has purposefully dropped about the Microsoft event, thanks to someone from 343 itself.
Responding to some community excitement on the Halo subreddit, 343 community manager Brian Jarrad had to step in to manage expectations about what might appear in Microsoft’s show at E3. And namely what wouldn’t appear: Halo 6.
“I’ll slip into my Dreamcrusher persona for a minute in the name of realistic expectations,” Jarrad said. “We’ve said this already but we’ll have a little something at E3 but it’s not related to the next major entry in the franchise.”
Some are saying that there could still be a tease for Halo 6, while “the game” itself may not be there, but Jarrad’s wording is pretty clear. Something “not related” to the next major entry in the franchise, which would be Halo 6, or Halo: Whatever Subtitle They Use Instead of 6.
Obviously in a perfect world, Microsoft would have been able to launch this fall’s Xbox Scorpio with some sort of major Halo game, given that it’s still the console’s most beloved exclusive series by a mile, but the timing is just not in the cards for that, clearly. If anything, it seems like Crackdown 3 may end up being the “launch game” for Scorpio, as the dev is teasing a big presence at E3, but Halo? Doubtful.
Still, Jarrad’s comment about some sort of Halo presence at E3 has sparked a number of theories about what that could actually mean. Here are a few I could believe:
– Halo 3 Anniversary Edition
– Halo 5 standalone DLC
– Halo Wars 2 DLC/Expansion
– More info on Microsoft’s alleged collaboration with Steven Spielberg for a Halo show (remember that?)
Obviously the best news of the bunch here would be Halo 3 Anniversary, and if that could somehow arrive in time for Scorpio’s release? That would be pretty fantastic.
Microsoft has had their E3 shows bested by Sony pretty routinely for the most part the past few years, but I think they’re going to have a good run this year as (presumably) the only company show off new hardware. Technically the Scorpio has already “debuted,” but not really. Last year, we just had a spec tease, and so far this year, all we’ve seen from the console is a Digital Foundry examination of just how powerful the thing is. I expect Scorpio to dominate Microsoft’s show this year, with the full unveiling of the box, price and name.
Obviously it would be nice for Halo, their biggest franchise, to also have a major reveal there at the same time, but it doesn’t look like that will be in the cards. I do think it’s wise for 343 to keep their heads down and simply polish Halo 6 to a mirror shine. We have already heard some changes in the works, from a story focused solely on Master Chief after criticisms about Halo 5 (that wasn’t the reason that story didn’t work, but whatever) and a return to local split-screen play, which 343 admitted was a mistake to remove after the fact. The success of local co-op Battlefront probably did much to help with that decision as well.
I’m looking forward to whatever 343 and Microsoft bring to E3, and to picking up a Scorpio this fall, even if I’m skeptical about the overall market for an expensive superconsole in this day and age. But we’ll see how it all plays out in the coming year.
Nintendo revealed its plans for E3 in a press release Thursday, and we couldn’t be more excited for the Switch-related reveals. While these aren’t necessarily predictions, here are five games and announcements we’d love to see from Nintendo at E3 2017.
1) Super Mario Odyssey: It’s already been confirmed that Super Mario Odyssey will factor into Nintendo’s E3 plans in a big way, but we truly hope it delivers on everything we saw in January’s debut trailer. For all intents and purposes, this looks like the triumphant return of 3D sandbox Mario games. We haven’t seen one of those since Sunshine in 2002, so expectations are riding high.
Not only should the slice shown during E3 be as substantial as last year’s Breath Of The Wild Great Plateau demo, but it should also highlight several ways in which the play style has evolved over the last 12 years. Fans who played Sunshine or Super Mario 64 already have a basic idea of what to expect. We hope Nintendo builds on the best parts of those games in ways nobody sees coming. Infuse new genres and mechanics into the plumber’s upcoming adventure.
2) Virtual Console & Online Details: While this sort of stuff may not be sexy enough for a Direct debut, we hope Nintendo takes some time during E3 week to answer two of the biggest questions still haunting Switch owners: is Virtual Console coming, and how will this fall’s online service be structured?
Since we’re talking about desires rather than predictions, our reasonable dream scenario is that Switch online access costs $20 a month with a free Virtual Console game that you can keep as long as the subscription is active. In January Nintendo said free games would only be playable for the month, but we hope that idea gets rolled back. As for VC, we hope Nintendo is taking this extra time to ensure that all Wii U purchases transfer to Switch for free. Even more pie in the sky perhaps, wouldn’t it be great to pay an extra $10 a month to get unlimited access to the entire VC catalog? Make Switch’s services shine so brightly that we never have time to be bored with the console.
3) Super Smash Bros. For Switch: We’ve heard the rumors forever, and we hope E3 2017 is when they’re finally confirmed to be real. We’re fine with this game starting out as a Wii U port, but we’d love to see Nintendo commit to an extended DLC plan for the future.
‘Super Smash Bros’
We hope ‘Super Smash Bros.’ comes to Switch in a way that builds off its predecessor on Wii U with tons of new character and stage DLC.Photo: Nintendo/Facebook
In other words, continue to give us new characters and stages beyond the couple of new additions that have popped up in rumor reports. Make this iteration less of a Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and more of a continuation of an existing service on a new platform.
4) Metroid: Enough is enough Nintendo! We know Retro Studios has been toiling away on something for years, and evidence is mounting that it could be Metroid-related. This franchise has essentially been dormant for a decade, so we’re willing to take anything. Just tell us this game exists. If we’re dreaming, we’d like to see it come out this fall, but even a 2018 tease would blow the roof off the building.
After seeing how Breath Of The Wild brilliantly reinvented Zelda, it’d be awesome to see Metroid adopt some of that game’s best features. Put space exploration front and center, flesh out planets with sidequests and tie it down with the impressive combat and movement from Prime. Metroid Switch could fill in for the awesome Mass Effect game we didn’t get this year.
5) Something Nobody Expects: Every great E3 showcase has a totally unexpected surprise, so we hope Nintendo has one up its sleeve. There have been no rumblings about a franchise like Animal Crossing or F-Zero coming to Switch yet, so wouldn’t it be awesome to hear that a title along those lines is set to release this year?
The shock factor could also come from a third-party partnership too considering Nintendo historically struggles in that department. We know about the whole Rabbids thing, but that’s not a show stopper. We’re talking about a major name or franchise with some form of Switch exclusivity. Beyond Good And Evil 2 in 2017 perhaps ? Bring on the unexpected.
Nintendo’s E3 Direct stream is set to take place June 13 at 12 p.m. EDT. It will be followed by Treehouse streams throughout the convention.
What do you want to see from Nintendo’s E3 showcase? Will any of our dreams come true? Tell us in the comments section!
