Hello, and welcome to this week’s Nintendo recap. It’s not all good news in the past few days, as we’ve learned about some of the alleged sexual harassment and gender inequality issues that Nintendo of America contractors have been experiencing. While it’s inconvenient to talk about, it’s important to know what happens to our favorite company.
In other news, the internet exploded when it was discovered that Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has a LAN Party mode that allows up to 12 players to play together locally. We also know that information regarding Pokemon Scarlett and Violet is coming this weekend. Plus, anyone who loves fast paced party games with cute characters will love the latest Kirby games. There’s more to talk about, so let’s get started.
Nintendo of America testers allegedly faced years of sexual harassment
It’s never fun to talk about serious allegations in the workplace, but even Nintendo of America (NoA) isn’t free from them. Nintendo is already dealing with a few different work complaints that were filed earlier this year, but now a new allegation of sexual harassment in the workplace has long been coming to the fore.
As reported by Kotaku, NoA testers have allegedly faced years of sexual harassment with several current and former employees sharing their experiences. Things get complicated because NoA often contracts out exams rather than having full-time employees or “red badges” doing the work.
Hana (not her real name) worked as a test employee for NoA’s contracted Aerotech (now Aston Carter) and experienced several “inappropriate incidents” in the 10 years she tested with Nintendo. She eventually left because she felt the company was not protecting her from these negative experiences that “affected her career”. During her time there, she was very open about her sexuality as a lesbian, but that didn’t stop the male staff from courting her.
At one point, Hannah reported inappropriate posts in a business conversation from a full-time employee at Nintendo and was told that the full-time employee would be trained in sexual harassment, but nothing else would be done because he wasn’t from the same company.
Although Nintendo does not disclose the number of contract workers it employs, “the percentage of contract workers in the test is hovering around 10%.” [at NoA]As Teams mentioned. Things aren’t much better when it comes to NoA’s full-time employees, with only 37% of them being women. Worse, only 23.7% of Nintendo managers globally are women. In the workplace, it is no surprise that things within the company are not equal.
In addition to harassment, women at Nintendo have also reported disparities in pay and advancement. Earlier this year, we reported on how difficult it is for NoA workers to get promoted to the coveted “Red Badge” full-time status. But according to one of the contractors who worked on The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, it’s much more difficult for women.
“Your chance [of being converted to full time] Perhaps it was worse when she was a girl. Usually men [who get promoted]. Usually they are all friends. They watch the Super Bowl together.” Another employee who worked on the circuit in 2017 said succinctly:[Product testing] It really felt like a house of brothers sometimes. “Feeling excluded and trapped without being able to come forward for arbitrary reasons like sex is unfortunately not new to the gaming industry, as we saw with the reports surrounding the Activision Blizzard lawsuit.
With progression difficult, Nintendo contractors must make the right connections and establish good relationships with their superiors. However, it is a problem if your manager is one of the people who is bothering you. As Kotaku reports, Melvin Forrest, director of product testing, made “inappropriate advances” toward so many female employees that they warned each other about it.
On Tuesday, the president of Nintendo of America, Doug Bowser, sent an internal letter stating that the company is looking into the allegations.
“We have strict policies designed to protect our employees and partners from inappropriate behavior and we expect full compliance with these policies by all who work with or with us. We have made and will always investigate any allegations we become aware of, and are actively investigating these latest allegations.”
Nintendo seems to have a lot more that it needs to do in order to rectify workplace problems in terms of both career advancement and sexual harassment. In an email to employees in 2021, Bowser responded to reports of harassment from Activision Blizzard as “disturbing and disturbing.” If he really stands by his feelings, then Nintendo should work hard to reach that standard.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe LAN ability detected for up to 12 players
You may remember that I reported last week about how 28-year-old SNES gamer Punchout!! It has a secret multiplayer mode that someone just discovered. Well, we now know that Nintendo has also created a lesser-known LAN mode for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe which allows up to 12 players to play together. Simply press the L and R buttons while in the main menu and press the left joystick to switch to LAN mode, as explained by @Mancalor on Twitter.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has a secret LAN mode! Press and hold L + R and click the left stick in the main menu. Connect up to 12 switches for 12 personal Mario Kart players! #MK8D #NintendoSwitch #MarioKart pic.twitter.com/woR6qzq3QyAugust 13, 2022
The Internet erupted with this news, with many people wondering why Nintendo is holding out for this information. However, the thing is, Nintendo hasn’t been hiding this knowledge at all. In 2017, the now-defunct Nintendo Minute hosted by Kit and Krista created a video discussing the LAN Party function. Furthermore, Nintendo has a support page regarding this on their website. None of it is a secret, it wasn’t easy to use until recently with the launch of Switch OLED.
To be clear, playing Mario Kart 8 Deluxe LAN requires the use of multiple Switch controllers to allow 12 players to race together locally. This makes sense since a local game can only support up to four players on a single switch. Imagine trying to cram 12-person split-screen shows onto one screen!
Operators also need a LAN adapter and an Ethernet connection. Now that the Switch OLED has a LAN port built into the dock, it’s much more doable on the switch’s latest iteration.
Pokemon scarlet and violet news featured
The Pokémon World Championships takes place this weekend, with hundreds of professional contestants competing. But during the event’s opening ceremony, it was revealed an update centered around Pokémon Scarlet, Violet, and the future Pokémon Trading Card Game coming during the closing party (thanks, IGN).
The closing ceremony will take place at 8:00 AM PT / 11:00 AM ET on Sunday, August 21, so be prepared to catch up on some exciting news about the Pokémon games and learn more about them.
Kirby’s Dream Buffet was launched to sweet praise
Back in March, we were already pampered with the perfection that is Kirby and the Forgotten Land, but now a fun multiplayer pink puffball tournament mini-game has been released: Kirby’s Dream Buffet. Up to four players compete against each other as they race across locations and try to eat the most fruit on their way to the goal. The more food you eat, the bigger Kirby gets, which makes it easier for him to keep opponents out of his way. There are four different modes, with the Grand Prix providing random mini-games between races to help score.
Despite not appearing on the charts, Kirby’s Dream Buffet is the second best selling game on the Switch eShop at the time of writing. In addition, among the sparse reviews available, it received mostly positive responses with a metacritic score of 76. At only $15 a game, it’s worth checking out if you’re interested.
I’m currently in the middle of writing my review for this sweet little game, and it should be ready next week, so check back in!
Hogwarts Legacy for Nintendo Switch will be released later than other versions
Earlier this year, we learned that Hogwarts Legacy will arrive on all major platforms, including PC, PS4, and Xbox Series X | S, PS5, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. However, we haven’t seen any images of how the game will look on Nintendo’s mobile device, leading many to wonder if the graphics will be removed significantly compared to other versions or if it will use cloud streaming.
Hogwarts Legacy will launch on February 10, 2023 for PlayStation, Xbox, and PC. The Nintendo Switch release date will be revealed soon. The team is excited for you to play, but we need more time to deliver the best possible gaming experience. pic.twitter.com/zh0EsOvDb7August 12 2022
Last week, it was announced that this magical game will be delayed until early 2023 and that the Switch version will be released even later after that. As stated in the official post, “The team is excited for you to play [the Switch version]But we need more time to deliver the best possible gaming experience.”
Wave Race 64 comes in the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack
The latest title to join the roster of N64 games in the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack is none other than the classic Wave Race 64. It was released as part of the subscription service Friday. Although not as polished as modern racing games, Wave Race 64 is a beloved 64 game that has been a popular stay in many households.
Advance Wars 1 + 2: ReBoot Camp is getting a maintenance update, which could mean its launch soon
You may remember that Advance Wars 1 + 2: ReBoot Camp was supposed to launch last spring, but was then postponed indefinitely due to “recent global events”, those events being the Russo-Ukrainian War. Given some similarities to what was happening in the world, Nintendo didn’t think it was right to launch a strategy war game. But that doesn’t mean Nintendo has forgotten about it.
[Maintenance Finished]”Advance Wars™ 1 + 2: Re-Boot Camp” maintenance has expired. #Maintenance #NintendoSwitch pic.twitter.com/CKcCX6rb0gAugust 16, 2022
According to NinStatusBot, which reports when there’s a change or update to a Switch game, Advance Wars received a maintenance update on August 16. This has led many people to speculate whether Nintendo intends to announce a new release date any time soon. . The game will probably be released within the next couple of months.
There has been no official word from Nintendo on the matter at the time of writing. However, I will keep my ear to the ground and will report if that changes.
What switch games to play this weekend
If you like the idea of a darker, more skewed version of Animal Crossing: New Horizons, you should really check out Cult of the Lamb, which came out earlier this week. The game blends elements of evil-like action along with life-simulating mechanics with a fantastic animal art style. However, the plot is about leading a religious sect and manipulating your kind followers. It has already attracted a million players across all platforms and is definitely worth checking out.
Of course, as mentioned earlier, Kirby’s Dream Buffet has also been released, a fun mini-game with quick races and mini-games to compete with others. You can play locally in a single or two-player game or go online for four-player races.
Until next time.
– Rebecca Spear