Nintendo

Nintendo lands Call of Duty in 10-year Microsoft deal

Microsoft wants to buy Activision Blizzard, which also makes Overwatch and Warcraft, for $68.7bn (£56.5bn).

The deal would enable Microsoft to stop Call of Duty from appearing on rival consoles, such as Sony's PlayStation 5.

The UK watchdog, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), says this could lessen competition in gaming.

Microsoft says this is not the case, and is now offering the title to rivals - for a limited time.

Nintendo warns chip shortage will hit Switch sales

The Kyoto-based game giant now says it expects to sell 24 million units this financial year - having previously forecast sales of 25.5 million units.

The Animal Crossing maker said the new forecast was because of a change in its production plan, due to the effects of the worldwide semiconductor shortage.

Chip designers ARM recently warned the scarcity could delay Christmas gifts.

Nintendo Switch OLED Model gets an upgraded screen

The Switch OLED Model's main feature is its OLED screen - a technology which offers deeper blacks and better colours than most LCD screens like those on the original Switch.

It will launch on 8 October, costing £50/$50 more than the current model.

But the new revision does not feature some of the rumoured improvements fans may have expected.

The so-called "Switch Pro" was widely expected to be announced ahead of or at this year's E3 gaming event in June.

Biggest conference in gaming is going online

Instead of its usual Los Angeles location it will be held digitally and free for everyone to attend due to the pandemic.

Nintendo, Xbox, Konami and Ubisoft are some of the developers which have agreed to participate.

Notably absent are EA, Activision and Sony, but this isn't unusual and often happened before the pandemic too.

The show, which connects developers and publishers with gamers was forced to cancel last year due to global lockdowns.

Entertainment Software Association, which runs the event, hasn't yet given any clues about how it will take hold.

Nintendo smashes its rules for gaming vloggers

Unlike Microsoft and Sony, Nintendo had restricted what it let video-makers share online and took a slice of advertising revenue from YouTubers.

Its new guidelines lift most of the restrictions and no longer ask gaming vloggers to register for Nintendo's revenue-sharing scheme.

Nintendo said it was "humbled" by its fans' loyalty.

Many video-makers had complained about Nintendo's policy and avoided sharing gameplay videos online, because the company often filed copyright claims on the content.

Nintendo Switch console plays games home and away

Previously code-named NX, now named the Nintendo Switch, the device looks like a tablet computer with controllers that attach to its sides.

The device was revealed in a short "teaser" video posted on YouTube.

One analyst said the device could be Nintendo's "last shot" at selling a home console.

"The Wii U was a car crash, basically," said Paul Jackson of the Ovum consultancy.

"They fudged the communication and confused everybody with the controller and what the screen was for.

Nintendo shares surge on Super Mario game for iPhone

Super Mario Run will be released in Apple's App Store in December in more than 100 countries.

It will be free to download but users will have to pay for the full game.

Nintendo, which announced the tie-up at Apple's launch event for the iPhone 7, saw its shares jump 18% before falling back to around a 13% rise.

Nintendo shares plunge on Pokemon profit fears

Nintendo shares dropped by 17.7% after they more than doubled in value since the game's launch on 6 July.

Pokemon Go was developed by US firm Niantic and Nintendo said profits from licensing and fees would be limited.

However, even with the decline, Nintendo shares are still up 60% since the release of Pokemon Go on 6 July.