
Welcome to Kotaku’s Sunday Comics, your weekly roundup of the best webcomics that usually occurs on Sunday except when it doesn’t. The images enlarge if you click on the magnifying glass icon.

Welcome to Kotaku’s Sunday Comics, your weekly roundup of the best webcomics that usually occurs on Sunday except when it doesn’t. The images enlarge if you click on the magnifying glass icon.

A true 3D game experience

Along with its duties of maintaining copies of important news, literature, scientific information, and old MySpace pages, the Internet Archive also loves to create emulations for you to fiddle with inside your browser. Today, the lovable non-profit organization has made it easy for you to relive the glory years of the…
Epic Games Japan representative Takayuki Kawasaki told Automaton in an interview there are about 20 Unreal Engine 4 games in development for the Nintendo Switch in Japan.
"Unfortunately, there were not any Unreal Engine titles at launch, but in late March, Snake Pass, which was one of the titles playable at GDC, launched in America and Europe, and at the Nintendo Switch Presentation, there were titles such as Shin Megami Tensei," said Kawasaki. "In Japan, there are about 20 titles being developed that use Unreal Engine, so I think that they’ll be announced gradually from here on."

"These are titles that use Unreal Engine, for Switch, and are being made in Japan," Kawasaki said after being asked if that figure corresponds to Switch titles. "There may even be more. And now we’re gradually moving forward with Switch support for the free version [of Unreal Engine 4]. That way, as long as you have a Switch development license, you will be able to develop for Switch even with the free version."
Thanks Gematsu.
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel dedicated to gaming Let's Plays and tutorials. You can contact the author at wdangelo@vgchartz.com or on Twitter @TrunksWD.
Full Article - http://www.vgchartz.com/article/267928/20-unreal-engine-4-games-in-development-for-switch-in-japan/
Analysts at Citigroup are predicting Nintendo will release a smaller version of the Nintendo Switch in the fiscal year ending March 2019, called Switch Mini.
The smaller size of the Switch Mini would make the console more portable and fit in children's hands better.

"Although the Nintendo Switch can be used as a handheld device, we think smaller children could struggle to use it comfortably in that format due to its size and weight," the analysts wrote in a new report. "Accordingly, we think Nintendo will launch a lighter, dedicated handheld version of the Switch, possibly to be called the Switch Mini."
Citigroup says the Switch Mini could sell 6.7 million units in the 12 months through March 2019, while the regular Switch will sell 25.7 million units by then.
Thanks Bloomberg.
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel dedicated to gaming Let's Plays and tutorials. You can contact the author at wdangelo@vgchartz.com or on Twitter @TrunksWD.
Full Article - http://www.vgchartz.com/article/267929/analyst-nintendo-to-release-switch-mini-in-fiscal-year-2019/

Even Waluigi makes it into the spotlight








March was a big month for Switch, which moved so many units in its launch window that it became the fastest-selling console in Nintendo's history. How do you top that kind of news? Maybe with the fact that Nintendo somehow sold even more Switch copies of its flagship game, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
On Switch alone, Zelda sold over 925,000 copies – which is amazing considering that the Switch itself sold about 906,000. In a press release, Nintendo attributes the numbers to "people who purchased both a limited edition of the game to collect and a second version to play."
On Wii U, Zelda sold almost 460,000 units, or roughly one-third of the game's approximate total of 1.3 million units.
For more about Breath of the Wild, read our review or watch this video covering what you should know about the game.
Our Take
People love Zelda. People get excited about new consoles. People like having great games to play on their brand new consoles. The formula for success can't be quite that simple, but Nintendo clearly tapped into something special with Breath of the Wild. I haven't even played it myself yet, but the enthusiasm for it in the Game Informer office is unavoidable – as it also appears to be outside the office.
Over the past week or so, London has been spared of the typically bleak English weather - essentially dark, dismal clouds, chilly temperatures, and perpetual rain, if you're luckily unfamiliar - and has instead been blessed by beautiful sunny spells. Hopefully readers from around the globe are experiencing similar improving outlooks as we slowly creep towards Summer, and what better way to celebrate such heat waves with a brand new Kairosoft skiing game! In fairness to the Japanese developer, the alpine season is still in full swing over the Easter period, and nothing is better than propelling yourself down a mountain in the glistening sun. Shiny Ski Resort [$4.99] also looks like a radical iOS simulator - with the typical Kairosoft formula of building a hotel supplemented by some neat skiing mini games, this latest title appears to hijack the developer's downhill descent of late, and is available to download for $4.99 today on the App Store.

While Shiny Ski Resort describes your construction as a 'small hotel on a snowy mountain', don't expect to be lounging around whilst downing shots at 3am in the bar. Instead, the lodge serves more as an extreme training camp for your residents, as you watch them improve their skiing skills until they can represent the resort in competitions and achieve eternal fame and glory (as well as a lot of sponsor money). This interconnection between building your dream skiing resort and hotel with the actual competitions is particularly neat, and takes the typical synergy you'd expect in a Kairosoft game - say, the developing of a game and releasing it to sale in Game Dev Story [$4.99] - to a more interactive level. Of course, this is a Kairosoft game at heart, and so fans should know what to expect by now, for better or for worse. That being said, this snowsports setting stands out amongst some of the more tedious releases from the developer, and as a result Shiny Ski Resort is certainly not on thin ice. Download the game on the App Store now, and head down to our forum thread for more discussion about this latest Kairosoft release.
#FastRmx Update is coming!
Release Date: April 19 (01:00h UTC) pic.twitter.com/uNbu5bvOWB
@Xolono69 As soon we get the release date by Nintendo we will post it here. It will be soon.
— Shin'en Multimedia (@ShinenGames) 21. März 2017After Nintendo itself announced first-month US sales for the Switch of 906,000 units, independent research group SuperData today put out a report that speaks to the console's success globally. According to SuperData, the hybrid system sold 2.4 million units worldwide in its first month.
This data comes from SuperData's own modeling, not from Nintendo, so it may not be entirely accurate.
Nintendo had officially said it was expecting to ship 2 million units to retailers worldwide for March, so SuperData's predictions are above expectations. With that in mind, SuperData said today that it is changing its forecast for total Switch 2017 sales, from 5 million units to 7.2 million units sold.
"Nintendo is performing above expectations, which suggests that, at least for now, it is well on its way to restore investor confidence," SuperData CEO Joost van Dreunen said in a statement.
He added that the upcoming lineup for Switch games is "looking strong," with new games such as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Splatoon 2 expected to "do well." Van Dreunen went on to say that a "differentiator" for the Switch is its element of nostalgia, featuring games like ToeJam and Earl: Back in the Groove and others.
In other news, Nintendo announced that The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has surpassed 1 million copies sold. Additionally, Nintendo held its latest Nintendo Direct briefing this week--here's a roundup of all the big announcements.
For most Zelda games, the progression is pretty linear. As Link moves forward in the story, he gains more tools, his lifebar grows and maybe picks up a bottle or two here or there. But since Breath of the Wild is such a huge departure for the series, things look and feel much different when you begin your adventure and especially when you head into the endgame. This is the sort of thing we're talking about:
The Nintendo Switch sold more than 906,000 units in the US during March, its launch month, Nintendo announced today. In a news release, Nintendo reiterated that the Switch, a hybrid system that works at home and on the go, is the fastest-selling console in Nintendo's history. It's also "one of the fastest-selling video game systems of all time" for any company, Nintendo said.
The company also pointed out that March is a "nontraditional month" for a new console release. New consoles, from Nintendo and others, are historically released in the immediate lead-up to the holidays.
Nintendo also said today that The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has sold 1.3 million units; more 925,000 were sold on Switch and almost 460,000 on Wii U. These numbers combine physical and digital sales, and only represent figures for the US.
"That means that Nintendo sold more of this game [Breath of the Wild] for Nintendo Switch than it sold Nintendo Switch systems, for an attach rate of more than 100 percent," Nintendo said. "This may be attributed to people who purchased both a limited edition of the game to collect and a second version to play."
Breath of the Wild is the fastest-selling Nintendo launch title ever and the fastest-selling Zelda title across its entire 30-year history.
Finally, Nintendo frankly acknowledged that "shipments have not yet been able to keep up with such high demand." Nintendo said more systems are "continually being shipped."
Nintendo will reveal a "full accounting of worldwide Nintendo Switch" sales during the company's next earnings briefing, which is scheduled for April 27.
Some online services for Nintendo Switch, as well as Wii U and 3DS, will be unavailable at two different periods next week, Nintendo has announced.
As detailed on Nintendo's website (via GoNintendo), the first round of maintenance is scheduled to take place on Monday, April 17, starting at 5 PM PT. The two-hour maintenance period will impact network services such as online play and rankings. Then on April 19 from 6:45 PM PT to 8 PM PT, online services for Switch, Wii U, and 3DS may become available as part of scheduled maintenance.

In other Nintendo news, the company announced that the Switch sold 906,000 units in the US during March alone, while Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has surpassed 1 million copies sold.
Additionally, Nintendo held its latest Nintendo Direct briefing this week--here's a roundup of all the big announcements.
(pwc) Gute Aussichten für N-Zone Leser: wie Autor Lukas Schmid ankündigt, soll die Retro-Feature-Reihe ab nun immer mal wieder den klassischen Game Boy zum Thema haben. Man darf also gespannt sein. In der aktuellen Ausgabe Mai beginnt das Game Boy Special mit Teil 1 und behandelt die vier (Alleyway, Baseball, Super Mario Land, Tetris) ersten im Westen erschienen Titel (in Japan waren es fünf Titel: Alleyway, Baseball, Super Mario Land, Tennis, Yakuman).
Wer in die Materie etwas tiefer einsteigen möchte, dem empfehle ich unseren ersten ►Podcast aus dem Jahr 2013.


The new Nintendo Direct wasn't our only gift from Nintendo

Three years ago, Kevin Bates created a Tetris-playing business card to showcase his engineering skills to potential employers. But his creation quickly went viral on the internet, and everyone reminiscing about their beloved childhood Game Boy clamored for their own. After testing the waters with the equally tiny…
This year's Star Wars Celebration kicked off in Orlando, Florida with a star-studded look back at 40 years of the blockbuster franchise. The discussion ended with a moving tribute to Carrie Fisher, who played Princess Leia in the series and died in December last year.
Star Wars creator George Lucas and Lucasfilm boss Kathleen Kennedy spoke warmly about Fisher's impact on their lives, before Fisher's daughter Billie Lourd introduced a video tribute to her mother. Watch it below:
May the Force be with you. #SWCO #StarWars40th pic.twitter.com/10zZ4TXqpQ
— Star Wars (@starwars) April 13, 2017
In his tribute to Fisher, Lucas explained what the actress brought to the character of Leia. "She played a part that was very smart, and she was having to hold her own against two big lugs, goofballs that were screwing everything up," he said. "She was the boss. It was her war and when I cast it, I said I want somebody young to play the part. I want somebody very young.
"When Carrie came in, she was that character. She was very strong, very smart, very funny, very bold, very tough, and there really wasn't much of a question. There are not very many people like her. They are one in a billion. For this particular part, it was absolutely perfect... she wore a dress through the whole thing, but she was the toughest in the group.
"At the same time she was fun to be with. She was very challenging in terms of pointing out that certain pieces of dialogue were a little hard to say. She was brilliant and obviously we will all miss her, but she will always be the princess who took command and never backed down. Never was in jeopardy. She was always helping the other guys get out of the messes they created. We'll all love her forever and ever."
The 40th anniversary panel was hosted by Warwick Davis, who played Wicket the Ewok in Return of the Jedi. The event brought together many stars from the original and prequel trilogies, including Mark Hamill (Luke), Harrison Ford (Han), Anthony Daniels (C-3PO), Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca), Billy Dee Williams (Lando), Ian McDiarmid (Emperor Palpatine), and Hayden Christensen (Anakin). There were also video messages from Liam Neeson (Qui-Gon Jinn) and Samuel L Jackson (Mace Windu).
GameSpot will be at Star Wars Celebration all weekend, so keep checking back for more coverage of the panels and events.
May the Force be with you.
Im Rahmen der Star Wars Celebration haben sich Disney und Lucasfilm noch einmal mit einem Tribut an Carrie Fisher von Prinzessin Leia verabschiedet.

Nintendo's hot ticket retro item, the Classic Mini NES, is being discontinued, at least in North America.
As reported by IGN, North American territories are getting the miniature console's final shipment this month.
"Throughout April, NOA territories will receive the last shipments of Nintendo Entertainment System: NES Classic Edition systems for this year," Nintendo said in a statement to IGN.
Nintendo has decided to discontinue the NES Classic Edition, a representative from the company has told IGN. Retailers will receive their final shipments of the system throughout this month.

The representative told IGN that “[The] NES Classic Edition wasn’t intended to be an ongoing, long-term product. However, due to high demand, we did add extra shipments to our original plans.”
The NES Classic is a retro system that includes 30 classic games from the original NES library. It has sold over 1.5 million units worldwide as of January of this year.
Full Article - http://www.vgchartz.com/article/267918/nes-classic-to-be-discontinued-final-shipments-in-april/