Video summary
Nintendo is set to make a significant expansion into the Indonesian market later this year, with plans announced by Stealth Games to launch both the original Switch and the upcoming Switch 2 there in December 2026. Indonesia represents a massive opportunity for the company, boasting a population of nearly 288 million people that rivals the United States and ranks as the fourth most populous nation globally. The demographic profile is particularly appealing to gamers, with a median age around thirty years old, which aligns perfectly with the core gaming audience. While concerns about bootleg consoles in emerging markets exist, successfully penetrating this region could yield substantial sales growth if Nintendo can offer affordable pricing strategies that resonate with local consumers.
In other major news affecting players globally, there is significant speculation surrounding recent account suspensions and bans within Pokémon Go. Players have received messages indicating unauthorized access to special research or impossible-to-obtain Pokémon, leading to temporary thirty-day suspensions for violating terms of service. The community is divided on the cause of these actions; some suspect hackers exploiting glitches to acquire rare creatures, while others theorize that individuals with connections inside Scopely's development team are using insider knowledge to bypass restrictions. Regardless of whether this stems from external hacking or internal collusion, the situation highlights ongoing efforts by developers to maintain game integrity and fairness against various forms of exploitation.
On the hardware front, several highly anticipated titles have received updates regarding their availability on Nintendo consoles. The Lord of the Rings: War in the North Legacy Edition has been confirmed for release on both Switch 1 and Switch 2 later this month, offering enhanced features like sixty frames per second gameplay and local co-op specifically for the newer console, though it will not be available until August 18th on the original system. Additionally, Elden Ring is preparing its launch on the Switch 2 with a new story spotlight trailer that suggests performance improvements over previous hands-on reports, alongside pre-order bonuses including additional gestures in-game and physical game key card releases at retail stores later this month.
Finally, there are mixed developments regarding upcoming projects and industry shifts within Nintendo's ecosystem. Unfortunately, it appears the highly anticipated Final Fantasy IX remake has been cancelled after stalling despite being far along in development, a decision that leaves fans disappointed given the work already invested in creating box art and key illustrations. Conversely, other exciting announcements include a new affordable PVC figure of Metroid Prime arriving later this year to celebrate the franchise's legacy, as well as Sonic joining Fortnite for its thirty-fifth anniversary celebration with a dedicated zone dropping soon. Furthermore, rumors suggest that Pokémon Winds and Waves will be directed by Hiroki Tani, marking an end to Shigeru Ohmori's long tenure directing mainline entries, signaling Nintendo's continued strategy of nurturing new talent while maintaining the longevity of their iconic intellectual properties over decades.
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Before we get into this video, I want to
remind you we are giving away a Nintendo
Switch 2. You can enter through the link
down in the pin comment or the
description. The only requirement is to
be subscribed to the channel. Uh we have
a lot of news we got to get into.
Nintendo is expanding into another
really huge market that could end up
just leading to more sales for them for
Switch and Switch 2. So, we got to go
over that. Uh on top of that, uh Pokemon
Go apparently is banning some stuff over
insider involvement. Uh we got to go
over that. that there's some speculation
going on with that. Uh Lord of the Rings
War of the North Shadow dropped actually
on Switch one and Switch 2. We're going
to go over that as well. We have a fresh
look at Elden Ring for Switch 2 that
does come out later this month. So,
we're going to take a look at that one.
Uh a new Metroid Prime 4 first four
figures or a Metroid Prime first four
figures, I guess. Not Prime 4 in case
you were like, why would they do a Prime
4 one? Just a Metroid Prime in general
first four figure was announced. We're
going to take a look at that. Uh,
unfortunately, it looks like the Final
Fantasy 9 remake has been canned. Uh,
you know, Jeff Keelley has come out and
announced when the Game Awards has taken
place. Uh, there's a new update coming
to Fortnite that might end up
interesting you. And on top of that, uh,
we got some Pokemon wins and waves. Uh,
a little bit of news there, or at least
just news on Pokemon in general, guys.
All right, let's go ahead and first get
into this initial post here. This comes
from Stealth where he said, "Nintendo is
entering the Indonesian market in
December of 2026. They're launching both
the Switch and Switch 2." Now, I wanted
to go check this out. Of course,
obviously, this is a market that uh I
don't know a whole lot about, right? You
know, that this is just their official
website for you see the Switch and
Switch 2. Uh but then I wanted to go see
how large this market is. And according
to this AI overview, again, caveat AI,
the population of Indonesia is
approximately 287.9 million. Hey man,
that's within like spinning distance of
the US population, and it makes it the
fourth most populous country in the
world. So, this is actually probably a
really great country to get into. You
see, the median age is 30.7. That's
right in the median age of a lot of
gamers. So, again, obviously, there's
not a long history there. Uh I don't
know obviously about how they've had
bootleg consoles or anything like that
going on in Indonesia, but uh if they
can find a way to penetrate that market
with Switch One and Switch 2 and they
can find a way to make it affordable for
them, uh yeah, they could end up seeing
some huge success. Again, it's an
emerging market if they can find a way
to crack it. All right, next up we got
this weird story on Pokemon Go. So it
says Pokémon Go bans hit related to
obtaining impossible Pokemon causing
insider involvement speculation. So this
week a number of players have been
receiving a message in Pokémon Go that
reads as follows. Hello trainer, we have
confirmed that you have received special
research in an unauthorized manner
violating Pokémon Go terms of service
and player guidelines. We take fairness
seriously at at Scopely Explore and
hence your account has been temporarily
suspended for 30 days. Further
violations may result in additional
sanctions against your account including
permanent termination. These bans are
supposed to be dished out to players who
are managing to snag Pokemon through
impossible means. This includes Pokemon
that were one-off distributions, getting
Pokemon through quests that have long
since been deactivated, and much more.
It's clear that these players are up to
something, but what exactly is going on
is not quite clear. There are two trains
of thought as to what's happening with
these bands. First off, this could very
well be a case of hackers finding a way
to gain access to Pokemon that they
shouldn't be able to. Second, there are
rubbings that select players are working
with someone on the dev team in order to
snag all of these illgotten Pokemon.
Some of the players who've been banned
are even claiming that they have
connections to the dev team, which could
be the truth or could be them muddy in
the waters. Scoply Explore is yet to
comment on this situation, but we'd
imagine a statement is coming soon.
While we wait for that, make sure you're
following all the rules and regulations
for Pokémon Go and continue to enjoy the
game in a legitimate fashion. Again,
kind of a wild story. Obviously,
speculation runs wild. Is it an inside
job? Is it not an inside job? Look, all
those theories are going to run wild
until people know for sure. Now, what we
do know for sure is that the Lord of the
Rings War in the North has shadow
dropped on Switch One and Switch 2.
Here's a trailer for it, the launch
trailer. And there's some interesting
stuff going on here. So, the mad lads at
Aspire announced and Shadow dropped the
game Legacy Edition, right? On Switch
One and Switch 2, uh, receiving a 2011
Curio for modern consoles, boasting
local co-op, not on Switch One,
unfortunately. 60 FPS gameplay. This
too, sorry. Again, that's for Switch 2
only, a new autosave feature, and
numerous bug fixes. The legacy edition
is available for $20. Curiously,
however, Aspire has clarified that those
on the EUE shop will have to wait until
the 18th for the Switch to release. Kind
of weird. Otherwise, this is the same
action RPG from back in the day, which
means it's probably not great, but
potentially a fun little jaunt for fans
of Lord of the Ring universe. Critics at
the time noted the linear gameplay and
simple repetitive combat with the game
averaging about a 61 on Metacritic for
the Xbox 360. Still, regardless of its
overall quality, it's still nice to have
this game come back and be available
again. Now, we're just going to kind of
leave things like that. Again, it's just
nice to see even if it wasn't really a
great game, uh, it's still existing is
always nice. But, you know what a great
game is? Elden Ring. And Elen Ring had a
new trailer drop today, a story
spotlight trailer for Switch 2. So, as
you check that out, we'll just read a
little bit here from Nintendo Life where
it says, "Band Amco has released a new
story for Elden Ring Tarnish Edition or
a new trailer ahead of its Switch 2
launch on the August 28th. While we're
all aware that publishers like to show
off games in their very best light for
trailers, there's no denying that it
actually looks pretty nice. After
reports of some performance issues
during hands-on sessions, it seems From
Software has taken the time to make sure
it looks and runs well on Nintendo's
console. Obviously, we'll know for sure
when we get our hands on it. Otherwise,
the trailer provides a rundown of what
to expect from the base game and the
Shadow of Tree expansion, which is
included as standard. It will also
receive a game key card release at
retail with pre-orders granting two
additional gestures in game, including
the lands between lie, fractured, and
desolate. Yet the faint call of grace
lingers within its runes and the path to
the Elden throne lies before you.
Meanwhile, a network test for the dust
bloods is also taking place later this
month from the 21st to the 24th. I did
get into that test fire. So yeah, guys,
it's really cool. Obviously, it looks
really, really good. you know, to know
performance for sure. We have to go
hands-on. But, uh, look, it looks like
it's running much better than what I
went hands-on with last year at PAX
West. All right. Uh, there's a new first
four figure coming from, well, first
four figures for Metroid. So, here,
check it out. It is the Metroid Prime
first four figure. Uh, and look, it's a
PVC figure, so it is going to be a lot
more affordable than some of their big
premium ones. But anyways, they revealed
a sneak peek of its latest product from
its Metroid range, and it's a Metroid.
Pre-orders open on August 20th, 2026.
And you know, for $10 or so, this is
what you can do to get some money down.
We don't know exactly how much it's
going to cost, but first four figure
products are usually pretty expensive.
The cheapest product from its Metroid
range is still $180, and that's roughly
right around what I think this is going
to be between 150 and 200 uh for this
particular product. Obviously, there'll
be like a deluxe edition that lights up
or something like that. that'll be more.
But yeah, I I do think that uh it's
going to be in that, you know, $150 to
$300 range. Uh seems kind of nice. But
again, we'll see when they actually
announce the actual price. Uh we don't
really obviously know anything else
about it other than that. Now, we have
to get to some unfortunate news as it
looks like a game that was in
development no longer is development on
Final Fantasy 9 remake reportedly no
longer moving forward. Uh so this comes
from Alex Donaldson. Um it is a a
comment from Alex Donaldson who's an
editor at RPG site on reset era. He says
uh i.e. there was a Final Fantasy 9
remake and it was a single game and it
was very far along. Yosha even made some
vague comments like this hinting at the
fact around the last expansion's Final
Fantasy 9 tribute content. So it is
possible with the right scope which to
be clear is obviously a smaller scope
than Final Fantasy 7 remake. However,
for various reasons, surely a story for
another day, that project stalled out
and it's no longer moving forward and
Yosha makes comments like this to manage
fan expectations. And of course, the
thing is the path can always change
again. This new mobile Dudia game spent
the better part of a year effectively
canled before being revived, for
instance. So, nothing is concrete, and
in the case of nine, that work is still
there waiting to be revisited. Though I
did feel the game was truly dead when
illustrations created as potential box
art and key art were just tweeted out
for the anniversary. So like that really
does feel like yeah, we're kind of done,
right? Even the art we were making for
the game for the box art, we're like,
"Yep, we're just going to throw it out
there because we're never going to use
this for anything else."
That's sad. Uh, you know what's not sad?
The game awards. I actually enjoy them
every year. I'm sorry if you don't. Jeff
Keely confirms the Game Awards will
return on the 10th of December. Uh, so
the countdown is officially on December
10th live from Peacock Theater in Los
Angeles. Four months until the Game
Awards. Yeah, I'm not going to be
attending in person, but I am going to
be covering it from the comfort of my
home and live reacting with it to all of
you guys. So, that should be a lot of
fun. Uh, now we got to get to our second
to last story, and this deals with
Fortnite. If we're talking about
Fortnite, they must be adding some video
game characters, right? They are. This
time, Sonic. Sonic collabs with Fortnite
in a new zone later this month. So,
Sonic is celebrating his 35th
anniversary, and he's going to be in
Fortnite's new chapter. The official
Sonic accounts on YouTube and social
media posted a new video featuring Sonic
and what appears to be a Fortnite
character, Peely, while showing off a
new zone in a popular battle royale
title. This new Fortnite zone will
apparently be dropping on August 20th.
It's notably opens with the IM imagined
order logo, uh, part of Fortnite's
story, and then the end of the trailer
confirms this content will be part of
Chapter 7, Season 4 override. So, pretty
cool stuff, guys. You know, I do enjoy
Fortnite. I like to see the crossovers.
Nintendo would be nice to see it there,
but they got to allow their stuff to be
on all platforms. That's the big hold up
there. Uh whether Nintendo ever opens up
to that, we don't know. Last up, we're
just ending with a rumor about the
future of the Pokemon series. Uh Pokemon
heads, you can, you know, maybe rejoice
or be sad or I don't know. Obviously,
it's a rumor. Uh, but this comes from
Central Leaks and it says Pokemon Winds
and Waves will be directed by Herooqi
Tani, the director of the Pokemon Sword
and Shield DLC and Cuch Shahiko Ichakara
or I Icharaku, sorry, I'm butchering the
names, the director of Pokemon Scarlet
and Violet DLC. This would mean that
after 10 long years, the era of Shagaru
Omorei as director of New Pokemon
Generations is over. It's also possible
he's moved on to a uh producer role.
People are saying, you know, that's sad.
Omari directed OAS as the best remakes,
the best Jenna region with Sun and Moon,
blah blah blah blah blah. So, people are
kind of torn on if it's a good thing or
a bad thing. But, uh, obviously, we got
to wait and see how Wind and Waves turns
out. And it doesn't mean he's not with
the company. It doesn't mean he's not
still working on Pokemon. It could have
got promoted and moved up the chain. You
never know. Uh we'll have to wait and
see when the credits roll out for the
game and we see uh or maybe if he pops
up in interviews for the game and we see
what role he has if any on the title.
But it's okay to be training up new
talent. We're going to see this a lot
with Nintendo games as well where we're
going to see a lot of old heads starting
to retire. Like I expect Al Numa to
retire at some point during the Switch 2
generation and then we're going to see
Fujiashi take over and then we're going
to see who takes over as the lead
director of the mainline Zelda game. So,
there's a lot of changes going to be
happening over the next 10 to 20 years.
And I'm really excited to see the new
faces and new directions for all of
these new IPs cuz that is how Nintendo
has been able to keep everything fresh.
They pass down their knowledge while
allowing the new to flourish and then
the games end up just lasting forever
and ever. People always think it's
weird. They just keep meing the same
IPs. Do you know how hard it is to keep
IPs this relevant for 40 plus years?
It's very, very difficult. Not everyone
can do it. And Nintendo has pulled it
off. They know what they're doing. and
I'm excited for the future of these
games. All right, guys. Thank you so
much for tuning in. I am Nathaniel
Robets from Nintendo Prime and I'll
catch you guys in the next video.
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