Nintendo’s release date for their new arena-based shooter is getting closer and now the house that Mario built is ready to give Splatoon a big pre-launch test.
Nintendo revealed today during a Nintendo Direct that they are preparing to put the Splatoon servers through their paces with the launch of Splatoon Global Test Fire, an open beta that will launch this weekend.
Players wishing to participate in the Splatoon Global Test Fire must first download the free software, which is live now, from the Nintendo E-shop. After that, all you need to do is wait until the beta goes live this weekend. The beta will be available at three different times this weekend:
Friday May 8th – 11:00pm EDT to Midnight
Saturday May 9th – 7:00am EDT to 8:00am
Sunday May 10th – 3:00pm EDT to 4:00pm
Participants in the Splatoon Global Test Fire beta may also encounter some interesting figures wearing lab coats monitoring the event. Don’t worry, it’s testers from Nintendo’s Treehouse who will be studying the event.
This morning’s Nintendo Direct contained a plethora of Splatoon related information, including news on Amiibo unlockable mini-games, brand new game modes and events, and special pre-order bonuses. It was quite a boatload of new intel, so be sure to check out the all Splatoon info in the Nintendo Direct below:
Splatoon will be released for the Nintendo Wii U on May 29th.
Are you excited for the chance to try out Splatoon a bit early? Spread your digital ink in the comments section below
I was impressed with Splatoon. The one hour chunks of time, while odd, may have been to try and force as many people as possible onto the servers at the same time in order to test the stress load of that many people at once. As for voice chat? I’m fine without it. I hardly ever turn voice chat on for games with random people. I agree that more pre-set chat choices would be useful, however this was just a quick beta, so we don’t know what all will be in the final product.
All in al I had a very good time with Splatton. It’s charming, frenetic, silly, and fun. Can’t wait for May 29th!
UGH I wish I had a friggin’ Wii U!!! Still on my Christmas list… I should probably treat myself to an 8th gen system very soon
You should buy at least one for yourself for all your hard work at the Bacon. I got a chance to play this on friday and I wasn’t too impressed. First off, I don’t know what the hell Nintendo was thinking by only allowing this “demo” in 1-hour periods. After the 10 minute tutorial there isn’t enough time to really “play” the game.
That being said, the very brief time I got to play it was fun but also super frustrating do to poor controls and team coordination. Keep in mind that there is no Chat option enabled in the game, and as far as the demo went, there aren’t any in-game chat choices. I really needed a “WTF are you doing!!!!” quick-hit button. lol
It also seems to play extremely imbalanced, but remember this is only based on 60 minutes with the game. I’m still holding out hope the final product will be better.