Nintendo makes a major announcement about the NX, Doctor Who gets a new companion, PAX East brings the gaming fun to Boston, and Game of Thrones fans react to the anticipated season premiere.
Here’s “The Week in Fandom” for April 29:
Nintendo Announces “NX” Release Date
After months of speculation, Nintendo announced Wednesday that their upcoming console, the NX, will be released globally in March of 2017. “NX” is merely the console’s codename, similar to “Revolution” for the Wii and “Café” for the Wii U. The news was revealed during an earnings call for the fiscal year.
“For our dedicated video game platform business, Nintendo is currently developing a gaming platform codenamed ‘NX’ with a brand-new concept. NX will be launched in March 2017 globally.”
Doctor Who Gets a New Companion
On Sunday, BBC announced the newest companion to the Doctor: Bill, played by Pearl Mackie. We can’t wait to see more of the dynamic between her and Peter Capaldi’s 12th Doctor. In the first-look video that was released along with the announcement, it’s interesting to note that Bill calls attention events that are happening in an almost meta way — we’ll see how that plays out over time.
Bill and the Doctor make their debut as a pair in the tenth season of Doctor Who, which will premiere in Spring 2017.
PAX East Comes to Boston
The games industry knows how to throw a party, but there isn’t an event more fan-forward than PAX. Regional iterations of the annual convention span the globe, bringing game lovers together with their fellow fans, and the creators and personalities working to define their pastime. PAX East, the yearly Boston-based convention, brought the fun this week in a big way.
We caught glimpses of indie games like Pyre, Lumo, and more. There was a big preview of the upcoming Warcraft feature film that “wowed” fans. We got hands-on with the hotness that is Battleborn, as well as games like Total War: Warhammer, ROKH, Thumper. And we spoke to two of the developers of Warframe about their epic title.
Game of Thrones Season Premiere Reaction
HBO’s Game of Thrones continued to dominate fan mindshare in the days following Sunday’s premiere. Most viewers watched the episode with one concern in mind: the fate of Jon Snow. With the title of the episode being “The Red Woman,” and the history of the Priests and Priestesses of R’hllor on the show, it almost seemed certain that Melisandre was going to bring Jon back from the dead. It didn’t happen.
It would have been a bit too soon, and a bit too easy, but fans would have rejoiced regardless. Instead, the title is a hint at the revelation at the end of the episode that Melisandre is actually an [redacted]. Check out more of our reaction to the episode. And if it’s lols you want, enjoy our Game of Thrones pronunciation guide.
