Despite being involved in a lawsuit over its development, and negative reviews, Square Enix says it recommends Balan Wonderworld "with confidence".

The game was brought up in a Q&A session during a company earnings briefing, during which an investor asked about ex-director Yuji Naka's lawsuit against the company, seemingly brought after his dismissal from the project.

Square Enix confirmed that Naka had a lawsuit case with the company but wouldn't give any further details about it. However, according to Bloomberg's Takashi Mochizuki, Square Enix also commented on Balan Wonderworld itself, saying, "it is a game that we recommend with confidence."

Square Enix confirmed it had lawsuit case with Yuji Naka but declined to comment further. As for Balan Wonderworld, "it is a game that we recommend with confidence." (from Q&A session during earnings briefing)

— Takashi Mochizuki (@6d6f636869) May 13, 2022

Balan Wonderworld hasn't had the best time in the spotlight. Naka left Square Enix after the game was released last year and has since become an independent developer. Recently, Naka opened up about his time at Square Enix developing the game. He said that he had an internal conflict with co-developer Arzest and felt like Balan Wonderworld was submitted in an unfinished state. Furthermore, Naka called out the company, saying, "I think Square Enix is no good."

In IGN's Balan Wonderworld review, we said, "It’s a mess of undercooked concepts and clunky mechanics that slow it to a crawl, and it seems to take inspiration from better games without properly recapturing what actually makes them fun." In that context, Square Enix's recommendation feels a little off-base.

In other Square Enix news, the company recently sold off its western studios to Embracer Group in order to fund future projects, such as cloud services, AI, and most notably, blockchain initiatives, the last of which Square Enix president Yosuke Matsuda has expressed an interest in pursuing.

George Yang is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @yinyangfooey

Nintendo won't be drawn on when it will release a successor to the Switch, but president Shuntaro Furukawa has made it clear that the company aims not to repeat the same mistakes as it did when moving from Wii to Wii U, and DS to 3DS.

In the company's latest financial briefing Q&A, an attendee asked Furukawa how Nintendo aimed to move on from the Switch smoothly when it chooses to release next-generation hardware. While Furukawa didn't directly acknowledge new hardware, or when it might arrive, he pointed out that the company is aiming to learn from its past mistakes:

"Looking back on past experiences of generational change such as the change from the Wii and Nintendo DS eras, we recognize that one of our tasks is ensuring the transition to future generations of hardware is as smooth as possible," he said.

Nintendo saw enormous success with the Wii and DS (the latter of which remains its best-selling hardware of all time), but their successors, Wii U and 3DS, both suffered very rocky launches. While 3DS recovered to some extent, Wii U became one of Nintendo's most notable failures, with production ending just 5 years after launch. Much of the problem for both machines were their similarities to their predecessors, with many customers unclear on what had been upgraded, and whether they even needed the new hardware.

Switch, which has combined Nintendo's home and handheld hardware businesses, is still going strong in its fifth year on sale, but Nintendo is clearly thinking about how to bring a large portion of its 100 million owners with it to the next generation. The aim appears to be to get Nintendo fans to connect with Nintendo in more places than simply their Switch:

"We are focusing on building long-term relationships with our consumers (through Nintendo Accounts)," continued Furukawa. "While continuing to release new Nintendo Switch software for consumers to enjoy, we aim to maintain relationships across hardware generations through services that utilize Nintendo Accounts and by providing opportunities for them to experience our IP through other non-gaming channels."

As for when Nintendo will release a new console, that remains more hazy. Rumours have swirled for over a year around the existence of an upgraded Switch model – which many have dubbed the Switch Pro – but Nintendo has repeatedly denied them.

Given that Switch itself continues to see massive success, both in hardware and software, it would make some sense for Nintendo to attempt to keep that audience in place, but whether its next console is an upgrade or a fully-fledged new machine remains unclear.

Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Nintendo won't be drawn on when it will release a successor to the Switch, but president Shuntaro Furukawa has made it clear that the company aims not to repeat the same mistakes as it did when moving from Wii to Wii U, and DS to 3DS.

In the company's latest financial briefing Q&A, an attendee asked Furukawa how Nintendo aimed to move on from the Switch smoothly when it chooses to release next-generation hardware. While Furukawa didn't directly acknowledge new hardware, or when it might arrive, he pointed out that the company is aiming to learn from its past mistakes:

"Looking back on past experiences of generational change such as the change from the Wii and Nintendo DS eras, we recognize that one of our tasks is ensuring the transition to future generations of hardware is as smooth as possible," he said.

Nintendo saw enormous success with the Wii and DS (the latter of which remains its best-selling hardware of all time), but their successors, Wii U and 3DS, both suffered very rocky launches. While 3DS recovered to some extent, Wii U became one of Nintendo's most notable failures, with production ending just 5 years after launch. Much of the problem for both machines were their similarities to their predecessors, with many customers unclear on what had been upgraded, and whether they even needed the new hardware.

Switch, which has combined Nintendo's home and handheld hardware businesses, is still going strong in its fifth year on sale, but Nintendo is clearly thinking about how to bring a large portion of its 100 million owners with it to the next generation. The aim appears to be to get Nintendo fans to connect with Nintendo in more places than simply their Switch:

"We are focusing on building long-term relationships with our consumers (through Nintendo Accounts)," continued Furukawa. "While continuing to release new Nintendo Switch software for consumers to enjoy, we aim to maintain relationships across hardware generations through services that utilize Nintendo Accounts and by providing opportunities for them to experience our IP through other non-gaming channels."

As for when Nintendo will release a new console, that remains more hazy. Rumours have swirled for over a year around the existence of an upgraded Switch model – which many have dubbed the Switch Pro – but Nintendo has repeatedly denied them.

Given that Switch itself continues to see massive success, both in hardware and software, it would make some sense for Nintendo to attempt to keep that audience in place, but whether its next console is an upgrade or a fully-fledged new machine remains unclear.

Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Nintendo of America president Doug Bowser has said he and other executives are looking into the reports of poor working conditions that emerged last week.

Bowser addressed the "troubling" reports in an email to Nintendo employees shared by Axios, reiterating Nintendo's policy of "zero-tolerance for inappropriate conduct, including harassment, discrimination or intimidation."

Nintendo is yet to comment on the allegations publicly but Bowser's internal email addressed the "alleged working conditions at Nintendo".

It said: "Like many of you, the executive leadership team and I find many of these points troubling, and we are closely reviewing the content."

IGN revealed in a report last week that several Nintendo contractors felt treated like second-class citizens in an investigation launched after a former Nintendo employee filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board.

"Nintendo is a very big and complicated and secretive company," one contractor told IGN last week, "and that's what kind of causes the problem. Each contractor starts with the hope they will become a regular employee, and very, very, very few people do."

The initial complaint against Nintendo that prompted the investigation was from a former employee who claimed their employment was terminated due to their involvement with a union.

Nintendo denied this, however, saying the employee was terminated "for the disclosure of confidential information and for no other reason," adding that it is "fully committed to providing a welcoming and supportive work environment for all our employees and contractors."

We've contacted Nintendo for comment.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Nintendo of America president Doug Bowser has said he and other executives are looking into the reports of poor working conditions that emerged last week.

Bowser addressed the "troubling" reports in an email to Nintendo employees shared by Axios, reiterating Nintendo's policy of "zero-tolerance for inappropriate conduct, including harassment, discrimination or intimidation."

Nintendo is yet to comment on the allegations publicly but Bowser's internal email addressed the "alleged working conditions at Nintendo".

It said: "Like many of you, the executive leadership team and I find many of these points troubling, and we are closely reviewing the content."

IGN revealed in a report last week that several Nintendo contractors felt treated like second-class citizens in an investigation launched after a former Nintendo employee filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board.

"Nintendo is a very big and complicated and secretive company," one contractor told IGN last week, "and that's what kind of causes the problem. Each contractor starts with the hope they will become a regular employee, and very, very, very few people do."

The initial complaint against Nintendo that prompted the investigation was from a former employee who claimed their employment was terminated due to their involvement with a union.

Nintendo denied this, however, saying the employee was terminated "for the disclosure of confidential information and for no other reason," adding that it is "fully committed to providing a welcoming and supportive work environment for all our employees and contractors."

We've contacted Nintendo for comment.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Ubisoft's Skull & Bones could finally see release, after a rating for the PC version of the game has found in South Korea.

According to South Korea's Game Management Committee (via VGC), the rating was filed on May 12 and it appears to indicate a game that will fall under a Mature rating. A rating is usually given to a game that is complete or nearing completion, meaning the long-delayed game could finally be on the way.

The game seemingly includes drug use and contains people drinking alcohol, and smoking. The rating also mentions that the game is an open-world set in the Indian Ocean during a golden age of pirates.

Skull & Bones has had a turbulent development. It was first announced at E3 2017 with a 2018 release window. Since then, the game has repeatedly been delayed, amid reports of difficulties in making it. Back in 2020, Ubisoft reportedly rebooted Skull & Bones to follow a live game model, and it apparently only still exists because of a deal with the Singapore government in which Ubisoft must launch original games in return for subsidy payments.

However, the game looks like it has been ready for public testing, and gameplay leaked last month.

Skull & Bones isn't the only game that Ubisoft has stuck in development. The Prince of Persia remake has been delayed multiple times and has only recently seen a new update, where Ubisoft Montreal is now taking over development.

George Yang is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @yinyangfooey

Ubisoft's Skull & Bones could finally see release, after a rating for the PC version of the game has found in South Korea.

According to South Korea's Game Management Committee (via VGC), the rating was filed on May 12 and it appears to indicate a game that will fall under a Mature rating. A rating is usually given to a game that is complete or nearing completion, meaning the long-delayed game could finally be on the way.

The game seemingly includes drug use and contains people drinking alcohol, and smoking. The rating also mentions that the game is an open-world set in the Indian Ocean during a golden age of pirates.

Skull & Bones has had a turbulent development. It was first announced at E3 2017 with a 2018 release window. Since then, the game has repeatedly been delayed, amid reports of difficulties in making it. Back in 2020, Ubisoft reportedly rebooted Skull & Bones to follow a live game model, and it apparently only still exists because of a deal with the Singapore government in which Ubisoft must launch original games in return for subsidy payments.

However, the game looks like it has been ready for public testing, and gameplay leaked last month.

Skull & Bones isn't the only game that Ubisoft has stuck in development. The Prince of Persia remake has been delayed multiple times and has only recently seen a new update, where Ubisoft Montreal is now taking over development.

George Yang is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @yinyangfooey

An Elden Ring dataminer has found several unused text popups in the game files, which seem to allude to a PvP ranking system.

The popups were found by Twitter user @StrayKurtis and appear to be part of a progression system tied to different Elden Ring factions, reading "Bloody Finger Rank Advanced", "Hunter Rank Advanced", and so on.

There's currently no way to tell if these are from a scrapped mechanic or if they're perhaps linked to an upcoming piece of DLC but the Elden Ring community is already speculating wildly.

#ELDENRING datamine fun fact: There are several unused text popups related to the various online interactions(invasions, coop, etc). Perhaps there are some sort of ranking systems in the works? pic.twitter.com/FTurtshwS2

— StrayKurtis (@StrayKurtis) May 11, 2022

Previous games from developer FromSoftware, including Bloodborne and Dark Souls, had a somewhat hazy PvP ranking system, where defeating invading players would grant faction-specific rewards that could be traded in to increase your rank and eventually get rare items or unlocks.

Just as Elden Ring has advanced previous FromSoftware mechanics (and made an effort to make things clearer to new players), it's possible this ranking system is a more fully-fledged version of that previous mechanic.

Another popular theory ties these PvP ranks to the inaccessible Elden Ring colosseums that can be found around the map. Previous hacks seem to show that these areas appear to be combat focused (as colosseums usually are). One dataminer managed to get one of the arenas working and found hidden Sites of Grave, location names, and even battling NPCs that some community members think are connected to a PvP focused DLC.

While PvP is already a feature in Elden Ring through its invasions mechanic, there's no dedicated arena for players to battle in.

FromSoftware is yet to confirm anything though – even the existence of any sort of DLC – so fans will have to continue speculating in the meantime. Given the success of Elden Ring, however, and FromSoftware's tendency to release DLC, it would be surprising if extra content wasn't on its way.

Elden Ring has proved somewhat of a cultural phenomenon since it was release in February, with players finding a ton of different ways to interact with the game.

People have played it using a Fisher Price toy, the Nintendo Switch Ring Fit controller, and someone has even made a working VR version of the game.

Elden Ring has also been beaten in under seven minutes by a speedrunner, completed without taking or dealing damage, and fans are also modding every other entertainment franchise imaginable into the game.

In our 10/10 review, IGN said: "Elden Ring is a massive iteration on what FromSoftware began with the Souls series, bringing its relentlessly challenging combat to an incredible open world that gives us the freedom to choose our own path."

To make those choices with the best available information, check out our guide that features everything you could ever hope to know about Elden Ring, including collectible locations, boss strategies, and more.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Thumbnail credit: Fextralife / FromSoftware

An Elden Ring dataminer has found several unused text popups in the game files, which seem to allude to a PvP ranking system.

The popups were found by Twitter user @StrayKurtis and appear to be part of a progression system tied to different Elden Ring factions, reading "Bloody Finger Rank Advanced", "Hunter Rank Advanced", and so on.

There's currently no way to tell if these are from a scrapped mechanic or if they're perhaps linked to an upcoming piece of DLC but the Elden Ring community is already speculating wildly.

#ELDENRING datamine fun fact: There are several unused text popups related to the various online interactions(invasions, coop, etc). Perhaps there are some sort of ranking systems in the works? pic.twitter.com/FTurtshwS2

— StrayKurtis (@StrayKurtis) May 11, 2022

Previous games from developer FromSoftware, including Bloodborne and Dark Souls, had a somewhat hazy PvP ranking system, where defeating invading players would grant faction-specific rewards that could be traded in to increase your rank and eventually get rare items or unlocks.

Just as Elden Ring has advanced previous FromSoftware mechanics (and made an effort to make things clearer to new players), it's possible this ranking system is a more fully-fledged version of that previous mechanic.

Another popular theory ties these PvP ranks to the inaccessible Elden Ring colosseums that can be found around the map. Previous hacks seem to show that these areas appear to be combat focused (as colosseums usually are). One dataminer managed to get one of the arenas working and found hidden Sites of Grave, location names, and even battling NPCs that some community members think are connected to a PvP focused DLC.

While PvP is already a feature in Elden Ring through its invasions mechanic, there's no dedicated arena for players to battle in.

FromSoftware is yet to confirm anything though – even the existence of any sort of DLC – so fans will have to continue speculating in the meantime. Given the success of Elden Ring, however, and FromSoftware's tendency to release DLC, it would be surprising if extra content wasn't on its way.

Elden Ring has proved somewhat of a cultural phenomenon since it was release in February, with players finding a ton of different ways to interact with the game.

People have played it using a Fisher Price toy, the Nintendo Switch Ring Fit controller, and someone has even made a working VR version of the game.

Elden Ring has also been beaten in under seven minutes by a speedrunner, completed without taking or dealing damage, and fans are also modding every other entertainment franchise imaginable into the game.

In our 10/10 review, IGN said: "Elden Ring is a massive iteration on what FromSoftware began with the Souls series, bringing its relentlessly challenging combat to an incredible open world that gives us the freedom to choose our own path."

To make those choices with the best available information, check out our guide that features everything you could ever hope to know about Elden Ring, including collectible locations, boss strategies, and more.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Thumbnail credit: Fextralife / FromSoftware

The latest figures from The NPD Group reveal that the Nintendo Switch is now the fourth highest selling console in US history, having now eclipsed Sony's sales of the PlayStation 4.

The data shown in NPD's U.S. games industry sales from April 2022 report show that the Nintendo Switch achieved the highest unit sales of any console for both April and all of the overall year to date. These sales push it past the milestone set by PlayStation 4, making the Nintendo Switch the fourth highest unit-selling home console in U.S. history, behind the PlayStation 2, Xbox 360, and Wii.

If handheld consoles are counted, Switch is now the sixth highest-selling video game platform in the US, as both the Nintendo DS and Game Boy are comfortably among the best selling games machines of all time.

In April, spending on games hardware incresed by 16% in the US compared to the same period in 2021, which NPD attributes to the improved supply of PS5 and Xbox consoles. That can be seen in the fact that Xbox Series consoles are the second highest-selling devices of both the month and 2022 overall. The PS5, however, led April in terms of dollar sales.

Last month's NPD data revealed that Xbox Series consoles were 2022's best selling platform by dollars made, representing the continued strengthening of the Xbox brand.

For more from Nintendo, check out our dedicated podcast, NVC, and also have a look at everything that was announced as part of the Nintendo Switch Indie World Showcase.

Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Features Editor.