Nintendo's doing something a little different with the Splatoon demo
Surprise!
Nintendo will release a demo for Wii U shooter Splatoon. You can download it now from the Nintendo eShop. Surprise!
But you can only play it at specified time periods: up to three hours of four versus four online Turf War battles on Saturday 9th May only.
Here's how it works: the demo will go live for one hour periods at the following UK times on Saturday 9th May:
- 4am to 5am.
- 12pm to 1pm.
- 8pm to 9pm.
When live, you have the chance to jump online and play in 4-on-4 Turf War battles against other players from across the world. It sounds a bit like a beta.
The plan makes sense, as the demo of Splatoon is online only. Nintendo calls it the "free Splatoon Global Testfire demo". But it's worth noting the full game, due out on 29th May, has a single-player campaign.
If you download the demo you get a 10 per cent discount off the price of Splatoon on the Nintendo eShop. That's £31.49 down from the regular price of £34.99.
Meanwhile, Nintendo said it plans to support Splatoon with free post-launch content, including new stages, weapons, gear and modes.
Five stages will be available from launch, Nintendo said: Urchin Underpass, Saltspray Rig, Walleye Warehouse, Blackbelly Skatepark and Arowana Mall. New stages will be added every few weeks. Also, a Ranked Battle mode called Tower Control will be added post-launch.
Of interest: Nintendo said to expect a "major" game update in August, which will add further friend matchmaking functionality to enable four players to form a team and battle against other teams, as well as functionality to create private eight-player matches with just friends. It's a shame this won't be in the game at launch.
Also due out in August is a third Ranked Battle mode, called Rainmaker.
On 27th June Nintendo will host the first Splatfest. You have to choose a side and represent it during the event. Splatfest carries its own ranking system, and your rank may score you the "Super Sea Snail" item once the event ends.
