Pandemic and consequent lockdowns have brought many things to a shortage. The dismantling of the supply chain halted many lives. It also happened for the people who turned towards gaming as their alternative during idle time. Nintendo Switch once faced the low-inventory syndrome for a long time during this pandemic period. Now, questions like how it happened and when it happened are out of the debate topics. The good news that is coming out for gamers is that the Nintendo switch will be easily available after primary e-commerce and online retail stores have started keeping this product in bulk. Let’s know more about this latest update through this Exhibit blog.
Nintendo Switch Back into the Market
Many firms like Best Buy, Walmart, Amazon, and others have started keeping a bigger stock of Nintendo switch products after a global shortage was witnessed. Hence, you can get wide variants in configurations and colors of this product. Apart from this, you may find lucrative and exciting deals related to the newest version of Nintendo – the Nintendo Switch OLED model.
Where to find these products?
As mentioned above, many online retail and e-commerce websites will help you find your most desired Nintendo console. Among them, the most popular one is Amazon. From Amazon, you can find three memory variants of the Nintendo switch – 64 GB at $314 (INR 23,370/-), 128 GB at $326 (INR 24,263/-), and 512 GB at $344 (INR 25,603/-). There’s hardly any difference in price against the memory upgrade for each variant. If you are thinking of getting the Lite variant of the Nintendo console, all famous platforms can deliver you at a price of $199 (14,811/-). If you think that a concern of quality may arise, you can directly visit the Nintendo website and explore all the products and order them online.
About Nintendo Switch
On UN World Wildlife Day (3rd March) in the year 2017, Nintendo released its new product Nintendo Switch console, worldwide. This wireless console has a Joy-Con controller with standard buttons and analog sticks for directions. This console looks like a highly portable tablet, which means you can connect the same directly to television sets. The best part about this gaming console is that it supports both local and internet connectivity, due to which a supersonic player like you can enjoy online games. In addition to this, Nintendo products are cheaper than PS; many can opt for it and have a power-pack gaming experience for sure.
We give you an insight into the world of gaming audio with HyperX, one of India’s leading accessory makers. Be it PC, PlayStation, Xbox, or even mobile gaming, HyperX has something to offer for every gamer.
Ex: Tell us about a change you’ve seen in the digital blogging space since you started out your journey? How has this space evolved?
Mithilesh: So, I am pretty new to the digital blogging space. It has just been 2 years, but I have seen a lot of content creators who are emerging, and that is something really exciting because this is just the start of the whole internet revolution in India. Lots of content creators are emerging from small towns and cities.
Ex:A technology you wished you’d invented?
Mithilesh: Realistic looking AI robot based on any of your loved ones.
Ex: What’s been your favorite encounter with a fan so far? (DMs included!)
Mithilesh: This happened in the mall where I was shopping and there was a boy who was next to me talking to his sister about me and I heard the conversation and I waited there to see the reaction and after a few seconds he approached me and that was one of my first encounters and it was very special to me.
Ex:What does success mean to you?
Mithilesh: Definition of success for me keeps changing. Right now the definition of success for me is getting the diamond play button, but that is too materialistic. Overall, I want to be happy and should be able to achieve whatever I am dreamt of.
Ex: Do you think Influencer Marketing is a fad? Where do you see this space in years to come?
Mithilesh: Everybody wants to be an influencer these days and there is nothing wrong in that. Lot of them will try and a lot will fail, but that’s who will get good content creators/ influencers in the coming years.
Ex:Which three things does someone starting in the gaming industry need to know?
Mithilesh: 1.Pubg is not everything.
2.It is not just as easy as playing games and enjoying life, it can feel like a job. It takes real efforts.
3.There is a right time for you to start this. This is for all the kids who are in school and are sad because they are not growing on YouTube.
Ex:What would you say is the biggest challenge for a gaming influencer?
Mithilesh: There is always this constant pressure of not staying relevant anymore just because this space is so crowded right now and there are a lot more gaming creators that are going to emerge. So, it’s a big challenge to remain against the top, to co- exist and stay relevant.
Ex:Tell us about a change you’ve seen in the digital blogging space since you started out your journey? How has this space evolved?
Ujjwal: Rise of Mobile gaming as compared to PC gaming and competition.
Ex: What would be your calling in a parallel universe? (Alternate career options)
Ujjwal: App Developer/ programming.
Ex:If you were stranded on an island, what are the 3 gadgets you’d take along?
Ujjwal: Phone, Internet, and computer.
Ex:A technology you wished you’d invented?
Ujjwal: Mobile Gaming.
Ex: What’s been your favorite encounter with a fan so far? (DMs included!)
Ujjwal:One of Ujjwals fan started crying on Discord live call.
Ex: Social Media is known to expose vulnerabilities, with influencers being at the epicenter. How do you deal with the dark side that comes with the medium?
Ujjwal: Always be attentive, think twice before clicking on links from unknown/corrupted sources.
Ex: What does success mean to you?
Ujjwal: Owning my own gaming company.
Ex: Do you think Influencer Marketing is a fad? Where do you see this space in years to come?
Ujjwal: Influencer marketing is doing wonders for Brands and Influencers both. It has a great future as digital modernization is rapid.
Ex: Which three things does someone starting in the gaming industry need to know?
Ujjwal: Consistency, New trend, Content quality.
Ex: What would you say is the biggest challenge for a gaming influencer?
Ujjwal:Making your identity at the beginning because the competition is too much, a concern of gaining followers and family pressure at the same time.
Ex: Tell us about a change you’ve seen in the digital blogging space since you started out your journey? How has this space evolved?
Tanmay: I’ve been in this community for the past 2 years , people here always had a curiosity of knowing what this is that I do on my PC all the time. With the Internet getting available to almost everyone in the previous years I’ve seen a lot of development here , more people have started to know me, even the ones around me now have a basic idea of what I do.
Ex: Can you give us an insight into social media platforms that only an Influencer can know?
Tanmay: I don’t think there’s any ‘secret’ that only the influencers know, we are just like the normal crowd, what they know is what we know.
Ex: What would be your calling in a parallel universe? (Alternate career options)
Tanmay: I’ve always wanted to be a professional football player , so I think it would be that.
Ex: If you were stranded on an island, what are the 3 gadgets you’d take along?
Tanmay: An internet connection, my smartphone and a laptop maybe.
Ex: A technology you wished you’d invented?
Tanmay: Video Games , they are the ones that fascinate me a lot.
Ex: What’s been your favorite encounter with a fan so far? (DMs included!)
Tanmay: I’ve had a fan who wrote a song and a rap for me , it was the best encounter I would say.
Ex:Social media trolling is seeing an upward rise. Do you think this only increases with the popularity of an Influencer? How does one tackle this situation?
Tanmay: Yup, surely this increases as the popularity goes up but as i said , believe in yourself , the others dont know what you have gone through to come up at a stage like this , you know you gave your 100% so you stick to it no matter what the haters/trollers say , we have 100 times more supporters and these haters/trollers.
Ex: What does success mean to you?
Tanmay: When I am happy about what I am doing.
Ex: Which three things does someone starting in the gaming industry need to know?
Tanmay: It might look easy , but you need to know that thousands are already fighting for what you dream to have. You need to develop an extraordinary skill in either Professional or Content making.
Ex: What would you say is the biggest challenge for a gaming influencer?
Tanmay: The people here in India never consider this as a career , though it has developed in these previous 2-3 years but still they need to know it is just like another JOB.
Ex: Tell us about a change you’ve seen in the digital blogging space since you started out your journey? How has this space evolved? Ankit: A lot of upcoming gamers who see me as a role model started asking me to stream so that they can learn by watching me play and that’s when I decided to start streaming. It started from one person watching to a few hundred and has kept increasing. Today my live streams and my videos are being shared by fans to convince their parents that gaming can be taken as a career. I feel happy to see that even my fans’ parents have started trusting me. Ex: What would be your calling in a parallel universe? (Alternate career options) Ankit: I feel I would become a DJ or an actor. I love music and acting. Ex: If you were stranded on an island, what are the 3 gadgets you’d take along? Ankit: My gaming laptop, my wireless gaming headset, and my go pro camera. Ex: A technology you wished you’d invented? Ankit: Equipment that needs 1 person to pedal and can create enough electricity to run light, water pump, and basic necessary things for an entire village! Ex: Social media trolling is seeing an upward rise. Do you think this only increases with the popularity of an Influencer? How does one tackle this situation? Ankit: I feel people have questions most of the time and if you have the answers, it doesn’t lead to trolling. In my case, I reply to most of the comments and I know my fans. If I see an unknown trying to get attention, I just block them straight away. Ex: What does success mean to you? – Ankit: Getting up in the morning and seeing my mom smile because she doesn’t have to worry about anything anymore. Ex: Do you think Influencer Marketing is a fad? Where do you see this space in years to come? Ankit: It’s going to keep growing, I feel. Everyone is enjoying it and that’s the reason you see so many platforms and so many influencers. Everyone is growing and in different fields. Ex: Which three things does someone starting in the gaming industry need to know? Ankit: It’s not easy, be patient. Getting a gaming pc does not mean that you have arrived. It will take time and a lot of hard work. Ex: What would you say is the biggest challenge for a gaming influencer?
Ankit: To build his or her community the way he or she wants to and stick with it.
The Gaming Industry has a huge turnover in India, in tune with the rest of the world. With the pandemic hitting the world so hard, many releases had to be delayed. A huge audience awaits the release of movies, games and books throughout the year. However, there is nothing to be worried about, especially gaming enthusiasts. We’ve got you gamers covered. Here’s a list of the best upcoming games (at least the ones we think are super cool!) that you should look out for:
MARVEL’S AVENGERS
A dream every Marvel Fan has looked forward to coming true; The third-person action-adventure featuring all the Marvel superheroes where you get to step in the shows of your favorite hero. It can be played solo or cooperatively with up to 4 players online. The story starts with an A-Day celebration at the Avengers west coast headquarters. With an explosion due to the latest tarragon crystal reactor, the city of San Francisco is ruined and the avengers are boycotted; Only to be proved innocent by Kamala Khan (Ms. Marvel). The super humans are aimed to be fighting against a conspiracy built by an organization, AIM. Play your favorite superhero, and save the world from the threat.
You can unlock powerful skills and gears and customize it according to your playstyle. The game releases on September 4, 2020.
KERBAL SPACE PROGRAM 2~
‘The next generation of space exploration’, Kerbal Space Program 2 is a simulation game and a sequel to the space flight simulation Kerbal Space Program from Private Division. With exciting new parts, colony building in space, interstellar travel, enhanced modding, and stunning visuals; this multiplayer game is all set to take off to space—Pun intended! The exact date is uncertain. Although, spacecraft from the game are known to launch sometime around Fall 2021.
WATCH DOGS: LEGION~
The sequel to Watch Dogs 2, Watch Dogs: Legion is a third-person action-adventure game set up in London. Unlike other versions, this one does not have a single protagonist. Instead, the game revolves around multiple characters recruited through a unique mission. After recruitment: they will be assigned either combat, stealth or hacking. With a unique set of skills, abilities and an entirely different background dictating the special trait, the players level up by completing various missions and activities. Ubisoft announced the game’s planned release on October 29, 2020.
STAR WARS: SQUADRON~
Set up in the universe of Star Wars, it is an upcoming space combat game with the storyline of ‘The Return of Jedi’. For all the star wars fans, this multiplayer game is playable in Virtual Reality using VR Headsets too! The story alternates between two customizable pilots who are flying for New Republic’s Vanguard Squadron and the Empire’s Titan Squadron and pits them against each other. As players move ahead in the game, they unlock exciting features such as gears, upgrades, shields, upgrades and various cosmetic items for the ships!
The game is said to be released on October 2nd, 2020.
FAST & FURIOUS: CROSSROADS~
The film franchise the game is based on has been my personal favorite. The hybrid racing and action role-playing video game is set up in different locations such as Barcelona, New Orleans, Morocco and Athens. Grab this chance of being a part of the ‘Fast saga’ and avoid the traps set up by the villains by using weapons and gadgets available throughout the game. The gameplay in the recent trailer shown is a combination between Ridge Racer and God Eater gameplays.
The game was supposed to be released in May 2020, but was delayed to 7 August 2020 due to the pandemic.
MAFIA: DEFINITIVE EDITION~
The remake of the 2002 video game Mafia, the game takes you back to the 1930s, in the fictional city of Lost Heaven that is hit by The Great Depression. The storyline follows the rise and fall of mobster Tommy Angelo within the Salieri crime family. With a new feature of motorcycles in the series, the game is built with an expanded story and new assets. See yourself changing from Thomas Angelo: The Hardworking taxi-driver to Thomas Angelo: The Mafia.
The game is set to release on August 28, 2020.
GROUNDED~
Imagine yourself as a lilliput in the world of Gulliver’s Travels~ That’s exactly how this game is going to be. A world where players are reduced to the size of ants and must struggle to survive in a backyard filled with dangers. It’s a survival game developed by Obsidian Entertainment. It can be played from a first-person as well as a third-person perspective. This game is not for people who cannot handle insects and bugs crawling up your sleeves. However, the game has an interesting accessibility feature for people with arachnophobia (severely scared of spiders!), allowing players to decide how scary the spiders can be in the game.
The game is set to release on July 28, 2020.
A TOTAL WAR SAGA: TROY~
The first in the award-winning strategy series to focus on the Bronze-age Mediterranean and the legendary twenty-year conflict between the kingdoms of Troy and Mycenaean Greece, known as the Trojan War. The game might obviously focus on the historical Trojan war with new-inspired features. Experience your events and realize your legend as one of the eight iconic heroes. Conquer and build your vast empire with exceptional strategies that your mind creates.
The game is set to release in the year 2021.
DEATH STRANDING~
The name sounds morbid, although it might just be a little more interesting! Few of you must’ve already been playing it by now since it was released on July 14th, 2020. Numerous commentators also noted that the elements of the game resembled that of the Covid-19 pandemic. An action game developed by Kojima Productions, which has players controlling Sam Porter Bridges, a courier tasked with delivering supplies to the fractured and isolated colonies that remain and reconnecting them via a wireless communications network. The player’s main enemies include creatures related to ‘beached things’.
There are many gamers (like me) who own a Steam account but are unwilling to purchase games. If you are one of those, this is the ideal list for you! This is a list of games that are free-to-play on the Steam Store. While some of these contain in-app purchases and DLCs which require real-life money, their gameplay can be fairly enjoyed, free of cost. So, here are some of the best free-to-play games on the (steam) market.
EVE Online is a sandbox Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) and puts you in charge of a fleet of spaceships. Widely considered as one of the best sandbox games to date, EVE Online is the result of 15 years of development and expansion. It allows the player to control one among many spaceships, while exploring a practically endless universe. Players can choose multiple factions, loyalties, professions and much more. The possibilities of living a space life through this game are infinite. While the game is free-to-play, some elements of it are locked behind in-app purchases.
DC Universe Online is another MMORPG that was released way back in 2011. Nevertheless, it has garnered a massive and loyal fanbase over the years. As the name suggests, players are plunged into the world of DC and enter the game with a customised superhero. There are multiple combinations to creating a superhero, allowing the player to personalize his pick. The game allows players to complete missions, pick sides with heroes or villains and much more. DC Universe Online is free to download but has multiple DLCs and expansion packs that can be purchased separately.
Among the most recognized and beloved games around the world, Counter Strike: Global Offensive is the latest and current iteration in the Counter Strike series. Popularly called CSGO, the game involves two teams of five players each engaging in a death battle. The two teams are called Terrorists and Counter-terrorists respectively and must fulfill their roles accordingly. While terrorists must plant a bomb at a specified place, the counter-terrorists must prevent that. CSGO can be downloaded for free and does not have any special in-app purchases, except a premium pass.
Undoubtedly one of the most famous games in the world, DOTA 2 is also a profession for many. A 5V5 online MOBA game, it is one of the oldest surviving games and has a fan-following matched only by few other games in the world. It involves players choosing one of 100+ heroes and battling it out to destroy the other team’s base. DOTA 2 is also free to download but has in-app purchases that give the player access to special skins, effects and aesthetics.
Mobile gaming has a loyal fan following around the world and many gamers are exclusively dedicated to their smartphones. While most games offer a seamless experience when played using the touchscreen, there are many that perform best when played with a wireless controller. Following is a list of games that maximize their performance with a wireless controller.
Grid Autosport is probably one of the best games on the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store. It not only offers console quality graphics on your smartphone, but also offers a realistic racecar driving experience. As the name suggests, the game revolves around racing cars around close-circuit tracks around the world. It features over a hundred licensed cars and tracks, making it a must-have for racing sim enthusiasts as well as automobile fanatics. Grid Autosport offers the most realistic driving feeling possible on a smartphone and works best when played with its inbuilt controller support. It is a paid app, though the first purchase unlocks all content, including some bonus DLCs.
If you wish to play a racing game with your wireless controller but are unwilling to shell out money, Real Racing 3 is a free alternative. It too offers console quality racing experience and features hundreds of licensed cars and racetracks. However, Real Racing 3 has certain in-app purchases that you can make to progress faster in the game, while its racing dynamics is not as on point as Grid Autosport. Still, its online multiplayer feature allows you to race against your friends and compete for the fastest time, making it a worthwhile app to pass time with.
Fans of the first-person shooter (FPS) genre will be overjoyed by playing Shadowgun Legends with their wireless controller. Set in a futuristic and fictional world, the game revolves around the player hunting down aliens and “bashing some skulls.” A free-to-play app, it can be played with up to three other players and offers complete controller support. Shadowgun Legends is a must try for gamers who have played Virtua Cop 2, CounterStrike or Quake in the past.
Minecraft has been around for a long time and has garnered a massive global fanbase. Its pocket edition for the smartphone offers the same joy of Minecraft with the pleasure of having it in your pocket! Players can roam around a vast universe; building, breaking, hunting, running and laughing along the way.’
Infinite Flight is an authentic aircraft simulator that lets you live your dream of becoming a pilot. Available as free-to-play, the game offers a realistic flying experience, that is further enhanced with a wireless controller. Players can select their choice of airport to take off from and land on, though its full features are locked behind in-app purchases. The full version of the game offers multiple weather conditions, global airports, Air Traffic Control (ATC) mode and a lot more.
Old-school gamers know the pleasure of coming back from school, hastily eating lunch and booting up their gaming console. While most gamers have shifted from console gaming to mobile gaming, the essence of consoles remains unchanged. If you love to reminisce on those days and wish to play some of those games again, here’s how you can enjoy console games on your smartphone.
1. Download an emulator
Almost every console that ruled the market in the 90s has been replicated digitally. These are called emulators and can be downloaded from the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store. PPSSPP is a free emulator that plays Playstation Portable (PSP) games while DraStic is a paid one that supports Nintendo DS games. There are many others as well that support games from Nintento Gameboy, Microsoft Xbox, Sony Playstation 2 and so on.
Image: Google Play Store
2. Search for ROMs
The next step after downloading an emulator is to download the games for it. The easiest way to do so is to is via the emulator itself, though you can even look them up on Google. These are digitized versions of the same games that are played on their respective consoles, so you need to worry about system requirements. However, it is advisable to use a good gaming smartphone to optimize the gaming experience.
Image: Google Play Store
3. Opt for a controller
While emulators offer controls on the touchscreen, their gameplay is better suited for physical buttons. As they are basically console ports, the games that they play also work well with a controller. Hence, opting for a wireless controller can significantly enhance your gaming experience.
Although this is strictly for the hardcore, many emulators also allow you to broadcast your gameplay. If not, there is always the option of mirroring your smartphone’s screen to your Smart TV. In this way, you can practically relive the moments of old school console gaming without the hassle of repairing old consoles!
Thus there are many ways to bring back the old days of console gaming, integrated with modern technology!
