I know I’m a bit late, but 2016 has finally finished, and 2017 is underway. 2016 has been a rollercoaster of a year. There’s been several controversial releases in gaming, such as Metroid Prime: Federation Force, No Man’s Sky, and Might No. 9. The year has also seen some pretty tragic events, such as the devastating bombings in Aleppo, the shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando Florida, and the death of many beloved celebrities, including the recent Carrie Fischer, and George Michael.
Though 2016 has thrown some curveballs, the year has also had its positives, along with some wonderful moments in history. On the gaming side, Pokémon GO, and Pokémon Sun/Moon have seen very successful launches around the world. Hideo Kojima finally got his well deserved Game Award. We finally got a proper look at Breath of the Wild and the Nintendo Switch. VR is finally available to a widespread audience, and the developer of ‘That Dragon, Cancer’ was able to make an impact on gamers from his very heartfelt story.
Outside of gaming, the first monument for LGBT rights has been designated in the US, a new technique, called gene editing, which could be capable of eradicating the duplication of cancer cells, has been invented, after 50 years of war in Colombia, a peace treaty has been signed, and so much more. No matter what tragedies happen, it is always important to look at the positives and what we already have.
It has also been a fairly interesting year for NintyBuzz too. We announced the very first NintyBuzz Awards results where Splatoon won a heap of awards. We then published a rather big editorial, predicting where we think Zelda Wii U (now Breath of the Wild) will take place on the timeline. We got into the April Fools spirit and decided that Nintendo we bringing VR to Universal Parks! I was far too thrilled with the release of YO-KAI WATCH for Nintendo 3DS, where we praised the game highly. We then took a good strong look at the Wii U to get an idea of how we want Nintendo to handle the Switch.
A big moment in NintyBuzz history was conceived soon before E3! NintyBuzz and 3DS Buzz forums united and merged, thus NintyBuzz Forums was born! Summer was topped off with our own celebration of 30 years of Metroid in our special Retrospective video. I hit a bit of a roadblock being busy at uni, with a dash of personal issues. This caused activity to approach a lull for a few months. This soon rectified itself with the reveal trailer of the Nintendo Switch! Soon before the year ended, we received an invite to try out the Nintendo Switch on the 13th January 2017! Finally, the NintyBuzz Awards 2016 launches with some new categories, a new Nomination stage, and a bigger prize for one lucky winner! We have definitely had an eventful year at NBHQ!
It looks like we will be getting a lot in 2017. The biggest thing to look forward to in 2017 is the release of the Nintendo Switch! There are many other things to look forward to in 2017 too, such as The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, a brand new 3D Mario game, Yooka-Laylee, and so much more.
I hope everyone who has survived 2016 has a fantastic 2017. I would like to thank everyone in the community for just being awesome. Without you all, NintyBuzz would not be where it is today, and I hope we can all help NintyBuzz grow even more in 2017. Before I go, I have some questions to ask you all…
What were your fondest memories of 2016? What are you looking forward to in 2017? Do you have any words of wisdom for surviving the next 12 months?
Keep on buzzin’, way into 2017!
Leon Fletcher
