Splatoon (video game)

This article is about the first video game in the Splatoon franchise. For the series, see Splatoon.

Splatoon
Developer(s)Nintendo EAD
Publisher(s)Nintendo
Director(s)
  • Yusuke Amano
  • Tsubasa Sakaguchi
Producer(s)Hisashi Nogami
Programmer(s)Shintaro Sato[4][5]
Artist(s)Seita Inoue[6]
Composer(s)
SeriesSplatoon
Platform(s)Wii U
Release
Genre(s)Third-person shooter
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Splatoon[a] is a 2015 third-person shooter video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii U. The game centers around Inklings—anthropomorphic cephalopodic lifeforms that can transform between humanoid and cephalopod forms and frequently engage in turf wars with each other and use a variety of weapons that produce and shoot colored ink while in humanoid form, or swim and hide in surfaces covered in their own colored ink while in their cephalopodic forms. Splatoon features several different game modes, including four-on-four online multiplayer and a single player campaign.

Splatoon was developed by Nintendo's Entertainment Analysis & Development division, and originated from a competitive multiplayer ink-based territory control game, which was later expanded to include squid and the ability to swim through ink. The concept was created by lead programmer Shintaro Sato, who had previously worked on games in the Animal Crossing franchise. The development team for Splatoon was generally composed of younger Nintendo employees compared to other games by the company.

Splatoon received positive reviews, with critics praising Nintendo's decision to enter the genre with a new franchise, the game's overall style and presentation, gameplay mechanics, and its soundtrack. However, criticism was directed at the exclusion of voice chat and private lobbies, the small number of multiplayer maps at launch, and issues with online matchmaking. Nintendo provided post-release support for the game by adding new maps and weapons to the game, adding a feature to allow users to create private lobbies and holding time-limited events called "Splatfests". Splatoon was awarded and nominated for several year-end accolades from several gaming publications. A sequel, Splatoon 2, was released for the Nintendo Switch on 21 July 2017, followed by another sequel, Splatoon 3, which was released on the Nintendo Switch on 9 September 2022. On 8 April 2024, Nintendo shut down the Nintendo Network service, discontinuing online play for the game.[7]

  1. ^ Otero, José (1 April 2015). "Here's All the News from April's Nintendo Direct". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  2. ^ "Splatoon（スプラトゥーン）". Nintendo Japan (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 3 April 2015. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
  3. ^ Whitehead, Thomas (2 April 2015). "Splatoon Release Date and amiibo Information Splat Into View". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  4. ^ Robinson, Martin (20 June 2014). "How Nintendo is reinventing the shooter with Splatoon". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on 26 June 2014. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  5. ^ Otero, José (23 June 2014). "Splatoon: The Origins of Nintendo's Adorable Squad Based Shooter". IGN. Archived from the original on 4 July 2014. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  6. ^ a b Nintendo Dream September 2014 (Vol. 245) Splatoon developer interview.
  7. ^ "Discontinuation of Online Services for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U software". Nintendo Customer Support. Archived from the original on 8 April 2024. Retrieved 9 October 2023.


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