After a successful Splatfest World Premiere demo, Splatoon 3 is preparing to launch on Friday, September 9. The one-day event established three competing teams - Rock, Paper, and Scissors - to represent each member of the series' latest idol group Deep Cut. Shiver's Team Rock took the win, with many fans complaining about balancing issues in Splatoon 3's Tricolor Turf Wars, but ultimately it was a good first showing for the group that will run Splatsville's Anarchy Splatcast over the next few years.
The Splatoon series has been characterized by its \news broadcast format since the beginning. Splatoon's Squid Sisters, actual cousins Callie and Marie, originally introduced the new stages in rotation for Turf War matches alongside other updates and events. Splatoon's Splatfests were also hosted by the duo, each of whom picked a side, and the pattern stuck for their Inkopolis News successors Off the Hook. Though Deep Cut's role will largely be the same, Nintendo could experiment with additions to future broadcasts that make them more "realistic" to bolster certain aspects of the series.
Off-Hours Splatcast Hosts
Asking for more realism in the news broadcast for a Splatoon game is perhaps absurd; despite efforts to bring the Squid Sisters and Off the Hook into real life with hologram concerts, the idols are video game characters who exist to serve mechanical functions like explaining the map selection in a third-person shooter. Yet giving them a bit more believability with the need to eat and sleep could open fun opportunities.
All Splatoon hosts can be found chatting with one another in their studio between broadcasts, and the only time they leave is for live performances during Splatfests. Story campaigns, such as the Splatoon 2 Octo Expansion, also show them out for more grand purposes like saving the world. Like real-world news networks swap to different hosts at later hours so prime time anchors can get time off, Splatoon could introduce a system where smaller bands take over for Deep Cut at night. If so, the group could have different preferences for game modes, leading to diversity depending on the hour someone plays.
'Deep Cut' Interviews
Though there's often fun to be had watching a Splatoon idol group interact, particularly during Splatfest broadcasts, it would also be great to see a team like Deep Cut talk to a wider cast of characters. Rigid and traditional interviews might not fit Splatoon 3's "Anarchy Splatfest" label, but even if this idea is saved for a future game there's merit to wondering how the series' most recognizable characters take in the world around them.
Basic interviews could bolster pre-existing functions of Splatoon's news broadcasts, for example bringing Sheldon into the studio to explain (or demonstrate) how a newly added weapon works. It could also serve as an incentive if Nintendo added a system where top-ranking players on a Splatfest team got to sit down with their team's representative. These interviews would have to be simple yes-or-no questions to avoid obscenities and other issues that could come with open-ended responses, but it would be more of an aspirational bragging right than a serious prize.
Investigative Reports on Splatoon's World
Unlike studio interviews, the more chaotic aspect of undercover investigative reports might better fit shows hosted by Deep Cut. Its likely these would serve as more cheeky advertisements for in-game features with the potential for larger, overarching stories. For example, one investigative report could look into the shady Mr. Grizz who runs Grizzco, reminding players they can try Salmon Run matches at any time. A reporter could also enter one of the shops, covertly talking to a character like Harmony so players learn about rare items being added.
There may be deeper stories told within the post-apocalyptic world of Splatoon, but it is a live-service shooter at heart. Players can dig deep to learn each game's meta without taking in the worlds of Inkopolis or Splatsville. Adding more to an in-game broadcast with the purpose of advertising other modes wouldn't change that, but it could add a lot more texture for fans who like to immerse themselves in their favorite series.
Splatoon 3 releases September 9 for Nintendo Switch.