Splatoon 3 is coming soon, but players will get their first taste even sooner. A special pre-release demo event is coming August 27, letting everyone get their hands on the first tricolor Splatfest. The special event will pit two teams against each other for the first round for a traditional Turf War, and then pit both of them against a leader for the second round, forcing the dominant team into a defensive crouch at the center of the map.
That’s one of the many new additions and wrinkles coming to Splatoon 3, which seems to be bursting at the seams with things to do and see. In advance of the release, GameSpot spoke with Nintendo product development SVP Nate Bihldorff and player and product experience VP Bill Trinen about welcoming new players into the Splatoon community, balancing approachability with a high skill ceiling, and the cosmetic catalogs that are coming for at least two years post-launch.
GameSpot: What do you think makes Splatoon 3 a good jumping-on point for people who have never played a Splatoon before?