Splatoon Getting Squid Girl Anime Costumes, Web App

Exciting new details have come in about Splatoon’s latest update, which makes so many changes to the game fans are dubbing it Splatoon version 2.0.0.

We just confirmed, following releasing some promotional art, that Nintendo’s collaboration with Masahiro Anbe would culminate in his work, Ika Musume, known in the west as Squid Girl, would be coming officially to Splatoon in the form of a special costume.

Masahiro Anbe’s Ika Musume, as some of you may know, is a manga about an extraterrestrial human squid hybrid that comes to earth and takes a convenience store job. The manga started in 2007, and the anime in 2010, but as EAD have pointed out in interviews, including the Iwata Asks, they also stumbled along the idea of squid kid characters by serendipity and to accommodate game design.

In any case, Anbe was immediately taken by the game upon reveal, and he and fans clamored for a collaboration for some sort. And so, in an amazing act of fanservice, Nintendo did go ahead and license the Ika Musume costume in the game. As if that wasn’t enough, Nintendo of America confirmed that the costume would also hit stateside.

…and yes, the Squid Girl gear is coming to the US! #Splatoon

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) August 5, 2015

The costume consists of three parts: the hat (Gear Power: Opening Gambit), the dress (Gear Power: Damage Up), which converts into a shirt for boy Inklings, and shoes (Gear Power: Swim Speed Up).  

Now, Nintendo Co Ltd has launched another surprise: a web app similar to the Mario Kart 8 web app. From the app, you can see who’s online in your friend list, you and your friend’s rankings, your profile, including loadouts, and scheduled maps and game modes. Players can log into it now using their Miiverse Nintendo ID, but you will probably want to wait until the English language version is available to actually use it.

Is this enough to get you to buy Splatoon? Or are you already a regular player and can’t wait for the update? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.