A fresh update for the Nintendo Today smartphone app includes a high-tech solution for verifying your location at Nintendo events.
Attendees at Nintendo Live 2025 Tokyo will be among the first to receive bonus content via the app, which will unlock if your phone detects an inaudible “soundwave signal” broadcast within the location.
As an alternative to scanning a QR code (which requires finding said code, and fussing about with your phone’s camera), it’s a clever idea — if it works as planned in a noisy environment.
“Please note that verification can only be done at a dedicated space within the venue,” Nintendo told attendees regarding the technology, as shared by OatmealDome. “For details, please check information at the venue.
“Attendance verification uses a soundwave signal. Unlike music, it is not a recognizable sound. The microphone light on your smartphone may turn on during the verification, but conversations and such data will not be recorded or collected.”
For those not set to attend a Nintendo event in the near future, the new Nintendo Today app update is also notable for adding a Kirby theme. English (EU), Spanish (EU), Korean and Traditional Chinese language support has also been added. Finally, the app is now available to download in South Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.
Launched this year as a dedicated hub of Nintendo news, the Nintendo Today app allows the company a way to disseminate information directly to its fans — without them having to venture onto X or other social media.
The app has been used to break multiple Nintendo announcements first, before they are announced elsewhere, something presumably designed to encourage fans to keep checking back. Today’s major Nintendo Direct, which is set for 6am Pacific, 9am Eastern or 2pm UK time, will also be broadcast via the app.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
