Topic: Do you feel like the Switch is going to be a let down?

I think people getting excited for a new, full priced Bomberman game in 2017 are like people getting excited for a new full length Weezer album in 2017. Desperate.

Erm... that is ... quite the rabbit hole you would be proposing to go down. If you want to start pricing games according to how much work and time went into them.

I mean ... I can't even think of the words to begin describing how difficult that would be to do.

You have amazing games that are incredibly simple and small in scope, but does that mean that the developers deserve less money for their efforts because their game didn't have as many "screens"? (I'm not saying this is the case with Bomberman R - I'm just saying in general.) That doesn't seem right to me, necessarily.

And like you said in your next post, then you have games like Zelda that are worked on for YEARS. So... what's a fair price for those games? 100 bucks per year of development? 60 bucks per every 50 "screens"?

It's nothing against you personally, it's just a terribly bewildering line of thinking to try and pursue. I don't think it's a sound way of approaching how a game should be priced, to bring it back to people thinking Bomberman R should be less expensive because its single player campaign is just a collection of single "screens."

@spizzamarozzi
Call it what you want, man. I think it's awesome Bomberman is coming back. I feel kinda bad for you, though. Like you're just pouting in the corner while everyone is having fun, trying to convince yourself that you're the cool one for not wanting to dance.

@rallydefault

I agree. Development time and costs shouldn't be the only factor which determines the price of a game. The value you're getting out of a game should also be taken into account. Whether it's multiple playthroughs of a fully fledged single-player mode, or dozens of gameplay hours from a multiplayer mode. If a smaller title can offer as much gameplay value as a AAA title, it deserves to have a higher price tag.

It's great to see a new Bomberman game on consoles again. The fact that it's being made by former Hudson developers is also encouraging. I think the story mode is going to be more than just 50 single-screen maps. The single-screen is usually reserved for battle mode. If you watch the trailer closely, you will notice the characters in Story Mode moving beyond a fixed single-screen.

@KirbyTheVampire I have to disagree with you there. 4K visuals don't add anything to the gameplay whereas hd rumble could be used in new and interesting ways. The other day I watched the film Trainspotting (I was re watching due to the sequel being out) I watched it in 1080p and thoroughly enjoy it. Now I used to own in on V H S back in the day. Did I enjoy the film more because of its high resolution? Did I balls, it was still an enjoyable movie. Could it be improved with 4K? Not one bit. Resolution is superficial. If you are engaged in the film/ game you tend not to notice.

@MumboJumbo For the record, the single player levels look like this:

http://nichegamer.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/super-bomber...
http://senpaigamer.com/core/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/13-sup...

Some levels deviate from this design, but they're not elaborate levels on their own, they're slightly bigger:

http://www.gameinformer.com/cfs-filesystemfile.ashx/__key/Com...

Compare that to a single dungeon in Tournament:

http://randomhoohaas.flyingomelette.com/bomb/gba-st/map/map-f...

It's a scummy thing to do.

I'm of course including all the other extras for running an office, not just the wages and extra on top.

It is, I agree. Sadly we can't price games based on enjoyment potential (an even bigger nightmare). I was really comparing the screens instance in the situation posed earlier about paying more for Mario, because Mario. Comparing it to Zelda (not because it's Zelda, but because it's a different game entirely) is unfair. But I seriously can't see how they are justifying the price other than to drain as much money as possible from the people getting the console at launch. If it were priced at $70AU (It's at $90AU) I would give some consideration to this game (but would likely decide against it after working out my budget for the launch), serious consideration if it were a Pocket Bomberman sequel, but it's that last $20 that's really putting me off. Something about the game and the price together is really screaming at me "don't get it." Development is a small part of it, and it's not really comparing it Zelda either, I guess my gut is just saying this is too big a risk for the money I'd be putting up for it. Of course I'm not telling anyone how to spend their money, but I do want you all to get your moneys worth, which you may do.

I know you've got nothing against me, we've butted heads on occasion, but it has been enjoyable.

That's my point

Nothing beats Zelda in development dude, or most Nintendo big titles... They could charge more than 60$ bucks if they wanted.

I like Weezer..

Same, some people need to realise that a game is worth what people are willing to pay for it (same as anything else!) I am willing to pay £45 (at the moment) for Bomberman R because I will get a huge amount of play from local multiplayer.

My point is the value of a thing is subjective.

True, 1080p works fine and 4K is just eye candy for the most part, but 4K on a handheld would be a bigger commercial success than HD rumble. Maybe if the HD rumble is actually utilized often and in meaningful ways, it could draw some people in. This is Nintendo we're talking about, though, so who really knows. I doubt many third party devs will utilize it no matter what, though, unless it is a huge hit.

@KirbyTheVampire All reports from people who have seen the Switch in action say how gorgeous the screen is and how the colours really pop (hate that term) and that's only 720p. I can't see how 4K on a handheld is going to enhance the experience in any way.

I just mean it would sell better, since 4K is all the rage right now. I don't mean from a functionality perspective.

@shaneoh
Well, to be honest, you could be right - they probably want to squeeze every last penny out of the consumer at launch because they know we have a limited selection. My thing is that I don't find that necessarily "evil" or anything, as others (not you) have been moaning about. It's just what companies do. And like you said, if you don't like it, don't buy it for that price. Wait for the sales - that's what I'm going to do.

In terms of the pricing discussion, holy cow - I mean, think of the man hours that go into something like Breath of the Wild. I'm going to be honest, and people aren't going to like this, but if we paid what that game is fairly "worth" in terms of the time and passion put into it, that thing should cost way more than 60 bucks. I've always thought that, depending on the game and player, video games are a steal in terms of money investment. You can pay 12 bucks per person at the theater for a 2-hour experience, or 60 bucks for a game that can give you 40 hours of enjoyment, sometimes more.

It depends on the consumer. There will be plenty of people out there who will easily get 40+ hours out of Bomberman R, and for them, 60 bucks is a goddang steal. For others, perhaps like you, you may play it for 8ish hours and then be done with it - terrible deal. It would be nice to have an "enjoyment potential" readout before we purchase, but I guess that's just what we call our "judgment" in knowing ourselves and our tastes.

@KirbyTheVampire How would making the system way more expensive sell it better? 4K on such a small screen? Are you kidding me?

It's just a hypothetical scenario. 4K on mainstream mobile devices is years away. I'm just saying that resolution sells pretty well, especially if it's 4K. Nintendo fans tend to dismiss such things as resolution, but sometimes better specs do make a difference. Not that it would be a plus in this case, since the Switch is already pricey, and like you said, it's a small screen. Still, 4K on the tablet and 4K support for the TV would be a big hit. It would never happen at this point, though.

I agree that 4K for its docked state would be nice eventually. 1080 on the system itself will be fine even years down the line I think. Heck, I play on my new 3ds XL still fine. But that obviously needs replacement, thus Switch. But I do think it's different for gaming than it is for watching movies etc. Games are an interactive medium. You are part of the experience and so I think it is not as much of an issue.

I wasn't talking about 4K on the handheld. I was talking about only when docked.

Second of all all I was trying to say is that since other consoles that are coming out soon is capable of running native 4K(Xbox One Scorpio). All I'm saying is to have this console be able to at least make the minimum requirements 1080P. At least when docked. Because slowly but surely 4K is becoming mainstream for TVs. So all I'm saying again is to make it 1080P, as a minimum requirement.

I think it does run at 1080p when docked, for a lot of games anyway. Not 100% sure on that, though.