Topic: The Nintendo Switch Thread

@JaxonH All well and good, but even in the Taxman versions of Sonic 1 and 2 (and the 3DS version of Sonic 1 which has the Spin Dash), they still have Castlevania physics when jumping out of a roll, which really sucks. CD and Mania doesn't have that which makes those two games way superior to the classic games by default to me.

@Grumblevolcano Why is that? As far as I'm aware, the two tell almost completely standalone stories. Besides ME3 was such an issue because your actions were supposed to carry across games in the trilogy.

@JaxonH All true, though the op-cost applies largely to the engine work, so that will be reduced as time goes on. Op-cost also isn't as high as it seems since development is actually the lesser part of the total production costs, the art/animation/audio/level design, etc actually costs the most, so to a degree, NOT releasing a title on all potentially profitable platforms represents the larger risk: Not utilizing those expensive assets across the entire potential market is leaving money on the table so long as you don't squander tons of resources in the porting process. (Rime: this means you.)

@Anti-Matter Yeah, I do think dance games are more "an Asia thing" overall. I mean Japan has whole floors of arcades dedicated to it and people take it VERY VERY seriously with an actual warmup/workout routine to do it. Here in the west, it's something to amuse the womenfolk and kids, is the perception. People here might think you odd for being so into that, but it misses the context that you're in Asia and it's kind of a thing there.....it isn't really so much here DDR will definitely have a culture gap on the forums!

I have a Japanese-owned arcade (great place!) near me, and it has a dance games section up front. It's very VERY loud......but it's always so empty. The candy cabs are usually pretty full for fighting games though!

@Ralizah @EvilLucario Thanks for the descriptions of XC2. I already own the game, but was debating if I wanted to open it as my next big RPG handheld, or keep it in reserve for next year or so for the big screen. Looks like South Park, Kirby, and such will have to enter the queue next....XC2 tempts me but it sounds like I'll miss out on the full experience if I don't save it for the TV.

@NEStalgia It's definitely way better when docked, but for what it's worth I still put in equal times between docked and handheld. I play with a monitor which suits the Switch REALLY well, but RPGs on a handheld is always better than on consoles to me.

Of course it doesn't excuse the low resolution for a first-party game, but it's still a really good game in spite of the resolution.

@NEStalgia Keep in mind, for South Park: FBW the engine work was already mostly done as it shares an engine with Mario and Rabbids and Starlink. For South Park:TSoT, all that engine work would probably be done for the sake of a single port that's arriving 5 years late. The op-cost and potential return between the two isn't even close to equivalent.

@NEStalgia It's massively better looking in docked mode. With that said, handheld mode has been brilliant for getting through the massive amounts of side content in this game. So I play on the TV when I first enter a new area or am trying to progress the story, and play on the tablet when I'm grinding affinity/completing side-quests/etc. Not a perfect solution, but it still makes it the easiest version of the game for me to play.

The menus are 720p, though, so they end up looking sharper on the tablet than on the TV.

@EvilLucario +1 for monitor gaming! I'm too near-sighted to play on a far away TV, and glasses while gaming just isn't fun And, yeah, RPGs are just so great handheld.....the format just works beautifully....

@kkslider5552000 @gcunit I have to disagree with the whole short release perception. There are games that release shortly after announcement. But Fire Emblem was announced last year for a release this year; we're almost halfway through the year and we haven't heard a peep about it since. Yoshi was announced at E3 2017 for a release in 2018; we're almost halfway through the year and we haven't heard a peep about it since.

@JaxonH @gcunit I kinda see where @gcunit is coming from. I've been fairly disappointed by the first half of 2018 for Switch as well. In terms of retail games it's been more or less nothing but B-tier games and excellent ports from the Wii U and pretty good ports from other systems. Even then, the release schedule has been something like:

Jan: Nothing
Feb: Bayo 1+2
March: Kirby
April: South Park (Labo released but it's more of a separate platform that uses the Switch than an actual game)
May: Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze
June: Mario Tennis Aces and Wolfenstein 2 and Okami
July: Crash

Overall it's not bad but it's almost undeniable that they've lost the momentum of last year. The new first party games are decent but not system-seller level, and the ports help fill in holes but it still feels pretty empty. I'm quite disappointed by how Nintendo handled the first half of 2018, they seem to be resting on their laurels which is not a good thing to do so early in the Switch lifecycle and especially with strong competition from the PS4. Either they're going to backload everything into the second half of 2018, making for an exceptionally strong ending to 2018 but still making me scratch my head as to why they left the first half so empty, or they're going to sprinkle a few releases here and there with Fire Emblem and Yoshi and end it with Smash. In the latter scenario, not a bad year but Nintendo needs standout years if they want the Switch to continue its momentum.

Edit: anyone - Feel free to correct me if I forgot to mention any games

Talking about Wolfenstein 2, Extra Credits did an interesting talk about how it's like "B-movies", trying to push boundaries especially about racism, bigotry and Holocaust talk

I think it's really good (and makes me tempted to grab Wolfenstein, really)

@shadow-wolf also, you forgot about:

June: ys8, sushi striker, blazblue
July: octopath traveler and shining resonance.

Those three might not be super high budget, but they are still all 3rd party support.

Edit: adding more games

@darkfenrir yeah good point. I've edited my post to reflect that I probably didn't mention every game so your and other people's replies will clarify that

@shadow-wolf
I get it. I don't think anybody is saying the first six months is it's exciting as getting Zelda and Mario.

But at the same time I don't think it's some disaster where they've "lost all momentum". If you can go 4-5 months and lose all momentum, while still releasing quality games the masses haven't yet played, then they were going to lose it anyways no matter what.

It's slowed down a bit, but that's a far stretch from saying all momentum is lost. Momentum comes and goes with game releases. And it hasn't been a bad first half of the year by any means. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7... I count 7 Nintendo published Switch releases from January to June (8 with LABO, 9 with DQ Builders, 11 if you dip into July). Now, regardless of your interpretation of their impact that's a very reasonable lineup. Especially coming off the back of 2017. If this is the breath they take in between massive releases, then we're in gaming heaven.

It's going to be a long 6, maybe even 7 years. They can release a couple bang out titles every fall and holiday season and keep momentum going the entire generation. Release a few smaller titles in Q1-Q2.

Don't think anyone is trying to say the first six months rival or come close to last year. But it doesn't have to, nor is it reasonable to expect it to. You say resting on their laurels, but I'm not sure what you expect them to do? You're not going to get games that big every two or three months. Going to have some six-month period's with lower profile games. That's not resting on their laurels- they're probably working 60 hour weeks on all the next big games in development. Resting on their laurels would be not releasing anything from Xenoblade to Mario Aces. The fact we are still getting a game of month is explicit proof they're not resting on their laurels. It shows they still care about keeping momentum even between big releases. If they have to port some games to keep that cadence going that's exactly what they're doing.

But it's like, we go half a year in between bigger releases, still getting a game per month, and people are freaking out like it's the end of the world and they've lost all momentum and what are we going to do... it's one thing to say ya, the first half of the year hasn't had the impact we saw last year, it's another thing to take that as a sign of Nintendo giving up and momentum being lost and all this other nonsense. I mean how many games do people reasonably expect one company to put out. We went 9 straight months without a single first party game on Wii U. Compare that to now where we are literally averaging one game every month... I don't care if they're ports are not, they're high quality games that a lot of people haven't played. It might not have the impact of Zelda, ok, but it's certainly enough to keep momentum going while they line up the next set of heavy hitters- Smash, Fire Emblem, Pokémon and Mario Maker, all of which could release in the second half of this year.

After which, people will be saying how great it is and how 2018 is even better than 2017... and then early 2019 will roll around and they'll put out some lower tier releases and ports, and people will go right back to freaking out saying they've lost all momentum and what are we going to do, Nintendo's given up and they're resting on their laurels. I've never seen people make such a big deal out of a couple slower months, which is still busier than some of the busiest periods on Wii U, and even this 6 month period has seen more games from Nintendo than we typically see from Sony or MS in an entire year. Just to provide some context.

Lost Sphear
Bayonetta
Bayonetta 2
DQ Builders
Payday 2
Kirby Star Allies
South Park TFBW
Naruto Trilogy
DKC Tropical Freeze
Mega Man Legacy Collection 1 + 2
Street Fighter Collection
Little Nightmares Complete Ed
BlazBlue Crosstag Battle
Hyrule Warriors Definitive Ed
Y's VIII
Captain Toad
Octopath Traveller
Shining Resonance
Sonic Mania
GalGun 2
Attack On Titan 2
Mario Tennis Aces
Atelier Lydie & Suelle
Wild Guns Reloaded
Titan Quest
Battle Chasers Nightwar
Sushi Striker
Dark Souls Remastered
Tennis World Tour
Mega Man X Collection 1 + 2
Crash Bandicoot Trilogy
Okami HD
Nintendo LABO

^^^ These are just games from Jan to summer that I, personally, have bought or preordered (aside from LABO, I just added that to show all the games Nintendo has published). And I'm sorry to make a list of games because I really hate doing that but your list was more than a little deceiving (not saying it was intentional). I'm sure there are plenty of more impressive lineups, in fact I know there are. But we're still getting tons of games. Nintendo themselves are still dropping tons of games. Let's not confuse a temporarily, slow-er period with a "lost all momentum, Nintendo isn't trying anymore" situation. This right here... that list above... that is the slowest we are ever going to see it. That's pretty encouraging. Just be prepared that the same thing is probably going to happen in early 2019 and early 2020, as Nintendo banks their bigger titles toward the end of the year, not only to capitalize on stronger consumer spending but because they don't get all the big holiday titles the other platforms get and they need to fill those gaps.

Eh....
Since when Octopath Traveler has Funky Kong Mode ?

Now, it will be called Novempath Traveller.

Novem = 9 in Latin language.

LOL, if you buy the Day One Collectors Edition do you get the special day one Cranky DLC?

Funky Kong as Secret character for Octopath Traveler.
With the power of Banana, he will punish the foes.

Btw, this is the Official Japanese cover.

And of course NO Funky Kong Mode added.

do you guys think will know more on their E3 date during their Meeting tonight/morning?

Probably not. Nintendo has been tight-lipped in these meetings since Kimishima took over. Some things might slip, maybe some release dates for known games. But I wouldn't count on anything above it.