Topic: The Nintendo Switch Thread

@Mrtoad
It's disastrous, isn't it?

I don't really know what to make of it. DB Xenoverse 2 released and sold 500k copies, a lot of those sales from people specifically hoping for DB Fighter Z. Here it is, and it's confirmed to be a great game, full 1080p/60fps and 720p docked, but where's the fans?

Valkyria Chronicles 4 is just as surprising (and concerning). These are easily two of the best games that are going to release on the Nintendo Switch. When we look back at the full catalog of games released over the course of this generation and evaluate the top 50 lists and all that jazz, these two games will definitely be part of that discussion.

I don't really get it. The DB Xenoverse 2 forum was lively at the time of its release. This is a better game and much more highly demanded game and not a single person is in there talking about it.

But ya, we're kind of seeing this shift towards disinterest of high-quality games, whereas up to this point, even this summer, everything was exceeding expectations, even YS VIII. Both these games are just as good if not better, so it's really hard to grasp what's going on here.

But something is going on, even if I'm not sure what exactly it is yet.

Why people, just why?? The game comes out in a couple weeks, just wait!

@JaxonH DBFZ is doing fine. It was at #68 on Sunday, so it seems to have some traction. For comparison FIFA 19 releasing on the same day and is at #118 last time I checked.

@Mrtoad
Well, that's not exactly inspiring... for either game. Have to see how they perform after release but, last year NBA 2K18 was in the top 10 of the eShop. This year? Not even top 30. Last year, FIFA was top 10 of the eShop. This year? Seems it too will be nowhere to be seen (it might climb the ranks but, #118 this close to release isn't looking good). Last year DB Xenoverse was top 10 of eShop. Will the much more highly anticipated DB Fighter Z do the same?

If it was just one single game I would chalk it up to random chance, but it's like every single game now. Like a trend... a pattern shift. I guess for now all we can do is wait and see, and hope for the best.

DB FighterZ isn't even on the Europe eshops let alone preorders available despite the game coming out in a few days.

@ReaderRagfish What's sad is the cart is in poor condition and yet people don't seem to care.

Just watched the credits roll in Shining Resonance Refrain.

It's a solid, if not particularly remarkable, JRPG. The battle system is good but standard (it IS fun transforming into a dragon, but very OP), unlike some of the other big 3D RPGs on the system (notably XC2 & YS VIII) in runs native res at all times portable, though in terms of world design it's locations are the typical archtypes (grass area, forest, snowy mountain, etc.), and likely due to a smallish budget, there aren't many animated cutscenes, with the vast bulk of the story sections being told in a visual novel like presentation. It also has a few other oddities, like the fact that they seemingly forgot to add save points before a few bosses in the late game, and you can fast travel back to town, but not to any of the game's other regions (not even to the camps littered throughout the overworld).

Don't get me wrong, it was a fun enough time, but unless you're really into grabbing JRPGs, I'd say stick with the more popular choices like XC2, YS VIII, and Octopath (I assume, as I haven't yet played that last one).

Well personally, I'm waiting for VC1 before getting VC4. Besides which, with Prime preorder discounts not being a thing, why preorder games from Amazon anymore?

@subpopz Sony is going to maintain their dominance over xbox next gen, they're basically free to take whatever stance they want.. xbox will never be a threat.

@misanthrope Now that's a laugh. Xbox was a huge threat last generation,what makes you think the same won't hold true next generation? The new management there seems to actually have their heads on straight, so I could see the NeXtBox being the best console they've had yet.

@link3710 stop patronizing them.. we need Sega back.

@misanthrope @link3710 Never ever underestimate how tides can change from one generation to the next. No one ever thought Sony would fall so hard after the triumph of the original PlayStation and certainly the PlayStation 2. Yet, they messed up big time from the very get go of the PS3.

@JaxonH You've been admirably beating the drum for Valkyria Chronicles 4, but to me there's a very good reason why people aren't getting excited about it.

I won't pretend to be an expert on the issue, but as a prospective buyer I see virtually NOTHING that differentiates VC4 from VC1.

And this is reflected in Metro.co.uk's review:

Clearly a very good game. But seemingly too similar to an existing game to get excited about. I don't want to drop £40 on a game that's just like another I own.

@gcunit
Well I mean, there's the different characters and personal story, different maps, etc. it might follow the same template as the first but, that's kind of what everyone told them they wanted them to do (especially after Valkyria Revolution deviated), return to what made the series great with the first.

That doesn't mean it's not a different game though. It's like all the fire emblem games. Same formula and template but it's different games, and they're all good. When you're talking about strategy games, it's the maps and the strategy being different that matters, although there's new characters and story too.

Idk. I think just because a game follows the same template doesn't mean it's not worth enjoying. It's a Valkaria chronicles game. A country's going to invade and your group is going to have to fight them, it's going to be strategy game play with certain classes and rules of engagement... I know this one sticks particularly close to the first but, given the second and third games got further and further from that, it's a good thing. I don't think just because they're similar though that it's going to feel like you're replaying the exact same game any more than playing DKC Tropical Freeze was the same as Returns.

Two games I simply couldn't care less about, sorry mate... And I'm guessing a lot of people feel that way too, there's not much else to it.

At that time, backlogs were empty and there was little to look forward that was actually confirmed. That's changed now.

I think it's simpler than you suspect: the proportion "number of appealing games" / "number of available customers for these games" is shifting. There's a higher number of appealing games. Of course there's also more Switch owners, but a relatively high proportion may have bought the Switch either for the big hitters (not interested in the games you're referring to) or as a second/third gaming device (having been able to play the games you're referring to already on other platforms). Whether I like it or not, all people I know in my direct vicinity have never heard of VC 4 nor DBFZ.

I mean, that's pretty true. Everyone in my direct vicinity has heard about both, but that's solely thanks to me. Besides which, most of my friends are far more excited for the new My Hero Academia games, Naruto Trilogy, or Sword Art Online games than DBFZ. Honestly, I think Dragon Ball's popularity is finally waning.

VC4 is now at #58. I don’t think the Best Sellers list has been updated since midnight, so I’d presume that it’ll be in the top 30 by Wednesday morning.

The special edition of VC4 is currently sitting at #36 on the best-selling Switch products list on Amazon. I don't even see the launch edition of the game in the top 100, though. Very weird.

It's trending slightly higher overall on Switch than on PS4 on Amazon.

While it's true more appealing games are out, we're looking at macro trends here.

Obviously its a more niche game. Im sure a lot of people in certain groups haven't heard of it. But overall, there is a fanbase for these games. And overall, games have been selling much better than this until now. Even YS VIII and Shining Resonance charted significantly higher, and that was only 2 months ago. And YS VIII is a classic, as is VC4 and DBFZ. Id expect these 2 games to do as well if not better. Yet they're not even matching Shining Resonance, a decent but not spectacular niche release which dropped in the middle of the summer onslaught.

So I do think there's a significant trend change on a macro level, that's not explained by simply "my friends arent interested". Because that was true for countless previous releases which all went on to do very well.

I think a lot of early adopters might become dormant after a year or so. That could explain it somewhat.

I'm pretty stoked for VC4 but I don't have the bandwidth for it. I'll get in December I think. I'm tying to stop buying games just to put them in my back log. I bought spiderman and it is still in my bookbag...