Topic: Launch games: What do you want?

@Ralizah I'm pretty much the same; if there is a major neat looking story mode I may get MK9 asap. If there isn't, I may get it eventually but not immediately.

For some context, I didn't bother buying Mario Kart 8 Deluxe until 2022 when Booster Pass was announced. I enjoy Mario Kart (my family had the snes version so I've been playing since I was extremely young), but for any series except perhaps 2D Mario I'm not just gonna insta buy a new game, especially not for full price, unless it has something I really want in it. Mario Kart 9 will be popular for years so I am in no hurry unless it has something super juicy like a big story mode which I have been wanting.

And yes, I plan to transfer MK8 to Switch 2 and keep playing there. There will still be literally millions of active MK8 players for quite some time so I have no worries about the online getting stale anytime soon.

This are my semi-reasonable picks:

Mario Kart 9
Pokemon Legends Z-A
Pokemon Champions
Fire Emblem 3DS Collection (Awakening, Fates, Echoes)
Halo: Master Chief Collection
New World: Aeternum (or Throne & Liberty)
Planet Coaster 2
LoZ: Oracle remakes
Nintendo Switch Sports 2
New 3D Kirby Game
Mega Man X Dive Offline

And here are my picks that could be described as lunacy:

Fossil Fighter Remake
Mega Man X9
Hitman WoA (not cloud version)
Microsoft Flight Simulator Offline
Custom Robo (New or GameCube port)
Total Annihilation
Sid Meier’s Civilization 1-5 collection
Fallout 1/2/NV
3D Picross
Pokemon Gale of Darkness remake
Pokemon MD: Explorers of Sky Remake

@FishyS
That’s nuts. I just don’t know what else to say lol How can you not get MK9 when it launches? We all know it’s gonna be awesome - I’m not gonna sit here and pretend like I’m gonna sit on the fence lol

@Ralizah
I get the single player thing (but we don’t know what they may have up their sleeve for this one), but like I said… we know it’s gonna be an awesome game regardless. I’m a first-day buyer for most Nintendo games, though. I just don’t see the value in holding out if it’s a first-party title I know I will play at some point. They rarely go on a true sale, and 10 bucks isn’t gonna break me, thankfully.

Just seems quite weird to me, but different strokes I suppose. MK9 at launch is gonna rock, learning the courses with everyone and figuring it all out.

When I played Mario & Luigi: Brothership this weekend, it ended up getting laggy at one part, so I’m hoping there’s a free Switch 2 enhancements patch that fixes it (also unlikely it happens, not like I’d also play in other languages aside from English or Spanish as they’re the only two I know, but I suggest the patch or another update also adds Russian and European Portuguese support to the game).

Sales are rare but you can snag them if you're patient. I got TotK for 57% off in November 2024 and when I bought Mario Kart 8 Deluxe it was 50% off. That said, I did buy 3 Nintendo games day-1 last year because they were games I was too excited to wait for. I'll probably buy 3D Mario day 1, just probably not MK9.

@FishyS
Like I said, for a first-party game that I know I'm gonna want to play within the first year it's out, it's worth it for me to just buy it at launch rather than play coy and wait to save 10-20 bucks after a few months.

@Overzeal I don't think it would be lunacy for some of the Fallout games to get ported.... although likely 3/4/NV I suppose? The popularity of the TV show has really bolstered the IP to insane levels. I can't recall the increased sales volume during the show's airing window... but it was something like a 300% increase vs previous year!

@rallydefault As someone who still has not bought even MK8DX, I am not totally positive I will get MK9 right off either. It really depends on the launch lineup. I have a job but don't make a ton, so I have to be somewhat picky with my games. I doubt MKX will be bad in any way, but if there is something like a Twilight Princess port or something else that I really want to play, that's going to be way higher on my priority list than a Mario Kart (especially since i still love MKWii lol)

@CaleBoi25 This is an observation, not a criticism, but I think you must be the only person who would prioritise a Twilight Princess port over the first proper new Mario Kart in over a decade despite a) loving Mario Kart and b) already owning a console that can play Twilight Princess

@Dogorilla If I could only choose 1, I'd definitely pick Twilight Princess over a new Mario Kart. The Booster Course Pass made MK8 Deluxe feel very fresh meanwhile linear Zelda is very much in a drought post-2021 (Skyward Sword HD).

@Dogorilla Oh, I am aware my opinions are usually bad and unpopular lol. I have TP on the Wii, but haven't played it, since I am holding out hope for a port. Dumb, I know. 😛

I don't actually have the MK8D DLC yet (I'm intending to upgrade to NSO Expansion once my current sub expires, and I decided not to buy the DLC individually for now since you can play the new tracks online even without having it) so I do kind of feel similarly about not being desperate for a new Mario Kart just now. Personally though I just don't really understand the excitement around ports in general, unless it's a game that was previously inaccessible for whatever reason; I'd love a new linear Zelda, sure, but a port of one I've played before would be infinitely less exciting to me than a brand new Mario Kart regardless of how recent the previous one is.

Hey, I'm not saying your opinions are bad... but if you've got the game, just play it! It's really good!

@CaleBoi25
That’s great and all, but I would wager you are in the minority with your situation, especially on this board.

Most people who buy a switch 2 will buy mk9 with it, guaranteed.

@rallydefault Oh absolutely! I just wanted to share my perspective 😛

@Dogorilla I really really want to... but I also really really want to experience the best version first, and have spent the past 8 years being told that an HD port is just around the corner.... So I can't give up now! 😉

Oh, also. I really want ARMS II as first year game, but I doubt it will happen.

@CaleBoi25
I'll allow it (lol j/k)

Anyway, I do think the TP/WW port/upgrade/whatever exists, I just have no idea why they haven't launched it already, especially during all this downtime before Switch 2.

@CaleBoi25 I can see your logic, and it's up to you, but in my opinion there's no sense in waiting indefinitely for a port when you already have the original. I haven't played the HD remaster but I don't think it's massively different to the Wii version other than looking a bit better. And if the port does come out you could always buy it later on if you feel like replaying the game.

I'm with you on ARMS! There's so much potential for new game mechanics and characters.

@Dogorilla @rallydefault If it doesn't come out by 2026 I'll probably cave, I will let you two know if/when that happens!
And yes! ARMS could be really fun if they did it with starting at Arms Academy as a tutorial area, then going out to do battle until you become the Pokémon Cha-- I MEAN the ARMS Champion. It really could have some neat lore, and maybe they could release that comic that got canceled way back when.

@Dogorilla It's a weird situation where the Switch lineup is so packed that you can kind of afford to just wait for it to happen because you can play other stuff in the meantime. I will probably cave and play WWHD and TPHD on my Wii U again if it turns out the 2025 Zelda is BotW Remastered though.

When there's plenty of linear Zelda games to bring over to Switch/Switch 2 and BotW of all things gets picked for a remaster, that feels like a sign that if WW and TP ever come to Switch/Switch 2 it'll be via GCN NSO rather than the Wii U remasters. I'd much rather play the remasters on Wii U at that point (the Wii U remasters have quality of life improvements that make them better than the originals).

@Grumblevolcano I don't want to believe that BotW is being remastered - it just seems completely unnecessary, especially when backwards compatibility is one of the main things Nintendo has emphasised about the Switch 2 so far. But I suppose it's almost as old now as Twilight Princess was when that was remastered on a console that could already play Wii games, so there is precedent there...

Nintendo not hosting a Switch 1 Direct in February (as some have rumored) tells me that Metroid Prime 4 will very likely end up being a cross-gen title for Switch 1 and 2, and that it will appear in the Switch 2 Direct in April. This makes it a very likely candidate to be a Switch 2 launch (or launch window) title.

And of course Mario Kart 9 will be a launch title as well as everyone suspect.