Topic: Nintendo Switch 2

@JamesS2612 Yeah, once the game is downloaded on your system and you don't delete it, you can play it anytime even if the eShop shuts down.

Yeah that’s my thinking behind it too, although I’m probably overthinking this, I have physical n64 games for example but use the nso instead so I imagine by then there will be alternative options!

@D-Star92 Thank you! I’m presuming it would be the same for the keycards, as long as you have the cart and the download you’ll be good, as they can also be played offline once downloaded

@JamesS2612 Assuming the cartridges don't break. They don't last forever. Although game key carts might ironically last longer since there is far less data to get corrupted.

Regardless, the eShop will likely be around for ages. You can still redownload Wii games, so that is almost 20 years now. And since Nintendo decided to keep the Switch eShop for multiple consoles in a row, games could easily be redownloadable for decades.

@FishyS
Yea. I think the only real issues that may crop up are when a company pulls a title for one reason or the other. Then, if you go to redownload it, would you still be able to if it had been pulled from the eShop altogether?*

*The usual disclaimer that this affects only a handful of titles over the last many years of all this.

@rallydefault That happened to a few games on Switch and you can still redownload them all even if the eShop entry has vanished. They're still listed as games you own. You just can't buy them new if you don't already own them.

@FishyS you’re absolutely right, thank you for putting a bit of perspective on it! I’m Certainly overthinking it!

Will buy physical when possible such as first party and judge the rest on a case by case basis. Thanks again

@FishyS
Oh, that's good! So as long as Nintendo keeps the files on their servers and you've downloaded the game already, you should be good to go.

All of this makes me less apprehensive about digital but also sadder that physical is going away lol

@JamesS2612
Absolutely. Regardless of what happens with servers once the game is downloaded it's not going anywhere. Not to mention, you can still re-download purchases even after the store no longer allows new purchases. And you can copy your mSD EX card by copying it to a PC or hard drive or another mSD EX, so if data corrupts you can just copy onto a new card or the old one after formatting.

There really isn't anything to worry about.

You can still re-download Wii purchases, though I suspect eventually everything before NSW1 will shut down. But for systems beginning with Switch where the account based eShop was in use, I dont think we'll ever see the day purchases can't be redownloaded. But even if so, the fact Wii is 2 decades old and you can still do so, NSW1 and NSW2 games should be able to be redownloaded 30, 40 years from now. Not that you would ever need to once it's downloaded, though.

For those in the UK, because this will mean nothing outside it, but I just found out that you can earn Nectar points on the Nintendo shop purchases (digital and physical). You would need to use the Nectar link from your account each time though, so remember that!

You can get 6 points per pound for Software purchases, which is actually decent. By comparison, Sainsburys gives 1 point per pound and E-bay gives 2 points per pound.

https://www.nectar.com/brands/192368

That is a hefty wedge of Nectar points you can, in turn, use against the cost of a game in Argos/Currys/Ebay etc. I got my Switch 2 for just 62 pounds thanks to all the points I had saved up, which were mostly from regular shopping at Sainsbury's.

A fairly good gold coin replacement for those that use this. Not quite as generous, and sadly does not extend to 3rd party titles I would think, but better than nothing.

@Mana_Knight
I buy eShop credit on gcx.raise website and they always have 10% back on purchases. So $50 eShop nets you $5 back. Next $50 purchase costs $45 and you earn $4.50 back. Next $50 purchase costs $45.50 and you earn $4.55 back. Next $50 purchase costs $45.45 and you earn $4.55 back. And it stays that way moving forward. Which is essentially 9% off.

But that's through raise, and individuals also sell cards on there and sometimes I see them for 12-14% off. May be $20 cards and they'll have like 7 available. So Ill scoop em all up. Anytime I see a % that's 10% or higher from individuals I go with that, otherwise I take the safe and easy 9% back. What's nice about ordering from individuals also is the discount is applied immediately- not as "cash back" to be applied on your next purchase

Still, it means $70 games become $63.30 at most and sometimes become around $60 if you're lucky with the individually sold cards and their often steeper discounts.

@JamesS2612 Anytime and yeah, I would think the same thing applies to the key cards as well.

What screen brightness setting do you guys play on in handheld? I cranked it to the max but I’m worried that will use up too much battery.

@mike3
Near max.

Buy the Genki portable magnetic battery. Comes with built in USB-C cable and 3 adhesive magnetic rings to stick on Switch 2, Switch and whatever other device you want. 3x battery life and still weighs under 700g, the original weight of Steamdeck!

Instantly solves the battery life issue, still docks, and easily fits into a case with compartment (I use an old Satisfye case that's just the right size for NSW2 with a cubby for battery, official charger and mouse attachments.

@JaxonH You know it’s funny and I say this with the caveat of my vision differences from the average stereoscopic gamer but I have really enjoyed the Switch and Switch 2’s performance. I have a wide swath of games so I don’t feel that it can be argued that I am playing games that don’t push the system but I am not feeling a big handicap when playing switch family vs the other systems. Most games that are poorly optimized are also poorly optimized on other systems and while not at the same level something else will stick out if the devs just aren’t good at that sort of thing. Of course I am not frame rate sensitive for the most part (fighting games excluded and that is conditioning not actual perception) but so much of the complaints that a game looks bad or isn’t fluid just aren’t clicking for me. And that is even with games I have double dipped on.

Like Yakuza doesn’t “look as nice on switch” (which I only notice when looking into the distance which I really don’t do by nature) but it feels the same. Like I have literally played yakuza kiwami on ps4,ps5,xbox series x and switch back to back and the fighting feels the same. Kiryu Looks like Kiryu. Yes he is sharper on other platforms but he looks perfectly recognizable to me on all the systems. Not to say devs don’t make bad versions of games but so far for me if I can notice an issue on switch family, I usually notice an issue on series x or ps5. I also wonder if it has something to do with the fact that I game on most systems NES forward so perhaps my brain sorta fuzzes things. So I sorta don’t get all the complaints. Game where you enjoy.

Phew! Finally finished Cyberpunk 2077: Complete Edition on Switch 2 after almost 100 hours. That's the base game + DLC. Finished almost everything, aside from a small smattering of gigs.

Really fantastic port. Especially in handheld mode, where the game looks pretty awesome in quality mode. Performance was impressively stable throughout, even in the more demanding DLC areas. It obviously looks better on other platforms (unreal on a 5090 in 4K, frankly), but... this is good enough. It doesn't feel like a downgrade like The Witcher 3 did. It's a respectable, enjoyable version of the game, and, frankly, between it, Mario Kart, and Donkey Kong, I've been extremely happy with the Switch 2's launch.

Phantom Liberty is up there with the Xenoblade DLCs in terms of all-time great expansions. Definitely competitive with Blood and Wine in terms of quality as well.

@Ralizah
Awesome!

I'm on my second run. I'd never played Cyberpunk before it came out on the Switch 2. I heard it was rough at launch, but the current version of the game is really fun. Immersive, lots of options to build your character, amazing plot and side quests and stuff... I originally bought it just to tide me over until Bananza, but it quickly became my favorite S2 game (except for Guardians of Azuma lol).

@Ralizah @Ryu_Niiyama
That's what I've found. Switch 2 games don't feel like massive downgrades- they look good enough. Even many NSW games look good enough for me (not all, but Crysis 1-3 and RE5 I was just playing via BC and they look terrific as far as Im concerned). Star Wars not only looks good enough, it's downright impressive. Same for Cyberpunk.

As long as the game is optimized to run well without performance issues Switch 2 is more than adequate. I never feel like I wish I was playing on stronger hardware, like I sometimes did on Switch. Hogwarts Legacy looks the same to me as any other version, but has that gyro and mouse aiming and even lets you seamlessly swap between them unlike Cyberpunk.

Ok, so here's a question:

Is there actually a way to roll back a game's version (on S2 or S1, really) to the cartridge version without doing a complete factory reset?

I've tried deleting the game completely from the system, turning off the auto update option, and even going into airplane mode, but somehow the Switch still knows that the game was at a later patch and will require a download before letting me boot the game.

I've read that it can be due to a save file from the later version of the game, but even when I delete any save data on the console, it still seems to know that I had a later version.

Is anyone playing f-zero GX in versus mode online. Or is there versus mode online available

@rallydefault
It's the save files. Gotta delete game, the save and the cloud save. Then start the physical game without updating. Digital it's impossible because it will always download the latest version (though you could only download the base game without DLC holding L from "redownload" list on eShop, but Im not sure if thats still true with Virtual Gamecards now. Someone should find out how to do that with the new system.