Topic: Nintendo Switch 2

@JaxonH Wait is that ingame?! Ok yeah getting this. Do you have to know/understand/care about star wars to enjoy?

@JaxonH
Yeah, despite the complaints from the usual suspects I think it's hard to argue that this isn't a good result. And I would say it bodes well for third party support on the platform going forward. On the Switch the "impossible ports" did come but there was a ceiling to what was possible and they often came with huge development efforts involving heavy and bespoke Switch specific optimisations

But with Switch 2 studios are just porting their games as is and doing comparatively minor optimisations. If a game like Star Wars Outlaws looks and performs as decent while also being not only true to the original version but kinda just outright the original version? I think we can expect a lot of day-and-date ports for Switch 2 over this generation. Something we haven't seen on Nintendo hardware since probably the Gamecube

You don't have to like or want this game to understand what this means

@Ryu_Niiyama
I think it says something that IGN posted up a video comparing the Switch 2 version to the PC version running at maxed out settings. An incredibly one-sided comparison that, obviously, it doesn't win. But the fact that there's even somewhat of a comparison to make here and that the comments under it, an IGN video, are super positive about how the Switch 2 compares says something I think

Started up Wild Hearts S and it had an update to download. Idk what it did but I think this game got grossly overlooked and overcriticized. DF saying it had "Big big cutbacks" but it looks great to me. And it runs great, which was the biggest concern given the disastrous performance when it launched on other platforms. So even if it does show cutbacks compared to other versions, I'm okay with that if it means it actually runs stable.

Daemon X Machina is pretty good too. Wish it had gyro for the bow but aside from that it's solid. Imported save from demo too which is nice.

But Trails In The Sky 1st remake demo is still the main course on my plate. It looks great on Switch 2 for being a NSW1 game. And the fact it's getting a NSW2 upgrade for $1 is even better. Means it'll for sure jump to 60fps and get a resolution upgrade.

@Ryu_Niiyama
I don't think you do. It's more like a Han Solo or Andor type experience (no jedi and lightsabers and force focus). More of a story just set in the universe. Kay is a criminal who performs heists and has a "pet" (partner?) called Nix, this cute little lizard-Stitch hybrid looking creature you can direct to steal things, attack and enemy then you run up and attack the other while they're distracted by a giant eared rodent mammal thingy attacking their buddy

Some stealth involved, some cool platforming like Tomb Raider climbing ledges and some Indiana Jones style swinging across gaps with a grapple device. I like that the gun has unlimited ammo and simply uses a cool down, as well as the stun device.

So ya, it looks incredible, runs as stable as they come and it's actually way more fun than I was expecting.

@JaxonH
Yea I have 5 hours in the Trails demo so far and loving it. The combat system is super fun and dynamic.

I’m just gonna get the physical and play it on my Switch 2. Honestly it looks and runs great without any kind of update patch. Which is maybe why it only costs a buck lol

@skywake @JaxonH Nice, thanks for the feedback. Switch/2 are the only systems I have live right now (just moved so now I gotta unpack all this mess) so I will focus on smaller games and sales but Outlaws sounds like a nice sci-fi romp and that is good enough for me. Sims 4 announced another expansion so I expect to get sucked back into that and then hate myself for it lol. But since I have to run shelving in most of my rooms (to hold all the funko and action figures) it will be a while before I get the TVs set back up (using a computer monitor currently). Trying not to game much though as I am on a cert run for the next six months. (If I sound loopy later, that is the burnout talking.)

@Ryu_Niiyama
That's where Switch 2 really shines. No TV needed. I had my 4k OLED all scratched up and for a while just played handheld. I use it now even though I can see the scratch marks during play.

Switch 2 is finally getting competent AAA ports that dont feel like a massive downgrade. We got used to that with Switch. But on Switch 2 you're getting PS4 quality at minimum for portable play. Even higher quality when docked. Playing Star Wars Outlaws and Cyberpunk 2077 and Wild Hearts S and Street Fighter 6, remembering what Witcher 3 and Immortals Fenyx Rising and The Outer Worlds and Mortal Kombat 1 looked and ran on NSW1... it's really impressive.

I was conditioned for nearly a decade to just expect AAA games to be low resolution with consistent framerate issues. It's so nice buying games that actually look visually appealing with 1080p handheld as the new floor (thanks to DLSS- what a gamechanger that's proven to be) and offer solid performance.

@skywake
Star Wars Outlaws is extremely impressive visually. It feels like it's on the same level as those end-of-generation PS4 games running on a PS4 Pro.

There's so many great games on PS/Xbox/PC that I'll simply never play so long as they're TV-tethered. I don't pay them any attention. But offer them on a trybrid console with visuals that aren't all that different than current gen (diminishing returns finally paying dividends) and suddenly they appeal to me. Hogwarts Legacy is a good example- I love HP, have all the movies on 4k Bluray, wanted to play the game but the NSW1 version just wasn't up to scratch. Overclocked it looked similar to Steamdeck until you got to open areas, and it was still partitioned off. But the NSW2 release looks identical to PS/Xbox all while being a console and handheld version. With gyro and mouse aiming. Suddenly it becomes one of my favorite games on the system.

Speaking of which, I can't stress enough that everyone should go on Amazon and drop $10 on an 8" x 10" (200mm x 250mm) firm mouse pad so they can enjoy the mouse integration in Switch 2 games that offer it. Being able to just instantly go into mouse mode in Rune Factory or Hogwarts Legacy as needed/desired is... well, it's a gamechanger too. It's hard to convey just how awesome it is until you've experienced it. But most people aren't experiencing how wonderful mouse mode is because they don't have that portable sized firm mousepad allowing them to utilize it.

@rallydefault
I'm so used to NSW1 versions being rough that I was shocked when I saw Trails In The Sky 1st remake. Character models are sharp and crisp, resolution isn't muddy and everything feels like it was developed ground up with NSW1 in mind. Which makes playing on NSW2 all the more impressive, nevermind the actual NSW2 version upgrade.

Kicks feet up...

Ahhh. What a spread

Been loving the switch 2. Missed the vast majority of the switch generation so honestly finding the massively backlog I want to play a bit overwhelming at times.

Not to mention the 30+ games on sale at the moment on my wish list, it’s an exciting problem to have. Also never thought I’d ever consider going digital but starting to see the temptation, particularly with some of the games on sale paying 20-30 pounds more for a physical is not something I’m willing to do.

Am I right i thinking once the game is downloaded you can basically play it forever if it’s not deleted regardless of what happens with the servers? I know I’ve heard licences could be removed mentioned but that’s a bit beyond me what that means…

@JamesS2612
Yea, that’s a good question. I would think as long as you have a working version of the game downloaded and it’s not a game that needs an internet check or anything, you should be good as long as the internal drive or sd card doesn’t fail.

I’m not sure if a company could actually revoke permission to play a digital game if it’s not an online title or something.

@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.