Topic: Nintendo Switch 2

@JaxonH That is true, but this is iirc more concerning the JP side of things (automaton-media iirc is more japanese focused site), so the fact that even DQ is way less famous than Pokemon even in Japan can be pretty... weird feeling for some, I would say. Even me since I always thought it was comparable (in Japan) haha.

I do think both DQ and FF need some kinda more fun side content though, like back on DS, final fantasy got tons of weird games and one of my favorite back then was the Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales, which is really awesome other than the fact it will ruin your DS' touch screen and the card game is also annoying because the bosses cheat-- but anyway that one is really fun.

They just need more games that is like, not as adult-oriented I would say?

@FishyS and you are right yeah. I feel like Pokemon is just way more approachable in general, like... other than games. Pokemon has the multitude of marketing (anime, merch, collabs. Just recently there's a local brand that is selling pokemon drinks as part of a collab and as far as I know, people quite like it... I also want to buy too but there's only coffee so I end up not trying any rip)

FF still has some variety on Switch (Theatrhythm and FF Tactics are excellent, Chocobo's Mystery Dungeon Every Buddy! and Chocobo GP are... ok)

Dragon Quest has some absolutely excellent and cute spinoffs - DQ Builders, DQ Monsters, DQ Treasures. In a slightly different timeline I could see those being extremely popular and a bigger competitor to Pokemon. The fact that the Dragon Quest Builders 2 team is making Pokopia kind of shows the power of brand power even if the content is similar. Pokopia will definitely sell much more.

@FishyS And nearly every single one of those are more adult-oriented than from kids as far as I know--and pretty difficult to boot, other than possibly Chocobo GP (which was hellish proposition when it first released), and Theatrhythm.

But there's not really any stories that hook people here? The ones with story is FFT (more adult iirc), and Chocobo Mystery Dungeon (which is uh, hard af i want to love it but it's just too hard for me too...)

DQ I think is in WAY better situation on those spinoffs yeah... DQ Builders sound really good, I'm just not super into the minecraft stuff (which luckily Pokopia doesn't seem to lean to much toward, even if there's bits of it still)

That is honestly incredibly unsurprising to hear. Like Pokemon, the mainline games are generally the only big games in these series, the rest are often Kirby levels of success. So with that in mind:

Pokemon games after the 2000s: 5 new gens (7 if including B/W 2 and Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon), 4 remakes and two spinoffs
DQ: Two new mainline games and many remakes.
Final Fantasy: Technically(?) eight new mainline games, but only the FFVII remake series and XIV are widely beloved, while XIII trilogy is divisive at absolute best.

And that's ignoring that Pokemon Go was briefly probably the most popular video game in human history. Like I don't like Pokemon rushing games out but much of the rest of AAA gaming is the opposite extreme which is stupid and bad.

@JaxonH i would consider "gameplay" a bigger point of comparison in most cases, and besides the vague idea they follow a similar progression of "easy to learn, hard to master" i genuinely don't know how you compare the quality of general game mechanics between games that fundamentally play differently. sure, they're both party games, but is that really a big enough point of reference?

the problem is more the idea i could say "compared to mario tennis fever's racket system, kirby air rider's machines are vastly superior" and you might actually respond "yep, makes total sense".

if you boil them down to the absolute basic idea of "pick a thing to decide the stats and general behavior you're dealing with", maaaybe you could compare how well they separately execute that concept, but in general the games have so many inherit differences, including how you engage with and emotionally react to said mechanics that, to me, i cannot possibly wrap my head around the idea of someone who compares games regardless of genre. like, surely there's a reason you're one of the only people i've seen think like this.

it's not like i'm gonna drastically change your mind, do carry on, i just had to get this out cause it irrationally bothers the hell outta me. i swear, no disrespect, just confusion.

Value is a highly subjective thing. I would say something like Rhythm Heaven well and truly fits into a fairly unique niche where if you're into it then it's a huge deal and if you're not you don't care. The people who are into it have their money out already, the people who aren't would flip past it in a $10 bargain bin. It's that kind of game

I don't think Mario Tennis really trades in the same space at all. Speaking for myself, Mario Tennis is on paper a game I should have a lot of nostalgia for. Super Tennis was one of my favourite SNES games, Tennis games in general were 90s staples. Also Mario Tennis on the GBC is probably like top 5 GameBoy games for me, easily. And Tennis in general used to be this kind of technical showpiece for gaming, I'd argue even upto around the 3DS

But at this point I just don't think Mario Tennis is really that kind of game anymore. At least not to me. It just lives in this very well established space, it's something we've all seen before. I was considering picking it up this weekend, best price I could find was $84AU (RRP is $110AU). I'm sure this version is great but also that's not an insignificant amount of money, especially if I went digital. For that price I want the game to offer me something significant I don't already have. Kirby Air Riders? Sure, because how many games like that are there? Mario Tennis? Not so much

I'm sure it's a decent game but at that price it's definitely a skip for me

@skywake
Well, yea... that's pretty much what I'm saying. People are pretty transparent and it's hilarious: this tennis game has tons of content... for the people who enjoy this type of game and will take advantage of it. Rhythm Heaven is a niche series that I'm sure has lots of great gameplay... for the people who enjoy that type of game.

It's the cognitive dissonance that amuses me when one group or the other gets their pants in a twist over pricing for the product that doesn't even appeal to them. The Mario sports games have a broader reach than a series like Rhythm Heaven, for sure, but 70 bucks for essentially infinite gameplay with friends and online randoms (which is where the legs have been in these sports titles since forever) is pretty good in my eyes.

Yep... not really much else for me to say lol

@darkfenrir That's a side effect of more powerful hardware. PS3/360 games couldn't run on DS so you had a lot of studios making different games from home consoles, even the games with the same name (e.g. Tomb Raider Legend and Underworld) were generally completely different games.

Meanwhile more recently 3rd party exclusivity is becoming a thing of the past and Switch 2 is powerful enough to run current gen games so it becomes more like a hybrid PS5.

@Grumblevolcano Feels both sad and yet there's some good parts... I hope they will make more cool spin offs.

Or just ff9 remake that works /jkjk