Topic: Nintendo Switch 2

If I'm understanding this video correctly, Square Enix has indirectly confirmed that the full FFVII remake series is coming to Switch 2 which is nice to see.

@NeonPizza I agree with everything you said, which is great for such a long message!

When I watched the Direct, it sounded a bit like a joke that everything was a paid upgrade, Welcome Tour included. I predicted that the Switch 2 would be reiterative because Switch was such a hit, but I was expecting a more consumer-friendly approach, even by Nintendo's standards. I mean, Nintendo was very generous in the past: Virtual Console games for 0.30, discounts for Virtual Console between 3DS and Wii U, Player's Choice, Nintendo Selects, free built-in software on 3DS, Metroid Prime Trilogy for £€$10 on Wii U!!! One could argue that they didn't need to be generous with Switch and that they can afford to be greedy now and that's even sadder.

Nintendo ports really are overpriced. I have the physical edition of Breath of the Wild (Wii U), that looks very nice with the big picture and blue frame, and the physical edition of Tears of the Kingdom.

I don't trust Nintendo for digital rights as much as I trust Microsoft, but I understand how convenient digital is in a handheld. That reminds me that Nintendo game key cards are the worst option, because they are a digital version that needs a physical key that requires connection to Nintendo's servers so, unlike normal cartridges, they are not future-proof.

I have Street Fighter VI on Xbox and it's nice, but it's missing my favourite character and I agree with you about the not so exciting lazy hip hop songs. Capcom is one of my favourite developers in the world and they have made awesome music and games.

You can find very old posts written by me that show my excitement for Metroid Prime 4. I thought it was finally 4K because a journalist reported that, but it's 1440p upscaled to 4K, but it's 60fps on Switch and Switch 2 and that's kind of fine for those playing on the hardware it was developed for. The two versions don't look that different besides the resolution boost that makes textures crisper and will make it look better on the TV.

Like you said, Wii Remote and nunchuk are a light year ahead of the joy-cons for the reasons you explained so well. The lack of a sensor bar or reference on Switch was missed very much, and I don't even play with the joy-cons a lot. Wii is so good in this regard that, resolution aside, has the best version of Resident Evil 4 (2005) and it still is the best way to play House of the Dead and the like. The pseudo-mouse of Nintendo Switch 2 isn't comfy according to some journalists and still no bar to be found. Wii U supported the bar and also was able to use the Game Pad camera as reference.

I love Gamecube and I still have my launch model with an original RGB cable. I hope that the emulation on Nintendo Switch 2 is good. Like you said, latency is the most important thing.

I can't say that I'm looking forward to Donkey Kong Bananza, because it looks too gimmicky, but I'll be glad if I'm wrong and I hope that those that play it have fun. Too early to know.

Super Mario Kart and Double Dash both have excellent gameplay, physics and controls and I love them. It's weird how Super Mario Kart could look dated in the Nintendo 64 days and now looks like a masterpiece.

I would love to play Resident Evil Remake in Virtual Reality...

@VoidofLight Thanks. I hope you enjoy Mario Kart World (that I will get eventually) and Donkey Kong Bananza. Make sure to leave your impressions. I haven't played all of Monolith's games, but Xenoblade Chronicles X is one of my favourite Wii U games and I enjoyed it more than Breath of the Wild. It has some very cool game mechanics and addictive gameplay and the side stories are interesting, unlike the first one. The Game Pad was made relevant by this and other games.

I wonder if we'll even get FFVII Reunion before the end of the PS5 generation?

Even though the gap between Remake and Rebirth was small (less than four years), PS5 will be in its seventh or eighth year before Reunion arrives.

@Grumblevolcano It’s a good thing to hint at if you are looking to get those on the fence to buy FF VII Remake. The thought not everything coming over could put people off so indirectly confirming they are would put people’s minds at ease.

It was known that Final Fantasy VII Remake was the intergrade version because of the content and how the lighting looks, but it's apparently on par with PS4 in terms of graphics, resolution and frame rate, which is logical. It's probably a port of the Windows version adjusted for Nintendo Switch 2.

I believe that the whole trilogy will come to Nintendo and Xbox consoles because Square Enix said goodbye to Sony's exclusivity contracts and they rebooted their business strategy.

@Grumblevolcano
It makes sense. I don't think they would bring one game and not all 3. In the Direct they even implied it was all 3, so I've had that understanding from the jump.

As for concerns about the 3rd game being too advanced graphically, I don't think that'll be an issue. It won't be a fully open world game. And any advancements will scale down. Furthermore, they'll be keeping Switch 2 in mind during development, as opposed to thinking about it after the fact.

The entire Yakuza series seems to be making it's way over too based on the Direct. Or at least, several more titles. But Kiwami is already on Switch and looks/runs great. And Yakuza 0 is a launch title. And from what I've gathered from diehard fans of the series, those are the 2 best games and, coincidentally, the 2 to start with story wise.

Since Bravely Default is getting a remaster re-release on Switch 2, do you guys think Bravely Second will be remastered as well?

@Don It depends on how much Bravely Default sells on Switch 2, but I think it's very likely.

As we get closer, I'm definitely getting more hyped. Switch 1 has been where I game the most since 2017 and NS2 is pretty much the kind of update I hoped for. Really hyped that I'll be able to get a good version of Street Fighter 6 to play anywhere, any time I want. My favorite fighting game so far this gen and the series always feels at home on Nintendo. And Mario Kart World, of course, will be awesome. Don't think I've ever played one that I didn't like. Even Double Dash, my least favorite, is a great game.

More user icons are being added, and for the first time they’re adding Pokémon icons: https://x.com/oatmealdome/status/1919774990737522957?s=46

The Switch 2 launch has been interesting for me. I was so hyped for the April reveal - and Nintendo game us absolutely everything we could have hoped for...and I left the direct feeling okay. Not blown away, just okay. Then we had the pricing mess, game card mess, and my excitement went down. But over the past several weeks, and an slew of new information, my excitement has been steadily increasing. It peaked on pre-order day where I was frantic in my search for securing a console for my son and I. I'm now at a 10/10 on my excitement - I was at maybe a 5/10 after the Direct reveal. I can't really put my finger on why I have changed - I think that it is all of the little nuggets that have come post reveal. The controllers are much improved, I'm actually very excited to get my hands on the new Pro Controller based on the hands-on reports from folks who have held the system. The reveal of the specs, DLSS, capabilities that have come out post reveal have me excited for what developers will be able to do with the system. The fact that all of the 3rd parties are onboard and making games - I don't care if they are new or 5 years old - there's so many great games that I haven't played due to being a Switch only house, that will be coming to the SW2. It's all adding up to my overall hype - and seeing that every other console will be increasing their prices significantly, the SW2 suddenly has a compelling price point. Time will tell, but I think that we have something very special coming with the new console.

I'm the opposite.
I have more hype with Switch 1 games than Switch 2 games due to game key card situation that I will be very picky in getting Switch 2 games since I want full game in cartridge, not the game key cards and not to mention Switch 2 games box looking looks less interesting for me than PS5 game box design.
But, even I have more interest with Switch 1 games than Switch 2 games, I still have way bigger interest with PS5 3rd party kids games, my main priority.

@Anti-Matter I get that - for me I am almost exclusively a digital gamer. However, the new files sizes and SD card expense has me concerned. I'm about full on my 1TB card, and there's no way I'm spending hundreds of dollars on a new SD Express card (256g is super expensive). Hopefully I can hold out with the hope that the prices will go down. As for the game key cards - I understand it. Not for me, will never buy one, because I keep all of my games. But it's better than a code in the box. What I don't like is seeing developers opt for only that option, not giving a true physical option as well.

@Lazz
I already got a 1TB microSD Express for $173 on Amazon before they sold out, because I buy a lot of games and am all digital. But you don't need one if you're waiting for prices to drop. Most ppl buy far fewer games than I do so they won't be filling up storage as fast, and you can always just archive games and redownload as needed. Can get Mario Kart World and at least 4 additional 50GB+ AAA games on the built in storage. Maybe you only grab Mario Kart World, Cyberpunk 2077 and Rune Factory at launch, and perhaps both Zelda remasters since it's only $10/ea to upgrade, then grab Daemon X Machina in September, Final Fantasy VII Remake and Metroid Prime later in the year. Could probably fit all that on internal storage.

I stopped buying 3rd party games on other platforms several years ago as I opted to wait for Switch versions or inevitable Switch 2 versions, because I got tired of double spending, but also because I would just never play them on other systems locked to the TV. If PS ever releases a handheld that can play PS5 games I'll consider investing in their ecosystem again.

I have Steamdeck but it can no longer run new games. Monster Hunter Wilds runs like garbage. Claire Obscur runs like garbage. Oblivion runs like garbage. It's essentially reached end of life. It's unfortunate because these games could run if the devs optimized for the device, but because only 4 million units have been sold lifetime to date, devs just don't care enough to bother. So it's good for older games in my library, but until a Steamdeck 2 releases it's basically going to sit alongside my chipped Switch OLED as a backlog handheld.

Hopefully, that day comes where I have a handheld PS5 and a Steamdeck 2 to enhance my gaming experience alongside Switch 2. But until then, I'm really only interested in Switch 2 moving forward. And even if that day comes and I have the option of playing on Switch 2 or another handheld, I'll go with the hybrid offering gyro/mouse aiming every time, provided performance is satisfactory.

@JaxonH I'm hopeful that after a year, the price will go down with the SD cards. I'll definitely be downloading BOTW/TOTK to check them out again (Proud Switch Online member, no upgrade cost there). And yes, I can download/offload games - but I like hoarding everything on my system. I have a long commute to work, and never know what I'll be in the mood to play . I'll get more storage once I've filled up the system's built in memory - will just have to pick and choose what I load up from my backlog

I really don't understand why people invoke the Virtual Console as if it was some kind of golden age. Doubly so in this specific context. I remember at the time being fairly unimpressed that Nintendo was charging me to copy the licence of VC games I had already purchased from Wii to Wii U. Also I don't remember discounts on 3DS if you had it on Wii U VC, but if it was a thing it didn't matter because I definitely didn't take advantage of it at all. If I had paid for SMB3 on Wii U I should've been able to play it on 3DS for no fee. NSO is unquestionably better, it's not even a contest. When I boot up Switch 2 I'll just have the NSO stuff still there and, frankly, at a lower price than I was paying to pick up VC games back in the day. If anything even better on Switch 2 because they're now adding GC to the list. I have no idea how people can argue VC was better with a straight face outside of generally misplaced feelings of "ownership" of VC titles

On the other stuff like classics and things like Metroid Prime Trilogy on the Wii U VC. I mean, ok, but Switch 2 can just outright play Switch games. Sometimes with enhancements. I would put to you that the only reason the Metroid Prime Trilogy on Wii U VC was a good value was because it was a fairly popular and low volume Wii release and the Wii didn't have a digital store for disc games. They sold Wii VC games for something around $25AU IIRC, Metroid Prime Trilogy was probably a $70AU game when it released, I remember at the time of the Wii U VC it was going for over $100AU. If there had been a digital store from the start on the Wii like there is with the Switch? You wouldn't have been talking about how good a deal it was

It's a similar story with the Nintendo Selects stuff. Those were second runs of popular games at a discount, the reason that doesn't really happen anymore is because on the eShop nothing goes out of print. So instead you have occasional deep sales on the catalogue. It's not that uncommon for first party Nintendo titles to be discounted to what would effectively be "Nintendo Selects" tier pricing. Just last week they had Animal Crossing, TTYD and Skyward Sword HD 33% off. Could the discounts be deeper and more permanent? I would say yes. But also..... it's really just a different wrapper on the same thing

There wasn't a cross-buy feature for Virtual Console games for 3DS and Wii U, I distinctly remember that. So if you wanted, say, Super Mario Bros. 3 on both systems, you would have had to buy it for $5 twice. (Assuming you didn't get it on the Wii Shop Channel.) Once on the 3DS, and another time on the Wii U. (Or if you got it on the Wii, the Wii U version would've been $1.) The Wii-to-Wii U discounts were there, yes, but if you wanted those same VC games on the 3DS, you would have had to pay the full VC prices on there no matter what. Maybe it was different in the other regions, I don't know, but it definitely wasn't a thing here in the states. I remember there was cross-buy for Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars, but I think that's about it.

The Nintendo website revealed the new eShop cards for the US.

This also led me to the idea of making a $75 card design with Pearl from Splatoon

They need to increase the eShop funds limit from $250 to at least $500.

I've got a gang of launch titles preordered and my eShop funds aren't going to come close to covering it all. I've tons of $50 eShop codes I bought for 12.5% discount that I can't even enter because of the funds limit. Which means all my preorders won't go through.

Check this out.

DLSS 4.0 Performance Mode (540p > 1080p) vs DLSS NSW2 Version (540p > 1080p)

This is zoomed in a ton to show the difference. Took screen grabs from a SuperMetalDave64 vid.

Here's the Switch 2 image it's from, taken from the Cyberpunk 2077 Creator's Video on YouTube.