Topic: Will we see a Switch 2 streaming, cloud gaming service?

@rallydefault
Yeah, there's a reason why I kept buying and ripping CD up until super recently and am pretty deep into BluRay archival. So I can agree with that. Although I don't think the same applies to gaming quite so much because the console model and online nature of many games means we were already beholden to arbitrary platform restrictions and DRM. At least to some degree. With gaming we have already given up a lot of that control in a way that we never did with other physical media

Even so, imagine a world where a platform being discontinued doesn't just mean support is dropped. That it's not just the removal of the ability to buy new games, request official repairs, warranty, or even online games. Instead the service just goes dead. I think the outrage about GKCs is a bit overblown, I don't think the outrage about a streaming service such as this would be unjustified

@rallydefault
The whole thing is the reason why im not a fan of how NSO handles its legacy content since compared to something like gamepass or psn which offers games available elsewhere for the most part (even the retro games on ps+ are available as standalone purchases) with NSO the games are only available on switch through that method, its one of the reasons why the whole super soccer thing was a big deal since it showed that delistings have a much worse effect on games than digital since theres not even the "safety net" of being able to play a delisted game if you bought it.

The first part of your message about early streaming pitches is the kind of thing which comes to mind when someone brings up the "everyone was asking for a netflix-like system back in the day" since back when that happened a lot of the flaws in that structure hadnt shown up and the idea seemed a lot more promising. (again i still think the service option should be there i just want the added option to buy games like other similar services)

Regarding GKC, i havent used them so i am curious if anyone knows if the online element is only for initial download and first boot or if it needs to do it every time you insert the GKC regardless (like if the game was downloaded and had already been run on the system would it just act like a normal cart even then offline)

@Mgalens
I'm not sure I agree with your take on NSO. I would argue that any gaming platform pre Switch/PS4/XBOne is pretty readily accessible if you catch my meaning. And even if you weren't going that route there's a pretty extensive market for original and replica hardware in addition to original games. Especially when it comes to Nintendo's platforms. They may not be available to purchase directly and new but that's also true of systems and games that aren't part of NSO. Pokemon Red isn't better off not being part of NSO and the Virtual Boy being added to NSO is a net-positive for preservation and game history

With game streaming though. If that became the standard you'd never have the game code running on a device you physically have access to. You'd never be downloading the game itself. There'd be no way to hack or break or do anything to gain access to the game via the device or their services. If they decided to shut down the service the game would be gone. And because games are interactive by nature there'd be no way to preserve them. I'm sure some studios would love the idea but as gamers I don't really see any upside here. Anyone actually concerned about game preservation should be spooked by that idea (in addition to all the inherent technical inferiorities of streaming)

In terms of GKCs, they're just a physical licence key. Instead of the licence being a code that is tied to your account and potentially signed out to your device it's on a small chip in a game card. That's all it is. It's a digital game with a physical key. If the key is in your console you can play the game. Simple as that. Technically they're not really any different from a regular physical game in that sense, just it lacks the original unpatched v1.0 version of the game on the card that ends up being largely useless to you without the day 1 patch anyways. They're not nearly as bad as some have made them out to be, IMO

@skywake
I'm starting to come around on GKCs... maybe. I can accept reality, especially in the cases like FF VII where the game is literally too big to fit on the cartridge sizes we have.

But another example of power being taken from the consumer just happened: Bioware's Anthem is officially shutting down on January 12. EA had announced the closure about half a year ago, and then they delisted the game from their storefront, and people who bought it were stripped of their ability to redownload the game well ahead of the game's shutdown. That's a huge AAA game. It admittedly didn't do well, but it was still a game that you had to buy, and suddenly the game that you "owned" was unavailable to you when you wanted it prior to its official closure.

That's... messed up.

@skywake
I think i worded it badly but it was more a case of how i would love to have a purchase option alongside the service option similar to how PS+ and gamepass handle similar services to NSOs legacy content.

as it is i still 100% preffer it to streaming its just more that if the game is running natively on the system it would nice to have an option to purchase since its always nice to have more official ways to access games.

The reason i mention stuff like the aforementioned PS+ instead of something like the virtual console is that while i enjoyed the virtual console and personally preffered it to how NSO handles the games i do know that for a lot of people the service is ideal and wouldn't want to take that away.

again this is just wishful thinking base on something i would like to see rather than something major.

@rallydefault
Anthem is one of those reasons why im not keen on the whole "service" based thing, unless a game is an MMO where online is built into its structure. From the sounds of it anthem could have definitely been retooled into an offline single-player game so people could still access the story (again i havent played it so unsure if the game had any mandatory multiplayer segments)

@Mgalens
Right - a game like World of Warcraft is a totally different story.

I played Anthem when it launched. I’m pretty sure you could play it on your own if you wanted. It wasn’t an MMO. It was more of a drop in/drop out multiplayer game.

Sorry, I just have to go back and take issue with this one statement. The playable 1.0 versions that come on the vast majority of Switch/Switch 2 cartridges are most definitely not “largely useless” without day 1 patches.

I have played dozens, hundreds of my Switch games straight from the cartridges, declining downloads of the day 1 patches, without missing a beat. The day 1 patch for Bananza, for instance, just did some smoothing of the framerate in certain instances. I played through the game purely from the cartridge, and then I played it with the day 1 patch, and that was pretty much the trade off. Not a big deal whatsoever. And that’s the case with most games. Day 1 patches don’t typically offer extra content, they’re usually just small tweaks to performance and control options.

I’m playing Hades 2 right now straight from the cartridge, rejecting the patch. No issues. Amazing game.

@rallydefault
I concede that was a tad hyperbolic but I think you get the thrust of my point. With modern gaming and modern infrastructure you're going to end up going online at some point anyways. So the download requirement of GKC is more of a psychological barrier than an actual one end users actually face

The only time that won't be the case is when the download servers shut down for good. And by that point there will be other, better means for preservation than physical cartridges with the v1.0 code

A closed streaming service may not have such a future

@skywake
Yea, a lot of the kerfuffle around GKCs is more psychological, but I am in the camp of: Why can’t a game like Street Fighter 6 just be on the cartridge? It’s pretty close to 64 gigs. It’s not a tiny game like Puyo Puyo Tetris. I know it’s the cost of the cartridge, but then why does the digital version cost the same for most of these games? It makes no sense.

People are up in arms about Mario Kart World being 80 bucks, but you’re missing the forest for the trees: we’re getting ripped off in bigger, more frequent ways all the time, and not many people seem to care.

@rallydefault I've never had a problem with GKCs - better than codes in a box. For me, I'll never buy one as I don't resell games, ever, and I'd rather have it on my system. But for people who resell, I think it's a nice option.

@Lazz
Yea, like, I’ll probably get the FF VII game key card because I REALLY want to play that game, and it has a logical reason to not be fully on the cartridge. Like… it literally can’t fit lol

And when I beat it, I’ll just uninstall it and probably sell it at my local game store (not GameStop lol) and get a little chunk of money towards a game that is actually on the cartridge and I will keep.

The problem is it doesn't solve the problem it just adds extra issues ones. I also question cloud gaming's lack of game preservation its bad enough having digital only libraries. I've actually written a article I intend to post at some point that goes into detail a little bit in regards to why, the long a short is data centers will need to be built.

I know of two games from Switch1 that are *OnlineConnectivityGaming" and to stay it doesn't have them is quiet fascinating that Researchers might want to use you in a experiment to test your Connectivity in their Research.