Topic: Next Nintendo Direct?

@skywake Yeah, I do think that I liked the Expansion Pack back then probably because I hadn’t really played any N64 games before then, plus I didn’t own an Xbox or any of the Rare games included on there, so I found so much value when I had it, but I now really don’t since I’ve played a few of them already. But, I think they should update N64 NSO faster, or at least give us a roadmap for what they have, especially since the Switch might start to get phased out soon. A lack of updates is my huge issue with it. I’d have to assume that September (in a possible general Direct) or October is the time for the next drop. Hopefully a bigger one, but I’m doubtful they’d drop more than one N64 title at once.

I still think that the N64 NSO is missing essential titles despite having a few noteworthy ones. The few that come to mind would probably be Smash 64 and DK64, and it’s a bit of a shocker they STILL haven’t put those on there yet. Banjo-Tooie not being on there despite having the first game on there is also a bit surprising too. There are so many games that are obvious choices to put on there, but they aren’t even on there!

I do think the N64 NSO is in a better state than it was back three years ago, but eh, they need to speed things up with the library. I think that it becomes way more exciting if they add games that have not seen modern re-releases, like DKR, rather than games that have already seen multiple releases and have remakes. I think that those types of games with no re-releases do add some sort of value to it, more than games that have been out on platforms countless times. Plus, I think I heard on a forum here that the Perfect Dark NSO release wasn’t good, or it at least didn’t control well. I do think some of the NSO games have slightly weird controls, and I could feel the jank when I played a few of the games. The 17+ N64 app looks very barren at the moment.

@skywake I'm not sure I agree. We got a Pokemon spin-off, 3 never before released in the west Starfy games, ALttP, Zero Mission, F-Zero, Mother 3 (in Japan), both Golden Suns, Blast Corp, Turok, Super Mario Land, The Frog for Whom the Bell Tolls (Japan again), GBC Mario Tennis / Golf / Dr., Castlevania Legends, Battletoads, Killer Instinct, Super R-Type, NES Tetris and a whole host of other NES titles, RC Pro-Am, Devil World, and The Mysterious Murasame Castle.

There hasn't been a year even close to this for NSO releases in the Switch's lifespan. I wouldn't be shocked if all the Rare releases capped off with DK64 / B-T getting a release around renewal time though.

Oh right the actual reason I came here. So uh... Marvel vs Capcom collection is getting a digital drop in two weeks. On a day that would normally have been quite likely for the September direct to occur on.

Anyone else thinking this lends credibility to the claim that these directs were moved up from September?

@link3710 Ooh that's a really good point, the Thursday release would be extra random otherwise. I feel like the Indie world was always planned for August and the partner showcase was moved up. I really hope its because the switch 2 announcement and release was pushed up to very soon, but I'm wondering if it was actually just a really smart way of getting better press.

I mean it makes perfect sense that they wouldn't have reveals ready for another general direct since the June one was so stacked and switch 2 is on the horizon. Perhaps they planned for just a Partner Showcase in the September slot for that reason, but the marketing team realized it would be met with groans from fans expecting 1st party so they figured making it an unexpected double whammy in August would garner more hype.

@ImGrenadeMan That's entirely possible. At this point I'm like 99.99% convinced the partner direct was in fact moved up, but there's still a number of valid reasons why they might have beyond "new system premier moved up"

@skywake Ehhh I can't see them giving us Pokemon games on Switch Online. Gamefreak is pretty stingy when it comes to their older stuff. They tend to sell it for a premium since they know that older fans are going to gladly pay again for the ability to play through older games in the series. Especially if they throw in the whole "You can transfer it to Pokemon HOME" thing.

@VoidofLight
I’m fine with that but I don’t understand what’s taking them so long to release the classic Pokemon games to sell. All they have to do is just dump the rom on the eshop.

@Don Not entirely. Depending on the game, they'd have to do a ton of work to make sure it's actually playable on Switch. Reconfigure how buttons work, or make sure that it can run on a system with one screen. The DS titles basically would have to be reconfigured entirely to work with Switch. The GB, GBC, and GBA games would need to have some of the systems reconfigured in order to work correctly as well. Things like making the battery powered clock work without the battery.

I suppose though that they could just bring over the ports from the 3DS, but even then they would still have to program Pokemon HOME compatibility into the games.

@VoidofLight
Nonsense. They have a GB and GBA emulator on the Switch already, all they'd have to do is drop the ROMs in a package with an emulator. Either via NSO or as a stand-alone thing. And GB is a fairly simple system that's fairly easy to emulate, it's not like N64 where you have to twiddle around with dials and hacks to get it working 100%. And the real time clock isn't an issue, the Switch already knows what the time is. GB emulators have figured out a long time ago how to tap into the system clock

And you know how I know it would be trivial to implement well? I have an Anbernic RG35XX. I played through Pokemon Crystal on it, the RTC worked fine out of the box with no configuration other than setting the correct time. There are certainly systems and games that I need to fuss around with the settings to get the way I like but GB is not one of them. They have gyro and rumble working on NSO, they can make the RTC work. Again, GB emulation is SUPER easy and very advanced

In terms of DS? I mean sure, DS is a bit more complicated because you need to figure out a way to deal with that second screen. It also has an odd and inconsistent aspect ratio with a mix of 2D and 3D elements. But you do realise you're making this post in the Nintendo Direct thread right? And you're making it just barely a day after a Nintendo Direct where they announced a collection of DS Castlevania games being ported right?

Maybe they do a legacy collection type thing for the 30th anniversary in 2026. $60 release for the 7 Gen 1+2 mainline games (including Green) in their 3DS VC form all on 1 Switch cart. Launch it during the holiday season.

@skywake The Castlevania ports aren't straight up ports though, right? They're heavily modified to be able to work on the switch. At least from what I've seen from the direct itself.

@VoidofLight
If you look at the trailer those are very much the screens as you would see them on DS. The only clear obvious change over just straight up emulating it is that it shows a third screen of information to fill up the space not used by the smaller second screen. I wouldn't be at all surprised if they're just straight up emulating DS for these games, if anything I'd be surprised if they weren't

Do yourself a favour if you're curious. If you have an Android device download Drastic, legally acquire a DS ROM, load up a game and pretend that instead of on-screen buttons you had a JoyCon strapped to the left and right of your phone. I think you'll find that DS with very little effort is far more playable on the Switch than you're making it out to be

@VoidofLight It's an emulator collection with a slightly modified ROM. The biggest hint is that the game has black bars on the top and bottom of the screen due to the DS's weird aspect ratio... Plus save states and rewind features. And besides that, we have the Zero/ZX collection that's also emulated DS games on Switch.

Not to mention the Wii U had a host of emulated DS titles.

@VoidofLight Quick question, I might be misremembering, but wasn’t there a few Pokémon games confirmed for NSO that haven’t come already, or did they already release them on there? Cuz I swear that they did announce games for the GB NSOs maybe a year ago and everyone was talking about them appearing in Pokémon Presents presentations.

@Pastellioli Do you mean Gen 1-3 games? If so then no, they aren't on NSO and I highly doubt they would release those on NSO if they can just put a prize tag of 40€ or more on each generational collection.
The only Pokémon games on NSO are Pokemon Stadium 1+2, Pokémon Snap, Pokémon TCG and Pokémon Rescue Team Red afaik

@Neph Thanks for telling me. That is a really small amount of Pokémon games on there. Less than I thought…

@Pastellioli All NSO games that have been announced at some point have already released with the exception of NES Tetris. Regarding Pokemon NSO, the current situation is:

• Pokemon Snap - Announced in September 2021 (Direct), released in June 2022
• Pokemon Puzzle League - Announced and released in July 2022
• Pokemon Stadium - Announced in September 2022 (Direct), released in April 2023
• Pokemon Stadium 2 - Announced in September 2022 (Direct), released in August 2023 (reappeared in Pokemon Presents as a shadow drop)
• Pokemon TCG - Announced in February 2023 (Direct), released in August 2023 (reappeared in Pokemon Presents as a shadow drop)
• Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Red Rescue Team - Announced and released in August 2024

@Grumblevolcano Thank you as well! The dates you added are super helpful.

@Pastellioli Not from my recollection. Other than spin-off titles.

@skywake might be right. FFXVI could be coming to Xbox alongside the PC version in September (Xbox release is usually what happens when a big recent PS 3rd party exclusive gets put on PS+) and if exclusivity is over then that almost certainly guarantees it'll come to Switch 2 but you can't announce for a system that doesn't exist yet.