Topic: The Nintendo Switch Rumor and Speculation Thread

I completely agree that competitors like Fortnite, Disney, Universal, etc., are all gearing up to integrate their IP's into virtual theme parks to increase user engagement, brand loyalty, digital monetization, etc., and once those virtual interactive ecosystems catch on, Nintendo will be forced to follow suit. It could reflect something like you described, but regardless how Nintendo implements it, I believe this is something Nintendo will have no choice but to compete with over the long term.

With that said, I'm still not certain that Nintendo is prepared to implement something so large at this point in time.

If it's similar to the last online playtest, which was Nintendo Switch Sports, then it's possible the play test could be a new multiplayer game!

With all this talk about wanting a new F-Zero, it would be really fun if the playtest turns out to be a multiplayer demo build of a new F-Zero. The only downside would be that the new F-Zero game would be cross platform rather than Switch 2 exclusive to really make the most of the new console power.

My personal opinion is the playtest will be a streaming service that Nintendo has been working on with Microsoft. It would be very similar to Game Pass, using the bones of XCloud and perhaps even some basic framework from Game Pass, but with Nintendo's own coat of paint. Car companies have done this for a while, not to mention licensing game engines and so on.

Another question would be monetization, whether the new streaming app is bundled into the expansion pack plus tier or if Nintendo adds a whole new pay tier. I'm hoping it would be bundled into NSO+, and that would add value to the subscription for sure!

But this would be less exciting than a new first-party game of course!

I sorta hope we don't get a Nintendo game that's just a virtual themepark like Fortnite or whatever Disney has. Those types of games really aren't fun to play, especially given how micro-transaction ridden they tend to be.

@BougieBeetle I agree!

Awful writing and embarrassing voice acting (especially Zelda) in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom aside, the bloated yet shallow world of them, packed with more (boring) stuff in the sequel-DLC Tears of the Kingdom, that also happens to include the worst alternative world I have ever played (The Depths), is not my idea of masterpieces. I played Assassin's Creed (1) and Skyrim after these games and I found both infinitely better games.

Back to your comment, I enjoy much more the older The Legend of Zelda games. I consider Ocarina of Time to have a perfectly round story, the best storytelling in the whole series; featuring enjoyable exploration and memorable dungeons and characters. Although I get why some people dislike Majora's Mask, it is the most immersive and has the best side quests and characters in the series, with music as great as Ocarina of Time. Skull Kid is probably the most interesting character Nintendo has ever made. As I mentioned earlier, I consider Twilight Princess the most perfect Zelda game and somehow the most perfect Nintendo game. I didn't hate The Wind Waker when everybody hated it, but I don't love it like many people do now. It's very bare-bones in terms of content and locations and sailing the world is extremely boring, which is why the Wii U version takes care of that. I think that Skyward Sword has some great dungeons and one (yes, one) great song, but overall is mediocre and has the worst (repeated) boss. In few words, my favourites are Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask and Twilight Princess. I wouldn't mind Nintendo remaking them in 4K60 and slightly improving the mechanics, but not filling them with questionable content nor toning them down.

it sounds like GameFreak was hacked and a bunch of details about upcoming games is being leaked

@skywake From what it seems like the leaker apparently isn’t going to leak anything from the upcoming titles outside of codenames. It’s being kept to mostly pokemon youtubers who are keeping it all private out of fear of Nintendo striking them down.

@VoidofLight
The leaker shared a screenshot which included the name of an employee. Presumably the one who's credentials they phished to gain access to these assets. So I'm not sure I would be going around trusting their ability to keep things quiet

@skywake I mean it would be interesting if they don’t keep their word- but at the current they’re saying they aren’t going to leak any of the new games.

@VoidofLight
They're now saying they will release more information. This is starting to sound like classic data extortion type dealeo. Say pay up or we'll release it online. When they don't budge release some of the low value stuff. Then when they still refuse escalate

Complete scumbag, I'm not at all surprised. As fun as it is to see what's essentially years worth of news happen all at once we need to remember that people who do this kind of thing are criminals

@skywake Ahh, yeah it’s beginning to look like this guy is extorting the situation. Hate that they doxxed actual employees, even if it’s cool to see a ton of beta content from games past.

Yeah, that sucks. Why would anyone go out of their way to dox employees’s personal info at game freak? What do they get out of it? Those people didn’t do anything, they simply go to work, get paid, go home. Yeah, go ahead and leak concept art of Pokemon Ruby and sapphire, whatever. Actual employees’ info though? Too far

@TheBigBlue Exactly. Just shows how horrible the leaker is. Guess he took it as “proof” that these leaks were real.

@TheBigBlue Sadly, there are people with a big enough chip on their shoulder regarding Game Freak who would have done this sort of thing sooner if they had the chance/means/ability to do so.

It's a shame everyone clamouring for clicks (and this site is not innocent here) is helping extortionists. Gaming media has zero integrity lol. And it's funny how on the one hand Youtubers bemoan a video being taken down because it users emulators and how they aren't their friends...and in the next breath can't gossip about leaks quick enough (I guess that's what friends do?)

Yeah... I think the codenames and some of the history are interesting to be leaked, but when they're talking about leaking personal info that's just evil and leaking too much about not yet released games is just problematic and also not really fun.

The fact that this hack even happened at all is a little scary since they now use 2-factor authentication. That's putting it firmly in the realm of serious criminal hacking rather than some type of 'accidental' leakage; kinda hope they get caught.

If this is the truth then we should all just refuse to look at whatever else they leak. What they're doing is downright reprehensible and we shouldn't give them the satisfaction. Now inevitably some people will, but I'm certainly done following this story and I strongly suggest to everyone that sees this comment do the same. This leak doesn't deserve any further attention.

@Bolt_Strike I’m probably going to look if they leak anything honestly. It isn’t like I’m supporting the leaker by looking.

@VoidofLight I mean, if they're using the information to extort Game Freak then you kind of are supporting the leakers by looking at the data. They're threatening to spoil the data to the public (and therefore hurt their business and reputation) as a way of blackmailing them (for money I guess?). Looking at the data plays right into the blackmail, the only way we can help mitigate this scheme is to not look.

+1

This is not much different to someone dishonestly obtaining sensitive photos/video of someone and threatening to publish them. The subject didn't consent to the extorter having the material and doesn't consent to it being publicised. Anyone who seeks out the publicised material is therefore going against the wishes of the victim and supporting the extorter.

@Bolt_Strike
I agree with this sentiment although there are two things I would note here. Firstly I'd argue that the ethics of this don't really change that much based on motivation. Whether it's a disgruntled ex-employee, someone motivated by some kind of ideology, a fan trying to look through the curtains or someone looking to blackmail in the end it's still theft. So there should be inherent caution regardless of the motives

In terms of perusing this data though? Once it's out there it's out there. The question of what people choose to publish or not at that point becomes a question of journalistic ethics. Questions like whether or not the content is in the public interest, whether or not publishing could reasonably cause harm etc. This is the rumour and speculation thread, we've been talking about data from the NVidia hack for years here. So it's a similar thing here

Of course, the huge difference here is a question of content. The very first thing I saw from this hack was a screenshot which included an employee name. At that point they'd already gone well past that ethical line and were already irredeemable. But some of the other stuff, like the codename of Switch 2 which had already been discovered through Switch firmware sleuthing and some other leaks? I think that stuff is pretty fair game for discussion

The way I see it is that I’m not looking a this stuff directly from the leaker themselves, so I’m not really supporting them. If I were following them on twitter or writing an article, then that’s supporting them.