Topic: The Nintendo Switch Thread

Sounds pretty good. This is actually the sports game i'm most hopeful for about actual content (take that EA)

So unless the retail version entirely bombs (like <5000 in a month or something crazy), I feel safe in saying:
The streak of unexpectedly successful Switch games continues!

I hope I can just keep this going all year. Just any random port that would likely be ignored elsewhere is just randomly successful for almost no apparent reason on Switch! It's like opposite day for Nintendo!

@kkslider5552000
It's because there is demand for portability, not to mention the demand that would already be there for console. And the combined appeal is greater than the sum of handheld + console due to the synergy between them (instant switching, no cross save needed).

Every game has an audience. And an HD Street Fighter II was always going to be popular with Nintend gamers. Even without that added value. So it's no wonder it's doing well. It's one of the best games of all time, after all. Like releasing Link to the Past in HD on Switch. People would pay $40 all day long, and this is no different.

That said, I don't think topping Mincraft for one week on the eshop is saying much, being it's launch week it would be pretty bad if it couldn't top it.

You're right about that and I won't hold my breath for it, or start screaming if it doesn't happen yet, but I can always hope! I think the Plaza thing did looked gorgeous on Wii U (never bought whatever that boardgame was called again).

Pretty much, yeah. Don't get me wrong, I'm not hating on people who do enjoy playing shooters with a controller, but it's just not something I feel comfortable with.

Also I do have to say, that even though I don't like fighting games, I do love Smash Brothers. ^^'

@Monkeido Just wondering if you have ever tried motion controls? They have come a long way since the Wii and I find them to be just as good as a mouse. For Splatoon they work fantastic!

ARMS reviews are coming in on the lower end of Positive 80-90, and even some mixed.

Which is expected. Cant all be winners

The controller vs. keyboard/mouse debate is an interesting one...

My older brother grew up playing the likes of DOOM and Wolfenstein on PC - so he swears by the keyboard/mouse combo...for me, despite my best efforts, I could never get a proper feel for it.

I grew up playing the likes of GoldenEye and Perfect Dark - so my hours were spent mastering 'strafes' and 'headshots' with a controller...that muscle memory is impossible to override at this point!

Similarly, I always used an 'inverted y-axis' in shooters in my younger years - these days I can't play any other way...makes my head feel all wonky if I even attempt to!

I don't think itll be a big seller, being realistic. Maybe a million lifetime if lucky.

@NaviAndMii My stance on keyboard/controller is this.

I physically cannot use keyboard and mouse without massive discomfort due to hand injuries, but no its not inferior.

I also cant use an Xbox One controller for the same reason, but its not inferior.

Keyboard < Analogue stick
Keyboard < D-Pad
Mouse > Analogue stick

Which control scheme I prefer depends on whether the game is more about movement or aiming.

It's an interesting debate ..does anyone know of any top eSports stars that use a controller in a game that can be played with a keyboard/mouse?

@StuTwo With SMM given the imperfect fit, given the Mario fatigue issues, etc, and the retooling that would be required to make it really work well, I'd almost be more likely to believe a proper SMM2 would be in the works that's more properly designed for the Switch and can extend the tool set a bit (slopes, lol), or possibly be Nintendo and go in another direction cashing in on the BotW hype: Zelda Maker. They talked about how it would be good but hard to do given the type of game Zelda is......but why not go all out and just do it? A 2D style Zelda maker that does just dungeons and no overworld (which is how Zelda 1 was originally supposed to work in Miyamoto's prototypes) up through ALTTP or even ALBW style would be huge! that would be something for a few years from now. Instead of being touch based, they could make the controls "all new play style!" and use the motion controls/joycons in different ways etc. Leading to endless whining here on NL

@NaviAndMii Basically every fighting game there is? Unless they're using arcade sticks which is arguably more popular.

@BLP_Software What are their main issues with it? Gameplay related or current content related? I can't imagine them panning gameplay too much having experienced it myself. There's a ton of depth in there. I can see content being lacking in terms of arcade mode and such. 80-90 is quite good for a new IP. 90 sounds fair, but I'm wondering what the deductions are for if it's going down to 80.

@NaviAndMii whoops hit reply before I finished typing I was going to say, for me, personally I grew up with D-Pads but evolved with the FPS genre from the start on PC. Keyboard and mouse is far and away superior to any other control method for FPS games because FPS games were entirely designed around keyboard and mouse as its control scheme. It's like playing a fighter without an arcade stick....you can get it to work, but it's just designed for a different input method's features. Playing shooters with sticks is just....yuck. All console shooters use "auto aim" and "aim assist" to compensate for the fact that the controls are effectively useless. Even if you disable those features the engine is still using them to one degree or another because it's simply not possible to get the required accuracy and rotation rates out of a stick vs. a high res mouse. The genre is simply built for a mouse with "free look" and evolved around it. In a console shooter, it's always snapping to nearest pixels to correct your impossible aim except for some slow scrolling sniper scopes and such. The cheat is built into the game.

There is one. AND ONLY ONE. Exception to this rule. Splatoon. With the motion controls, Splatoon actually approximates mouse movements. In fact the company that provided the WiiMote and Motion+ sensors originally sold the concept in a package called "Air Mouse", and oriented it for PC gaming. They still sell them for office presentation applications but it never took off in gaming, but the Nintendo contract paid off. So Splatoon actually has mouse based fine tuning for aiming via the motion controls. As such it does NOT have auto aim / aim assist of any kind, and is why stick controls for Splatoon are so much harder than motion. Thus, Splatoon remains the only PC equivalent shooter on console in terms of accuracy and player precision required. After Splatoon, console shooters feel awful and clunky all over again. Non-motion shooters are just backward to me now!

@NEStalgia Currently sitting at 79. Seeems to be a mix of controls, content and general it just exist.

Now its 78...it might hit orange tier

Playtonic has a new Kickstarter update of which it details some stuff about the first big update for PS4, XB1 and PC but also says some stuff about the Switch version:

• Switch specific testing phase is after the PS4/XB1/PC update comes out
• Shortly after that testing phase, a release date should be announced if it doesn't break too badly
• Switch version at launch will include the update that other platforms are getting

The update for the other platforms is coming late June for PC and a bit later for PS4/XB1.

Looking September at the earliest for Yooka then.

@BLP_Software I'm reading these reviews and I feel ashamed for the entire "video games journalism industry" yet again. I'm picking that disgraceful 50% review that seems much more interested in FIFA than ARMS, the 75% and 80% reviews. It's not the scores but the reasoning that I mind. Specifically, these guys have access to the full retail game. I've played 7 hours of a public beta. Yet I seem to be aware of more game mechanics than these guys. Why are they publishing reviews of a game they clearly don't actually know how to play? One goes on about it not being competitive because of it's simplistic gameplay. You can only grab and punch, and it feels too simple on regular controls because it was designed for motion. Apparently the reviewer is unaware of unique character abilities, elemental charge levels, and strategic use of weapon combination selection in relation to both. That's ok, I wasn't aware of that my first 4 hours either. It got a lot more interesting when I discovered it. But I'm not publishing reviews advertising my lack of play time.

One dinged it because the "motion controls aren't 100% reliable, characters need balancing, buttons aren't mappable, and the single player is barebones." Last I checked, I can't remap buttons on any arcade cabinet for any fighting game, (or most home versions either), the game will be launched next week and balancing patches are guaranteed over time as for all online games once the metrics start flowing in. Motion controls not being reliable is a valid ding (but only small since it's not a mandatory control scheme), and bare bones single player is a very valid reason for a large ding.

The state of reviews is a mix of frustrating and depressing. I wonder what the scores would be if we through Marvel characters in there?

I was never able to get used to keyboard/mouse to work for me; it baffles me how people can draw works of art on a mouse, let alone shoot a target. I've had better luck using a touchpad, and better still with analog sticks, since I've had plenty of practice with Halo and Goldeneye007 as a kid, but OoT3D's and Splatoon's motion controls clicked instantly when I first tried them, and I feel like I've taken them far with Splatoon. It's clearly the most simple, intuitive, and instantaneous method.

@BLP_Software Also there's a delightly lack of consistency:

Post Arcade: "Part of the problem is that, outside of online rankings, there’s little in the way of long-term objectives" (Huh? It's a fighting game? Does Tekken 7 spit out plush toys or something?)

Gaming Trend: "ARMS is a shallow yet approachable experience that could have used just a bit more depth, detail, and personality. " (Oh, so it's shallow and approachable for the masses, but isn't very deep, ok.)

GameSpot: "Arms is a strong, substantial fighting game that takes a while to really hit its stride. Its barrier to entry is unlike anything else in the genre, but it's one worth tackling in order to get at the game's fascinating take on fighting. It may not have the same skill requirement as other fighting games, but the flexibility and fast thinking it requires secures it as one that works on its own terms and opens the genre up to a wider audience. " (So it's an incredibly deep hardcore fighting game with a high barrier of entry? Wait, wat? Then they give it a lower score than the outlet that thought it was shallow....)

Ars: "Don't let the saccharine looks fool you: Arms is deep, challenging, and an essential purchase for the Nintendo Switch. " (Not scored yet.) (So now this is a true serious fighter!)

Stevivor: "ARMS is a clever idea with polished core mechanics that ends up feeling underdeveloped and lacking in identity. "

sigh

This is just depressing. I don't care what the scores are, never did, but it's the reviews own statements about the state of reviewing that saddens me. So many of these reviews read like reviews that could have been written with a gentle mix of preconceived notions, watching videos, and reading someone elses's review/forum post. "New IP, doesn't look interested, focuses on motion, is Nintendo therefore casual, probably ok for what it is, just write it up....there's more interesting stuff to focus on." Few of these reviews strike me as something the reviewer spent many hours delving into pointed gameplay. And I imagine if the online experience for them is limited to playing only against other reviewers who also don't really want to be reviewing it it's a bunch of battles against boring button mashers showing half the skill that was present during the test punch.

If it's a 50% because the single player is insultingly bad, that's great, stick with it. If it's 50% because the AI just cheats in single player and Hedlok matches, sure, run with it. If it's because you didn't take the time to learn how to play and don't understand your opponents are other people who suck because they also didn't take the time to play, write that in the review. Not at all surprising, par for the course. I still disdain Metacritic with the fire of a thousand suns. But I still hate having to see it.