Topic: The Nintendo Switch Thread

@skywake absolutely! I think the fact that we're seeing just about all of Nintendos major 'evergreen' franchises in the first 18 months is incredibly exciting in large part because it creates a lot of space for new IP and more experimental experiences later in the consoles life...

...when a large established install base gives them a much better chance of success.

I also think the use of ports is essential for Switch - it lets Nintendo fill out a release schedule (particularly in the spring/summer) with quality at a low cost. A major release every 4-6 means websites like this one always have something to look forwards to and something positive to write about.

@JaxonH An entire Pikmin HD trilogy would be nice. I'd love to see what Pikmin 1 looks in Pikmin 3(/4) graphics.

Like most things I think it just depends. Some games could do with a remaster, some make more sense if you just reset and go with a sequel. Others I think they could get away with just a straight port or for older games a VC release. A lot of Wii U games I'd like to see ported, a few Wii and GC games I'd be happy to see a HD remaster. Others are dated enough, for lack of a better word, I'd rather see a sequel.

[Cave Story+] First Look

@Octane
I'd be down with that. Or why not Metroid Prime trilogy to help ease the wait....

An HD remaster of the Prime Trilogy would really help the newer fans catch up with the series and give them an idea of what the series is like. Should be a good way to get easy money and help build Prime's audience while they're waiting on 4.

@JaxonH VC release would be fine with me as well. I don't need another TP:HD situation. The game looked better, but not as good as a full remake. If they're going to release the trilogy again, I'd like it to be built from scratch. Either that, or make it a bloody good remaster. I'm a big fan of Bluepoint Games, so maybe they can do the job? Just don't give it to Tantalus.

The issue with a VC release of Metroid Prime is which version. If you do the Gamecube then you get controls that will work in handheld mode on the Switch but you don't get 3 and you don't get the 16:9 aspect ratio. If you go with the Wii re-release you get all of those things but you're stuck with motion controls which is fine and could work but not in handheld mode. And in any case it's such a pretty game that I'd kinda rather a remaster if it was to come. I feel the same way about Skyward Sword and Super Mario Galaxy.

But then there are other games like Mario Strikers Charged, Super Paper Mario, Kirby's Epic Yarn, Luigi's Mansion, F-Zero GX and even Super Mario 64 and OoT. Just give them to me as they were on the Switch. Doesn't bother me at all that they will look a bit low res on a 720p/1080p display.

I suppose that's true. Maybe skipping a generation for games like MK would be better, both for allowing time for other projects and to provide more time for them to innovate the series in some way.

I agree with all the above too. A criticism that's often levelled at Nintendo is "where are the new IPs and/or neglected franchises?". For a long time, the answer has been "nowhere, because our teams are working on the next obligatory Mario Kart/Smash Bros/other mainline top-selling franchise".

It's precisely because of deluxe-ports that the same team managed to put out two of the biggest games on the system consecutively (namely, MK8D and ARMS), rather than just a single game in the form of Mario Kart '9'.

I love Mario Kart as much as the next gamer, but I'd rather it didn't continually soak up development resources every console cycle simply to bump up the number at the end of the title. People say they don't want ports because they want new games, but you have to wonder how new anything suffixed with the number '9' can actually be, when compared to the brand new IP we've got instead.

The Switch was never going to not get a Mario Kart, but I'm personally glad that we got 8 Deluxe and ARMS instead of MK9 for the sake of 9.

And as someone who never bought the DLC tracks for 8, those four cups constitute half a standard Mario Kart game already, so I've not felt short-changed in terms of new content (though people who did buy them may feel differently).

Yeah the big cash cows are waaaaay overexposed because they've been leaning on them so hard. Kart and Smash especially. Mario is never the same twice so that one doesn't count....every console needs a Mario (except WiiU )

That said if Switch is very successful and has a long life, it's fully expectable that a second Zelda and Mario could happen like Galaxy/Galaxy 2 and WW/TP, Ocarina/Majory. (Aonuma already said it's possible for Zelda.) It's more sensible to do sequels on one platform for story/objective driven games that you "finish" than evergreen titles that really can't change much between releases.

Can't imagine what Kart 9 or Smash 5 would really have that isn't already in this one. They're kind of stuffed full of everything you can fit into the formula they are. They're going to need a BotW like shakeup and inversion to really do something new with it.

@Maxz agreed I think ports and re-mastered get a bad rep for no reason , not everyone bought a wiU heck the numbers suggest not many people at all did, so these WiU ports are new games to some people.

Same goes for Sony and I am sure Xbox, I have bought several remastered games on the PS4 and they were all games I skipped or did not get around to playing on the PS3 life cycle.

@ValhallaOutcast Yeah, I mean I can understand that when people buy a new console, they don't want to feel they're just being served up leftovers from the last generation, but the fact that Kart and ARMS were put out near-consecutively by the same team kinda blows a hole in the theory that deluxe ports 'get in the way' of new games.

In this case, it's pretty clear that a deluxe port has actually facilitated the release of an entirely new IP, as the team weren't forced into making a ninth Kart Racer for the sake of it.

Nintendo also have an extra justification for ports over the other home consoles, in that it's the first time these games will be released on a portable system.

Just as the portablity of the OoT and Majora's Mask remakes were selling points of the 3DS versions, Nintendo can flog its Switch rereleases as being 'now on portable'. Having the graphics and gameplay of 8 with the portability of 7 is a pretty big deal.

I didn't feel the same way about 7 & 8 because of the difference between a portable and HD home console version. Same deal with 8 and 8 Deluxe come to think of it. But even so, I get what you're saying.

I've felt the same way about Pokemon quite a few times. Every time they draw me back into the series they come out with a new game the next year. And it always takes a lot for me to get interested in that next game. And the more games in the series I skip the more fun I have when I do eventually come back.

I think these are the only two ports left that would be worthwhile:

Super Mario Maker
Tokyo Mirage Sessions Platinum

So IGN asked Reggie about the future of the 3DS. He of course gave a PR statement about supporting the system well into 2018 and beyond. Then parts of NeoGaf had a meltdown lol.

Considering the lack of completely new titles for 2018 (just an eShop game as of right now), the low amount of remaining major 3rd party localizations, and the fact that the 1st party titles announced are all made by completely external devs, support for the system is certainly winding down lol.

@IceClimbers With Game Freak and other Nintendo devs moving on to supporting the Switch, I wouldn't worry too much. I fully expect Strange Journey Redux to be the 3DS' swansong. At least for me, unless something else exciting gets announced, which I don't expect.

I wish Nintendo IP were used every other system, especially when you have backwards compatibility.

@Ralizah Oh I agree. It won't stop people from freaking out and taking it at face value despite those same people making it a point to not believe anything Reggie says though

@IceClimbers 2018 3DS stuff could be Direct material though. If you think about the last normal Direct (the one which had a "focus" on ARMS and Splatoon 2), most of the games featured were 3DS.