Topic: The Nintendo Switch Thread

@Anti-Matter Wow! ..I was pretty close then!

@skywake
Yea... that's exactly what I'm saying lol
But when you imply that Switch "only" brought portability to AAA gaming, I don't understand why you're so light on that contribution. I mean, that's pretty huge. Yea, the Vita tried to do it but failed. Same with the Nvidia Shield or whatever that thing was/is. The Switch is the first "successful" console to bring this type of gaming to the medium, which I think deserves a bit more than an "aside" expression.

@JaxonH
Yea, I guess we're just gonna have to disagree on this one. I think, aside from the new hardware and some of the standout games that have been mentioned, this year was a dark one for gaming. With every Destiny 2, Shadow of War, and Battlefront 2, we're creeping closer to a "normal" that includes buying a game for 60+ bucks and in the process signing into a system of loot crates and various DLC that want more of your money. Some games, like Destiny 2, will keep the microtransactions fairly innocuous, but others will keep trying to push the boundaries. Battlefront 2 was foiled, for now, but it'll be back. And if gamers continue to buy this crud, we'll only have ourselves to blame in the future.

@Octane
Sorry brosef, I totally disagree with you on the MMO thing. Yea, it can sort of "take in" different genres of games, but MMO is considered a genre by itself and does contain a style of gameplay that just wasn't around until its inception. What game with the exact gameplay of World of Warcraft were you playing on the SNES or PS1 before MMO's became a thing?

@rallydefault
Thing is I don't even disagree about the whole further push with micro transactions. It was a bad year... for that

But even that can't take away from the greatness of all the other incredible games and systems released this year.

It was the best of times. It was the worst of times

(the two aren't mutually exclusive)

@rallydefault But WOW is an MMO-RPG. I thought we were talking about MMOs in general. But even a quick wiki-search results in names like Maze War (1974), MUD1 (1978) and Island of Kesmai (1985). Now, I haven't played any of these, nor have I played World of Warcraft, but I doubt it didn't take inspiration from other games.

These days people are also talking about the Soulsborne genre, and it wouldn't surprise me if a few years from now that name is just as common as Metroidvania. But did Dark Souls really do something completely now? Of course not, most games don't. Just like how World of Warcraft combined the concept of the early MMORPGs with that of 3D RPGs.

@Anti-Matter Wow, it must be pretty close, lol. Takes a lot of dedication to play the same game for so long.

@Anti-Matter

https://www.resetera.com/threads/rumor-gamefreak-might-be-doi...

On the recent podcast of Easy Allies, Damiani said that he heard from trusted sources that due to the success of Breath of the Wild and positive reaction to Odyssey that Gamefreak might being doing something “disruptive” like those two.

I'm not sure Damiani is the best source when it comes to scoops

Pokemon games are rarely well-optimized for the platforms they're on: just look at how Sun and Moon performed on the New 3DS, a machine that could also run Xenoblade Chronicles with nary a hitch! So I'm not sure I could see them designing a BotW-esque experience that didn't look terrible and run like pot. At least, not without some outside help.

A girl can dream, though.

@Tsurii What stupidity?

@Ralizah Especially if the rumblings are true about Nintendo pressurizing Game Freak to get the game out by Holiday 2018.

They'll probably change things a little but not to the extent of BotW and Odyssey.
Pokemon games are tricky because each generation adds a lot of improvements and features but then abandons them for the next game.

I'm not even sure how the games look to be honest. The 3DS games actually look pretty good but run at a low resolution. If they added any console level effects like particles and complex materials then the cartoony look of the games will be lost.

I think the Switch will see two generations of Pokemon on the system like the 3DS, and it will have the same growing pains as the 3DS had. X and Y obviously had some problems transitioning to 3D and the new games will probably have the same issues transitioning to HD.
The new Switch games will probably look like an HD Sun and Moon and we'll have to wait for the next generation for it to fully adapt. However that all depends how much time they give the new games, I would expect the games to come out in at least two years but they'll probably be pushed to release next year. But that's all my speculation, how would I know?

@IceClimbers I'm imagining Kimishima kidnapping key GameFreak personnel and forcing them to code 24/7 in decompression chambers.

@Kimyonaakuma Honestly, Sun and Moon would probably look really good in HD, so I'd be perfectly happy with a Switch Pokemon game running in that same engine. I'm just hoping the next game is a bit more freeform. It sometimes felt like you couldn't walk more than five steps in Sun and Moon without triggering a cutscene of some sort.

I'm not sure the help of Genius Sonority would be much use in terms of HD, but they know a thing or two about console games - so if it was a joint venture between the two, maybe we'd get something decently optimised?

Just having Pokémon in clean, HD graphics on handheld or TV, with full analog movement instead of 8 directions (maybe they already addressed that, Idk) would be enough for me.

Of course, I can only hope they up their game even half as much as the Zelda and Mario teams. Even that would make for an incredible game.

@Ralizah Yeah I agree that it would look amazing if it looked like an HD Sun and Moon.
I think if they used the higher res versions of each model, use higher resolution textures and run at 1080p then it would look amazing. 60fps would be nice but I'm happy with a stable 30fps. That would have to be manageable on a system as powerful as the Switch, especially when compared to the 3DS.

I think instead of focusing on "next gen effects" to use the power of the Switch they should increase the scale of they game. Bigger towns, bigger environments and a larger region overall. I don't want a sandbox or open world Pokemon game, but a bigger scale should be good.

Maybe have routes with a decent amount of branching paths, for example you could go through the river, stay up on a hill or use the cycle path. That way there would be more scale but keep the linearity of the routes. It also allows for new battles even if you go through the routes several times. The height of the maps could be improved because no landmass is as flat as they are in Pokémon, and when they are it's masked with a loading screen.

Towns could also be larger, towns and villages should remain the same size but if you're going to call it a city make it large! Each region shouldn't only have one recently sized city each. Add extra streets, make more buildings for the player to enter and add more people. I think Yo Kai Watch has done better towns in recent years because they feel real, maybe GameFreak should take some of what they're doing on board?

EDIT - I'm really sorry to everyone that reads my replies! I just have too many ideas and write too much...

@Kimyonaakuma Agreed. Pokemon, more than perhaps any other game, would massively benefit from expanding the scope of the world and allowing you to explore it fully. Which is why I still think the BotW approach, as unlikely as it is to happen, would be a great direction for the series to go. Everyone I know likes Pokemon primarily for the exploratory, adventurous vibe the series has always had.

If they did that, they could stay on Sun and Moon-level visuals forever and I'd likely be satisfied.

Sun and Moon already made huge strides in this direction on a visual level. The character models and even environments look fantastic in those games. It's just too bad they rip control away from you every five seconds.

Just imagine having several caves, towns, forests and ruins to explore and talking about your discoveries on forums and sharing tips. It would be like playing for the first time all over again.

I wouldn't even care if they still look as Sun and Moon on HD as long as there's many secrets and places to discover, but probably the opposite will happen: We'll receive a gorgeous game in terms of visuals, but with little to no change to the established formula.

If Nintendo are expecting to shift 25 to 30m Switch next year as rumoured then surely Pokémon arriving in 2018 has to be part of the plan. Whatever happens with that though, I'm confident Nintendo have something really massive and unexpected for next year that they're going to announce in the next Direct which is surely coming any week now.That 2018 infograph needs filled out with some games, dates and a stand out title for those Xmas shoppers.

@Ralizah Yeah I'd agree that the adventurous aspect Pokémon is one of the better parts of the series.
I think they need to look what the basic idea of Pokemon is and build something based on those ideas. To me Pokémon is an adventure where you get to explore with the Pokémon that you like. Story elements aren't super important to me, the story usually ends quite soon and most of my time is spent running around the towns afterwards. The newer games seem to be more story focused but in a very linear way. In BW you are literally forced around a circle and XY did a similar thing except that you usually returned to a central city. Sun and Moon have a good region and to me it's the first "3D" region. Of course they used 3D models on the DS and XY/ORAS continued this but it still kept the same perspective and the regions were still locked to an invisible grid.
Alola broke this which I really appreciated, every building didn't face the front of the screen and from the first island we were able to go all the way around the back.
However they didn't let you enjoy the areas because you just completed a trial and left. At least with the Gyms there was some story beforehand which makes it memorable. I can barely remember the names of most of Alola's towns due to this.

But yeah, rant over (hopefully, but this is me so who knows ). In conclusion, the 3DS games really worked on the visuals and nailed the way that series should look in full 3D. But they need to work on the story, which reflects the new regions overall. I think a lot of problems will actually be solved when they move to a more powerful console, but they need to reintroduce the adventure aspect instead of a quick story and tour with a legendary pokemon at the end.

I think next year we're gonna see Kirby and Animal Crossing really pull in the 3DS players and other demographics, I think Smash Bros Complete and Mario Maker 2 will pull in considerable numbers of gamers from other platforms, while Fire Emblem Switch and Pikmin 4 will pull in any remaining core Nintendo console gamers who have yet to upgrade. I also think a competent Fire Emblem can bring in new gamers as well (not necessarily new Switch owners, but existing owners who never played the series). Then Project Octopath Traveller and Dragon Quest Builders (both published by Nintendo) will help pull in more RPG fans, hopefully Vita gamers. And lastly, Pokémon for the grand November finale to pull in everyone else.