Topic: The Nintendo Switch Thread

It begins...

https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2018/01/29/microsoft-acquire...

@NEStalgia Actually, there's a third title I just remembered with cross play Chess Ultra. And unlike the other two, there's little reason for Microsoft to budge on that one. Which is another sign that it's mostly up to the developers at this point. Also Mantis Burn Racing, Pinball FX3, the upcoming Crazy Justice and Gunscape (FPSes amazingly enough). So it's definitely more than those two games. I'm not saying the market will change overnight, but as more and more devlopers embrace crossplay between XBox and Switch, there possibility of change is there. EA, 2K and co are huge beasts, slow to embrace change. But if they become the only ones not handling cross play, there's a chance they will in the future.

@JaxonH MS is all for it because it's easy to be all for it right now, safe with the knowledge that not too many games will be shared between the systems to begin with. It's a good position for them to take without much real risk involved. I can see some indie games shared that may benefit, maybe even something like Payday 2 (which AFAIK isn't getting it considering the timed exclusive Joy) but I just don't see the AAA games getting shared between platforms too often, which leaves "if it's not XBox X PS4, it's not really a platform feature."

@link3710 There's also the scale issue. Rocket League and Minecraft aside, games like Mantis Burn and Gunscape are small, with small audiences, small buy-in, and they need to scrap together a community across all their platfroms to make their online environment work. EA, 2K, etc know they don't need that. They can leverage their scale to ensure a sizable player base on any closed platform. It doesn't always work, look at Ubi with The Crew, and For Honor..... it surprises me that Ubi hasn't gone cross play for that reason.

@YummyHappyPills....that's a very Microsoft buy. That makes sense and is more in line with what they aim for. DirectCloud begins. OTOH more "cloud gaming." Blech. Though isn't this how they keynoted the X1 launch and we've still yet to see much of anything they described? They're going to have to buy Comcast and Cox if they want their cloud vision to actually happen....

The most important line: "offering both large and small studios cost-effective development solutions that scale with their games and help them engage, retain and monetize players. "

There we go. From the 80's arcades of "insert quarter to continue" to value added home consoles, back to putting the arcade and the quarter slot in your living room. "Progress", ladies and gentlemen.

@NEStalgia I completely agree. And I think you make a good point, if any of the big publishers goes cross play first, Ubisoft would probably benefit the most. But that just proves my point, the big publishers have no reason to add cross play unless the public perception of it becomes that it's a requirement for online titles. And that sort of thing can't happen unless the rest of the market starts to shift, including at least a few of the major players. Whether Microsoft and Ubisoft embracing it would be enough to put pressure on EA/2k/ the like is another question entirely however. Because if they did implement it, suddenly Sony is the one who's being labeled as the worst machine for those people who mostly are online gamers. It's... a huge complicated mess. I guess we'll just see what happens.

Who is PlayFab?

For a minute I thought it was gonna be a Labo copy. lol

@link3710 I thought Sony was already labeled the worst machine for people who are mostly online gamers?

Looks like this is the last week a main Direct could happen before the Direct Mini -> Direct theory is no longer accurate.

Bendy is coming to the switch here is the web address

@andrew20 I thought we went past Switch systems bending. Shame.

Well find your local Nintendo customer service portal and get a repair booked in.

@YummyHappyPills I meant the game in 2018 also to xbox one and ps4

Project Octopath Traveller demo has been downloaded over one million times. They are overwhelmed with the response to the game, and have made a video addressing the concerns noted in the survey, and showcase the improvements they are making to the game as a result.

It's a great video. They are really fixing this game up.

Don't count on it happening, either way. The data from which that was assumed included all kinds of Nintendo Directs. I remember there being only one occasion of a general Direct Mini like we saw earlier this month going to a general Direct.

I think we got a general Direct Mini because that's all Nintendo has to show for now. I'd love to be wrong, but... Always set expectations low.

@YummyHappyPills @Octane That's not EA, Valve or PUBG!! Wonder how those names came about as the rumoured purchases when a totally different kind of company was in instead acquired? Unless there's another planned buyout and this is part of that bigger picture.

So I got LA Noir for Christmas and needed more room for data.
I went out and bought an SD card recommended by Nintendo.
Inserted it into my Switch and went to format it.
It didn't recognize that an sd card was inserted.
So I power down my console re insert the sd card turn it on, check for updates, nope, my Switch is up to date.
Go to format it again, still no sd card inserted according to my console.
So I try 3 different sd cards, all recommended by Nintendo themselves, still nothing.
I ring up Nintendo (Australia, as they do the repairs themselves here) and they tell me to send it in and they will replace the faulty SD card reader.
Awesome I thought.
Bit of a bummer that I will be without my Switch for a couple of weeks but no biggie I thought, I'll send in my faulty left Joy Con too.
So 2 weeks go past, I get a call from Nintendo Australia telling me they've fixed my joycon, my sd reader and found a couple of hairline cracks on the casing and replaced that too.
Brilliant I say.
Thankyou.
I get it back,check that my SD card is inserted as I had to send that in as well so they could test it, power it up and go to data management.
No SD card inserted it reads.
Wait.
What!.
I check the paperwork which states they replaced my game card reader NOT the SD card reader!.
My Joy Con works, I have a nice new casing but I still have a faulty SD card reader.
I ring Nintendo who try and put the blame on me asking if I had dropped it after I had picked it up.
I said no, I literally picked it up today, tested it and rang you guys back to let you know you still haven't fixed it.
It is now Australia Day long weekend so I thought stuff it, no use sending it in as it won't get posted until Monday anyway.
So I use it over the weekend when it crashes twice within an hour!
It has never crashed once in the 300+ hours of Zelda, 60 hours of Rabbids or 30 hours of Doom not including the hours on Indie titles,and now, after I get it back (still faulty) it now crashes too.
I sent my Switch off to Nintendo today and will be without it for at least another 3 weeks.
This is a brand new product I spent over $600 on (including extras) and yet I'm meant to just cop it on the chin.

I have been an avid Nintendo collector, I own all their consoles, the N64 I have over 190 CIB games for, over 60 Wii U games and heaps of other Nintendo related items and never have I had a problem once.
Not one.
This is the first time I've had to deal with Nintendo and I have to say I am really disheartened and disappointed with how they have handled this.
I won't be buying many games for my Switch as I've owned it since day one yet I have sent it back twice.
It will be interesting to see how they handle it again.

@Harmonie I dunno, I feel that they'd only use the word 'Mini' for a Direct if they have something more substantial to come - like saying 'here's a little something to whet your appetite' ..they could've just padded it out a bit and called if a 'full' Direct - but the use of the word 'Mini' suggests (to me) that the last one was just a small taster before the 'main meal' ..whether or not that 'main meal' comes this week or not is another matter, but I feel that the suggestion is that there is more to come

@NaviAndMii Part of me is wondering if the mini Direct was done to keep people happy while Nintendo and third parties work out the best way to schedule the other first half of 2018 games.

It looks like Sumo Digital is finally making another Sonic kart racing game. I don't know why it took Sega so long to get this into development. I mean, I assume it's going to be Sonic - stands to reason it is. I hope it comes to the Switch if it does exist, that would be pretty awesome.

http://uk.ign.com/articles/2018/01/30/sonic-sega-all-stars-ra...

@FragRed Yeah, I kind of feel the same - I really feel that Nintendo need to clear up the status of the Online Service (going forward) as a major priority...we're 10 months in now and there's still only one game supported by the Switch Online App (and no third-party games at all) - if we're ever going to get games like the long rumoured GTAV port for example (where voice chat/communication is key to the online experience) they really need to lay some solid plans down so companies can start integrating it in to their games. I've just felt for some time that the lack of clarity surrounding the online infrastructure is holding the whole system back (at least in terms of what types of game are currently viable on the platform)

@NaviAndMii Pretty sure GTAV is a single player game.

Voice chat isnt core to the experience. It is to the side GTA Online modes though.