Topic: The Nintendo Switch Thread

@Anti-Matter Looks like it! I guess we'll see tomorrow! Sorry if I spoiled a big surprise for you.

Gotta say very impressed with Ubisoft's this yet. with Starlink + Star Fox, Trials, Mario + Rabbits, The Free For Honor and Assassin's Creed

@AlternateButtons Agreed. Liam Robertson is a butt and he's never right about anything unless like literally everyone else is saying it too.

Shining Resonance Refrain demo live on the EU eShop. Just downloaded from my EU account.

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Already love it. This is more like the great RPG's of last gen (well, I guess that's because it is). This and Tales of Vesperia is a double whammy. Along with the new Valkyria Chronicles is hat trix.

Play this game people. It's a free demo, got nothing to lose.

I didn't catch the Ubisoft show but looking at what we've got from them, I'm not sure I would call it impressive. Adding Starfox into a toys to life game announced a year ago, showing some already announced DLC for a game that came out a year ago and the only new game announced being a new Trials game isn't exactly what I'd call an impressive showing on the Nintendo front. Seems to me like Ubisoft are also cutting back.

The Sony show was just weird. Weird pacing, they were shuttling people from one tent to another, they didn't really end on anything important, and overall it kind of flopped imo. Nintendo won't have to try hard tomorrow. C+, 79/100.

@OorWullie
Ubisoft didn't have a particularly strong showing. They needed Splinter Cell.

Still, at least as far as Switch goes, we are getting some amazing new Kingdom Battle content, and... Starlink does look like a really cool game. If it didn't have the accessories, it would be up there as one of my most hyped games. Just the insane universe and worlds and dinosaurs and gorgeous environments and open world space exploration and fighting and adventure... The game just looks really good.

Thankfully, the entire game and all of the content tied to the accessories can be bought digitally. That right there is what sold me on the game. Because I just don't think I was prepared to buy a bunch of accessories to enjoy it, regardless of how good it looked.

And Trials Rising, well... I love Trials. I am a firm believer that certain types of games are well-suited to this platform and this particular audience and I think Trials is one of those games that's just common sense. A game like For Honor? Nah. Not too many would care about a game like that on Switch. Not to say multiplayer focused games can't do well but they really have to be iconic to grab the attention of this audience (DOOM, Fortnite, etc). And having offline single player certainly helps, like with DOOM and Wolf2.

So Idk, they've got a couple solid games and DLC on the way, and I'm sure we'll see spontaneous support from them here and there whenever it seems to fit.

More and more, I'm beginning to realize that these publishers understand the audience on the Switch far better than I give them credit for. Typically I think of myself knowing best, constantly questioning why they can't see things how I see them, but I'm realizing that they really do know the audience. I look at the top 30 sellers on the eshop and it's a real eye-opener. And something I'm starting to accept is, you can't force a certain audience to have a certain taste or preference. Just have to learn to embrace it and roll with it.

@JaxonH Oh, so I don't need the plastic toys to play Starlink? I had ignored it until now because of that. I hate toys-to-life.

Still this'll be expensive DLC on top of a fully-priced game.

Ugh.

@JaxonH Starlink does look good but I can see a few potential hurdles in its way.
I'm curious to see how they will price the additional content if bought digitally. Say a toy pack costs $20,can they get away with charging $10 for the digital equivelant? Can the physical game be bought on its own and does it still require a huge download? Will the base game without toys have enough content to justify a full retail price without the gimmick of toys adding to its perceived value?

Trials does look good and is definitley a game I'll be getting and spending a lot of time with. I agree with what you say about knowing your audience but I just hoped we'd start to see some Switch exclusives from the big developers, Ubisoft certainly. As it is right now, the only big 3rd party exclusive on the console is Mario v Rabbids Unsurprisingly that turned out to be a big success, why not follow that up with something similar? A Rayman and Nintendo crossover would be a huge success. Just seems to me like they're doing the bare minimum and not really much more than what EA are doing for Switch.

@Ralizah
Right. The entire game and all of the content the accessories unlock can be bought digitally.

@Ralizah @OorWullie
Considering the accessories pretty much just unlock weapons or pilots or ships, I think the actual game itself will all be there regardless of the accessories. Now, I did read that the Star Fox exclusive Switch pack with game came with one exclusive Star Fox mission... but even then it was just for that version and it was just one mission.

So it seems to me like the core of the actual game, the story and the open world, the missions and all of that are completely separate from the accessory content. I think they're trying to sell customization here, not so much mission content. They're banking on people wanting to customize their ships with certain weapons and things of that nature.

Now, I could be wrong, but I'm just forming these conclusions based on what they've told us thus far and what we know right now.

And as such, I have no reason to doubt the content of this game will be up to scratch. They said it's an open world too, and from what we saw in the trailer it seems to have at least a little bit of story and characters as well.

But I figure even in the worst case scenario- even if there are a few missions and what have you that are locked behind certain accessories, it can't be all that much content. And if there is a particular piece of content you really want, you do have that option of buying it digitally.

I think the game is just $60. And it's $15 for the packs or whatever, but they're selling them bundled together as one. So I think it's pretty much like a regular game, it just also has some accessories that they're trying to bank off of for customization, with perhaps the occasional exclusive mission or something for marketing purposes like with Star Fox.

I... really do think the game looks good though. More than good. I think it looks downright excellent.

@JaxonH I hope you're right. I want to like this. Hopefully we see some gameplay of it during E3.

@OorWullie
Keep in mind, Mario Rabbids hasn't even released all its DLC yet. I'm sure they are working on something else but we're not going to see it this soon. Will probably see it announced next e3 or the one after. And SE has Octopath Traveller and The World Ends With You, Tecmo Koei has Hyrule Warriors and Fire Emblem Warriors, Atlus has Shin Megami Tensei V, Platinum has Bayonetta 3, there's No More Heroes TSA, Capcom with Ultra Street Fighter II and Monster Hunter Gen Ultimate...

So we are seeing a few 3rd party exclusives. Give it time. We just tipped past the one year mark, and that coming off the back of the biggest faith-squandering console distaster in Nintendo's history. So given the waiting period most of these developers wanted to observe, I think we're on a good pace right now. More to come over the next 4-5 years to be sure.

I put Starlink on definite "watch-list" right now. I'm glad that the toys aren't forced on us since that's very pricy :/

Actually liking the looks of it though, fun world to be around, and story might be overall decent too?

Will wait for review but otherwise seems I'm going to have that game too in my list lol.

Starlink Impressions Excerpt from Gamespot

Starlink's starter pack costs $75 and comes with the game, a controller mount, a hero character named Mason Rana, and his starship. The ship can hold two weapons at a time, but it comes with three: a flamethrower, a frost barrage, and a gatling gun called "Shredder."

Naturally, you can buy more Starlink toys, each of which grants you additional in-game gear and abilities. Starship packs come with a ship, weapon, and pilot for $25. Weapon packs are $10, while pilot packs cost $8. Each of the weapons I used felt distinct in the game and were useful against different kinds of enemies. The ships also have their own sets of stats that affect how they control. For instance, a tank-like ship can absorb lots of damage, but takes longer to slow down and make turns. As you play, you'll also acquire mods you can use to tweak your ship's loadout.

Which pilot you use matters as well. Each one has a special ability that gives you an advantage during combat. Mason Rana can summon an attack beam from your mothership, which flies overhead during your missions. Shade is a sneaky character whose ship can turn invisible for a limited time. My favorite was Razor, whose ability initiates a Guitar Hero-like mini-game that sends shockwaves out from your ship when you time your button taps right.

While the typical age group for a game with an accompanying line of toys is about 8-12, the development team at Ubisoft Toronto hopes Starlink will appeal to adults as well. And if toys aren't your thing, you don't actually need them to play--you can buy and play the full game digitally, swapping between ships and parts from the menu. It’s unclear at the moment how much the digital ships will cost.

Based on the 45 minutes I got to play, the game itself seems enjoyable enough to keep adults entertained. The technical achievement is certainly impressive. Just like in No Man's Sky, you have total freedom to explore the region of space that contains the seven-planet solar system. Ubisoft promises each planet is fully distinct, with its own hand-crafted flora, fauna, and geographical features. You can fly to a planet, land on it, go exploring, and then take off again to sail through space and visit the next planet over. The whole thing is seamless, with no loading screens interrupting the flow. Just watch out for space pirates.

I only got to play on the planet Sonatus, but it offered plenty to do. As I explored, I found puzzles to solve, resources to mine, animals to scan and identify, and Forgotten Legion forces to fight. The planets are also dotted with faction outposts, where you can run missions and build alliances that grant you useful upgrades and abilities. As I explored, I found an observatory belonging to the Expedition faction, made up of scientists studying the planet. Allying with them granted me access to their data, which cleared a large area of my map, giving me a better idea of my surroundings without having to explore every inch.

Is the market hungry for another toys to life game? I'm not sure that it is. But I enjoyed the time I spent playing Starlink: Battle for Atlas. It controls great, the combat is engaging, and the urge to continue exploring alien planets in its expansive universe never went away. And it's great to have the option to not purchase the physical toys. Starlink is shaping up to be an impressive game that's well worth looking out for--whether you’re into toys-to-life games or not.

@Knuckles-Fajita Back to Pachter, does he steal his “predictions” from an IGN comment section? “10 million with a price cut” sounds ridiculous in a year with Pokémon (which kids will love), Fornite, and Smash.

@Mrtoad It would be certaintly interesting if someone did a meta-analysis of his "predictions" against the true outcomes. I think the guy's only relevant because he says outrageous things a lot of the time.

@Buizel Oh this guy is still around? Didn't he predict the Switch would sell something like 10 million last year and that is wouldn't be a success?

New Atelier for Switch.
https://nintendoeverything.com/new-atelier-game-nelke-and-the...

while I agree with most of what you said, but fortnite won't help sell consoles. It is a nice to have title, but it is on every other platform already, including mobile.

@Therad
I disagree. It may be on every other platform, but that's exactly why it will sell consoles. Because people who may have bought another console to play the game, might now instead grab a Switch, which generates new sales they wouldn't otherwise have had. That and people who already have access to the game who might want a quality version they can play while laying in bed, or whatever.

Bottom line being, popular games always help sell consoles. Even if you don't see it, that force is definitely at play.