Topic: The Nintendo Switch Thread

@ThanosReXXX @Grumblevolcano you hear a lot of people saying Banjo could appear in Smash and while i think Nintendo and Sakurai would be open to the idea i think Microsoft would be wanting to push for one of there more relevant franchises and i cant see Master Chief or Minecraft Steve making it in to Smash despite its relative popularity in Japan. Ultimately i think they just wouldn't be able to reach an agreement as Microsoft benefits very little by having Banjo in Smash, unless of course, there preparing to go all in on Banjo anytime soon which i doubt.. Maybe there would be the possibility of Microsoft assist trophies but without a Microsoft fighter in there i doubt it.

Looking at other possibilities i think a Rare Replay Nintendo edition would be a big win for Switch owners but again where is the benefit for Microsoft?? They would no doubt have some great sales figures but there doesn't seem to be a franchise on there that Microsoft are looking to really push to people who do not already own an Xbox. I think Nintendo and Microsoft are going to go two completely different directions in the next few years (Microsoft putting its games/brand out to more than its own platform vs Nintendo's continuing to sell use its IP as a selling point for its hardware) so while Microsoft might be more open to putting its games on other hardware i cant see Nintendo ever be willing to consider putting even its B tier IP out on other consoles and so i think Microsoft has very little they could get in return in and certainly not the kind of favours in return they would like.

The other issue though is with the next gen approaching (man these last few years have gone quick!!) who knows how each companies fortunes will be in two years and how that will affect relations at a corporate level. Like others have said, being in third place tends to encourage more consumer friendly practises, and if Microsoft were to take off massively next gen will they be so open to working with there competition.

Does the James Bond brand really have that big a pull these days?? I think MGM could quite easily have an inflated view of James Bonds relevance in the modern day and developers not seeing the justification for the cost of licensing when they can create a new IP and have more creative freedom and no licensing costs. The James Bond brand almost seems like it would be more of a liability than a benefit for anything more than cameos in Forza etc.

@bluemage1989 You're looking at this from the wrong perspective.
(edit: corrected a mistake) Now, from the looks of it, Microsoft doesn't have anything tangible to gain from allowing, and actively supporting cross play. But contrary to popular belief (apparently), that has absolutely nothing to do with them being in last place, and more or less feeling obligated to "play nice". What has happened here is the internal restructuring that has been done at Microsoft's Xbox department after that idiot Mattrick left, and the positive changes that Phil Spencer has made.

He has much more feeling for where the industry needs to go than any of his predecessors, and although mistakes were initially made, he's more than made up for them, over the last couple of years. But even before that, there was already a connection between Microsoft and Nintendo. They allowed Rare characters to appear on the Nintendo DS, they released Microsoft games on it, and so on, so it's actually nothing new. So, as I said, that connection/cooperation, or whatever you want to call it, is already in place.

And now them being so forthcoming with cross-play, I don't think that they're going to all of a sudden restrict that, once they're in first place.

And cross-play is a BIG thing, that cannot be underestimated. How much being last place doesn't matter in this regard, is already illustrated by Sony doing a full 180 on their stance concerning that initiative. Of course, some people will say that they can do what they want because they're in first place, or something else, to make it fit the narrative, but if you can't use that from Microsoft's perspective being last, then you also can't use it the other way around.

And it also has to do with something which in marketing is called "the goodwill factor". Right now, Microsoft is creating it in spades, and once you have that, the object is to maintain it, not to throw it out of the window once you're in first place again...

So, them allowing cross-play AND potentially allowing Nintendo to use Rare characters again, is going to affect the way people think about them, and that's marketing 101. Never underestimate the power of such machinations. That's worth more than gold, and in the end, it will most definitely make quite a few people consider, or reconsider what their next console of choice should be, or their second console of choice...

@bluemage1989 I really enjoyed the Quantam of Solace and Blood Stone games

@bluemage1989 Microsoft has a lot to do to change the perception of Xbox, especially on the 1st party front. Something like Banjo in Smash alongside some Xbox game announcements of dormant franchises returning would help Xbox look like more than just the Halo + Gears + Forza machine. As a result from the goodwill of Nintendo able to use Rare stuff and the Xbox library becoming more varied more people may pick up the new Xbox.

@Grumblevolcano I dunno, I never saw it as a box with just those titles. It’s got a lot of fun third party games hitting this year or next, too. But I enjoyed things like Alan Wake, Battleblock Theater, Stacking, Psychonauts, Unravel. Lots more than just Halo/Gears/Forza. In fact the biggest reason I picked up an X1 was Andromeda and Fallout 4

@JackEatsSparrows I'm not talking the entire Xbox brand's lifespan, rather the time period when Microsoft was closing lots of studios and putting lots of IPs on hiatus.

@JackEatsSparrows i quite liked Blood Stone when i played it as well but i just feel that James Bond as a brand isnt relevant anymore. It strikes me as something a younger generation see as being something there fathes like. Its probably not the best comparison to make but the Kingsman movies show you can pay homage to the classic spy movie/James Bond style while staying relevant to a new generation. I know a well made James Bond game could still sell well but if you already have all these great ideas for an action packed spy thriller of a game why limit yourself by using the James Bond brand when you could just create something new and still pay homage to what came before.

@Grumblevolcano Ah, I gotchya.
@bluemage1989 True, it’s kinda like Harry Potter made way for Fantastic Beasts I guess

So........................................................................................

Last night, I accidentally deleted my VC1 save file. I was at Chapter 13.

Now it's back to square one. Today I got in some time to continue my progress. Three hours in on that new file and I'm back at Chapter 7. Now that I know what to do though, the missions are flying by like nothing else. I'm getting consistent A/B ranks like nothing else.

@JackEatsSparrows Dont get me wrong there can be times that taking a well known brand and subverting expectations can really work and give a brand a new lease of life but i just think that developers can do so much more when there not restricted by what had already been done before. Look at the origins of Devil May Cry starting life as a Resident Evil game or how Splatoon was at one point a Mario game and you see examples of good games becoming great games because they were able to leave the baggage of the brand behind and create something new.

@ReaderRagfihs When I was getting myself comfortable, I pressed X (which is delete, and it has the same overall box as selecting the actual thing) and not A. So... yeah.

@ThanosReXXX completely agree with what you say about cross play. Cross play is a vital step towards the future of gaming, i mean could you imagine (not the best example) if Apple had restricted calls to Android devices simply because there the competition that would be ridiculous, and its a shame it has taken so long for the big three to really begin to embrace cross play. I dont think any of the big three would be foolish enough to step back on cross play in the future.

It could be that i am still just a bit cynical with regards to Microsofts motivations but i would genuinely like to see more cooperation between the two companies (especially as what i have read about Phil Spencer this evening seems very positive) as i feel they do have a lot to offer each other but i do think that, at least for a while, it will be hard going. Neither company wants to give away to much and both are still looking to gain from any corporate friendship but fingers crossed it works out well.

I do agree with what you mean about good will, and i believe you work in marketing/sales so you will know more about this than me, but i do feel that good will can so easily be lost as quickly as it is gained and that the gaming community can be very fickle and i do wonder if Microsoft will want something more substantial than good will for there efforts but like i said maybe im just becoming a bit of a cynical old man

@EvilLucario
Cloud saves...

#WorthIt

@JaxonH I have no idea why, but my cloud saves didn't actually work. I had NO BACK-UPS at all. I don't know if I just had to go into the options first, but when I checked I had absolutely no cloud save at all. I was pissed off, but on the bright side I just finished Chapter 7 and I'll be blitzing my way to Chapter 13 where I left off real easily. So I'm not too angry anymore.

@JaxonH cloud saves don't help you if the games delete them from the server as well. Which might very well happen if you use the delete action.

Regarding Bond, I am quite sure it is Ian Flemming's relatives that own the character. If they are not interested in games, it won't happen.

Everything that is only in the movies are owned by MGM though. Which might explain some cameos in other games.

@bluemage1989

As one of those long term Nintendo U.K. fans, the problem was Nintendo themselves. Farming out their distribution and marketing from 1987 to 2001 and only really getting to together for the Wii/DS era let their competitors get such a strong foothold it’s very hard to break that grip.

Things seem a lot better with the Switch though. My local GAME has a big section very prominent and the supermarkets are carrying Nintendo again.

@IceClimbers If it turns out to be true that Nintendo hit at least 10 million in hardware sales for the October to December quarter than that is incredibly impressive. Where would that put Nintendo for the year so far? Must be about 15 million?