Topic: The Nintendo Switch Thread

@JaxonH That’s fair, and if I could I would absolutely go digital. I used to believe in only physical purchases due to the nostalgia of the days I owned the ZX Spectrum, Amiga etc but I also admit that it makes so much more sense to be entirely digital in today’s climate. Games are forever changing upon release and discs are limited by their capacity.

I usually want physical just because then I can sell them and afford to buy more games. I bought AI: The Somnium Files on sale around Black Friday for $30, beat it, and sold it on Amazon for $40. I don't usually get that lucky, but any money I can get back is good, and that number is always $0 on a digital game.

I know people are probably tired of hearing it, but I have to praise Mario Rabbids once again. The more I play this game the more I am astounded at how fantastic it is, and the more I am perplexed at how I went 3 long years without playing this game more than the first world.

It’s everything I love about Nintendo first party titles, to the point I dare say they’ve done it even better than Nintendo... or at least, just as well.

Even decided to use split joycon as it was intended, to get the full effect of HD rumble (you just don’t feel the full effect if you’re not using split joycon), and suddenly that insane rush of excitement that I felt back in 2017 during the Switch freshman year came over me again.

This is the quintessential Switch experience. And I think this game is going to end up legendary, one of those rare gems like Mario RPG that people still talk about decades from now, hoping Nintendo and Ubisoft team up again one day for a sequel.

And it makes me really excited for XCOM 2, which, alongside Civilization VI, Mario + Rabbids, Fire Emblem Three Houses and Valkyria Chronicles 1 and 4 is going to make for the most epic strategy spreads ever seen on a handheld device. I can’t believe nobody is talking about that game. It’s hailed as one of the best strategy games ever (we’ll see of course- cause right now it’s got some fierce competition).

I get digital only for XB1 and physical only for Switch outside a few special cases. The special cases for physical XB1 are:

• Peripheral based games (double dip physical and digital)
• Special editions (e.g. if I was to get Ori and the Will of the Wisps on XB1, I'd get the collectors edition and get digital in a sale later)

The special cases for digital on Switch are:

• No widely available physical version (I don't bother with Limited Run Games stuff)
• Physical release gets announced long after digital version is released (e.g. Sonic Mania)
• The vast majority of the game is a download (e.g. I question the point in those 2K collections announced in the Direct Mini having physical releases when to play the game you need to have like a 40GB download just because 2K didn't bother putting the game on a larger cart)

@Heavyarms55 That's what I'm afraid for TBH. I really only want the online. If they bump up the price for the addition of N64 games, they better offer some €10 a year option with no games at all.

I know the knee jerk reaction is get angry at 2k, but even if they sacrificed 10% of their profit just to use 32gb carts, they still would require a hefty download and people would still complain.

Sometimes it's just... what it is. When a game is 40-50gb on Switch, there's no possible scenario where you dont end up with a download. Not worth blaming anyone for. That's just what it is. Handheld system running massive AAA games, some with 3 combined in a single pack. Theres just no getting around it.

So I dont blame em. I'm just thrilled the games are coming at all.

My problem is that the 2K Switch ports smack of doing, "just the bare minimum". It feels as though Take Two took the PS4 versions and brought them over with no attempts at compression. Slam, bam, thank you ma'am, pay us. And there's little doubt these 2K ports will sell well, the games are great. But I refuse to be a day-one buyer of this laziness.

@Magician
That’s not it.

You’re looking at three games that are huge. 15-20gb each is not unreasonable.

This idea that AAA titles can somehow be squeezed down to 10 GB just isn’t very realistic. There’s a few exceptions to the rule but by and large these games are 20 GB+ each. Not to mention compression means longer load times, it means gamers complaining about compressed audio, complaining about lower res assets, complaining about lower quality cutscenes... There’s a balance to be had.

It feels much more than bare minimum. If you saw the Vita port, that’s bare minimum. This version is actually going to have Gyro aiming.

If anything these games will likely be the gold standard of what Switch ports should aspire to.

I find it... disturbing... when gamers who, lets be honest,, know nothing about what it takes to bring these games over, accuse devs of being “lazy”, which is a very harsh accusation against a group of hard-working developers who try to do a good job to bring good games over, all because they have an unrealistic expectation of what AAA game file sizes should be.

Resident Evil Revelations 2 was 24gb. That was a high-quality port. DOOM, 24gb. Wolfenstein, 24gb. LA Noire, 27gb. Assassins Creed releasss, 22gb. You combine 3/7 GEN AAA games that are absolutely massive, The file size is going to be large. It’s not indicative of laziness that’s indicative of the reality of file sizes for games. They can’t just wave a magic wand and compress everything into a 15 GB package.

@JaxonH - I didn't expect 2K to deliver all three Borderlands games on one cartridge. I expected them to deliver one game on the cartridge and ask us to download the other two. But no they couldn't give us that much could they? As I said...lazy.

P.S. - And that opinion isn't to besmirch the devs who port these games to Switch. I mean to say that towards Take Two, who's being cheap.

@Magician
And I don’t think that’s an unreasonable expectation. But that doesn’t mean the developers were lazy, it doesn’t mean the file size should have been smaller. That’s a totally separate issue.

As I mentioned before, even if they put one game on cart, you’re still going to have to download the other two, and people are still going to not be happy, so I totally understand why they wouldn’t bother in the first place. No matter which way you slice it, people are going to have to download part of the package. What difference does it make- anything less than 100% all on cart is cause for outrage nowadays it seems, so what difference does it make. Those people are going to be outraged regardless, because there’s no possible way to get 100% on cart. And it’s easy to say “if only they had one game”, if they did, people would be saying “if only they had two games”, and if they had two people would be saying “why not all 3”. It’s never enough. People are going to be upset and that’s that. So why waste money on larger cartridge sizes when those people aren’t going to buy it anyways and will be upset no matter what.

You may not like that decision but I guarantee you 95% of the people complaining about it would still be complaining about it even if one game was on the cartridge. Just like they did with assassin‘s creed, Just like people did with DOOM, even when the game was on cart and only the multiplayer was a download. Just like they did with Banner Saga when TWO games were on the cart.

If it’s not 100% all on cart people will complain, period, so if ya can’t do that, why bother. If it were me, I’d just put a launcher on a 512mb cart and have people download everything. Cause at this point, it’s a physical impossibility to fit everything, so why the pretense.

Compared to other half physical, half digital releases from other publishers? It makes a huge difference to a physical collector such as myself. For example, the RE Triple pack. RE4 is on the cartridge, while RE5 and RE6 are downloads. I can live with that. No doubt other collectors can as well since RE4 is the most well regarded entry in the series.

If the file size for either BL1, BL2, or BL-P is less than 16GB, then why couldn't we get one of those games on the cartridge rather than what they're giving us, which is a partial download for every game in the collection?

It feels like 2K is giving Switch collectors the middle finger from across the ether of the internet.

@Magician
For Borderlands, it’s the first game on cart (with an update file, but they said the first game is playable from cart). You’re thinking of BioShock. That’s the one where all three are playable.

It’s not that I don’t understand your frustration, I just think it’s overblown over some thing that’s ultimately... trivial. At the end of the day it’s just a video game. Who cares? 🤷‍♂️

But I know the answer to your question. Because it would take doubling the cart size and it would still be incomplete by a 2/3 majority. So they basically doubled their expense which comes out of their profit and it’s going to satisfy like 2% of the people who are unhappy and will only be happy if the entire thing is on there. There’s just not any bang for buck with a decision like that!

Now, I’m not saying I like it. If I had a choice I would choose exactly what you want. But I also understand it’s not all about what I want and I can’t have everything exactly how I demand it. There’s not enough people willing to buy a game over a smidge more of it being on cart (but still the majority must be downloaded).

If this is what it takes to get these kinds of high quality games on the system then so be it. It’s compromise. No it’s not how I would have it be if I was Lord Commander supreme of the Nintendo switch and could dictate to the entire industry exactly how every video game is released, but the game is coming to the system and that’s what matters most. Even if it was digital only I would still be thrilled that the game is coming to the system. Would I prefer more of it on cart or better yet all of it? Sure! But if not oh well. I just wanna play some video games

@JaxonH - True, in the end it's all about the games.

I'd be happier if I didn't have to install games from disc on my XBox but I don't hear anyone complaining about that .... ?

@JaxonH Bioshock has Bioshock 1 on the cart with 2, Infinite and all DLC being download. Borderlands has part of Borderlands 1 on the cart with the rest of 1, the whole of 2 and Pre-sequel as download. XCOM 2 has 2 missions on the cart with the rest of the game and all DLC being download.

@BruceCM Because it's different from having to downloading most of the game?

Not really, @Octane.... Perhaps they should just have not done these physical releases? 😎 People still get discs when they have to install the games anyway, I don't know why 😏

@BruceCM Because installing a game isn't the same as downloading a game.

One requires an internet connection (downloading), the other one doesn't (installing). They're two completely different things. Additionally, a download is dependent on an active online store/server. Once the current gen servers shut down in 10 years from now, you won't be able to download previously bought games anymore (like the Wii, you can't download games anymore). You can still install a game if you have the disc, you don't need an internet connection or the online store for that.

A question sort of on topic: as I mentioned earlier, I prefer buying physical partly for saving card space but mostly for reselling to afford more games. Is there any resale value to collections like Spyro and what Bioshock will be with one game on the cart and two off? Will whoever buys it be able to play the whole collection, or are the last 2 stuck with me because they are download codes that can only be used once, thus making the "collection" basically only the first game for anyone else?

@Octane You'd still be missing out on the extensive patches and day one updates that make so many modern AAA games generally playable, so, at best, you'd be stuck with buggy and/or partially incomplete versions of most of your big games.

Anyway, the Wii is a bad example. That was Nintendo's first attempt at a major digital storefront. The Nintendo Eshop is the more modern storefront they've settled on, and it extends across a variety of systems. They're not going to just randomly drop support for older systems integrated into it. Not for a long time, at least.