Topic: The Nintendo Switch Thread

@NEStalgia
I disagree about Halo. It's still an awesome franchise with a cool mythos and great gameplay. Single-player campaigns have been hit-and-miss since the original trilogy, true, but there is still a dedicated multiplayer community and pro scene.

@Ralizah Too many responses and not enough time, but I'll just reply to this part for now:
"As you mention, Microsoft has (had) no talent, no ambition, and no real presence this gen, and that's not good for anyone. I want Microsoft to invest in making the Xbox brand competitive and attractive again. I want them to give me a reason to buy a damn Xbox! You seem to be anti-exclusive, but, answer me: are two nearly identical boxes with access to all the same games really better than separate, competitive platforms that craft memorable, compelling experiences in order to bring in more business? I don't think so."

Yes....because I think buying the machine just as a dongle to get the game you want is a backward 90's model. The machines should be competing for differentiating their reasons to be a platform for games, not just differentiating which collection of a dozen games one plays but the other doesn't. MS swayed me heavily away from Sony by offering the better, more compelling interface and digital distribution and maintenance system, and better subscription services that provide more value, and a more seamless experience to play my games. Sony can't even TOUCH how nice the ecosystem on XBox handles. So why do I even own a PS? Because of the freaking exclusives. But that's just it. MS convinced me to buy most of my games on their box instead of Sony's because their offer is a better one for playing my digital library that's easier, more convenient, and more natural. Sony dragged me into it hostage by dictating I buy the hardware as an unlock token to a dozen games I want to play. So ultimately, the pure competition means I bought the better box/environment to play in. Exclusives holds me hostage to a second piece of hardware I otherwise neither want nor need. If Sony didn't flog their exclusives to keep us prisoner they'd have to compete on actually offering more innovated compelling platform features and values.

Switch on the other hand has the lock. It's the hybrid. Neither of the others come within 100 miles of it for raw convenience.....but it's outclassed by their graphics. A third pillar you might say.

@NEStalgia
There’s nothing wrong with in-house, first party studios making exclusives to help push their hardware. I will agree with you for other games though, Holding games that should have been multiplat hostage to strong-arm you into buying their system is a dirty and devious tactic that makes resent the companies doing it. But for first party, of course they’re going to only release on their system.

The exception to this should be PC. Release exclusives on PC so people like myself don’t need to be strong armed into buying $1000 worth of extra consoles just to get a dozen more games I couldn’t play. I can do without them- 95% of the games I buy are not 1st party exclusives. But it would be nice to have them.

@NEStalgia Ultimately, I think a world where multiple platforms exist and the pool of available high-quality games is more expansive is a far better world than one where all platforms are basically the same software-wise, and nobody is incentivized to make amazing games to gain a leg up on the competition.

And, given how business works, a world without exclusives is ultimately a world where one company inevitably ends up more popular and crushes the competition. Literally the only reason we even have Nintendo manufacturing consoles in 2020 is because of exclusive software. They might have the hybrid advantage NOW, but for a long time, all that protected them from the competition was their wealth of exclusive IP.

Of course, as I've mentioned, I'm no more a fan of third-party moneyhatting than anyone else. Although I think helping to fund third-party exclusives is also important, and perfectly fine.

I remember when it was rumored that Rise of the Tomb Raider would be an Xbox One exclusive and this was seen as some consumer unfriendly, horrible thing to happen.

In hindsight those takes were really, really stupid. Even ignoring that it was revealed to only be exclusive for like a year IIRC. "oh no the game trying to be uncharted won't be on the console that will get a new uncharted, what is Square Enix doing to Playstation fans?!" they cried. Thankfully after this, gaming companies never did anything to one-up this EEEEVIL practice. world's most sarcastic thumbs up

I want all three major consoles (and tbh any competition) to have more exclusives tbh. Even if it means things I like can't come to the system I own, so be it. That is my entire opinion. There are too many games that are great that are on everything, so who even cares anymore. "oh no I missed out on 20 games, now I only have 480 I can play on this one system that are good : ("

@Ralizah Wouldn't the outcome you suggest just mean PC dominates instead of a console or are you thinking more about like pre-2016 where Xbox games only came to Xbox and not PC?

@Grumblevolcano Nah. PC is already so clearly superior in terms of its available library that were it ever a threat to the viability of consoles, that would have already manifested. Aside from some Nintendo and Sony games, PC gets EVERYTHING, sometimes years before the consoles, and you can even play some Sony games via PS Now. It's the ultimate platform. But people really just like the convenience and ease of use of consoles.

@Ralizah @Grumblevolcano

I wonder if the Alienware UFO will ever reach retail?

I might be tempted.

@Ralizah
What makes PC actually superior for me is, what you just said, it gets all the multiplats PS and Xbox gets, plus all of Xbox’s exclusives (even BEFORE Xbox does, as with Gears Tactics!), and some PS exclusives, from Horizon Zero Dawn to Death Stranding, Beyond Two Souls and Detroit Become Human, Nioh, etc.

But also gyro for every game.

Also, better graphics and performance than even the 9th gen systems (and that’s before they’ve even released, just think of how far ahead PC is going to be 3 to 5 years into the generation- Assassins Creed Valhalla is 30fps on Series X? Wait for the new round of GPUs to hit and you’ll reach 4k 60 on PC, but even now you can just opt for 1440p 60 which is the sweet spot, even for a TV).

Also, PC is so console-like now with Steam Big Picture. I keep a mini keyboard with a built-in touchpad on the right side next to my recliner, it’s as thin as an iPad and only 10 inches long. Grabbing it and switching it on and pressing a key automatically turns my PC on. Grab a Switch Pro controller off the dock charge stand, Press the button and it auto connects via Bluetooth, and because I always leave steam running in the background the controller right analog works as a mouse cursor, and the shoulder buttons are the right and left click. So I just click on the Steam icon and it maximizes it again, and then big picture mode it literally looks exactly like a console home screen. Hit LIBRARY, pick a game, hit PLAY, and there ya go. When you have a high end computer you also never have to worry about settings. Just crank it up to ultra on everything. 60fps lock on everything. 2160p on (almost) everything. Some games it’s better to stick with 1440p 60fps to maintain the Ultra settings, which is preferable to 4K 60 on low or medium. But those games are only a very small handful (Red Dead 2, AC Odyssey, pretty much it).

It’s the perfect platform. I’m playing trails of cold steel in 4k 60 right now and it’s so good. Playing with a switch pro controller. On the TV. it’s exactly like a console but way better. I was playing halo master chief collection yesterday with a Steam controller for the Gyro aiming, and it’s one of the most brilliant FPS experiences I’ve ever had.

I no longer think complexity is the turn off for PCs. Because you can buy pre-builts for basically the same price you could do it yourself nowadays. I think the turn off for most is cost. And there’s no denying that you will pay significantly more for a PC (my rig is $4k total, it was only $3k but the 10TB SSD added another grand). That’s not something most people are willing to do. Granted, for $1500 you can get a solid build that takes 9th gen consoles to task, and that’s with all the bells and whistles too. Nice 2TB NVMe SSD, Windows 10 Installation, the works. Still, most people don’t want to spend that kind of money, but the way I see it is you’re saving $400 in online fees for that generation. And you’re gaining access to GameCube, Wii, PSP, PS2, PS3 libraries via emulators if you so choose. Persona 5 on PC, runs 60fps. That’s a thing. Paper Mario Thousand Year Door. Xenoblade Chronicles X. You’re getting access to a lot. And you’re getting gyro aiming for every game. Which to me that’s worth the price of admission alone. I don’t care what it costs – it’s not worth playing games with dated control schemes anymore. Can’t do it, wont do it.

And it’s not like back in the day, Where are you had to research certain third-party programs that could connect your controller, or give gyro functionality. All that is history. Now, PS, Xbox and Switch Pro controller work NATIVELY in Steam. They just work, you just connect via Bluetooth, and they just work. Once they’re paired, simply pressing a button connects them to the PC just like with a console. And gyro, no special programs needed, it’s got NATIVE support in Steam. It just works. In any game at any time, press the home button to bring up the controller config. Big rectangle box with a gyro symbol pointing to the middle of the controller. Select it, and change it from NONE to MOUSE. And bam, there ya go. It maps mouse function to gyro. It also has a sensitivity bar in that menu so you can change it to your liking as well. It’s just so easy to do everything on PC now.

So even if PC is $1k more than a new console, You are making half of that up with free online and the other half is worth the price of admission for the Gyro aiming and the entire back catalogue the simulators and just having access to the best versions of 97.5% of the best games out there, be they multiplat, PS or Xbox “exclusives”.

We have a game changer, DKC is coming:

@Grumblevolcano about freaking time. Now where are 2 and 3? Or at least 2, thats what I want to play right now.

It’s. About. Freaking. Time.

They do this every generation. Make you wait 3-4 years to get DKC.

And it’s only the first? Seriously? Guess we’ll have to wait another year to get the next one.

Hey! Why is Japan getting Shin Megami Tensei? I want to play Shin Megami Nintendo! That's not fair at all!

@DarthNocturnal
I believe The Immortal is owned by Piko Interactive now. I remember seeing the Genesis version of this in an Evercade review.

Avgn did a funny immortal review from what I remember. Based on that,I will not be playing it lol. But dkc is legit. Ill squeeze in a run before paper Mario hopefully.

I mostly know the Immortal for being used for one of the earliest Let's Plays.

Yes, that's actually true, look it up.

@MsJubilee What makes it even more annoying is that Atlus has at least localized the iOS port. So they have an English translation of this game they could use.

@Ralizah I really don't understand why Atlus hates Switch and non-Japanese Switch owners in particular. All I ever see are people who want their games on the system and Atlus is always like "eh, maybe we'll give you one that's vaguely related to one of the ones you're asking for - but not the actual one you're asking for"

It's like Atlus has caught EA syndrome - the delusion that if you like Nintendo games then you don't like anything else.

@Heavyarms55 The thing with Atlus is that they're usually late to support newer hardware (recall that Persona 4 released on PS2 as late as 2008; even with Persona 5, the PS4 port was an afterthought, and it was primarily a PS3 project). It's tempting to see Atlus as being absent from Nintendo's hardware for three years when, in actuality, they've been releasing games semi-regularly on 3DS until the middle of last year. This year, we've seen at least two releases from them, we know Persona 5 Scramble is on the way, and SMT V should be in the later stages of development, so it's reasonable to expect annual Atlus releases on Nintendo Switch from this point on (unless their games totally tank or something).

I'm hoping we see some representation from their smaller series at this point, like Devil Survivor 3 or a new Trauma Center.

@Ralizah It's not as easy as you're making it sound. Localizing NES games is often a technical feat, as they often weren't built to support non-Japanese characters. So you end up having to make all sorts of other changes before you can even start implementing the text.