Topic: The Nintendo Switch Thread

@Damo Dam really I must have missed it sorry for wasting your time.

@Snatcher Not a problem, appreciate you taking the time to tip us off

For Astral Chain, I'd wager that there was an agreement where Nintendo could have an option to buy out full rights to the IP, and they just exercised it after Astral Chain's relative success. After all, didn't that licensing text on the website change awhile ago?

...and I pray that Microsoft doesn't get their hands on Sega. The only IP they'd be interested in there are probably Yakuza and maaaaybe Persona and Sonic, the rest would be gone for good like all of Rare's IPs.

@link3710
I heard OG XBOX itself was Dreamcast 2 in different name.

@link3710
At least it would get Persona on more platforms, specifically, PC.

That’s a win.

I don’t think they’d shut down all of Sega’s other projects- I think they’d give them a bigger budget, actually. Rare was just a crap studio. The owners were looking to sell, and when they did, they were no longer part of the creation process. And the studio floundered without their direction and guidance and creativity. MS gave Rare a chance, and they borked it.

This whole next gen mindset of snatching up studios or paying for exclusivity just so games can be locked to your system kind of scares me for where things will end up in a few years. Some exclusivity deals make sense like FFXVI on PS5 given Final Fantasy at this point is pretty much as if not more synonymous with Sony as it was with Nintendo back then, but Godfall being a PS5 console exclusive is pretty head scratching. Bethesda was a good fit for Microsoft though

Also about the Persona on PC thing, that's obviously going to happen even if Microsoft doesn't acquire them. P4G was massive surprise success for SEGA and as a result P5S is now coming to PC as well and that probably lead to the massive delay in localization between Japan and when we're getting it in English. According to datamines it also looks like SMTIII HD is also getting a Steam version as well, so Atlus is clearly here to stay on the PC side of things whether Microsoft is part of that future or not

@JaxonH Microsoft has no interest in any IPs that aren't uh... Grungy though. Most of Sega's stuff is too clean for them.

...and it's not like Sega is currently taking advantage of any of their IPs besides SMT, Persona, Sonic, Valkyria, and Yakuza anyways. Shenmue III, Streets of Rage 4, and Bayonetta 2 only happened despite Sega, not because of them, and most of their classic IPs are dead.

@link3710 I'm not sure why Microsoft has that reputation. Sure, perhaps they're that way relative to Nintendo and Sony. But let's not forget that this is the company that owns Rare, Minecraft, and has had Sea of Thieves and Ori as exclusives. They seem to have been increasingly focusing on Japanese games recently (having a slow start on these on the XBO), with PSO2 being a major grab.

That said, it would be a terrible thing for Sega to go to Microsoft. Especially considering many of their current titles are very Japanese...what would that mean for their audience in Japan? Plus we're seeing a lot of these series (Yakuza, Persona, Valkyria Chronicles) expand onto new platforms. It would be a real shame to see them all become exclusives.

Are Sega doing so badly that Microsoft could outright acquire them anyway? I'm not quite sure how these decisions are made usually.

I agree tbh. I largely blame Microsoft and their failed approach to console exclusives last gen. Their lack of in-house talent (or ability to secure compelling exclusives through other means) has led to them aggressively snatching up studios. I also kinda feel like this might be a bit of a knee-jerk to Google and Amazon entering the gaming space, but we'll see how that works out.

Lol that's a bit strong.

@timleon Xbox does have smaller titles that don't hit that aesthetic (all the ones I like, namely Ori, Lucky and Cuphead), but they're all small indie titles. They don't release any full size games that aren't in that exact aesthetic save the one exception that is Sea of Theives. But with how rare titles like Sea of Thieves are, they're basically a once a generation break from it.

Plus, it doesn't help that all their titles like that are on Switch and PC, so I tend to forget they're technically by Microsoft.

Well the only one that's actually wholly owned by Microsoft is Ori. I think they had shared publishing rights rights at one point to Cuphead but it seems they gave them completely to Studio MDHR which is why it's on Switch and PS4 now under their name instead of Xbox Game Studios

Ori is actually owned by Microsoft. It's their IP

I beat hades today And the ending was not really the end or a ending I think its really cool that if you want more of the story you need to keep beating the game I love the heck of this game everything is great, I ended up beating hades with the gun wepone, maybe I just spammed X but still I had it all going for me. Also I'm so glade he found hes mother and it sucks he can't be there for long but It gives me a reasone to keep playing WOOOO I love this game. it also only took me 23 tries.

My coworker is hopelessly addicted to Hades.

I keep badgering him about Monster Hunter Rise and he keeps going on about Hades. It’s all I ever see them playing.

I dabbled, and it’s fun, but MH Rise demo happened... and ya.

I'm just holding out until SMT V releases.

Patiently waiting. For four years now.

@Dezzy I'm struggling to think of another game where the art-style instinctually makes me want to go "nope." I'd put up with it if the gameplay was great, but it's like somebody took Pikmin and turned it into a weird action game.

I'll give it a proper chance at some point, but it doesn't make a good first impression, IMO.

@Snatcher Yup, that's correct. The game originally ended at that point while in beta, everything past that point is exclusive to the full release.

@Ralizah

The art style always looked completely fine to me! For an early Wii U game, I'd say its graphics are fairly good overall.

The main reason I've never considered buying it, is simply the fact that it doesn't really communicate what the game really is, so I've never looked at it and thought 'that looks really fun', because it doesn't really look like anything that I can discern.

Timing was Wonderful 101's biggest problem, system sellers drive hardware which then drives smaller software. Wii U got the system sellers way too late for the Wii U to be successful.

The re-release was bad timing too. May 2020 was packed with Switch games, physical release got delayed to July and on the PS4 side it was in close proximity to 3 of the biggest exclusives of the PS4's lifespan (FFVII Remake, TLoU2, Ghost of Tsushima).

In my opinion, The Wonderful 101's biggest problem is that it's just not very good.

debating about Metroid Prime 4.

The games that'll make 2021 for me will be Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne HD Remaster (god, what a mouthful), Shin Megami Tensei V, Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury, and for now that's it. Maybe Monster Hunter if that piques my interest enough (@JaxonH please brainwash me into your Monster Hunter cult), maybe No More Heroes likewise, maybe Disco Elysium... it seems like a low key year so far.