Topic: The Nintendo Switch Thread

@JaxonH Sure, they didn't make it out unscathed, and this ruling will likely have ripple effects throughout the industry over time. But Epic really didn't get what they wanted out of this lawsuit, regardless of any crowing Sweeney may be doing on social media.

I don't see it being that big of a deal for Apple, tbh. In-app purchases using Apple's own payment processor will remain far more convenient than being re-directed to someone's website for the same thing (anti-steering measures that force people to use the app store processor for IAP is what they're forcing Apple to ditch, I believe). The vast majority of end-users are going to opt to continue paying that way.

@Ralizah
Maybe, but Apple lost a ton of money from Epic putting their own payment solution in Fortnite. Hence the restitution. So clearly independent payments can have a sizable monetary effect.

My thoughts are going toward what this means as a precedent. If closed platforms can be forced to allow in-game payments bypassing the closed ecosystem, that could impact all platforms.

I don't care if Epic got what they wanted. That is of no concern to me. My concern is on the ruling that Apple must allow alternative payment solutions which cut them out of the loop.

Pokemon Go has been getting around that for a long time, you can buy coins on an android device and use them just fine on an iPhone. Here in Mexico, the cheapest bundle of coins is twice the price on iPhone (converted: one dollar on iphone, 50 cents on android), so it's much better to buy them on android.

But why would you do that? Just play it on the Android device in that case .......

Because the iPhone has the sim card

It's also newer and all around better. I literally just keep my old android phone for that reason alone.

However, the point is mostly that: devs are already capable of letting you buy the digital currency somewhere else and use it within Apple's "walled garden" without breaking any rules. Epic just complicated things for the sake of it.

@Ralizah It's still bad for Apple because they make A LOT of money from the App Store, and this can make a dent in their overall profit. Not enough to cripple them anytime soon, but there'll be a noticable impact. It also means potentially more money for independent developers or developers working under another platform like Roblox.

Well, no, people shouldn't have to go to such lengths to get around a dubious system .... Hopefully, this will lead to Google having to do the same with their store & that might well lead to them both reducing their take if it's going to be so much easier for apps to provide other ways to do micro transactions

@BruceCM They might actually be forced to but we'll see.

So happy to see Metroid Dread crushing ever since its announcement. It's currently #22 on Amazon (#4 if speaking strictly games). That's 3 months straight in the top 50, I think? And it doesn't seem like it's slowing down any time soon. It's ahead of Zelda Skyward Sword, NBA 2k 22 and Tales of Arise.

Looks like Metroid is FINALLY going mainstream. Only took 20 years longer than it should have, but hey. Better late than never.

And Warioware the #1 selling game on Amazon and #1 on eShop. I don't think it's ever been a particularly popular series. At least, not enough to pull this high in the charts. Good for Warioware. Series also deserves more attention.

But what's going on with Cruis'n Blast and Ni No Kuni 2? Cruis'n in the #600's, which is surprising. And Ni No Kuni 2 isn't even in the top #1,000 on Amazon. Do ppl think it's not a good game or something? I know common word of mouth is, "it's not as good as the first" and, maybe that's true, but even so, that doesn't mean it's not a great game worth playing still. I liked it every bit as much though. The combat is way better, that's for sure.

I know many wait for reviews, but still. Comparatively speaking, those two are doing way worse.

edit
Oh my gosh. I just had a revelatory experience.

I listened to the Advance Wars video on the eShop through my headphones, and when they fire rockets from the left side, you hear it in your left ear, and as it explodes on the right side of the screen, you hear the deep rumble in your right ear.

That’s actually pretty cool. You don’t see (or at least notice) enough little details like that in games.

@JaxonH Amazon charts seems a bit unbelievable at times like it's hard to believe Sonic 06 being at #35. Only thing I can think of with it being that high is the state of Sonic Colours Ultimate on Switch inspired people to check out Sonic 06 but I doubt the interest would be so high to put it up to #35. Sonic 06 isn't even playable on modern platforms (PS4/PS5 doesn't play PS3 games and the 360 version isn't on XB1/Series X|S backwards compatibility).

@Grumblevolcano
It's a weird anomole. But that doesn't mean they can't be trusted in general.

@JaxonH Cruis'n Blast is $10 cheaper at Best Buy than Amazon (well technically it's a $10 rebate but still). I don't know why anyone would be preordering it on that site. I'd recommend moving your pre-order if you are getting it from there. But anyways, I'd wager that's not helping it's ranking there. I know I moved my pre-order.

@link3710
I forgot all about that. I do have preordered via BestBuy, and now I remember why.

But you're right. It's doing WAY better on BestBuy. It's #10 in Preorders across all systems, and ahead of Deathloop which releases the same day. So ya. Good catch.

@jump
It's amazing how much audio can add to the experience when done right (especially when listening with proper equipment). Can't believe it took me 10 years to realize that.

@JaxonH It always amazes me how much the actual sound of a song changes when you in headphones vs stereo or surround. Even stuff from the PS1 just sounds different.

@Wavey84
3 months ago I would have brushed off such a statement as hyperbolic .”Ha. How could sound make more than a marginal, at best, impact on the experience? I can’t even tell the difference in games with notoriously poor audio quality” would have been my response. After all, even my Arctis gaming headsets added little to the experience. And they were “good” headphones… Or so I thought.

And yet today, I agree wholeheartedly. I just didn’t know. I didn’t know! How could I when I was listening through cheap TV speakers or Switch speakers? But ever since the Sennheiser Ambeo soundbar it’s like… woah. Audio can actually sound this good? It’s beyond my wildest imagination even. Listening through the Sennheiser 800S headphones is equally impressive. Watched the Metroid Dread trailer on Switch eShop and the DMC5 trailer on PS5… my goodness. And those were just stereo! They weren’t even surround! I never dreamed audio could be “an experience”. And it doesn’t take fancy Dolby Atmos or 3D audio to get that experience either (though having those are a nice bonus for sure).

Just playing games on Switch, little ol’ Switch without any fancy audio codecs, sounds incredibly good in 5.1 surround. Zelda Skyward Sword came alive in a way I didn’t expect. Playing it with 800S headphones makes me never want to play games any other way again. It’s insane.

And ya, expensive headphones with massive soundstage should make a difference. But even my Sennheiser 560S, which is about as vanilla as it gets (which can be a good thing for a neutral reference) with very little soundstage at all, still made games sound so much better. And those were less than $200. So you don’t have to break the bank to ensure you get a proper audio experience when gaming.

People just don’t know what they’re missing. Warioware sounds absolutely incredible through the 800S. Layers upon layers of depth.

@Haruki_NLI
It does. Personally, while I love my surround soundbar for movies and shows, I think games sound best in quality wired headphones (not wireless gaming headsets which sound horrible by comparison- $200 Sennheiser 560S wired headphones vs $200 Arctis 9 Wireless is a night and day difference).

I know why Cruis'n Blast is lower.

It's because it's a Cruis'n game on console.

@rallydefault That's a good thing though.

Hey, far it be it from me to gripe about having options. Just supplying my opinion as to why the game isn't very high on preorder metrics lol

Mmmm mmm mmm... so yummy.

Look at that inky black OLED screen.

Compared to the current LCD on my Switch Lite, which is almost as dull Grey as the system itself.

This is gonna look so good in tabletop.