Topic: The Nintendo Switch Thread

@Magician Thanks and sorry, i wanted to type MH rise Sunbreak, edited my original post now

I was reminded today that the Switch will be getting a port of Circus Electrique.

But I'm not sure how interested I am in a Darkest Dungeon clone?

Especially considering that I haven't gotten around to Vambrace or Mistover yet.

@Solaine
The Sunbreak expansion for Rise is a console exclusive. The original game was only on Switch for about a year. Now that Rise is on both Switch + PC though, the expansion will release day and date, but it still won't be available on any other consoles.

@JaxonH Ohh, alright. I didn't get the console part, thanks for clearing it up

@Magician, I would skip Vambrace & Mistover. Those games weren't very good. Both tried desperately to be like the Darkest Dungeon but failed miserably.

The only game that came close was Warsaw. Even that had its problems.

I think the video games market has become so vast that an element of segregation in the media and marketing channels for it is inevitable. This has been the case for a very long time.

In some cases it's easy to be cynical - Sony and Microsoft (and the big third party publishers) often prop up the gaming media through advertising/promotion - whether it's money that changes hands or not. Nintendo has a fairly vast sub-culture of independent but essentially captive media in its orbit (not to mention a stronger tradition of direct communication with consumers going back to the 80's) and because of this maybe doesn't feel the need to feed the "machine" in the same way. Some of the attention deficit is a reflection of this.

That said though it works both ways - often the more mainstream media (e.g. newspapers and television that aren't specifically gaming) reflect Nintendo on more of an equal footing and have a much broader reach. We also see that console gaming more generally is given a much more preferential place in the media than mobile gaming that is basically spoken of with disdain on nearly all gaming sites (despite mobile gaming being much bigger overall in turns of turnover and often in terms of innovation).

@StuTwo
I think the reason mobile gaming isn't treated as an equal by media or dedicated gamers is two fold: one, because it's a result of making the most of what you've got already on devices that were never explicitely designed around the enjoyment of video games, and two, that segment of gaming is dominated by ruthless microtransactions, ads and play timers, which, if you're into gaming as a hobby, is not something you typically want to be exposed to across the board.

Mobile gaming has evolved to extract as much money from the pockets of consumers for as little content as possible, whereas dedicated gaming devices and PC provide a more optimal gaming experience, and while aspects of the mobile market have crept in, they're not the dominant experience on consoles.

In past generations, there was a very clear divide between the types of experiences available on Nintendo platforms (that actually sold well, indicating market demand) and games on other consoles. So it made sense to segregate discussions to an extent. But Switch has changed that. There's a massive overlap now between the types of experiences and the appeal of games across Switch and PS/Xbox/PC.

The issue I see, and what Ralizah was referring to, was that games which would receive a spotlight focus from the majority of media and influencers when on other consoles, seem to be ignored when on Switch. I think this contributes to segregation among gamers, as it encourages the ostrich approach. When MH World was releasing, NintendoLife ran no less than 4 separate articles on it. So the Nintendo community and media doesn't ignore games that interest them when on other consoles. But you'd be hard pressed to find dedicated PS/MS sites running 4 articles on MH Rise and Sunbreak. Even many of the (supposedly) platform agnostic influencers who covered World with great enthusiasm ignored it.

And that is unfortunate.

@JaxonH I agree - it is unfortunate. MH Rise and Sunbreak are sequels to a breakout hit and - although they've been successful - they've not captured the same sort of attention as they should have. Perhaps this is franchise fatigue though or simply a recognition that Capcom hasn't been able to promote the game as well as they did MH:W for various reasons (the expansion for MH:W didn't capture anything like the same amount of attention).

Although it was obviously always an impressive looking game the original media attention for MH:W may also have been fed in some part by the idea in some places that it was somehow a nail in the Nintendo coffin. This was Sony coming in to steal one of Nintendo's crown jewels away from them - it gave the game a narrative outside of the product itself.

In terms of mobile gaming - I'm a big critic. Apple and Google had the fruit on the vine and they let it wither away for greed. Gaming captures a big part of the usage time for modern smartphones and is clearly a big factor driving consumers to upgrade... but the games that users are loading up are typically microtransaction garbage. Great and innovative stuff exists on mobile but it's never given the impression of being particularly valued by anyone.

I do live in fear that GamePass and other subscription services might gradually erode console gaming into the same type of space. Once the games themselves are given away "for free" the publishers and developers often latch on to DLC/microtransactions to make money.

@StuTwo
the original media attention for MH:W may also have been fed in some part by the idea in some places that it was somehow a nail in the Nintendo coffin. This was Sony coming in to steal one of Nintendo's crown jewels away from them - it gave the game a narrative outside of the product itself

I think that could be part of it, and would explain the lack of coverage for Rise and Sunbreak as it firmly rejects that narrative and spins it right back around- noooo, Monster Hunter is not "leaving Nintendo" and will continue to see exclusive entries built ground up until the day comes a single multiplatform release can capably run across all platforms. And the ones that were proudly boasting World as ushering in this "new era" where every last gem on Nintendo was stolen for themselves... they are now eating crow. Hard to be excited for a game that spits your narrative back in your face, I suppose.

That said, Capcom hasn't put as much effort into marketing or with crossovers, which have all been Capcom characters this time. Perhaps the lack of Nintendo characters is specifically to not alienate the traditional non-Nintendo gamer its trying to attract, but the lack of 3rd party crossovers is inexplicable, and seems to be a budget constraint.

You're right about Iceborne, and I said as much back then. World was lightning in a bottle and failed to replicate that success with Iceborne. It did well for an expansion but does show the majority of players were not retained. I somewhat expect a similar outcome with Sunbreak. A lot of ppl buy the base game but never get around to truly playing it, understanding it and getting hooked. Those ppl are unlikely to buy the expansion since it requires completing the base game first.

I am surprised at the relatively low success of Rise on PC though. I was expecting it to do a lot better judging World's PC success. The Switch version crushed it. But PC seems to have barely pushed a million copies. Not sure why. Are they all graphics whores or is it just the result of the vast majority of players who bought World on PC deciding its not for them? Hard to say. I do know not having cross save really hurt it though, as many Switch gamers like myself would gladly buy both and bounce saves back and forth if we could.

I'm not really worried about GamePass in that way. It's not replacing games being sold, it's just an alternative option for devs to secure a bag. And that decision is likely made by publishers after the fact or near the end of development anyways so I don't expect it has any impact on development choices.

Kirby and the Forgotten Land is a delight. Really happy we're finally getting a really good Kirby game on Switch, because Star Allies just wasn't cutting it for me.

@JaxonH I think the performance of World 2 on PC/PS5/XSX will be illuminating. It'll answer a few questions: was World's breakout success a one-time thing, motivated primarily by the introduction of the franchise to new audiences? I mean, a World 2 would 100% sell well regardless, but maybe not 20 million strong.

Considering the expansions are only accessible to people who beat the base versions, it's amazing Iceborne even sold as well as it did. Only a fraction of people bother actually completing the games they buy, if you judge based on trophy data for games released on PS/Xbox consoles.

All this being said, I'm just glad Rise performed as well as it did on Switch. 7+ million is still way beyond what you saw in the 3DS era, and it pretty much guarantees we'll continue getting exclusive Monster Hunter games on the Switch going forward.

@Ralizah
Switch had seen more franchise breakouts than any other Nintendo system to date. Kirby was long overdue. Star Allies was so ho-hum. It wasn't "bad" but there was nothing exciting or remarkable about it. I didn't like the friend mechanic. I prefer my 2D Kirby built around single player.

I'm also glad Rise has done so well on Switch. It's probably at 8m now on Switch alone (it was 7.7m around November I think). And Sunbreak with the full set of base game + expansion could push it to 9m for the base game (just on Switch) by the time it runs its course. I was hoping for 10m but, like you said, that's still double the sales of 3DS entries.

Monster Hunter Rise Sunbreak deserves all the hype. Back when I was playing MH4U and MHGen on 3DS, I remember thinking back to how glorious it was playing MH3U on Wii U with its HD graphics. I longed for such an experience but on handheld. When MHGU was announced for Switch, I was so excited for the HD graphics on handheld- after nearly 1,000 hrs playing in 240p, you look at MHGU and it felt like a generational leap by comparison. Ppl probably thought I was crazy, but from my perspective, coming from 3DS, it was a dream come true- a massive improvement to the pixelated mess on 3DS with a mouse nub for an analog.

Of course, World raised the bar to a whole new level. Portable MH suddenly didn't seem as impressive when looking at MHGU anymore. We needed a new portable MH, built ground up. And that's precisely what Rise gave us. It's obviously not as visually impressive as World, but it's a true generational leap over MHGU. It's the AAA portable Monster Hunter we've been wanting for so long. And it's definitely the most newcomer friendly entry to date.

I was hoping the Steam version of Rise would do 4-5 million. Reason being, making exclusive MH games for Switch come at an opportunity cost. And while 8m is phenomenal for a single platform for the base game so far, tacking on another 4 million from PC would make it much more economically viable, and thus, would increase the likelihood of future portable MH games built ground up. But, I do think it's done well enough we still don't have to worry.

@Ralizah Console sales will no doubt be a limiting factor with World 2. For example PS4 console sales from launch to the end of 2017 was 73.6 million meanwhile PS5 console sales are at 17.3 million as of the end of 2021.

https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2018/01/ps4_sells_almost_six_...

https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2022/02/ps5-sales-hit-17-3-mi...

There's still big PS5 shortages as well as likely a shorter gap between launch and World 2 than PS4 launch and World so I really doubt PS5 console sales will be anywhere near 73.6 million by the time World 2 launches.

So in terms of World 2 potential, attach rates would be a more accurate indicator. Well unless World 2 launches on PS4 and XB1 but given how World runs on the 2013 consoles, I doubt it.

Absolutely loving Kirby and the Forgotten Land. The level design is superb. Even though they're pretty linear levels, they're tightly designed levels with plenty of side objectives to encourage replaying and exploring each level. HAL has done a fantastic job translating Kirby into 3D.

Dang it...I really wanted the New Donk City icons. Oh well. I do like Lake Lamode at least, that was a fun and relaxing world! But I'm starting to think that it won't be a while until they start having SMO icons again. Which is at least understandable, gotta have NSO icons for the other games.

On the bright side, I'm seeing some of you guys' recent posts and glad that a couple of you are digging Kirby and the Forgotten Land! I may have to get it soon.

Kirby just came in but I will bang around rune factory a little longer. This has been a really solid year so far. RF5 is quite good once it gets going. I think Kirby is gonna be my last purchase until June though. Way too many long games to work down. I still have yet to start SMT 5.

I love me my horror games, but after reading the lukewarm reviews for Ikai I went ahead and cancelled my preorder. Here's hoping Tormented Souls is as good as the YT survival horror fans are hyping it up to be.
https://opencritic.com/game/12942/ikai

https://opencritic.com/game/11858/tormented-souls

Nintendo delay Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild 2 to spring 2023

I'd like to thank Nintendo for giving me a real chance to play all the games I haven't gotten around to.

This is barely even a joke, I needed that, thank you. I bought Mario + Rabbids pre-pandemic, I've still yet to even open it.

@kkslider5552000 I got alot on the backlog too, and we still have a pretty decent amount coming this year. So the delay isn't too bad I guess.

@kkslider5552000

Speaking of Mario + Rabbids, let us not be surprised when Sparks of Hope is officially delayed into 2023.