Topic: The Nintendo Switch Thread

@Rambler survey give us a stimate of a specific topic

@Kermit1
Ooh, I care for that, as I've not got it yet, and I do like a bit of high-level design fun. It's on the Xmas list of doom.

@Giancarlothomaz - indeed. I used to design surveys as part of a previous role, so had lots of fun with stratified sampling and random sampling.

@Rambler If you want any YT recommendations for GBG I can help.

@Kermit1 - yes please!
It will be in the new year when I finally get my hands on it (it's not directly for me, so I'm going to have to borrow it), but I'll remember your kind offer

@Rambler I'm subbed to all of them so just ask me when you want them.

Lookie lookie... 😀

We are almost at page 3333 on this thread.

@Kermit1
What can I say. We Switch fans may not socialize much outside our parents basements, but online we're like a cranked up Jesse Pinkman

It strikes me that mainline SMT and mainline Persona haven't shared a console since the PS2.

Come to think of it, other than Soul Hackers 2, Switch now has all of the major HD Atlus releases. Catherine: Full Body? Check. Shin Megami Tensei V? Check. Persona 5 Royal? Check. Persona 5 Strikers? Check. 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim? Check. And, what the hell, checkity check on Tokyo Mirage Sessions as well. We're missing one reportedly mediocre spinoff and some dancing games. That's it. And they're probably coming at some point anyway.

Same deal with Platinum Games. We're missing two decent seventh gen games, but otherwise, everything worth playing that they've produced as a company is on Switch now.

@Ralizah Both studios have signed big exclusivity deals with Nintendo on a lot of those series though, haven't they? SMTV was Switch exclusive alongside P5Scramble (also alongside Atlus having a major presence at two of Nintendo's Partner Showcases) and Nintendo's got the entire Bayonetta franchise wrapped around their finger. We know Nintendo for being very in-house focused as a games company (probably more than any of the other Big 3 in Sony and Microsoft) but I'll be damned: they have been extremely savvy when it comes to 3rd Party exclusivity. Reminds me of when they got Capcom to do a whole host of games exclusive (though that should be in quotation marks with today's day and age) to Gamecube/GBA like Okami, Ace Attorney and, of course, RE4.

@Ralizah Star Fox Zero and Guard would be nice. Sure it's unlikely given they weren't that well received and Star Fox appears to be dead after Ubisoft's Starlink flopped but I found Star Fox Zero and Guard to be fun games.

Playing Persona 5 Royal for the past hour...

It's flawless

This is it. This is what I've been waiting for. It looks so freaking good on the OLED too. Brings back memories of Persona 4 Golden on Vita, except this has way better graphics, way sharper resolution and absolutely impeccable performance. THIS is how Persona 5 Royal was always meant to be played...

I've hit the motherlode.

@Fizza
Persona 5 Strikers (Scramble is the JP name) is multiplat across Switch, PS4 and Steam.

Nintendo actually contracts 2nd and 3rd party studios more than any other platform manufacturer. Around half of what we consider 1st party games, are actually developed by studios Nintendo doesn't own. Sometimes they have partial ownership or own the IP to some extent, but they've always taken an approach where they outsource 1st party to partner studios which provides them with flexibility in offering more variety vs buying studios and hunkering down with them.

As for 3rd party exclusives, they don't have nearly as many as PS since Nintendo largely avoids spending large sums to procure 3rd party exclusives, whereas a company like PlayStation, their core strategy is paying off as many developers as possible to stock their lineup with 3rd party exclusives. The reason being, their 1st party was never historically a driving factor in their console sales. That's probably less true now, but their 1st party is still far from being able to sustain their platform independently.

But, with the 3rd party exclusives Nintendo does get, they're very strategic with them. Games like Bayonetta 3, Monster Hunter Rise + Sunbreak, Shin Megami Tensei V, Triangle Strategy, Dragon Quest Treasures... they typically don't secure big, AAA titles that are massive sellers (barring Monster Hunter). They go for very specific games in very specific genres to broaden the range of their portfolio. They like critically appraised games, even if they aren't massive sellers.

@Ralizah
Can we PAH-LEASE get the Persona Dancing games on Switch now?

I will die on the hill of Persona 4 Dancing being the greatest rhythm game of all time (at least, it has the best soundtrack which probably carries it). Wasn't big on P3D or P5D, but if they bring P4D, may as well throw the other two in as well.

Damn, knew I missed something. Added Strikers to the list.

@Fizza P5S was multiplatform. And, like with previous Persona games, I'm not entirely convinced SMT V's exclusivity is a matter of contractual obligation. Atlus likes to pick a platform and develop a game for it. I'm sure their friendly relationship with Nintendo, and Nintendo heavily promoting the game for free in their broadcasts, sweetened the pot, but there's probably technically nothing keeping it from going to other platforms.

Bayonetta doesn't really count either, IMO. They're not buying exclusivity, but, rather, helping to fund development of the games. It's not the same thing as dropping off a suitcase of cash to delay the release of a game on another platform by a year or two. Nintendo gets up to that a bit, but usually with titles designed around the specs of the Switch anyway, like Triangle Strategy and MH Rise. Buying exclusivity of the biggest titles in order to cripple the libraries of the competition is more a Sony tactic.

@JaxonH I just want Theatrhythm and an Elite Beat Agents successor, and we're getting one of those next year.

I'd be surprised if the dancing games don't make the jump. Can't convince me they'd be particularly difficult to port, and Sega seems to want Atlus games on as many platforms as possible.

@Grumblevolcano I'll agree to disagree on Star Fox Zero. It wasn't fun for me. Which I chalk up to the excess of gimmick vehicles, the weird dual-screen set-up, and the lack of traditional rail shooter levels.

I'm willing to bet Nintendo is to blame for a lot of what went wrong with that game, though.

@Ralizah
I never really played Theatrhythm even though I own it for 3DS.

Wonder how the stylus rail lines will work.

I like rhythm games but usually they don't have catchy music with good percussion. Persona 4 Dancing does. I got the drum for Rhythm Heaven, and own KH Melody of Memories, and a preorder for Theatrhythm. Guess that'll have to due until the GOAT makes its debut on Switch.

@NeonPizza I got an OLED last week and I returned it because on low brightness part of the screen (only in dark places) was green. I then got a second OLED and it has the same problem (I still need to return that one), I then bought a new V2 Switch and Dragon Quest 11 and called it a day with OLED screens.

For me playing on low brightness is a deal breaker, idk about you but just to keep in mind.

@NeonPizza There's a number of pretty good songs. And even with the ones I didn't care for, the funny comic book plotlines kept me engaged. Amazing game.

SWOLED... I mean, it depends on how you play, of course, but it has satisfied me in a way no other handheld has. I don't even really want to play games on anything else anymore. I barely even play it docked. The build quality and gorgeous screen really do it for me.

I used my nephew's V2 Switch earlier, and the thing felt like a cheap toy in comparison.

btw, I can't speak for the slim model, but as a phat SPP owner, I've never found that the buttons on the back of the controllers get in the way.

But...like half of the soundtrack is from that timeframe.

Though it is hilarious to see what songs from then stopped being popular almost immediately after it came out. Man, remember Walkie Talkie Man? That was a thing.

@Ralizah I'm still baffled by the decision not to release Soul Hackers 2 on Switch (then again, it's basically Atlus' M.O. to exclude a random platform for no apparent reason at this point). And I'm hoping we get Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir on Switch at some point (although the game is probably long forgotten now). But yeah, a decent showing for Atlus-published games. Just a shame that we're not getting as many original games as on the 3DS.

Honestly I'm hoping that, by next gen, pretty much all Japanese-published games make their way to Switch 2 (or whatever we have) in some form or another. With the popularity of the Switch, Playstation's diminishing presence in Japan, and the diminishing returns in console power, I think now is the time for that to happen.

@Buizel Soul Hackers 2 wasn't a smooth running experience on the other consoles which is odd as it's not a bells and whistle type game. They probably gave up trying to optimise it for the Switch since they couldn't do it for the other consoles.