Super Mario Odyssey's File Size is Only a Little Bigger Than an NBA 2K18 Save File

B-b-but the cartridges are so expensive, man!

Nice. Tempts me to go digital.

This is one cheeky headline. I love it.
I'm no compression expert so I hope the sound quality will be good. For everything else, I believe in the compression artists at Nintendo.

Small file sizes make my SD card happy.

Oh, does that mean that NBA 2K is 5 times bigger then Mario.......😝

Yep, Nintendo is the king of compression.

Nintendo rocks! All I can say.

I wouldn't even say apples to oranges is a good comparison, this is apples to bowling shoes.

Edit: By the way, what i meant by this, as others have stated below, is that you can't compare a game like Mario Odyssey to an NBA simulation. They're leagues apart in terms of graphics, audio, physics, etc. I'm not going to go into the tech specs, since others have already done that, but yeah, it's not Nintendo's compression making the difference here. It's that you're comparing a simple (by comparison) open world game to a realistic sports simulation.

How come people just can't be good at optimization and consideration of customers' bandwidth limits?

@Exy I really wonder that.

Even Forza 7 is 100GB in Xbox ONE.

If only AAA companies could pull off better compression

What do cutscenes have to do with save file size? I'm not too familiar with NBA 2K18 but I struggle to imagine how a sports game, even a badly optimised one, could possibly need so much space. Although it seems to be a thing with the genre.

Guys, clearly sports games are so big because they're saving the complete DNA of each real athlete that appears in the game! It's the only way to do it!

Nintendo are the experts on condensing their games down to a small size.

Nintendo is the king of compression. Mr. Iwata would be proud.

@Kalmaro I think it's more than compression though, it's utility of assets, it's creating an art style that never requires excessive high res textures, or overly large cinematics, extensive voice acting. Not every Nintendo game will benefit from this approach (which is why BoTW is quite big for a Nintendo developed game), but Mario games generally work with these more compact file sizes.

Makes me think that Nintendo is bad at making bloated games to encourage people buying their proprietary micro storage to sell... Oh wait. They don't have that.

I am really thinking about going digital on this one. Not because I like having it always on my console but because I can download it at midnight and don't have to wait until roughly 3 PM until I went to university, did my courses, got to the store, drove home.

@RoomB31 That might be it, well never know unless they tell us though.

@ShadJV Hmmm, seems logical. I think each save is actually making a digital clone of all of your players, that you can also send to a lab to make real clones for your real life basketball team.

I bought the Switch to play Nintendo games and indie games, just like the Wii and Wii U before it. I have almost no interest in most of the third party games coming to Switch, minus a select few. I'm definitely never buying a realistic sports sim. As long as Nintendo keeps their games optimized, I'm good.

I'll always buy physical if I can, as well.

2K take note.

Nice! But going physical since itll only cost me $35

@SLIGEACH_EIRE I'd imagine if 2K had made this version for Switch from scratch, it would be a much smaller file size (just a hunch), but then we'd be complaining about why we didn't get the same version (much like people have been whining about Fifa), there is no winning on either side, but the NBA 2K18 file issue is a mess regardless.

I like how Nintendo is making the file size so small. It's really good for people downloading the games, which I've seen a heavy amount of people doing on the switch. I still am going to buy the Physical version as always if possible though.

Quite happy the game doesn't take up space, but still getting it physical because it's Mario Odyssey and it will be incredible

@MsgBoardGamer I mean the 14gigs isn't a small pie, but it can all fit on one cart

What I can't get my head around is how games like Zelda on Switch or big Bethesda games on PC like Skyrim and Fallout 4, with all their hundreds of variables to be contained in a save file, each come in at up to 1/4 of a GB. What on earth is the 5GB reserve for? Per user no less?

Nice to see Nintendo continuing their excellent track record of attractive games with reasonable storage requirements.

I have been mulling over the save file size issue and the conclusion that I come to is one that some other people have that the space might be just reserved memory possibly for things like replays. I am hoping at some point publishers will be allowed to place their saves on the SD card or else there are going to be major issues down the line. I know why Nintendo is concerned about a setup like the wii or wiiu regarding copying saves to the sd but it's a damned if you do damned if you don't situation. My advice to them is if a game like nba2k18 needs a large save file then the cart better come with its own built in 8gb flash to keep save data. As for people who do digital only there is not much that can be done right now with the current security restrictions in place. I would love to hear from somebody who bought the digital only version with an sd card installed what happens if they setup multiple users in their switch and examine the memory usage

Mario games have always been small in size and huge in on entertainment side.

@Captain_Gonru You aren't the only one. It's not an attractive game, in my opinion.

@SLIGEACH_EIRE only Notes they'll be taking will be from your bank 😆

It's all Nintendo's fault! They're so evil!

I'm pretty flabbergasted by a 5 gig save, that's just poor optimization by any standard. As far as out of control file sizes in modern aaa games, I really don't know the motivation publishers have for pushing these massive file sizes, or how much it has to do with somehow attempting to curb piracy.

People often blame texture sizes, but as the pc game repack scene has shown, a shockingly large portion of many games is that they usually install multiple languages completely uncompressed. Even though there are plenty of lossless audio compression formats that would at most impact gameplay by less than a frame, many publishers insist on forcing users to install tens of gigs of raw audio data.

@Captain_Gonru I think the issue for me is that the players look realistic, but not quite right, if that makes sense. Their eyes look lifeless and hollow. It's creepy. 👀

This is partly why I vastly prefer games that go for stylization over realism.

I'm really confused by this 5GB save file. My NBA 2K18 save file is 75.5MB.

Koizumi: Okay, run a file size analysis on the game.
Programmer: Okay.
Types stuff on computer, computer monitor spits out information
Programmer: Sir, Mario Odyssey is just over 10 GB in size.
Koizumi: Hmmm... the game should be smaller...
Programmer: But how?? We have spent many month compressing the game. It is 3 GB smaller than Zelda Breath of the Wild.
Koizumi: Let me try something.
Sits at computer, starts deleting some files and lines of code
(5 minutes later)
Koizumi: Okay, now run another file size analysis on the game.
Programmer: Okay.
Types stuff on computer, computer monitor spits out information
Programmer: Sir, Mario Odyssey is now 5.6 GB in size. Wait...what? How did you reduce the game's size by this much?
Koizumi: I deleted Mario's chest hairs.

You had me freaked for a second because I thought the headline said "Super Mario Odyssey's Size is Only a Little Bigger Than NBA 2K18"

I really appreciate this. I want to support Nintendo for not wasting space. Being a developer, I just can't buy NBA2K18 knowing the developer on it have made such humongous save files. It's simply irresponsible

Good

I'll stick with the digital then! That's what I'm gonna do for all the first party games for Switch! From Zelda to Mario, Digital is the best way to go!

(Except for third parties, NBA 2K18, 'nuff said...)

I won't buy NBA 2K18 just because of that bullcrap of requiring a SD card. Switch isn't PS4 or XONE to tolerate such things.

@JamesR
You own the Switch version?
If so then maybe the 5GB save file business is either a misprint or misinformation

To have a 5gb save file, it sounds like the programmers erred somewhere. Even if it is saving career stats in a dynasty mode (no idea if it even has that option, just using it as an example) as well as saving custom made players, it should not be anywhere close to this. Unless it has the potential of saving multiple seasons/career modes, then the 5gb is more of a place holder for what it could need. But outside of that, there should be no reason.

@justin233 The uncanny valley, as they call it. Always a hazard of going for realism.

I want the case on my shelf so.....

@RedMageLanakyn What the writer was doing is stating that the entire file size for the Mario Odyssey game is just a little bigger than a single save game file for NBA 2K18. NO save game file should be 5GB...that's just f*cking stupid!!!!!!! I've done plenty of programming over the years to know that just not right. I'm hoping that it's just some mis-information.

"eyebrows were raised when a breakdown of NBA 2K18's requirements showed it needs 5GB for save data alone. This may be due to the cutscene-heavy career / story mode, but it's still an extraordinary figure for a save file."

How? It's a save file, not the game file. Save files are a few bits of data that store where you are in a game, what you have unlocked, etc. Hardly more than a few MBs.

Eh, I just posted this in the comments a few hours back. It really is insane.

@Zyrac I knew it had a name, but couldn't remember it. Thank you! Also, "Uncanny Valley" would make for a good band/book/game title.

@SLIGEACH_EIRE there's nothing to take note of here. This is like watching an air plane fly by, turning to the rock on the ground next to you and being like "take note".

@BensonUii I imagine as you play through seasons the save file will start to grow.

I'll probably download it digital. If cartridges are so expensive why don't they sell e-shop games at a lower price?

Imagine if 2K* had been given the task of making the next Mario game with only 5.7GB to work with. We'd probably just get this:

It'd be called 'SMS (Super Mario Skipping) 2K18', and, well... that'd be it. Maybe they'd release separate Power Moons as DLC at a later date. And maybe each Power Moon would require a separate Mirco SD card to be stored on. And maybe I should stop being so facetious and catty about subjects I don't have a working knowledge of.

But still, the difference between those numbers is enormous.

*Not EA! My mistake.

I really still can't believe the small file size for SM3DW. That is just simply amazing to me.

I already have the physical edition preordered. I would love to go digital but physical is just so much cheaper, which is funny because physical costs more for Nintendo to make and they get less of the revenue. With GCU I can get Mario Odyssey for $38 when digital is $60.

Mario's nipples take up all the storage space.

@Zyrac Nintendo's texturing is usually sharp, simple and vibrant - looks great and also very low on memory, plus they repeat alot of the same textures so lots of space saving.

@justin233 @Captain_Gonru

Idk about the Direct, but comparisons show a very good looking NBA 2k18 on Switch imo.

What they forgot to tell was that the save file is going to be 10,2 GB.

@Zyrac I've been wondering that ever since the Sega Dreamcast. I remember sports games like NFL 2K taking up almost all the space on the VMU.

See now this is how much space I would expect a game on the Switch to take up. I bought ARMS and Splatoon 2 digital, but since my brother got his own Switch we've been buying physical cartridges so we can share the games. If it weren't for that, I'd be going digital all the way. It's just easier than having to carry cartridges all over the place.

@turbotri yes. Maybe I'm not far enough in... but there's no 5GB save file (yet)

Um...for anyone "skilled in the art" that has seen the aforementioned titles in comparison (NBA 2K18 vs Odyssey) the reasons why these titles vastly differ in size is GLARINGLY OBVIOUS.

Thomas Whitehead - the thing about "think pieces" that makes them good is that good ones have some sort of expert angle to them.

If the reason why a game that simulates multiple realtime aspects of a sports league broadcast game and a 3D platformer differ in size...to the degree that they do...is not obvious to you without mythical magical "Nintendo Compression" (oy.) then maybe you aren't the person that should have written this, or perhaps consulted someone in the field.

But WOW! Odyssey is 3.35 times bigger than 3D World! It's gonna be HUUUGE!!

Seriously though, what even bloats the NBA 2K18 save files so astronomically??

@FlashFan207 But why would you expect a modern NBA simulation to have the same requirements as ARMS and Splatoon

Well no surprise there, Ninty developed games are nowhere near graphic intense. Put Doom next to mario oddessey and look at the level of detail between them, even down to lighting and shadows, Ninty just recycle their textures, let's see what Nintendo can do when they are forced to do same as 2K or id, still that's a bloody big save file,

@SilentS "There is no reason that you can think of or understand" I think you mean to say

@liveswired I'm talking about save files. That's not where you put your textures.

@EDF This guy gets it

But let me spell it out for the rest of you: even compressed, the audio ALONE in NBA 2K18 requires more storage than the games mentioned.

@JaxonH It isn't graphically bad, per se, more that the players look lifeless and creepy to me.

OK - when starting my NBA 2K18 save file was at 75.5MB. I have now saved 5 cloned franchises (i.e. seasons). My save file is now at 214MB. Maybe saving replays and extra stuff can get you to 5GB but at least it's not gobbled up 5GB at the start.

@Zyrac Maybe. It depends on the requirements of the implementation, the architecture, what the system requires to be allotted for future expansion/how...etc.

You are intuiting. You don't have enough info to know. The best you can do is what people are doing now.. "it feels X" and make apples/oranges comparisons to rationalize it all out

@JamesR Aha! That makes a lot more sense. The 5 GB is possibly a suggestion, but it actually only uses what it needs.

I am no expert in compression or file sizes, i always tought the bigger the size of the gamefile the bigger the game(world). Can anyone explain to me what factors play a role in file size of a game?

@Kaizoku

The biggest contributors to huge file sizes are
a. hi-quality video / cutscenes
b. hi-quality music / sound effects / voice acting
c. hi-quality textures

The biggest contributors to huge save file sizes are
a. recorded videos / recorded replays / recorded audio
b. custom /self-made graphics
c. huge worlds with millions of objects that stay forever where you drop them (Minecraft, Skyrim)

Let's take Hyrule Warriors for example. Half of the game data is just video (the pre-rendered cutscenes).

I'm so looking forward to this new mario game because it looks too great to be true... When is it out again?

I think the biggest save file i saw in my life was The Sims 3, it was almost 1GB. But considering the amount of custom made characters and houses you can create in that game i kinda understand the file size.

Joke is on nba 2k18. Im still gonna buy it though.

Because Mario has the texture work of a 10 year old game. This is like being impressed that I am Setsuna is a small file

Doom and Wolfenstein 2 will also be large files. We all don't want to play cartoony flat graphics the entire life of the Switch.

Have it preordered at Amazon

And it's not like Odyssey has nothing textures like Breath either, Mario's hair is super detailed. I cannot imagine NBA 2K's file sizes being anything other than poor compression.

5 GB ++ for Super Mario Odyssey with Very Huge Open World ??
Wow....

Physical only for me. I funded my Switch, a pro controller, messenger bag and 3 games by trading in a PS Vita and a bunch of physical games and memory cards. Bizarrely, Game didn't offer me anything for the digital titles I'd purchased. Also, need space for if/when Gamecube virtual console finally arrives.

I know nothing about compression or anything for that matter but that. is. insane.

Maybe they could release saying "Save file: 75MB - 5GB"
but they preferred to say "5GB Save file"

There you go.

@JamesR , that makes sense with the save size. Maybe Nintendo Life should play the game? I'm really disappointed with these recent clickbait headlines attempting to damage NBA 2K18 from this site. And now they've riled up the vocal minority on this site to just outright slam 2K and the game. Maybe the Switch should just be a first party console. Good luck with that!

That's still 730 times Mario 64

@Samus7Killer $35 where?

"This may be due to the cutscene-heavy career / story mode, but it's still an extraordinary figure for a save file."

I think the MyNeighborhood open-world section has a lot to do with this as well. It seems to be tied to the save files and that's why we have such a big system memory install.

As for the optimization, there's no surprise. We all know Nintendo is good at that, but you have to realize the big graphical difference we're talking about here. NBA2K18 looks pretty damn good on NS, great facial animations and reflections. Any games shooting for realism in their art-style will have big choices to make if porting to NS, and that'll be a big hurdle.

@MrKai at the same time I think a lot of developers used to working on the Xbox/PS4 and pc markets have gotten lazy with their optimization. I have read discussions from some that basically implied they don't really bother because there isn't a need to.

Oh thats really nice!
shows how lazy some devs are.

Nintendo is the master of compression because they made a mario game or any games for their own system hardware which they know everything about. Also they definitely must know more about their own system then the third parties no

@sketchturner Best Buy Gamer club with my rewards... I'll also earn a $10 Gift just for preordering it. So ill put that towards another Switch game.

@Mcoleya A fair point, but as well - it isn't really needed on the Switch Platform either, is it?

At the end of the day, every platform..EVERY one...is a combination of compromises, right?

So here, in "Nintendodom" is where we find ourselves:

A Home Console (if or not you agree is not relevant, this is what Nintendo is marketing/selling) that is "home enough" quality to plug into an HD TV and not weep, but "portable enough" to have a bit of "mobile, (true) console-quality play."

What this means, at the end of the day, even tho it is small and portable, the overarching intent is for (home) console quality that is 'good enough'.

So.

Do Nintendo customers want "AAA" 3rd Party games on the platform or not? Because that's what it takes...GIGS and GIGS of Random Access Storage to do this. There is no "magic"...their might be laziness for sure, but that's not the majority of what is going on.

it is getting what you want but not wanting to pay the Cost of Doin' Bid'ness. Big Games need Big Storage. Big NAND-y storage is not only not free...it is constrained...and the BEST way for everyone to benefit is spreading that cost, far and wide.

Buy your own storage. It is cheaper than if Ninety would have sold it to you, and is a REQUIREMENT for ALL MODERN SYSTEMS.

The switch is NOT a gameboy or ds. They just made the ecosystem look and feel that way on the surface.

@MariOnline OR, more plausible, their games require less resources.

@BraveFencerZan It's not just the visuals (which people obsess over) but the sound design. These simulated games that humans are playing are not scripted, but have very, very convincing realtime commentary. The fact that this would have to cover a matrix of staggering combos, with voice clips, etc...where do people think this stuff is actually stored?

@JamesR I'm going with replays. Don't have a Switch or this game but I know every once in awhile on Xbox I'll see some pop-up like - "Your last 15 seconds of video have been recorded. Would you like to post the clip to social media?" So my guess would be something similar is happening here. Hopefully they'll patch it so the actual 75mb save final is internal but the 5GB of replays can save to the external.

@Captain_Gonru That ND had horrible graphics throughout. XC2 looked like a rough alpha of a 3DS game. But I wasn't sure until Mario at the end. I've seen enough of that by now to know it's beautiful, but it was a mess. I think the stream was running at 240p, maybe 480. I was considering never playing XC2 until I realized how bad the stream was.

If you didn't see it live, watched it later, well there's still hope. I never liked the Zelda U graphics. Well that first fake trailer 3 years ago at E3 was nice, but the game never looked anything like that. So I watched all the new footage unimpressed by it's Skyward Sword washed out watercolor graphics. But playing the game it's beautiful. It's like Nintendo shot every trailer at bright cloudless noon. The game really shines st dawn, dusk, at night and in the rain, awesome thunderstorms. All they showed us was bleached white Wonderbread but the game is a smorgasbord of ryes, wheats, and pumpernickel.

So I wouldn't worry about the graphics. 😆

As small as 5.7GB may be by today's standards, I hope their servers are prepared to download it quickly and without incident to everyone buying the $380 Switch bundle at launch. I can understand them wanting to save money on their own expensive carts by making it digital, but at least pre-install it for that price. It's the worst way to get the game, people buying it digital who already own a Switch can download it before, and carts will play instantly. Why punish people buying the bundle?

I'm really hoping Gamestop has a Midnight Madness Mario Odyssey Party (say that out loud, it even sounds cool) so I can beat some of the early morning download rush. Who needs sleep? 😀

Just buy an SD card

Low-online game? I'm going physical for Mario Odyssey. <3

I gotta say, it looks excellent on Switch, I was genuinely impressed.

Let's get physical, physical. I wanna get physicaaaaaaaaaal, let's get into physical.

@SKTTR Thank you for your in depth response!

They mostly just do a really good job of reusing textures without you noticing.

Developers are lazy when it comes to optimization. Many PS3 games would fill the 50gb bluray disks with repeated code to speed up read times rather than create a efficient game. After 9 or 10 years of this they don't even bother anymore and will happily force unnecessary gb's of downloads on you.

I'll be getting Mario Odyssey digitally as it's a small size and i like the convenience of having the game on the system.

I have to question their ability to make a solid save system comparing the two sizes. I know you have to be able to track every single ONE and ZERO as far as every characters stats, health, location, win/loss records, team level too, etc. But come on, much of those same stats have been tracked since the PSOne era on those little memory cards that maybe were 1MB at most I think (why do I feel like they were 256kb.) It just seems shoddy. I can get wanting to maybe reserve some space for people wanting to record their favorite games or moves, but make that size optional not required.

That said WHOA to the closeness of the quality between the Switch and PS/XB versions in that IGN clip. That's nuts, it's like 90% the same or better, very little difference in loss. Some serious black magic, voodoo whatever you want to throw at it going on there. If I liked sports games I'd be all over that.

I only do digital download with games I know for a fact that I will go back and play again in about 6 months. If Odyssey is anything close to Mario 64, I just may download it.

Chances are my brother will be getting this for his birthday, because it comes out 2 days before.

Firstly, the game file size for NBA is due to the huge amount of audio in the game. Sure, open world games like BOTW and Mario Odyssey are big, but limited in the amount of audio. NBA has commentary running through every game and specialized commentary for all 30 teams, not to mention the special teams and even for major players on each team.
Secondly, the save file suggests it could be UP TO 5gb. You can play a franchise mode that goes FOR 80 SEASONS. Each season can be 82 games without playoffs. The game can save highlights, replays and plays of the game FOR ALL 80 seasons. That is why your save file can potentially be so big! In previous NBA 2k games, you could delete and remove these saved replays, and saving in save data size.

I think people are just getting caught up on the 5gb without understanding it.
I purchased the game digitally (after having many iterations on ps4/PS3) and I love being able to play in the TV or on the go (or even laying in bed!)
I don't see an issue with it and am certainly glad it came to switch with all of the features of the other consoles.

Not magic but not much voice, not super-detailed different textures, not a lot of high-quality sounds, no pre-recorded cut-scenes, etc. Actually, it is a similar size to Yooka-Laylee (5.28GB).

I wish devs would take more time into optimizing their games.

already pre ordered digital, midnight release

That's cause Super Mario Odyssey is 100% a game and not one half being the game and the other half being some CGI movies.

Only buy PS4 or Xbox One if you have unlimited high speed internet access. Else, buy Nintendo: they made digital download feasible on dial-up internet.

And apparently, the internet is in uproar about this.
Makes you wonder how these people manage to breathe without instructions really...
1: The ever mentioned optimizations / compression methods.
An earlier BotW article showed us how ugly its character models where, and that most of its beauty comes from post-processing filter and shader trickery.
Nintendo is pretty known for doing this, and it saves a lot of space in terms of textures.

2:Media files. No elaborate FMVs or full voice overs also cut down the size of a game by a landslide these days. Add proper audio compression on top of that and you end up with relatively small file sizes.

So, if 3D World, which was a massive game, is about 1,7GB in size, and Switch games aren't much more technically advanced than WiiU games, you can expect quite a package with a ~30% increase in size.

I usually prefer physical copies when I have the choice. But it's nice to know that Nintendo actually knows how to program, unlike certain other companies.

Looks like once again, BotW will continue to be only physical copy as I continue to enjoy life digitally. Although it won't stay that way forever.

@GraveLordXD People here have already stated their save files are definitely nowhere near 5gb, so that needs to stop becoming a point of contention. I'm not saying nintendo isn't good at compression, or that other companies aren't doing their work to make things smaller. But let's be honest here, we're comparing an open world, 1080p game to a sports simulation with 4K textures, lots of audio, physics, models, etc. I have no doubt there will be more fun in the 5gb of Odyssey than the however many GBs 2K18 is, but for those that needs their b-ball on the go, time to pay the micro SD piper.

Whoever downloads Super Mario Odyssey or any other game that has a physical release simultaneously Is a Dumbass .

If the mandatory 5GB save file for 2K18 isn't true, then you really can't complain about optimization or bad compression for this game.

25-26GB for the game file size is actually really impressive for this kind of sport simulation game! The game is using 47GB storage on PS4, so this was actually a good Switch optimization job from the 2K developers!

The 5GB save data can probably happen, if you save a lot of replays and so on. And that is ok, as long as it's optional!

The real and only complain about 2K18, goes to the 2K management! Why didn't they go for a 32GB cartridge, where the whole game could fit nicely?!?

Releasing physical games, where you have to force customers to download a huge portion of the game afterwards, is just a really bad move. Especially when there exist other viable options, where you don't have to do that. I find it difficult to support this kind of practice!!!

Storage on the Switch is just very valuable, in comparison to other console's. I would gladly have spend 20$ more, if the whole game was on the cartridge, and I could save my valuable SD storage for something else!!!

@MsgBoardGamer It's a scandal. I'm throwing furniture around in disgust right now.

I think the 2K18 size was just a typo...

Well I'm getting the retail version as I generally prefer physical copies (with the exception of Splatoon 2 as I always dip in and out of that game).

Odyssey, yes see
Odyssey, yes see
Odyssey, yes see...

Are you guys seriously comparing a ''cartoonish'' with barely any texture detail to something realist like NBA? smh

Nintendo hasn't done a realistic on Switch yet. Most of these AAA third parties are realistic with heavy detailed texture use. It's not a fair comparasion. Even BOTW , a huge open world is only 14 gb because it is cartoonish.

@RedMageLanakyn Good point, both @JamesR and @flapjack-ashley revealed that the save data of NBA is 3GB, probably for recording footage or whatever... It's a lot but it's not for "moving a few sliders" like some people have said on the other thread.

NBA has high-quality assets, sounds and voice while Super Mario Odyssey has basic and repeated assets, which of course doesn't mean that the game is worse but it's like comparing apples and oranges.

The more sophisticated games will be big in size while games like this are fine with a small file size. I said it earlier, Super Mario Odyssey should be compared to Yooka-Laylee which is 5.28GB and not with NBA2K18 or huge Xbox One/PS4 games with tons of ultra-HD textures and sound.

I always purchase retail copies of Nintendo's flagship titles I like the box and the extras that come along with it , posters, key rings, pins, etc.

I'm definitely going for cartridge on this one. I have a rule for switch games, online multiplayer - download, single player/campaign -
catridge. I don't see a point in keeping a game I've completed 100% on my system with what I describe as having no replayability compared to online games you can play again and again and have quick and easy access to.

They did compress 2k for the Switch. Look at the overall file size between systems. I mentioned it in the last post, but nobody cares to think that they actually tried. The fact of the matter is that 2k was compressed for the Switch (or the build is less demanding).

Why are you guys throwing shade at the third party support? Do you want Wii U support? No, than let them work it out. With the next title or with an update. Sure the switch has low memory but it is what you get for it being portable. There are a lot of memory heavy games now. So if you want a port of it get ready to buy big sd cards.

@BensonUii "XC2 looked nad on the Direct"

Thanks for the link. I already knew it couldn't look as bad as it did, even MH on 3DS looks better, but seeing something that looked like XCX does make me feel better.

@Captain_Gonru @BensonUii

Was just watching this vid w/ my wife and kid - changing the resolution from 720p to 240p on my 900p 19" screen - pausing and rewinding - and 240p is what the ND looked like on my 52" 1080p tv.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXGTJgXPhm0

NL loves to add fuel to the fire...

Retail!

@Retro_Ditto yep,I don't understand why someone would want to pay more money for a digital version- it baffles me. I won't buy any digital games that cost more than 15 quid. Have you seen the 119 quid digital version of NBA 2k whatever 😱😱- people must be paying it.

It's a little bit unfair for a comparison as the back-end programmers and graphics people making this Mario game probably have over twenty years of experience working together, and enjoyed the luxury of having had access to early dev tools for the platform.

geez at this point third parties might as well as submit their code to Mario Team for optimization and compression...since they aren't willing to do it themselves. That is why I don't understand the anger at Nintendo for the onboard disk space and cheap expansion options to it. I game on PC and the Twins as well. Third parties are horrible at optimization and porting all around. 500GB Ps4? Full after 9 games. PC games are often 40-60 of uncompressed messes that still have horrible textures (bethesda is notorious for this), yet everybody wants to hang Nintendo. They aren't perfect, but they are still the best in the business at compression, optimization and texture mapping. I love being a multisystem gamer but I swear just looking at build quality Nintendo is consistently A rank and the rest are B and C usually.

Anyone playing nba 2k18? Feel free to Add me!!!!!!! 2298-1511-2425

It's like magic!

Very bad optimization on 2K's games here. Compress that audio and texture formats. I wish Iwata was still around to do like he once did for Gamefreak's Pokemon Gold and Silver. The 5GB save data allowance when save data is only 75MB is an insult.

@Trikeboy
And how do you know, that the audio was not compressed for the Switch? 2K almost made the Switch game half the size of the PS4 version. That is some really good optimization there.

The 2K developers managed to optimize the game to fit a 32GB Switch cartridge, witch is great work. Then their management comes in and ruin it all, by releasing it on a small capacity cartridge. It's a shame, really.

And if you want to store replays and stuff like that, 75MB isn't going to hold up.

It's not really optimisation though is it, Nintendo use simple textures, in games that use high resolution realistic looking textures that's what takes up the biggest chunk. That and audio.

Pre-ordered the game cart during E3 for the discount. And since my partner and I each own a Switch, this way we can buy 1 copy of the game that can be shared across both systems!

@GraveLordXD Actually, Sonic Racing is 5GB, whilst Mario Kart is 7GB.

@Zyrac Sorry mate, thought you were talking about the actual game size - not saves.