Crash Bandicoot Holds Off Octopath Traveler And Captain Toad To Keep UK Number One Spot

Wow, the UK really likes Crash. Happy to see it continue to do well. That's still pretty good for Octopath too.

Re-entry? It's not like it has been released on Switch or 3DS before, what a weird term to use.

@BlueOcean I agree with the post # 2 above me that RE-ENTRY seems wrong.

Crash doing well. Hopefully this will motivate Spyro on all platforms also.

GOW actually went up a spot - grumpy dad won't give up 😂

My copy of sonic mania plus came this morning

The most impressive thing about this chart is 7 of the top 10 games are on Switch.I know it's stretching it to say the Switch version of FIFA 18 has had any influence on its chart position but it's still a Switch game. I would wager The Incredibles high chart position was largely due to the Switch version though.

The most relevant chart in here:

https://www.chart-track.co.uk/index.jsp?c=p/software/uk/latest/index_test.jsp&ct=110032

Three Switch games (#3, 5 and 7): Crash, Mario Tennis, Mario Kart.

EDIT:
The chart isn't updated according to @MartyFlanMJFan

@BlueOcean I think it's ok to use that term. The game is basically a rerelease with very little changes.

@BlueOcean that's last weeks chart

@MartyFlanMJFan Oh really? I clicked on last chart. Even the link says "latest", that's weird.

Anti-Matter is going to be happy.

@jobvd That's a port, not a re-entry, re-entry is for the same platform.

@OorWullie It’s a great sign. EA and others will hopefully take note.

@BlueOcean yeah, I check their site every Monday, they have all sorts of charts. Usually has updated by now but at the minute it's still for week ending July 7th

Another good week for the Switch in the UK. 4 of the top 10 are Switch exclusives. I'm glad to see good numbers for Octopath Traveler and Crash, and Mario Tennis Aces has stuck around longer than probably anyone had expected. Captain Toad numbers are decent as well. I'm surprised that it performed 40% worse, but that might in part be because it released on the same day as OT.

EDIT: On a side note, will you all please publish the Japanese sales charts this week? I don't want to be pushy, but it's a lot of fun discussing the results with this community.

@MartyFlanMJFan Then the same link should work a bit later, otherwise I'll fix the link. Thanks.

@FlimFlam Captain Toad was also released at Christmas I think? Either the week before or week after, so that probably resulted in higher than normal sales.

@SmaggTheSmug Why? I don't see Portal Knights on the chart

Good for Crash, but I am pretty shocked that Octopath only got 3rd. I will never understand why RPGs are not more popular. Overwhelming my favorite genre.

Why are people still buying this Crash drek? Go play Mario Odyessey.

@MartyFlanMJFan You're right, it was released during the holiday season. With that in mind, then, this was a good start for the port.

@Heavyarms55 I would have loved to see Octopath do even better as well, but keep in mind that Nintendo apparently underestimated demand and that it is exclusive to the system with the smallest install base in the UK. It's probably taken the top spot in Japan.

I'm really surprised this game has such long legs. I don't get how this pretty retro PS1 game has such huge demand....there's a big nostalgia factor for PS1 fans, but the gameplay itself is essentially the endless runner's godfather. It's certainly not the worst thing to hit gaming by any stretch, and I'd say it's a fair sight better than Naughty Dog's latest outing But chalk this one up to another time I just don't understand modern gamers.... But hey, at least it peeled them away from 10 solid years of GTA!

Im king of shocked here, not gonna lie. I had Crash preordered and cancelled because I just didn't think I'd ever actually play it. But now I'm feeling like I'm missing out. And to outdo Octopath Traveler!? I am LOVING that game. It's actually the first RPG of its kind that I cannot put down.
Well I'm glad that it's working out so well for Crash! I'll have to reverse and pick it up sooner than later...

@Heavyarms55 bare in mind that crash is selling on three systems and octopath on just the switch so third is actually very good.

@Heavyarms55 Long time commitment required, understanding of usually very deep, difficult systems to really progress. RPGs are pretty opposite of the pick up and play gameplay that made arcades popular to begin with. While "mainstream" has moved to emulating cinema to easy digestion by the masses, and games like Crash or Kart are easy to play in short bursts and still enjoy, RPGs are the deepest, darkest layer of core gaming: Huge time sinks, dedication required to master it well enough to advance, and actual gaming skill/experience to make out what you're actually seeing and intended to do. I think RPGs are the most common/popular they've ever been...but...they'll never be chart toppers.

It's honestly strange to me just how popular this game is. I mean, it's not really that great a game; it's certainly no Super Mario 64. But I guess it just goes to show how important/impacting a machine the original PlayStation was and how many people still have great nostalgia for those first generation of games on it.

@BlueOcean Anyone know of a website for charts like this but for the US?

@FlimFlam I am actually surprised to see Octopath #3 because it's not the most popular genre in here and the visuals are retro so it's not something as visually impressive as FFXV. 35 reviews and 84/100 on Metacritic, that's pretty good too, that must have helped. I am sure that the game is good.

@Alto No idea... But I think that Nintendo is a bit more popular in US than in Western Europe, so Nintendo games should always perform better there, I guess.

Your profile pic is going to make me blind. LOL

Can't lie I just don't think Crash games are good, they're halfway decent like 6 or 7 out 10 to be generous. I feel there are other platformer besides Mario that did platforming better but hey I guess the UK really loves them some Crash.

I gave it another try at my friends to see if I could warm up to it and it just doesn't gel with me. He feels wonky to control and it certainly isn't a tight platformer imo.

@CCore28 Yep, I think a Super Mario 64 remake would also sell a lot, but that would need to have some extra worlds.

@Alto The NPD publishes video game sales in the US, but unfortunately only on a monthly basis. They're apparently doing upgrades this month, so we won't get the June results until August 7, I think.

EDIT: We also won't know how July went until mid-to-late August.

@BlueOcean Yeah, I'm surprised (and happy) that it's done so well too. Like you said, RPGs aren't the most popular genre, and the visual style won't appeal to everyone. Still, it seems like the Switch community on a whole (and not just Internet forums) was very hyped for this game. Personally, I haven't picked it or Crash up yet for money reasons, but I'm very pleased that it's doing well.

@BlueOcean How much of the UK sales normally come from Amazon? I heard they specifically were having issues fulfilling orders.

I love crash, but as soon as Octopath appeared (this morning) it has been pushed back to backlog pile.

Release Crash Team Racing already Activision!

@MartyFlanMJFan It was the week before so yeah, Christmas is the big reason why the Wii U version did better.

@FlimFlam It looks like Octopath Traveler is a nice RPG. If anyone has the game I would love to hear how technical performance is. As a Switch exclusive I hope it's good.

Shouldn't Crash be called a REENTRY also? It was released on PS4 a year ago.
Not that I own or want to own Crash or Captain Toad (just bad with puzzle games and Crash never clicked with me on PSone), just seems weird to label one as such, but not another port.
edit also, when will everyone in the UK own a copy of Crash? 3 straight weeks is impressive for sales, but the market needs to be saturated eventually. Right?
Now I'm just envisioning the character from Conspiracy having to buy a copy of Crash whenever he sees one. 😋

@Ernest_The_Crab I'm not sure about that but it seems that not many physical units of the game were available.

EDIT: I just checked and it's available on amazon.co.uk and likely on the other amazon sites too.

@Alikan Yeah, this is the only port that is considered re-entry by NL and it's not like it's the only Wii U port on Switch. I find it really off, like he wants to justify the lower sales.

@Grumblevolcano In the UK it was actually released in january so an Xmas release isnt why it did better on Wii U.

@Knuckles-Fajita There was a soft launch in the UK on December 19th.

@Grumblevolcano The actual launch was January 2nd.

Lets take the one that actually fully released the game.

@Grumblevolcano No, @Knuckles-Fajita is right, it was released on 2nd January 2015 in here. I didn't saw any store with the game on the shelves in December and I bought my copy in January.

@BlueOcean I bought it December 19th at my local GAME store.

https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2014/12/uk_retailer_game_is_selling_captain_toad_treasure_tracker_this_side_of_christmas

@OorWullie

they all helped out about the same.

LEGO The Incredibles
46% of sales came on PS4,
30% on Xbox One
23% on Nintendo Switch.

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2018-07-16-uk-charts-crash-bandicoot-holds-off-lego-incredibles-and-octopath-traveller-to-stay-no-1

Octopath #1 in revenue.

@link3710 On all charts a port is not a re-entry since a re-entry implies that the same exact product has been released before.

For instance, a Nintendo Selects or Nintendo Player's Choice (old name) re-release is a re-entry. A port is a new product for a new console. Besides, like someone said, the ports are enhanced in some ways.

In short, a port for a new console is not a re-entry but a new product for a new platform.

On top of that, your comparison is contradictory because Mario Kart 8 DX 8 includes limited new content same as Captain Toad on Switch.

@Grumblevolcano Because some stores sell before the release date, but you can't consider that as an official release date. You can't say it was released before Christmas here if it was officially released in January and most people got it in January.

I enjoy the crash series.

Aaaaw lets support Captain Toad and all buy 2 copies!

@Agramonte What's also interesting in that article is that Crash continues to do slightly better on XBONE than Switch in the UK while the Switch version does better in the EMEA.

@FlimFlam Yep, the same thing happened with Assassin's Creed Origins. Xbox One has gained hardware and software buyers while PS4 has lost some. But I think that you also mean that Crash was PlayStation's mascot, not Nintendo's or Microsoft's.

The last time I checked Xbox One hardware sales were as high, sometimes higher than PS4 in US as well. It's obvious that Xbox One S and X have been better received that the Xbox One fat with Kinect.

Crash is great, well deserved to succeed the way it has. Frustrating in all the best ways to play, impressively difficult, I forgot how hard games could be.

Top 10 best sellers in PC & Videogames on Amazon UK currently, for a bit of a variation are:
1.Octopath Traveler (Nintendo Switch)
2.Mario Tennis Aces (Nintendo Switch)
3.Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker (Nintendo Switch)
4.Crash Bandicoot NSane Trilogy (Xbox One)
5.Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy (Nintendo Switch)
6.Nintendo Pokemon: Let’s Go, Eevee Including Poke Ball Plus
7.Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Nintendo Switch)
8.Off the Hook Set amiibo - Pearl and Marina
9.Official Xbox Wireless Controller - White
10.Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 (PS4)

Good to see Crash doing well and impressive 6/10 being Nintendo related games/products.

@Hyrule Is that Amazon US or what?

Nintendo should take note and make some N64 or GC remasters after they are done with the Wii U port party. Mario 64 HD, Sunshine HD, F-Zero GX HD, and Double Dash HD would make me happy. Port over Windwaker HD too.

Wait do they mean that Capt Toad on Wii U sold more in the first week or less?

@FlimFlam Yeah. Combined it all shows how with a Multiplat (given the right type of game) the Switch can already give more or less %20 %30 of the sales for a publisher. Not bad at all... can only imagine once it hits 36mill by end of year.

Sales were likely much lower due to the time of year. Toad was due to launch on january second I think, but I got mine early from HMV as apparently Nintendo ok'd it's early release! A rarity but it made me very happy!! Great game, glad it charted so highly!

@MaSSiVeRiCaN I think that Crash games were not at Super Mario 64's level but they were released earlier for a less powerful platform. I like that the genre is back with Yooka-Laylee, Crash, Super Lucky's Tale, A Hat in Time, Spyro… but I would like a Banjo-Kazooie comeback as well, co-developed by Rare and Playtonic. I think that Super Mario 64 and Banjo-Kazooie were two of the best things of the generation. Nintendo should remake Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine with additional levels, the Wii U ports are fine but those are games that we have played recently with just a slightly higher resolution and little new content.

@Sunset758 Sales were higher on Wii U.

@BlueOcean Where did I mention that Crash was PS's mascot? I'm a little confused.

Besides that, I agree with your post. I know that some people who own both a PS4 and XBONE will buy multiplats on the XBONE because they prefer the XBONE's controller. And, if they have an XBONE X and a PS4, they would probably buy multiplats on the more powerful system.

@BlueOcean UK, post amended.

@BlueOcean Probably UK, in the US the Switch version is outselling the Xbox version on Amazon

weird I kind of thought Octopath traveler would start at 3, thats a really decent first week. Hopefully it will stick around a bit and will be a good enough sign for SquareEnix to give switch some more amazing exclusives!

@BlueOcean It still has an effect, less people would've picked up Captain Toad Wii U if Nintendo didn't allow these stores to release the game before Christmas.

@Mrtoad @Hyrule Wow just one PS4 game and one Xbox One game on Amazon's UK Top 10? Does it mean that Switch games have much higher physical sales compared to the other platforms?

@Grumblevolcano A little effect, perhaps, but still no Christmas release in UK.

@FlimFlam Nah, I said "I think", it was just a way of asking what you think about it.

@CCore28 How do those take more work than remastering Crash or Spyro? N64 Mini hasn't been confirmed.

@justin233 I think that he means the Wii U ports.

And yep, it would be great if N64 and NGC best games were remade.

@BlueOcean I'm in love with the resurgence of the 3D platformer and I'm happy that it's getting reintroduced to this generation. I'll definitely agree that Banjo-Kazooie & Donkey Kong 64 were prime examples of again imo superior titles compared to Crash and boy would I be all over those if they were remastered.

@BlueOcean. Ah, I see. That makes sense.

I’m also surprised at the Amazon UK list. Somehow the Switch is doing better there than on the US Amazon list, where the $10 Xbox gift card is currently the top selling item. Octopath is only 9th right now (whereas it’s 1st on the Amazon UK chart), but that’s probably because it’s now a back order here.

@MaSSiVeRiCaN I am in love with that too . Donkey Kong 64 would need an improved camera programming though.

@CCore28 The only N64 remake that Nintendo has done if I remember correctly is Star Fox 64 (with Q-Games). Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask were remade by Grezzo assisted by Nintendo. Oh well, that Super Mario 64 DS and the Diddy Kong Racing DS by Rare but those were too much for the Nintendo DS to handle. I don't remember any other N64 remake, although Eurocom remade Goldeneye 007 into a worse game. Then we have the excellent Banjo-Kazooie, Banjo-Tooie and Perfect Dark remasters on Xbox.

Am I forgetting anything?

Nintendo have cannibalised it's own sales this week with 4 big games to choose from for switch owners.

But still impressive with the 3rd party xb/ps games being quite subdued to the Switch's dominance.

Octopath Traveler's launch sales were nearly twice as much as Bravely Default's launch sales. It was the top-selling SKU of last week and the top-selling game overall if ranked by revenue.

Great sales = more games = a good thing. More games from Square as well. KH3 perhaps, and even better FFVII remake.

@CCore28 I know about that patents but that’s not confirmation. I know Crash was done by a different company and Nintendo has done few remakes. That doesn’t mean I can’t hope or it will never happen as they’ve done it before.

@NEStalgia

I'd add randomly encountered enemies on the list of why RPGs aren't chart toppers. I can cope with the grinding, deep story and time-sink in many of them, but enemies popping up that I have to fight while I'm in the middle of a quest of some sort I find irritating. It's the big thing that stops me liking Pokemon, Dragon Quest and the like.

If captain toad says re entry then so should crash lol. Cause it already came out on ps4 last year

@FlimFlam Because Amazon doesn't count digital sales but physical and codes if they sell those, I assume that physical games are a more popular choice on Switch than on Xbox One and PS4. The eShop is more expensive (the main selling point of physical Switch games on Amazon), not many first-party deals on the eShop either and the way Nintendo manages digital rights doesn't encourage people to buy digital games, plus the storage limitations of Switch.

I am also surprised to see how unique each of the Amazon top lists are so, perhaps, they are the kind of "all the rage lists", like those on the digital platforms that say what people are currently buying at that moment but you never know if a game at the bottom has been more successful. I don't consider the Amazon or digital stores lists very reliable to be honest, I consider them "what are people buying now, get on board!".

@Sakura I definitely remain not a fan of random encounters. They have irritated me since the 8-bit days. Chrono Trigger's magic partially lies in it's rareness for no random encounters. I was sad to see them return in Octopath, and I liked Bravely Defaults' methodology of turning off random encounters entirely. I just played the game with them off, and then when I got to a town or dungeon just turned them to max to just grind non-stop

Then again that game had massive pacing problems where it was just an endless series of boss battles with some randoms grinding between them.

Activision remake CTR for all systems give us online play and cross platform. I would absolutely love this!

@BlueOcean I have it and so far it's been techinally sound battles are smooth, no drop offs in visuals or performance. Only thing off about the game really is how the story is told, it's really weird having to stick with whoever you started out with for all the other 7 characters chapter ones and them not being present during that character's cutscenes.

If squareenix ever decided to remake final fantasy 6 and keep its artstyle similar to the original, I hope they make it like octopath, it's a good looking game and the attention to detail for some things is great, like the water effects and how the world map has little boats sailing across bodies of water.

@Alto fyi your pic is so distracting I couldn't read your comment

The 40% drop in Toad will be because Wii U owners already have and that it's, whisper it, the better version of the game. And that's not Wii U fanboyism it's just a fact.Even most reviews state it plays better handheld, but more awesome and family friendly docked. And Wii U has that covered. It's why Mario Maker would likely be inferior. Do love the Switch though and every other port has been at least equal to and usually better than the Wii U. And I'm not gonna lay down 40 quid for, effectively, DLC. Not even upgraded to Mario Kart Deluxe. The one exception is Zelda Warriors which had a ton of effort put into it, especially if you only owned one previous version. The nadir of poor ports is Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze. Toad at least has mid level pricing.

@jbreez00 Thanks, that is interesting.

@Sakura7 I agree. The problem with the Wii U ports on Switch is that they are overpriced, not cross-buy even if you bought them digitally a few years ago on the same account and most of them only offer a small resolution boost and a little extra content, Captain Toad in particular have lost accurate controls in docked mode.

@BlueOcean yeah, lol

@NEStalgia,

It shows that Switch owners are up for more colorful, good quality platformers. Something other then Mario Odyssey or some indies (Mario Odyssey is basically done).

Yeah bring on the retail-goods: Spyro trilogy, Jack and Daxter trilogy, Ratchet and Clank trilogy, Sly raccoon trilogy...I would love them all!

The first question that comes to mind is "but why?"

@Henmii True, though it's success across all platforms is showing very Crash specific popularity. Personally though, not having a nostalgic tie-in to Crash or PS1, I'd rather run through DKC:TF and Rayman Legends a few more times than play Crash. It was a decent game for its time and was kind of different, but remaster or not, it's just not something that ages terribly well.

Jak, R&C, and Sly are all Sony IPs so they're only going one place. Spyro, though there's hope. Plus, Jak is...eh. They re-released them some time back with updates and I somehow found Jak 1 held up better over time than 2 & 3. ND really grew a lot since those days.

@Henmii "It shows that Switch owners are up for more colorful, good quality platformers".

Not only Switch owners according to the chart.

@BlueOcean Honestly I don't even think the pricing is the biggest problem with the WiiU ports on Switch. The bigger issue is just the timing. A full year of cramming as many WiiU games back to back onto Switch may have looked good from a business perspective of buying time for dev teams to crank out content after launching the new stuff last year, and to recoup WiiU era losses with little expense, but the long view just shows repeating releases of WiiU games at full price with little (first party) breaking it up to make each look special.

If they did the same thing and spaced it out for years interleaved with other new games the optics would have been far better.

The good news is there's only six games left TOTAL to port

@NEStalgia I think that Spyro Reignited Trilogy is going to be as successful as Crash N. Sane Trilogy.

EDIT:

"If they did the same thing and spaced it out for years interleaved with other new games the optics would have been far better".

Yeah, do you remember how well received were the Zelda remakes on 3DS and Wii U? Those were proper remakes so I paid a premium price and was happy, I even got the special editions for Majora's Mask 3D and Twilight Princess HD. On Switch is just ports from the current generation (Wii U) at full price. I remember how criticised were Sony and Microsoft for their remasters but anything that Nintendo does make a lot of sense for the fanboys that become pseudo-stockholders.

"The good news is there's only six games left TOTAL to port"

LOL Unfortunately some of them are impossible on Switch like Maiden of Black Water.

@John_Deacon Yes. I don't think that that chart on its own is very useful and it also puts Nintendo games in disadvantage, as you are going to see below, because they aren't released on Xbox/PS.

TOP 40 ENTERTAINMENT SOFTWARE - INDIVIDUAL FORMATS (UNITS), WEEK ENDING 14 July 2018

https://www.chart-track.co.uk/index.jsp?c=p/software/uk/latest/index_test.jsp&ct=110032

1 OCTOPATH TRAVELER (Switch)
2 CRASH BANDICOOT N.SANE TRILOGY (Xbox One)
3 CAPTAIN TOAD: TREASURE TRACKER (Switch)
4 GOD OF WAR (PS4)
5 CRASH BANDICOOT N.SANE TRILOGY (Switch)
6 LEGO THE INCREDIBLES (PS4)
7 MARIO TENNIS ACES (Switch)
8 MARIO KART 8 DELUXE (Switch)
9 LEGO THE INCREDIBLES (Xbox One)
10 JURASSIC WORLD: EVOLUTION (PS4)

The most relevant chart is the one where you can see how games perform separately, it tells you how Switch games perform for their userbase and how a version of the same game perform on each platform.

@Knuckles-Fajita it was in stores in December, all a bit random, but even the week after Christmas is a good time to launch, people have new consoles and money to buy games.

@BlueOcean I think Spyro could be more successful. I didn't think Crash really had that huge a following, whereas people have been clamoring for a new Spyro since Skylanders "replaced" it!

Fortunately I think ports (that aren't remasters/remakes) will be a think of the past for a while with the PC Twins. For Nintendo it depends on if they keep this architecture going forward.

Maiden of Blackwater....there's probably a way to retool it. You still have gyros after all....so switching to a "camera mode" is probably still doable. WiiU's downfall was that the gamepad really didn't add anything that couldn't be done conventionally, it just made it a bit cleaner.

SMM is the one I doubt most. Switch has the touch screen, but would they really do it as a handheld-only game?

Edit: Actually for SMM I imagine a "Sequel" like Splatoon and Smash.......I.E. the same exact game with some improvements and retoolings. Which is to say an enhanced re-release branded as a sequel. And that's the very thing that's been annoying a lot of people. For WiiU owners we're being sold our existing libraries and told they're new games.

@NEStalgia "For WiiU owners we're being sold our existing libraries and told they're new games".

Fortunately, some people aren't blind and have realised.

Super Mario Maker is usually called the game that made best use of the GamePad but that's not right, a 3DS version already exists and it could be done on Switch (handheld mode). Maiden of Black Water is the game that uses the GamePad in the best way, as long as you get up for battling ghosts. Star Fox Zero tried and failed. That one could have controls redone completely and nobody would miss anything.

@BlueOcean And for the record, I don't think there's anything wrong with re-selling WiiU games. Few people owned a WiiU, never had access to those games, and the hardware is discontinued. It's fair to re-release the games, even at full price since those games were only on sale for 1-4 years at all. But just don't lie to me and pretend they're new sequels to old games. The games should be re-released. Those are great games that deserve to be played and see good sales numbers to spawn actual sequels. It's the lying that gets me. This constant pretending they are sequels and new games rather than re-releases, collections, etc. It's the same thing EA has done with FIFA and Madden for 15 years that everyone hates. Of course FIFA 16 was just 15 which was just 14 with a few tweaks and updates. But people call EA on that and it's earned them a bad reputation. Nintendo gets a pass calling a re-release a sequel, when there's no reason for deceit, a re-release is acceptable as what it is. The interview with Trinen was cringey where he's defending Smash and Splatoon as sequels. I had immense respect for him and he lost quite a few points with me with that charade. I realize it's corporate orders, but still...

@NEStalgia Yes, I agree with that. I think they should be free if you own the digital Wii U version, though. Nintendo algo gets a pass when they release "incomplete" games like Splatoon 2 or Arms.

@BlueOcean

Are you sure it's not just a re-entry into the top ten list? Because that would make sense considering they have the games' previous numbers next to them. And while the two that say "new" are technically new, I'm pretty sure that just means they're new to the list

@BlueOcean Maybe not free, work went into it to port the architecture, make improvements, etc. and there's no way to validate WIiU ownership etc, but I do think an "Ambassador's program" like 3DS would be nice for WiiU owners....discounts on eShop purchase on Switch or bonus games or something. WiiU owners were really thrown by the wayside. I think the moneymen taking over the top after Iwata really changed the "maximize margin" principle from the (to borrow Sony's quote) "for the players" philosophy of Iwata. Were he alive, I think things would be different, even if investors were more agitated. I think we forget too often this is a new company now run by people of a different character than the man we supported through the WiiU.

I’ll make a re-entry into commenting on Nintendo Life

I feel I’m one of the few people who are so stoked about Crash and felt really tepid RE Octopath — I gave the demo a go and I found it to be dull. Looking at the performance and reviews I will probably give the demo another shot. But for the next few months I will be trying to 100% the Crash games (again) — it’s the Dark Souls of platformers.

@BlueOcean I think the reason why Nintendo gets a pass for splatoon 2 is because of how well the first game did.

The first game was barebones, however, they did promise and delivered free updates.

This helped people to be more comfortable with Splatoon 2 being barebones because they trust the developers from the previous game.

@CCore28 Yeah, true dat.

@NEStalgia But with My Nintendo linked to the NNID they know what digital games we own on Wii U. And yes, I agree, an ambassador program would have been appropriate.

@Rocketjay8 Yes, there's nothing really wrong with that but it shows that Nintendo also makes quick ports and quick sequels.

@Banjos_Backpack Banjo needs to come back.

@BlueOcean yeah but that would unfairly treat people that bought physical. That's reward digital buyers with free switch copies and physical buyers get "lol, $60 please" . That's an even bigger EffU than we already have

@Banjos_Backpack because the people that know how to make banjo are at playtonic working on yooka laylee.

Given that The Incredibles 2 is on track to become the biggest animated film of all time at the box office, sales of LEGO The Incredibles dont seem very good at all.

@electrolite77 yes and no. The company, the board, yes. But if you read the investor transcripts it was clear iwata was pushing back on much of what they wanted, and he could get away with it because of his stature where nobody else could. Nintendo was ruthless under yamauchi. Iwata was very bent on keeping that in check, and he didn't have to worry much about repercussions from push back because he was the visionary that made the golden cow.

Without him there is no push back. It's back to the late 80s.

@Banjos_Backpack all true, but otoh it has the designers.... Ultimately the banjo team is split... Real banjo can't come back. . Did you play yooka before it after the updates? I've only started in the early parts with it and am finding it way better than the negative comments suggest, but that is post updates.

@NEStalgia Some remain at Rare (Banjo-Kazooie designer Gregg Mayles, no less) so ideally they should join for a co-development. Yooka-Laylee disappointed me.

@BlueOcean i do wonder how much of banjo was really Nintendo's oversight and processes at work more than rare alone. Much like rabbids... It's ubisoft and a passionate teams work, surely, but Nintendo also contributed to the polish greatly. I wonder if you go back to the 90s with the same rare team and removed Nintendo's oversight if youd get a banjo that looks a lot like yooka.

@Banjos_Backpack Exactly, I totally agree. Besides, playing Sea of Thieves I believe that the new Rare would be able to create a wonderful world for a new Banjo-Kazooie game. Rare could co-develop it with Playtonic but seeing how Playtonic handled Yooka-Laylee why they don't just go back to Rare and do good things. The level design and the characters in Yooka-Laylee aren't right (I played it after all the updates).

@NEStalgia No way, Nintendo had nothing to do with Rare regarding development. I have read lots of interviews and I know a few guys at Rare. Nintendo didn't do anything in Banjo-Kazooie and when they saw how the game looked they were just jealous.

https://nintendoeverything.com/nintendo-were-often-quite-envious-of-us-says-former-rare-staffer/

@BlueOcean,

So true. It also helps that you get 3 games in one package, bang for your buck. So far I really like it. And it has some actual difficulty, wich is nice.

@NEStalgia,

If they are all still Sony franchises it sadly may be of the charts. Crash seems in Activisions hands now, and thus seems to be free. Same with Spyro. Spyro has to happen on Switch, no excuses!

On a sidenote: I never got why Naughty dogs just sold their Crash franchise. And over time they have gotten more and more mature, from the kid-friendly Crash to the super violent The last of us. Why Naughty, why?!

It’s kinda hard for Octopath to reach n1 since it’s sold out everywhere because there aren’t enough copies of the game.

@Henmii Talking about Naughty Dog, I have played Uncharted, Uncharted 2, Uncharted 3, Uncharted 4, Uncharted The Lost Legacy and The Last of Us. All of them have good writing and voice acting but I am not a huge fan of the games and gameplay.

The Uncharted games are like action films and The Last of Us is gloomier, more linear and scripted than Resident Evil games, to name another survival horror franchise.

If The Evil Within had a better camera system (the camera is brain-dead) I would say that it is better than The Last of Us as a game, at least I enjoyed The Evil Within more, but I admit the camera can be a pain when you fight quick enemies. I still prefer Resident Evil, there is too much gore in The Evil Within, while Resident Evil tend to focus on eerie moments. I haven't played The Evil Within 2 yet, they say it's better than the prequel.

Back to Crash Bandicoot, I still haven't played it, I played The Warth of Cortex (GameCube), not a great game but everyone says that the trilogy is better and the remake is beautiful so I will get that.

I have never played Spyro either but I will get Reignited Trilogy because it looks great. Hopefully it will be released for Switch as well.

@Banjos_Backpack Definitely. They should remake Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie. Better textures, higher resolution and a modern camera system. That would be a hit.

Rare is focused on Sea of Thieves, but they'll have to do something else. Although Sea of Thieves is a completely different kind of game, Rare has created a wonderful world and the game performs wonderfully. Some islands remind me of how a new Donkey Kong game would look, they look impressive but at the same time they look cartoonish, it's a great use of the Unreal Engine. They could do something like that for Banjo and would be impressive.

I have to agree with you about Yooka-Laylee. I still want to support the developers but I found the level design to be disappointing, like very random. I missed a lot of epic moments and characters, Yooka and Laylee controls are worse than Banjo's 19 years before, the character design of the protagonists and enemies is bland except for a few and, even worse, the exploration is boring. Some worlds look nice and the music is good but everything else is messed up. The mini games are worse than the worst of Mario Party, the side quests make little sense, I mean, it's not like they are funny but that who knows what you have to do. In Banjo was like the water is cold, or my teeth hurt. The writing in Yooka-Laylee is bland, like a bad jokes book, probably because as you said Leigh Loveday didn't work on it, who also wrote the amazing script for Donkey Kong Country trilogy and the funny manuals.

After completing Yooka-Laylee 100%, it made me appreciate Banjo-Kazooie even more. I think that this video explains it quite well:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82dM6DiG2Rc

@Banjos_Backpack Give me the link when you are ready!

@Henmii Activision's always owned Crash and Spyro IIRC (Back in those days independent studios sold the rights to the franchise to the publisher as part of the publishing contract most of the time. id was one of the few that managed not to.) But the others were always published by Sony itself. As for why they got more M rated, well, they're owned by Sony proper.....they do as directed. Back in the Crash days they weren't.

@BlueOcean I remember Miyamoto in particular being envious. That's interesting, but surprising, that Nintendo had no involvement. I mean they had a huge stock interest in the company at the time, and tend to oversee everything under their purview, including Retro, fairly closely.

@NEStalgia For whatever reason Nintendo never really cared much about Rare. Envy? Could be. The Stamper brothers offered Nintendo the 51% of Rare that they owned, while Nintendo had 49% of it already. However, Nintendo was not interested in buying. Then the brothers offered it to Microsoft, Microsoft bought and then Nintendo sold their 49% to Microsoft!

The games with Nintendo characters were given to Nintendo and the games with Rare characters were given to Microsoft, although Nintendo got Rare characters in the process, most importantly, all the Kong family: Diddy, Dixie, Cranky, Candy... Star Fox Adventures would be now owned by Microsoft too if the game didn't change from Dinosaur Planet to an Star Fox adventure while keeping the other elements, characters and logo the same.

@NEStalgia The Retro story is exactly the opposite. Nintendo went to US, they didn't like Retro's first game, Metroid Prime, and they asked them to remake the game completely. Then Nintendo bought the part of Retro owned by Spangenberg. So yeah, Nintendo is kind of weird. Sometimes I think that they just want to have workers to tell them what to do.

@BlueOcean Overall I think Nintendo really doesn't function well with an "external studio" model as Sony does. Neither does MS, really, so Rare went from the frying pan to the kettle. Like you said, Nintendo is very top-down, they like workers to tell what to do. Though that's not odd for a Japanese company in the slightest (Sony's the weird one.) But they really seemed uninterested in rare. It wasn't envy, they owned that 49%. Miyamoto was envious, very much, but Yamauchi and Miyamoto butting heads was a regular thing back then, and Yamauchi did whatever made more money. For whatever reason, there just must not have been a business case, for maintaining that connection. Seems weird looking at the creative output, but monetarily it must not have added up in their estimate. Similarly, Retro seems half dead. Or maybe Rare was just decaying inside and Nintendo saw the writing on the wall before MS stuck the final nails through. I do imagine the communication barrier with any English speaking company was a serious problem, especially 20 years ago.

Heck the interview with Trinen for Smash shows even internally, Treehouse is kind of out of the loop, even with Trinen spending tons of time in Japan and being natively fluent. Nintendo thinking really seems to be to treat everyone outside the HQ building as as insignificant. I suspect even other Japanese studios like IS in Tokyo get the same treatment.

"As for why they got more M rated, well, they're owned by Sony proper.....they do as directed"

Yeah, that may be the case. If Sony demanded more mature stuff, they had to make that instead.

@Banjos_Backpack I read it and made a comment. It's very well written and it's smart without trying to be funny. It's a descriptive and objective review unlike many on the popular sites. Congratulations!

Just two things. First, you wrote two similar sentences one after another, probably because you forgot to erase one of them. I can't find it now, though.

Happy with nudity. Great captions, but I'd use another font or size. They look like the main text.

Best-selling retail + digital games in Europe during Octopath Traveler's launch week (physical sales only for games on Nintendo hardware):
1) FIFA 18
2) Octopath Traveler
3) Crash Bandicoot N'Sane Trilogy
4) Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
5) The Crew 2
6) Grand Theft Auto V
7) Mario Tennis Aces
8) Mario Kart 8: Deluxe
9) Super Mario Odyssey
10) Minecraft: Nintendo Edition

I think it's safe to say that the "Sony dominates Europe" mantra is over. Even if you ignore the two new Switch releases (Octopath Traveler + Captain Toad), there would still be 4 Switch exclusives among the Top 10 best-selling games of the week in Europe, and that's completely excluding digital sales from the Switch.

No excuses now: They HAVE to make a new Crash bandicoot, releasing on all platforms. With the same difficulty, of course. The demand is there!