Comments 209

Re: Rumour: Get That Pinch Of Salt Ready, Apparently Microsoft Is Preparing To Buy Electronic Arts

Akropolon

Honestly? If this were to happen - which I'm not ruling out - it would mean the end of Xbox, not the end of multiplat EA. The amount of money Microsoft would make by publishing all EA games on all platforms as opposed to just on PC and Xbox doesn't compare in the slightest.

If they were to purchase EA, they'd follow the same strategy they did with Minecraft. If they were to keep the Xbox brand alive, they'd perhaps have an exclusive from time to time and some "Best on Xbox" marketing, but franchises like Fifa, Madden, Battlefield and more would remain multiplatform.

Also, not completely unrelated: remember when Microsoft mentioned buying Nintendo some fifteen years ago?

Re: Art: These Fantasy Nintendo Hardware Breakdowns Are Just Magical

Akropolon

Well, as for the Game Boy/Gamecube comment, I made that ridiculous comparison to point out that only naming conventions aren't enough to put different products in the same product line/family.

As for the distinction between the "Game Boy Family" and "Game Boy Advance Family", Nintendo doesn't have pages for those (seeing how both are obsolete by now), but Wikipedia refers to it as the "Game Boy Line" with individual families (Game Boy/Color/Advance). I can live with those definitions.

EDIT: With regards to the 'tender soul' part, I was merely using hyperbole. We're talking about video games here, I'm not easily offended when it comes to my pastimes.

Re: Art: These Fantasy Nintendo Hardware Breakdowns Are Just Magical

Akropolon

@ThanosReXXX @Damo

Letting this whole arbitrary DS discussion go for a while: don't you at least agree with me that the DS poster is ridiculously inconsistent? Seeing how it not only references the DS and 3DS, but also the SNES and N64? To me it's just a cluttered mess of random references and nods.

Re: Art: These Fantasy Nintendo Hardware Breakdowns Are Just Magical

Akropolon

I'm sorry, but how weird is my initial point if Nintendo agrees with me?

@Damo literally said (copy-paste) "The 3DS is part of the DS family."

Nintendo says otherwise, seeing how they have a entire page describing exactly this "DS family" that does not include any 3DS. They do however have a different page describing the "Nintendo 3DS family".

Why am I on trial for agreeing with Nintendo's definitions?

Re: Art: These Fantasy Nintendo Hardware Breakdowns Are Just Magical

Akropolon

@ThanosReXXX First off, obviously the Game Boy and Gamecube have nothing to do with one another. That was my point.

Secondly, we actually agree on a lot of this. The DS and 3DS are related - in concept, in marketing, et cetera. Just like the Wii and Wii U are related, indeed. The same goes for the NES and SNES.

And you know what? If you'd seen an NES poster referring to SNES games or a Wii poster referring to Wii U games, I also would've mentioned that's weird.

If a poster claiming to be about the Nintendo Wii would then make references to Bayonetta, the Wii U Gamepad or Breath of the Wild, that would've been weird.

If a poster claiming to be about the NES would then make references to Super Mario Kart, Earthbound or Chrono Triger, that would've been weird.

And to see a poster about the Nintendo DS making references to several pieces of 3DS software and even a completely unrelated game (Super Mario Kart)? Yeah, I'd say that's weird.

I honestly don't see what's so controversial about that statement. Are the DS and 3DS related, thus 'family'? Sure. Are they in the exact same family? Nope and Nintendo doesn't think so either (check out the links from before). The 3DS is the successor to the DS, just like the Gamecube is to the N64 or the Switch is to the Wii U. To lump them in together for a design/poster that very obviously is showing a regular Nintendo DS is just nonsensical.

Re: Art: These Fantasy Nintendo Hardware Breakdowns Are Just Magical

Akropolon

@ganonms Thank you. I was just about to share the same links. If we're going to use arbitrary terms such as "3DS Family" and "DS Family", we should at least adhere to what Nintendo uses itself. And this is how they do so.

To refer to 3DS games in a DS ("Family") poster is similar to referring to Gamecube games in a N64 poster. They're different systems with completely different specs from different times.

Re: Art: These Fantasy Nintendo Hardware Breakdowns Are Just Magical

Akropolon

@Damo And both Game Boy and Gamecube have the word 'game' in them. That's not a valid argument.

Better still, the Original/Pocket/Color versions of the Game Boy are usually seen as one family (because similar performance) and the Original/SP/Micro versions of the Advance are seen as their own.

It just strikes me as odd to portray the DSi and then talk about hardware that wouldn't release in years (the 3DS) and refer to a game that was never made available for the DS (Super Mario Kart).

Re: Final Fantasy And More Could One Day Arrive On Switch As Square Enix Considers Future Ports

Akropolon

@itslukec Haha, wasn't aware it was that easily enabled. Yeah, in those situations I'd say you have to go through a menu to activate it, but keep it available at all times.

I have a full time job and social life; if I play a game (which is getting less and less often), I do so to unwind and just enjoy myself. Just like I don't want to rewatch a scene, reread a chapter or rewind a track the first time I listen to an album, I don't want to have to replay certain sections just because "I'm not good enough".

I don't play games to get good. It would be a completely unnecessary skill to begin with. No, I play games for the narrative, for fun gameplay mechanics, for aesthetics, et cetera. I am thus a huge proponent of stuff like optional cheats or easy modes; they don't intrude on the gameplay experience for those who want to be "skilled" and they open up the experience to a whole host of other players.

Re: Review: Worms W.M.D. (Switch eShop)

Akropolon

@BigKing Thank you. If you put down UK/EU, you really ought to put down a GBP/EUR price as well. The /EU doesn't mean anything right now.

On-topic: Completely forgot this was coming to Switch, but am most definitely getting it. I've loved playing this series ever since I was about... six, seven?

Re: Review: Stardew Valley (Switch eShop)

Akropolon

@Ryu_Niiyama ConcernedApe's not responsible for the port though, Chucklefish is. So any new/unique bugs in the Switch version can be attributed to an entire team, not one person. Which makes it way more unacceptable and unprofessional.

I've been dying to play this on Switch, but am forcing myself to wait. Still busy with Golf Story, SteamWorld Dig 2 and One Piece: Unlimited World Red. I'll wait until I've finished those and then hopefully Stardew Valley's had its fair share of patches by then.

Re: Stardew Valley Arrives on the Switch eShop This Week

Akropolon

Horrible timing for me. :') Am playing Golf Story, SteamWorld Dig 2, One Piece Unlimited World Red and Mario + Rabbids at the same time right now on my Switch.

Not to mention that I'm also deep into FFX HD right now and am going to play through Halo 1 to 5 with a friend in the next few weeks....

Dying shame, because I've been waiting on this port forever.

Re: Rumour: Source Who Leaked L.A. Noire Switch Port Drops Hint That Grand Theft Auto V Is Next

Akropolon

@rjejr 13 million in 4.5 years vs 5 million within half a year without ever letting up in the charts. I'd call that a resounding success, yes.

And I totally agree with you. Something like GTA V makes sense to me: it's still ridiculously popular, it's easy to port and it would simply be a wise investment on Rockstar's part.

But mostly it's exclusives and how you market them, that matters. The Switch will never be 'one of the three' consoles, in the sense that it has its own little corner of the market: which is perfect. Nintendo not competing directly with Sony and/or Microsoft is Nintendo at its best if you ask me.

Re: Rumour: Source Who Leaked L.A. Noire Switch Port Drops Hint That Grand Theft Auto V Is Next

Akropolon

@MsgBoardGamer Also, GTA III, Vice City and San Andreas weren't still selling like hot cakes four years after their original release for a bevy of platforms. Try, try again.

Not to mention that the Wii did get a Bully port and that events in the past are in no way whatsoever a guarantee for the future. No one ever thought porting GTA III, Vice City or San Andreas to the Wii made sense. Everyone knew GTA IV couldn't run on the device.

The Switch on the other hand can easily run GTA V, which is still a charts dominating title. So yeah, it still is a totally plausible thing to happen.

Re: Nintendo Download: 28th September (North America)

Akropolon

Golf Story for me. Deemo is really tempting, but I still have to clear like... 80% of VOEZ and would rather finish that up before I spend another 30 bucks on a similar title.

One Piece will most definitely make it over to my Switch, but only after a serious discount.

Re: Rumour: Source Who Leaked L.A. Noire Switch Port Drops Hint That Grand Theft Auto V Is Next

Akropolon

Wouldn't surprise me all that much, to be honest. Have some of their staff work on the L.A. Noire port to get to know the hardware, then port over the best selling game of the last couple of years. It would probably still sell hundreds of thousands of copies, if not millions, more than making up for the costs of porting.

It's a no-brainer, really, more so than any other port out there.

Re: Sony Doesn't Consider Handheld Gaming To Be A "Huge Market Opportunity"

Akropolon

@jbopatrick Yeah, no, I don't agree with that point. Everyone knows the money is made off of software (except for Nintendo making money off of hardware too a lot of the time). The thing that's important though is the overlap in customers.

In the grander scheme of things there's a tiny amount of people with both a PS4/XB1 and a Switch. Of those people, an even smaller percentage will be interested in getting Skyrim/Doom/similar titles. And of that ridiculously tiny percentage, even less people will say "I'll take the Switch version over the PS4/XB1 version".

Because that's the thing: there's pretty much no one out there who's picking Switch versions of games over other versions. More importantly: of the people who'll buy Skyrim/Doom on the Switch, a lot of them would never have bothered with those titles if they hadn't come to the Switch; that means it's not a lost sale for Sony, just an extra sale for Bethesda.

If anything, it's indie titles that should worry a company like Sony, seeing how apparently the Switch is performing amazing on that front right now. But AAA games like these? Those are built with certain hardware and demographics in mind and Sony and Microsoft won't have to fear the Switch on that front at all.

It's the exact same thing that happened with the Wii. It was a resounding success, had some amazing hard- and software sales, but didn't hurt the PlayStation and Xbox business at all. There were hardly any AAA multiplatform titles and those always sold less on the Wii (with some rare exceptions like Just Dance).

I completely get Sony and so should you.

Re: Sony Doesn't Consider Switch To Be A "Huge Market Opportunity"

Akropolon

The Switch's sales don't contradict House's comments. As he says, "...they’ve really been additive to the business in the last year or so."

He sees the Switch as adding new or other customers to the market instead of taking them away from Sony/Microsoft. And I totally agree. The people that buy a Switch and no other console are either Nintendo fans who have no need for a PS4 or XB1 or very specific kinds of gamers (children, handheld-only gamers, etc.).

There's seriously no one out there who's having a hard time picking between the Switch and PS4 and finally going with the Switch. They're completely different experiences.

Re: Crime Classic L.A. Noire Is Sleuthing Its Way To Switch This Year

Akropolon

@mioraps Oh, with that I can wholeheartedly agree. Obviously this should lead to newer Rockstar titles, otherwise it feels like a snub.

The good thing in this situation though, I'd say, is that it's a remaster for both PS4, XB1 and the Switch getting released at the same time. That suggests Rockstar might be considering a new title in the franchise and is testing if there's still a (potential) fanbase. That the Switch is a part of that, instills a lot of hope over here.

Re: Crime Classic L.A. Noire Is Sleuthing Its Way To Switch This Year

Akropolon

@mioraps They really should, because it helps the team understand the hardware and the audience.

Rockstar gets to tinker around with the Switch hardware and find out how popular one of their titles could be on the platform. If it sells somewhat decently, they can then consider bringing RDR2, GTA VI or whatever to the platform, which'll be way easier seeing how they're familiar with the console at that point.

Re: Hands On: Super Mario Odyssey Looks Set To Continue Switch’s Year of Hits

Akropolon

@StuTwo Fair enough, but you still need new big titles as well. People won't pick up a PS4 for Uncharted 4 a year from now, just like they aren't picking one up for The Last of Us as we speak.

It's not a one-on-one comparison, seeing how Nintendo titles have ridiculously long legs (GTA V is one of the few comparable titles), but Nintendo will still need new, fresh heavy hitters for commercials, shelf space and press conferences to keep the Switch train going (which I'm convinced of they will).

Re: Hands On: Super Mario Odyssey Looks Set To Continue Switch’s Year of Hits

Akropolon

@beazlen1 Pikmin 4 most likely started life as a Wii U title, so should be fairly easy to port for Nintendo. Still, given the little attention Nintendo's spent on it in the press, I'm guessing it's not a priority.

And yeah, I keep forgetting about Retro. They're not developing MP4, so could be anything, really. I'm personally not bothered by the lack of "big" titles right now though: busy playing Mario + Rabbids, will spend dozens and dozens of hours on Super Mario Odyssey and Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and will most likely get Skyrim as well at one point. I'm good.

Re: Hands On: Super Mario Odyssey Looks Set To Continue Switch’s Year of Hits

Akropolon

@SLIGEACH_EIRE Pokémon will most likely be Q4 2018, so you're right about that one. As for what we'll have in the year between those titles:

-Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (no mass appeal though)
-Payday 2 (a port...)
-Rocket League (a port...)
-Kentucky Route Zero (again, no mass appeal)
-Fire Emblem (more and more popular these days)
-Kirby, like you mentioned
-Yoshi, like you mentioned

Honestly, I'm going to have to agree with you. True heavy hitters still need announcing. There's a ridiculous amount of awesome indies coming to the Switch, but almost no 'console selling' titles after Super Mario Odyssey...