Andy_Witmyer

Reddit is a total clownshow, to be fair.

Piracy is theft. It's not a difficult proposition to understand. Crime should have consequences..

@LEGEND_MARIOID That's all social media. Reddit is arguably 10x worse. I mean, X has certainly has its issues, but it's at least a place where people with differing view points can express themselves without being overly concerned about being banned or silenced for saying the "wrong" thing.

By contrast, most of Reddit's subs have a diversity of opinion hovering at around zero, and BlueSky is no different - both are fine if you like hyper-censorious echo chambers, though, I suppose.

To be fair, though, staying disconnected from all social media as much as possible - including and especially X - is probably the best move a person can make these days, if only for the sake of preserving one's own mental health. Kamiya would probably do especially well in heeding that advice. He probably can't stay off of them completely for business reasons, but he could certainly set more limitations.

He's not wrong. People are way too serious these days - especially the keyboard warriors and virtue signalers who can't help but to be personally offended by even the most routine business decisions.

@Discostew It's completely contradictory, so yes - it's definitely annoying. The only way the sentence begins to make sense is if the author actually meant to say PS5 - but even that is nonsensical, since it falls well below the PS5, at least in terms of pure resolution and other effects. Maybe he meant PS4 Pro? But that also seems wrong, since the Switch 2 is more powerful than a PS4 Pro, and Series S X Box definitely is. I dunno - def a weird and annoying sentence, regardless. Maybe the grammatical proof reader / lead editor on this page is on vacation or something?

SquareEnix is desperately in need of improved sales numbers for quite some time now. They've already acknowledged that exclusivity with Sony isn't the lucrative cash cow that it used to be. As such, I think the odds of FF16 coming to Switch 2 are extremely high - and if the console ends up selling really well, I think there's even a chance that FF17 will come to the platform - possibly with Switch 2 being the target console and the PS5/PS6 port being higher fidelity port of it.

I tire of this "duo". They clearly have some degree of bitterness regarding Nintendo's decision to end their contracts. People treat them like they're insiders, but they don't have any close ties to any of Nintendo's internal developers, least of all those assigned to the next 3D Mario, and they didn't even when they worked there.

I think 3rd party sales will pick up for the holidays. A lot of people just bought the bundle and probably didn't have a lot of spare cash left for more stuff immediately - but, give it time. I think Cyberpunk is going to do quite well especially.

I think she looks like she's within the bounds of a 13 year old girl looks like - or at least what a 13 year old girl looked like before endocrine disrupting pesticides and other food additives started to decrease the age of onset of puberty some decades ago. Even still, I think she still looks acceptably 13 - and I think that's a really cool (and underutilized, at least for Nintendo) age for a playable main character. I dig it.

Best boxart I've ever seen from Nintendo. The older, fake version was awesome, but with Pauline in it, it's a legit 10/10 banger.

I'd give the game a 10, personally, and game of the year (imo anyway). I haven't been so thoroughly addicted to a game in years.

You should really assign a reviewer for Fantasy Life i. It's a fantastic game - GOTY, for me, honestly. It's crazy that only one of the staff "caved" to play it at all lol

I can't wait to play this later next month! Looks great! Where's your review for Fantasy Life i, tho?

Fantasy Life i 100% deserves to be number 1. It's the most fun I've had with a game all year, even when including top notch AAA games like Xenoblade Chronicles X. An absolute banger of a game that, in a world that was fair, would sell millions of copies.

Switch is ending its own timeline as a time traveler genre hub, what with this and Fantasy Life i. Speaking of which, where's your review of the latter?

This is actually pretty exciting. I'm a huge Rune Factory fan and settling on an in-game marriage partner can be, at times, a crippling decision. It would also be nice if this was a real life feature lmao

Good. Hardly anyone puts emulators on their current gen consoles to play exclusively games one has paid for, and pirates, these days, are generally insufferable.

I mean, it's a sh*tty policy if what Kirkhope says is true...but, on the other hand, I could also totally understand why Nintendo would hate DK64, considering it's objectively the worst game Rare released on the N64. Even still, he deserves credit where for the song. And I'd be pretty bitter about it, too, tbh.

@Ralizah Thanks also for the reply. I think I mainly bailed on Dark Souls because I found movement in the game to be incredibly stiff and restrictive, and at the same time, I wasn't keen on the seemingly very brutal and punative difficulty right out of the gate. I found the cryptic nature of the game to be its best qualities, tbh, but I'm generally into that sort of thing. I do like that the game world of Eldin Ring looks very large and the BOTW-esque map functionality is a plus in my book. I'll probably end up getting the game...I'm just concerned about it given my aversion to Dark Souls. But, then again, Dark Souls is a pretty old game at this point and I'm sure the developer has since honed their craft quite a bit.

@roy130390 Thanks for the detailed reply. Lots of good information. Maybe I'll give Dark Souls another try sometime - it could be that I played it fresh off the heels of playing through all of BOTW, Skyrim, and Witcher 3 - all three of which, in some ways, probably being more immediately accessible from the start of the game, as well as mechanically quite different from Dark Souls (especially BOTW, which is not really a Western style RPG, per se, but its extremely smooth, fluid, and often fairly life-like physics probably definitely made Dark Souls seem unbearably stiff in comparison).

The city building aspect seems like a lot of fun, but the apparent "roguelike" aspects have me a bit concerned. I'll have to check the reviews. Seems promising, though.

I bought Dark Souls on Switch due to the high review score pedigree of that game and the series as a whole...and, yet, despite being generally a fan of western RPGs, I absolutely hated it. It's literally the only game I own on the system that I 100% regret purchasing. Should I even bother with Elden Ring, or is it different enough that I might like it?

Why Nintendo hasn't yet swooped in to purchase Shin'en and put them to work on an F-Zero sequel as a valuable 2nd party developer is among the greatesr mysteries of the last decade.

I'd love a second playthrough of the game on Switch 2 hardware - I'm not expecting a Switch 2 Edition, tbh, but I'd certainly love to see it. I actually liked the version of the game we got on Switch 1, warts and all, but I'd certainly be down for a much more polished experience.

Digital Foundry in shambles. After spending weeks of authoritatively declaring that there is "no evidence of DLSS" being used in ANY Switch 2 launch titles", only for CD:PR to come out and demonstrate how wrong they were in their analysis is kind of hilarious. I bet there are lots of games that use DLSS that DF "somehow" failed to notice the effects of.

@Anti-Matter I guess, although from what I've read, PS5 prices are likely to go up a fair bit in the US, due to Sony having nearly all of their production factories located in China. Nintendo wisely diversified into other sweat shop countries, so a price hike is far less likely, with most of the factories for US shipments being in Vietnam. So, yeah - it might not be that close a year from now, at least in some regions, depending on the trade situation.

Then the Switch 2 is a massive upgrade from Switch 1, the latter of which is basically the equivalent of an extremely low end and archaic PC that can barely run anything, in terms of its comparison with other computers. I'm actually pretty excited about a handheld with the kind of performance Switch 2 has apparently been blessed with. Imagine what will be possible once devs try to maximize the hardware and figure out "impossible ports".

As for Civ 7, it's a hard pass for now - on any system or PC - until the game addresses its myriad problems that are universal criticisms that I've seen across all reviews so far. A lot of these criticisms could be addressed with some patching over time, so hopefully it's the case that Firaxis listens to the Cov community's feedback.

@jesse_dylan The console is completely different hardware and patches are going to be required for Switch 1 games to run natively on Switch 2. I think basic, no frills backwards compatibility is likely free on games that can be patched for it, but there may be a cost depending on the game and the nature of the upgrade involved. Metroid Prime 4 on Switch 2 vs Switch 1, for instance, is not just a simple resolution bump - it has better textures, lighting, reflections, and a noticeably higher poly count in various background and foreground objects. Other games will also have actual additional/exclusive content. It seems like a lot of the premium upgrade patches will come free as a perk for those with a NSO membership, as well, but don't quote me on that just yet.

Nintendo is actually being tech competitive with a high end, cutting edge device for the first time in 30 years and people are getting their knickers in a twist over price, as if literally everything else hasn't also dramatically increased in price in the aftermath of Covid. As for DF - they vastly underestimated the Switch 2 in all of their predictions. They were wrong about nearly everything, except for the screen being LCD - something which everyone and their mother knew was going to be the case like two years ago.

Switch 2 is actually a beast of a hybrid, great in handheld and looking to be possibly better than Series S docked. People have long complained about Nintendo always skimping out on power - here, we have something that might make ports to the console from other consoles and PC possible - without looking hilariously stripped down and primitive. As a consequence, the Switch 2 is a little more expensive, though, than some hoped.

When accounting for inflation, these prices increases are pretty miniscule when compared to what games and consoles sold for in the 90s, when games like FF3, Chrono Trigger, Earthbound, and pretty much all N64 games cost $70+ USD in 90s money. With inflation as it's been over the last 4 years, it was inevitable that games would be hit with a small hike. As someone who primarily purchases digital, I'm also glad to see that digital games are slightly cheaper - that should have been the case all along, tbh.

@OorWullie Agreed. The visual design aesthetics in particular, and even the music (assuming it's actually from the game), all just scream Mario Odyssey. That's a good thing. I also like DK's refreshed character design. He looks more like a cartoon character from the golden age of cartoons (1930s-1950s), replete with greatly exaggerated expressions, especially in his eye movements. I love it.

He did a pretty good job of imitating Jim Morrison, which, as a lifelong Doors fan, I always thought was cool.

I've been keeping my expectations extremely low and so honestly only expected this Direct would be 25-30 mins tops, possibly less. An hour long Direct is therefore mindblowing and exciting af. They will def be showing off more than a few games, which is the part I've been the most excited for. Can't wait!

Definitely a "Call"/"Chat"/"Communicate" button, 100%, as the accompanying sound when pressing it is very remiscient of the Wii U call sound.

XENOBLADE CHRONICLES 2.
/end

Rune Factory was done dirty.

These are unironically some of the best strategy RPG games on the SNES, maybe even THE best. The hate that they're getting here is wild.

As an immense fan of the entire series, I couldn't possibly be more excited. I almost broke down and bought a used Wii U just to finally play this - and I'm more glad than ever that I didn't have to.

@EarthboundBenjy Having the option to play using a Mouse Con if playing on a NS2 seems pretty reasonable to me, perhaps even likely. I could see that being a minor "perk" of playing it on the newer hardware - and it would probably be really cool, tbh, but not so much that Switch 1 owners would feel ripped off or like they were missing something that would drastically change the overall audio/visual experience. As such, I think that would be a good compromise between rewarding early NS2 adopters while not greatly punishing those who aren't quite ready for to make the switch to Switch 2 (wow, that last part was way punnier than I anticipated - re-reading it, I think I could see it being used as part of a future Nintendo ad campaign "Make the Switch to Switch 2!"™️ lol)

Metroid Prime 4 played on Switch 2 will probably have Mouse Con controls as a bonus control option, probably by default (eg at boot, the game will check what system it's being played on and if it's on NS2, it will ask if you like to play using the Mouse before playing). And I think that would more than likely be the extent of it. I could see the possibility of an enhancement patch, but I'd expect that to come at a small cost. A fully separate, full priced Switch 2 SKU seems like the least likely outcome, imo.

It pains me to say it, but those actually look really good imo...at least when compared to any other pair of Nikes.

@Spider-Kev Maybe for you...but for the 97% of the people in the developed world who have a smart phone in their pocket but no room for a Switch or Switch 2, a Street Pass phone app would probably make for a decent solution.

@Spider-Kev For a lot of people, the Switch (and soon, the even larger Switch 2) are too cumbersome to carry around routinely in the same way that they could with the more pocket friendly 3DS. The Switch consoles are portable, but definitely not quite handheld, which I think is the primary reason for why Street Pass was deemed a nonstarter on Switch 1, and probably even less likely on Switch 2. However, I think Nintendo could potentially make use of the concept again, albeit, perhaps, in a different form: as a mobile app, or tie it in as a new added feature for their existing app. Maybe a person could upload their save data onto their Nintendo account and that data could be passively stored on the phone app. When the app is on actively searching for people as you walk around, that data will be shared - same as with Street Pass. Games would then download relevant data of those that made a connection once the Switch game in question on.

It wouldn't be quite as ellegant as the 3DS Street Pass, of course, but nearly everyone has a phone and if Nintendo really pushed a Street Pass-like feature on their app and implemented it well, I think many people might end up getting even more connections with people than they ever did with their 3DS.

To answer the question in the headline: Yes.

I may have to pick this up. I really like the concept, and the tragic real life backstory of the development team - which has likely crept into the development itself - tugs on my heartstrings. Good interview.

Switch 2 was the only acceptable name, imo. Anything else would have come with unnecessary risk. Period. Glad a former PS prez agrees.

Well, he certainly knows exactly what to say to make me excited.