Banjo-

@fenlix "I think Sony could take advantage of the Xbox Series S existence. I imagine a portable PS5 would have similar specs, and therefore studios could use Xbox Series S versions of games as the base for the portable PS5 ones."

The problem with that is that Xbox consoles run Windows and PS consoles don't.

@Friendly Thanks. There are also interesting thoughts that others have posted, like:

· How could Sony feed a handheld with exclusives when they barely can release new games for PS5?

· How could it run PS5 games natively?

· Unlike Xbox and third parties, Sony is as restrictive as Nintendo, but Nintendo sells its exclusives massively and has only one platform since Switch, while only 6.8% of the PS5 software sales were first-party in the last quarter.

· That 6.8% of first-party sales on PS5 is going to be available on Windows, so you can play Sony's games on third-party handheld PCs and maybe on a future Xbox handheld, on top of the Windows/Xbox games.

The problem with a new Sony handheld is that it will be completely restrictive like Vita and Portal and could be abandoned by its creator, like Vita or PSVR, if it doesn't meet Sony's expectations.

Personally, besides Switch, I'd buy an Xbox handheld if they made one or a third-party handheld PC.

@Arehexes Very good point. The touch screen of DS, DSi and 3DS are passive and the feedback is completely different than Switch.

I never expected First for Figures to make so many Banjo-Kazooie figures, but anything that boosts the popularity of the IP is welcome. I hope that the rumours about a new game are true.

Best way? A 3DS. Still using it more than Switch 😅.

@Astropez That's a good explanation. Seeing how they are updating and remaking other classics, I hope that they do the same with Final Fantasy IX.

@Ulysses That would be nice, Switch 2 enhancements, as long as they are free!

@The-Chosen-one Me too, I tried the Switch version of Octopath Traveller because a friend has the physical version and I borrowed it, but when I played it on Series X it was much more beautiful and even more playable. I absolutely loved the graphics, sound and gameplay.

@The-Chosen-one I loved Octopath Traveller I and II, especially everything related to the gameplay and the graphics (absolutely gorgeous on Series X). I like a well-made single story, but the different small stories are also nice. I prefer that over the bloated stories that are purposely long and complex to intrigue -or confuse- players.

Regarding playing on Switch, I play docked 99% of the time, so that and the technical limitations of Nintendo's hardware explains why I always choose the Xbox version if available, but I understand that some people enjoy playing in portable mode. After all, the small New Nintendo 3DS is one of my favourite consoles ever.

@Astropez Right, but I think in Final Fantasy IX HD is more noticeable, for some reason. I wonder if it will be remade. I played Final Fantasy VIII on Xbox and it looked fine. The best thing about the Pixel Remaster collection is the orchestrated soundtrack and being able to play them on modern consoles.

Funny that even Master System (the one before Mega Drive) had better game boxes than SNES, although SNES had better manuals than MS.

@Astropez Right. I haven't played the PS version of FF IX, but when I tried the "HD" version on Xbox it looked quite ugly. I read other comments like yours saying that it looks worse than the original version, but I don't know why.

The Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster collection and Trials of Mana (remake) were a commercial success, so I hope that they keep doing this. Well, then there's Octopath Traveller I and II that also did well and Dragon Quest III remake that has been received with open arms.

I tried Legend of Mana on Xbox, but honestly it didn't look right to me, that combination of sprites and backgrounds... Besides, I had no idea what to do. I didn't find the gameplay or story very good either.

@KingMike Then, exactly like Game Boy games running on Game Boy Color. If only they remade 1 and 2 with colours and translated the GBC version of 3...

I'm thrilled that Square Enix is being so successful with the classics and remakes. I have also enjoyed Octopath Traveller I and II a lot (on Series X), much more than the Bravely Default games for some reason. Now that Square Enix has rejected any more PS exclusivity and has finally ported the Pixel Remaster collection to Xbox, we should expect the successor of Switch to host the games Switch missed because of technical limitations and contracts with Sony. It would be great if they remade more Dragon Quest games and what about Final Fantasy IX? The HD version looks so ugly. They could remake it like the excellent Trials of Mana (remake).

@N00BiSH Yep. The Donkey Land trilogy is impressive considering the hardware, but it would be much better with colours. If I remember well, Donkey Kong Land 3 had a Game Boy Color version in Japan. I don't know if they had more colours on Super Game Boy, but I think they should have been added by now for the new releases. I own the three titles on Nintendo 3DS and it's just the lack of colours what disappoints after growing up playing the SNES masterpieces.

@YunoboCo The GB title Donkey Kong Land is a different game. The GBC title is just a port of the original SNES game, obviously with 8-bit technology instead of the superior 16-bit technology of SNES.

@PinballBuzzbro 😂 That's a good one, best of the thread. Kudos. 🙌

@Athropos That's your opinion, that is already clear.

@Athropos Because that's not what they copied. That anecdotal gameplay ornament being used as an excuse makes their claims even more ridiculous.

Nintendo/Pokémon claiming that they own throwing and catching is hilarious. It reminds me of when they wanted to patent shooting arrows midair. They forget that Pokémon copied Megami Tensei as stated by the creators of Pokémon themselves.

Nintendo should add button configuration and options in all their games.

@BTB20 OK, after yesterday and today I realise it's pointless talking to you.

@BTB20 You misunderstood the quotations.

"In saying this, there has been a "year-over-year decrease in memberships"

· This means that the number of subscribers has decreased.

"Fortunately for Nintendo, the number of 'Expansion Pack' subscribers apparently steadily increasing since the launch of this higher-tier"

· This means that a greater amount of the decreased number of total subscribers (a higher percentage) is paying for the expansion option.

@SabreLevant I agree with you and with 95% of the comments here. The value is extremely poor. Nintendo shouldn't charge for online gaming when only a couple of games support it and when the online services and servers are bare bones. The perks are ridiculous: demos and a couple of micro games. They are also charging for cloud saves, something that only Sony did until then. The biggest selling point is the retro library, but that consist in renting spotty emulation of very old roms released in dribs, with every alternative being a better option.

@BTB20 What Nintendo is saying is that the number of subscriptions has decreased, but that a higher percentage of their subscribers is paying for the expansion option now.

I'm late as usual so I don't know if anyone will read it, but I assumed that the successor would be backwards compatible because, apparently, they showed developers BotW or TotK running on the new hardware. Besides, the Nvidia chip they used for Switch was already dated in 2017, and Nvidia has made much better mobile chips since then. I'm shocked to hear that this has only been confirmed now to appease the shareholders.

This can only mean that another compilation is coming.

@Toastmaster I think that there are even more PC gamers. What are the Rayman remasters? Perhaps, they will release them for consoles, since Rayman is very popular. I have played the first game on DSi, an awful version because it's zoomed in, the 3DS version of 2 that is very nice, Rayman 3 HD on Xbox and Rayman Legends on Wii U and Xbox.

@DreamlandGem Thank you!

@Toastmaster Right, the Gold Edition is included in Ubisoft Plus and that is available on Xbox, but not included in Game Pass Ultimate, that's EA Play, my mistake. I mixed EA Play and Ubisoft Plus up. 😂

I didn't know that Ubi made so many PC exclusives, that's interesting. I know that Sega develops a lot of games for PC and their games are usually Play Anywhere, so you can get the Xbox and PC version with no additional payment.

Indeed. PC is the biggest gaming market worldwide, leaving mobile aside which is a different, more casual thing. Consoles have become additional income, but not the main. Even Xbox and Sony need PC now to survive! I think it's good because it ends the stupid console wars.

@Toastmaster Yeah, I agree! It's in good hands. 😁

@Toastmaster It's also included in Game Pass Ultimate because it includes EA Play, but when I played it, the DLC wasn't there, so I didn't bother.

I also think that the next AAA Assassin's Creed will be huge and polished, but then they are going to give it a break and diversify development. Too much money invested in each and too many games being released. I think that the next one after Shadows will be the rumoured Black Flag remake/remaster.

@Toastmaster Right, the new Perfect Dark is being made by many important talents including the creative leader at Insomniac. I also wonder if all of Crystal Dynamics is working on it, but I think that they are leading the development rather than supporting it. I liked the latest trailer, the music is cool and the gameplay looks like Perfect Dark.

@Toastmaster I completed the game 100%, but I didn't get the DLC. I've heard many people saying it's not good. I also wonder what's next for Ubisoft. Too many AAA Assassin's games in a saturated industry and their pirates game wasn't very well received. I hope they find some balance, they could have developed more IPs.

@BTB20 You are probably right about that, but that's a different story, management. I am going to say, though, that Immortals Fenyx Rising is one of the best games released in recent years. It's extremely polished (on Xbox, at least), beautiful and a lot of fun to play. They are planning a new Rayman and that's also great news after the excellent Rayman Legends.

@Maxz I agree with you completely. I think it was NEStalgia who defined them as a skeleton (I agree), compared the size of Ubisoft with Nintendo and also the revenue (Nintendo #4, Ubisoft #13). I'm not against Nintendo outsourcing, they do that ocassionally since Nintendo 64, although I miss the in-house development and, most of all, the masterminds that are no longer involved in development but are now consultants at best. I can feel that difference and I miss them.

I think that Nintendo's outsourcing is too much now. Keeping teams small has advantages and disadvantages, as you said. No question about Nintendo doing great financially, although as a gamer, I worry more about the games than about the wealth of shareholders. 😂 Thanks for replying, in between.

@Toastmaster Yep, Sony's list of closures is very long and they just closed two more. Now that you mention Crystal Dynamics, that's an excellent studio that Square Enix acquired and then sold.

@Kingy You probably know this, but Square Enix announced that they are fully multiplatform now and Sony's own exclusives are going to PC. You are right that third-party support/exclusives/marketing was what drove PS sales so high, while whatever Nintendo achieves is on their own.

@BTB20 They don't have as many developers considering the gigantic size of their business, fourth largest video game company by revenue. Ubisoft has many more employees and it's the thirteenth. Thus, Nintendo has been outsourcing most first-party games for a very long time, so it's not related to Switch 2. Nintendo can do whatever they want. I don't think they are worried about what you and I think, so it doesn't matter if we approve it or not. I'm just describing their business strategy.

@Not_Soos I agree, but they are conservative and they are obsessed with minimising costs and risks, which is why they haven't grown, outsource games instead and almost never acquire a studio, even after many years working together on exclusive games and Nintendo IPs. It's difficult to understand, because they could not have been more financially successful. Alpha Dream actually made the best, in my opinion, Mario & Luigi game, Superstar Saga.

@N00BiSH In terms of staff, not income or outcome.

Well, like a wise user said, Nintendo has become a skeleton company that barely develops any games, with most first-party games being outsourced. Sometimes they buy the studios if the results are satisfying, like Next Level Games. Sometimes they just hire them. They also have made an immeasurable amount of money this (actually, last, since Switch belongs to the last) generation with fully-priced Wii U ports and Switch hardware and accessories, with relatively low budgets and high prices.

@Bigmanfan So many people are accused of horrible things. He has denied the accusations and he is innocent until a sentence says otherwise.

@JohnnyMind "I'm so tired of people being cancelled because of accusations without follow-through in general, not just in his specific case..."

Me too! These people should imagine being popular and being cancelled before a court proves that the accusations are fair.

@8bit-Man He also said that it's "bad news for Switch" (video section headline), that "it sure feels a lot worse to play", that the last-gen versions are fine in comparison (someone here asked about the PS4 version and I replied with frame rate details) and that the frame pacing is bad. He also mentions the bad quality of the graphics and the low resolution in Shadow's Generations. The vast majority of what he says about the Switch version is negative.

@the_beaver I am good, don't worry. I'll try to explain once again because you don't understand what I said. The video says that the Switch version is a disappointment, "bad news for Switch", "it sure feels a lot worse to play" (comparing it to the last-gen versions), and that the frame rate pacing issues are frequent and affect the gameplay. There are nine versions of this game and he said that Switch is the worst. He said all that, but it's also evident in the footage. You don't need to play the game on nine different platforms to know that, that's why Digital Foundry exists to begin with. Like it or not, that's the truth, and I have nothing to do with it. Last but not least, this is not one of those cases you need a microscope to notice the differences like in other comparisons, e.g., Sonic Origins in 1080p or 2160p.

@8bit-Man I'm not twisting anything. I respectfully replied because you referred to other posters (me and others) with "I’m surprised to see so many complaints from tech snobs." I am sure that I am not the only one finding that comment jarring, considering the topic and the video. Digital Foundry literally said, "It sure feels a lot worse to play" comparing it to the last-gen versions, and "Bad news for Switch" as the headline for that video section. Some users here say that they find the Switch version fine and I'm happy for them, but that's not what you said. Again, it's weird that you are surprised to see "tech snobs" disappointed on a thread about a Digital Foundry analysis, when Digital Foundry are disappointed as well.

@8bit-Man What did you expect to read on a thread about Digital Foundry's analysis? This is useful information for many users, that is why Nintendo Life reports on it. Why does it bother you?

@DanijoEX-the-Pierrot The Xbox One (X) and PS4 (Pro) versions have Sonic Generations running at 60fps and Shadows Generations running at 30fps, if that helps. Both titles run at 60fps on Xbox Series S. The Switch version "sure feels a lot worse to play."

The Switch version is the worst by far: not just half the frame rate but there are quality and frame pacing issues galore.

Nintendo Music appears 27 times on the front page today. 😂

@Thomas96 I haven't played Shadow's campaign yet. I rate Sonic Generation 9 or 10 (played it on Series X), but you are right, the 2D sections aren't as great because of the physics and controls, so probably 9 because of them. They finally nailed physics and controls in Sonic Superstars, thanks to Christian Whitehead's Retro Engine 😅. I am looking forward to the next 2D and 3D entries, now that they got them both right. 👍