BigRed40

I still mourn the Wii/WiiU/DS/3DS era, where Nintendo consoles felt packed with that special Nintendo charm but that aside, the Switch 2 is the most premium feeling console they've ever released imo. Sticks are smooth as hell, screen looks sharp and smooth, and just the general hand-feel is everything I could hope for. So while I still yearn for the Switch 2's "Miiverse" or "Streetpass" equivalent, the games and quality of the hardware will no doubt give this thing some strong legs.

Played the demo for a sweet little nostalgia kick and was pleasantly surprised. Will definitely pick this up when it goes on sale.

Continue to be baffled by the rather slow drip of what seem to me to be rather easy to implement updates to old Switch games such as 60fps and resolution bumps. So many old Switch games I'd be delighted to pick up but not going to bother when I know some 60fps mode will inevitably come right after I already finished the game.

Now I feel old and I'm only 27! Been following since I was like 13 probably so it's an incredible achievement for your website to still be a daily part of my life all these years later. Congrats and thanks for all the great coverage!

I think the new trading update will be a great improvement to the non-existent pity system, but what I'm really hoping for as a Wailmer is just more things to do. Logging in for my packs, doing a few battles, while addicting, fails to keep me excited past the first week or so of a new pack launch. Really hope we get some kind of light campaign mode.

Imagine with each new pack, we get a batch of "Gym Leaders" from that generation, filled with little bits of dialogue and a light story. Unfortunately it feels unlikely, but I can dream.

Been waiting for a sale on this but timing couldn't be worse. Just dropped more than $140 on LZA and BF6...maybe next year...

@Orwellian87 I'm no SV fan but GameFreak literally reinvented the entire battle system in this game... Beginning to think the only people lazier than the devs are the critics.

Still hoping the original gets a Switch 2 update. Game looks great in some aspects but could definitely benefit from a facelift. 4k and 60fps would be all I need to dive back in.

@SpaceboyScreams Yeah was spending like $40 a month on the game for awhile but just kinda got tired of the same daily things. Always fun when a new pack drops to assemble new decks, but needs something beyond just grinding rank.

I'm not as down on the city setting as others (though I do understand their grievances), but I think ultimately this will come down to how lived in the city feels. The new battle system seems just what was needed for gameplay innovation from what I've read, but the real moment for me will be when Pokemon actually feel like they truly inhabit the world as living creatures and not just wandering models. Excited for release and even more for what is around the corner in Feb...

@SwitchplayerJohn probably sick again lol

Not being able to wake the Switch 2 is a deal breaker for me but could be a nice secondary controller for a friend when playing multiplayer.

Visually stunning but I'm gonna temper my expectations until we see more gameplay, especially given who is developing it...

Now if only A Short Hike could get a dlc/sequel as well! Love both of these so much.

That said, while the game looks gorgeous, I hope they add a chunky slider like A Short Hike has. The chunky low res artstyle is part of the appeal, personally.

I had literally dreamed for a Pokemon x Animal Crossing game just a couple weeks ago so this news was incredible. The trailer looks great so hopefully the gameplay lives up.

@Unit_DTH sir this is a videogame news site. What is gaming but escapism?

Corporations are incentivized to prioritize profit? Wow. Shocking. More news at 9.

In all seriousness, I don't like this development, and I understand the frustration, but all this moralism about "consumer rights" is so baloney to me. No one is being scammed, and you are not entitled to consumer products, just as Nintendo is not entitled to your money. The reality that most gamers (or consumers writ large) are unwilling to accept is that companies wouldn't pursue these so called "anti-consumer" practices...if it wasn't making (or saving) them boat loads of money with consumers!

@GrailUK Thank you. I'm hardly a fan of some of Nintendo's choices lately, but this sudden portrait of Nintendo as uniquely greedy are just absurd. They are a business, of course they prioritize profit margins, but within their control, they are widely renowned for being a stable workplace while maintaining great output.

I'll check it out down the line as DK Island is the only thing I missed about Bananza, but the $20 is a bit too steep rn.

I was literally hoping for a Pokemon based Animal Crossing game recently so this is amazing news. My only concern is I hope the gameplay is deep enough to be more than just a novelty.

I'm not a huge merch person but I need that Mario amiibo and the storybook. Lots of fond memories playing Mario Galaxy with my older sister as a kid.

@Notsoavid I'm not a fan but I appreciate your perspective. That said, I still think announcing it before the game even launches is in poor taste. As long as the base game feels substantial enough though, I don't really care.

Looks super cute. Hope it has enough for us older fans though.

Wish they kept the sparkling gold from the trailer in the actual in-game design but still super in love with the design. Almost 100% sure he'll be earning a place on my team. Can't wait.

Pretty confused by some of the discourse in the comments. People are disappointed with the removal of turn-based combat but also frustrated that Pokemon isn't evolving fast enough?

For my part, I'm a bit skeptical of the city setting too, but this preview did a bit to relieve my concerns about the new combat mechanics. The graphics are still a bit lackluster and I do miss the watercolor feel, but this game definitely looks and runs better than PLA which is a great sign. Hoping Gen X continues down this direction and really takes their time to deliver the game we have all been waiting for.

I'm definitely interested as I loved the OG game but it depends on how much new content there is tbh. Will wait for reviews and then maybe pick up once I've burned through a bit more of my backlog.

Wish I could actually get a hold of enough cards to play the TCG...Pocket is fun and could be such a great launchpad to drive interest in the physical game but scalpers have ruined it.

On a similar note, while playing Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze one night I managed to break my phone screen by slamming my Wii remote on the couch...right where my phone was

Definitely experienced it at the beginning due to the constant camera fluctuations between open and enclosed spaces, but thankfully immediately went away once I stepped into the first proper layer.

@AllBLK Problem is that a large portion of their fanbase adopts this weird skewed obsession with graphics and its used to fuel a kind of flame war. And I think most people are fine with DF themselves, just annoyed by some of their fans who start to analyze games purely through a graphics lens.

@Hank_Scorpio I don't mind the actual DF team but their fans epitomize my problems with modern gaming tbh. Full of people who are neurotically obsessed with graphics, forgetting the whole point is...having fun.

Not super into the Souls games, but Alex Garland is a terrific writer so I'm cautiously optimistic about this. Plus, from his discussion with the TLOU dev, he seems to have a genuine appreciation for the medium of videogames.

Very sad this will likely never be localized

@N00BiSH Guess you could say understanding jokes is a right for me, not a privilege, lol

@N00BiSH I feel like I'm missing something because rights are typically things that are inalienable and universal (rainbow road being immediately available), while privileges usually refer to things that you get as a reward and can be withheld/taken away (you have to accomplish something to get rainbow road).

Unless you're making a joke, in which case, I feel a a bit silly lol.

@N00BiSH did you mean to say that the other way around? lol

Dang was hoping this was a Switch 2 branded mousepad based off the thumbnail. Waiting out for some nice mouse mode peripherals e.g. mouse pro, mouse pad, and maybe a tv tray/laptop lap desk.

Very surprised about all the disdain for these two in the comments. Their commentary is way more interesting and insightful to me than most of the slop on YT that gets treated as "content". Sure, they're not always right, but they usually offer pretty unique perspectives with pretty substantive reasons.

It'd be one thing if they marketed themselves as like inside analysts or something, but I feel like both in their commentary and broader branding, they never portray themselves as anything other than ex-Nintendo employees who just enjoy speculating.

It's not necessarily news what they say, sure, but neither is 90% of what Nintendo youtubers put out. They tell their opinions and that's pretty much all they claim to do.

@Ein I agree to an extent, but not just making what is essentially an interactive manual a pack-in really adds to the feel of them nickle and dime-ing us.

Hoping for a mouse mode peripheral at some point. The integration in the box is critical for adoption but I imagine a dedicated ergonomic mouse ala a pro controller would be very popular amongst mouse mode fans.

@OorWullie yeah I'm really hoping for that too though not holding my breath. Feels silly to not show that off. Plus the box art is bland too.

Would love to pick this up if it's reasonably priced, say $30 USD. That said, very disappointing about the art direction, or, lack thereof. Seems like it could have been a cute quirky game but the drab colors will likely make it largely forgotten even a month or two after launch.

@sporesmoldsfungus yeah its absolutely wild that games have stayed roughly the same price despite the ballooning of development costs. I think greater variety in pricing, like making smaller budget games $50-60 and reserving $80 for big AAA titans, could help ease this blow of the increase too, though I doubt they'll do that. I wonder too if putting more of the cost into the base game will slow down the rapid rise of DLC and micro-transactions etc?

@Lenzo My understanding is that acknowledging the hall effect could possibly open them up to liability in that they'd be officially acknowledging the drift issue? Not sure if that's true but kinda makes sense. Nonetheless, hope whatever the issue was, it's resolved now.

Takes a bit of the sting out of not being included but still unlikely to pick up unless I'm in a game drought or there is more game than was shown off. Seriously can't understand how this wasn't a pack-in. Doesn't even look particularly interesting, who thought this was worth charging for?

Was probably gonna pass on the camera at least for now but this is such a neat design idea that I might get this one!

I could see this being a fun game but feel like the branding and aesthetics leave a lot to be desired and hold it back. Super unique concept but just looks so bland.

@AussieMcBucket Guess I'm not explaining myself well. Like will there be an inbox? Or is the text chat limited to real time?

Don't expect you to have the answers just trying to explain what I meant with my original question lol. Appreciate your responses!

@AussieMcBucket That's interesting but I'm more wondering if it will have a proper messaging system

Hope there is a text message service as well that they just omitted for this trailer