Burning_Spear

@Jedrus_Lilac At this point, only slightly less likely that everyone will ditch their cell phones and go back to landlines. Once the tide turns, no one outside perhaps of Nintendo and Limited Run Games will see value in creating physical editions of games.

Let's face it: Physical games had already been mortally wounded, but Nintendo in this generation saw physical lying on the ground, writhing in pain and clearly with no path to recovery, and it snuffed the final breath of life from the creature with a swift stomp and wiggle of its key-card loafer.

@Dr_Lugae Perhaps, but Nintendo can put guardrails in place to prevent silliness, like games that fit on Switch 1 carts being released as key cards for Switch 2.

Take it easy folks, it's not like we're burning down the entire house. You can still use the garage, see?

You blatantly rip off the gaming industry's biggest franchise and then apologize for "the discomfort and concern this ongoing litigation has caused.

Excuse me, but YOU caused it. The game could have been the same experience without the excessive borrowing of concepts and assets. You poke the bear, you get mauled.

You guys are spoiling the $10 walkthrough!!!

Take a good look, folks: This is the last time you'll ever see a preview of Mario Kart box art. Next time it will be a preview of the prepaid code card that hangs on a shelf rack in Target or Walmart — collect all five variants, each with its own special ability for one of the racers!

It was a super-busy week at work, so I had virtually zero gaming time. And of course, what happened last night? I stayed up far too long playing Civ VI. The rest of the weekend looks busy too, so I'm almost done. And then I have to travel for business Monday through Wednesday, so no gaming then. Everyone please beat an extra level or boss for me!

Happy gaming!

Nintendo with the Switch 2 seems to have lost the heart and soul that was a trademark of the Iwata years. Switch 2 is basically a power-up from Switch 1, with no significant new gaming experience built in, something Mr. Iwata always prioritized.

Combine that with the price increases and the move away from physical, and it seems like it's all about business. Just keep printing that money. Very disappointed.

I guess the (il)logic here is push people to buy the Switch 1 real physical edition and then pay another $10 for the Switch 2 upgrade, rather than buy one empty cart later. But this is still insulting: You were able to get it on a cart for Switch 1 but can't do it for Switch 2?

@Zerodogg To be fair, it's not unreasonable to offer perks to those who pay the most. It's not a perfect system, but it should do a pretty good job of weeding out scalpers.

But I agree that the invites should have been tied to hours played in the year or two prior to the announcement and that someone who doesn't pay for NSO can still be an avid Nintendo fan. I've been paying for it since day one but have never played a single minute of an NSO game. I just use it for the cloud saves and online play.

Nabbed one! For those who haven't received their invite yet, be prepared: You get one order and that's it. Once you pay, you can't go back and buy more. So be ready to buy everything you want at once.

Guess I'll stick with Civ VI.

I'm interested in buying but am curious as to whether there will be an enhanced Switch 2 version. Please don't pull an Atari on us.

Zero interest. Less than zero. Too much attention being put in the wrong place, in my opinion.

Maybe Genki can make some of these to help pay its defense fees!

@DTFaux Much agreed. Similar to when Nintendo sues emulation sites or people who stream games ahead of their street date, I think it's more about trying to deter future people from doing the same.

The Spearess and I finally have a nice Saturday to enjoy, so we will be out and about today. Tomorrow will be soggy, so I will have the day to begin a new run in Civ VI. I've also been filling time with Bust-a-Move 4 on the PSP and PS3.

Happy gaming, everyone!

"What Ubisoft series would you like to see next-gen?"

Something I can actually own.

@JohnnyMind Understood, coming from a guy with hundreds of unopened games on his shelves.

@JohnnyMind Don't you have enough games to play? =>)

@Overzeal They were sloppy downgrades to begin with. These are Natsume titles, meaning the graphics are substandard, the dialogue is tedious, the character models are bizarre, corners have been cut everywhere, and you're expected to pay full price and understand that the developers just aren't good at what they do.

This just does not seem like the Nintendo I've known for the past 40 years. It just feels soulless and completely corporate, like a Microsoft idea. This whole console launch feels this way. I can't imagine it having gone this way if Mr. Iwata were still around.

In all seriousness, an extra set of joy cons, a Pro controller and maybe the joy con charging grip. I'll probably pick up storage afterward when a good deal comes along. I don't envision downloading enough to fill the onboard memory before Black Friday deals come around.

"Which Switch 2 Accessories Are You Picking Up At Launch?"

Whatever GameStop makes me buy.

This is not the first time GameStop has done this with Nintendo console launches. It's just a step below scalping. I have no idea why Nintendo or anyone continues to deal with them.

I think I forgot about this app five minutes after I read the story announcing its existence.

I'm posting late this morning because I was awake until 3 a.m. completing a near-five-hour run on Civ VI. Global domination with the Aztecs, baby.

Perhaps even better news ...

Before shutting down and going to sleep, I made one what-the-heck-try on Walmart.com and was able to pre-order a Switch 2 with zero difficulty — no different than if it was anything else in the storefront. Arriving on June 5. Crisis averted.

Happy gaming, everyone!

The correct answer: Just don't deal with GameStop. Ever.

@Sylamp I'd say $40 for Puyo Puyo Tetris was totally worth it on Switch 1. It's one of my all-time favorite Tetris games. This, on the other hand, seems like a code with a couple of extra modes thrown in.

I think I can live with my Switch 1 version and not drop $40 on an empty piece of plastic.

@Scarmucci You know you're killing me, right?

@BrokenCiv Are you able to load one for shipping or just for pickup? I can understand why pickup might be locked out, as they're only allocating so many for each store, but shipping should be open to anyone.

@BrokenCiv All indications are that Walmart is region-locking sales. Folks in certain areas are reporting what you are: that the console is readily available. Meanwhile, folks in other areas are being told that there's no stock.

@Joe11 Same here. I had a bundle in my cart, and it went out of stock while PayPal was processing. And now the same thing just happened with a base unit.

I just had one at GameStop in my cart, went to PayPal and then was told the item is out of stock.

@Divide_and_Wander There are reports that GameStop was selling them online as early as 10:30 Eastern.

@Scarmucci Yeah, Capital One, after I confirmed that the purchase was OK gave me a cheerful, "Great, you're all set and can go ahead with the order." Well, no, it doesn't work that way during a feeding frenzy. And why they didn't text me instead of emailing I'll never know.

@rjejr You said it. My days of sleeping outside for events or releases and staying up half the night refreshing a browser are probably a thing of the past.

@Scarmucci I had one in my cart and all done at Target, maybe five minutes after pre-orders opened, and then for some reason CapitalOne flagged the purchase. They sent me an email asking for approval, but I didn't see it right away and so the order was canceled. Maybe because Target was re-sending the order or something, but still not cool.

@Scarmucci Yeah, Wario64 just said that the Walmart thing looks like region-locking. I had one a little while ago but somehow got logged out. And when the page refreshed with my login active, it kicked me out. So I think that's it.

@Scarmucci Interesting. Still no luck here. May I borrow your address? Just kidding.

@Scarmucci Are you getting an actual opportunity to add to cart? I've been trying for half an hour and just keep getting auto-refreshes.

I had one at Target about five minutes after the pre-orders opened. I didn't have email open, so I didn't see that CapitalOne inexplicably sent me a request to confirm the order. Order canceled. Two hours later, out of luck.

@zander_dale Fast RMX had a belated physical release for Switch.

I don't understand why Nintendo doesn't just let Shin'en take over F-Zero.

@Anakin @JohnnyMind I always check out his post too. Unbelievable. Does he have every waking moment of the weekend to play, or is he so good he can complete all those achievements in a fraction of the time the rest of us would need? Probably the latter.

I tend to get into one game at a time and just obsess with it, Civ VI being that game at the moment. But so envious of Johnny.

My company was closed yesterday, but the Spearess had to work, so I spent most of the day completing a religious victory with Gandhi in Civ VI.

Not sure about the rest of the weekend. I'll probably start a new Civ and maybe try something out of my backlog.

Happy gaming, everyone!

@Cathalm Completely devalues it for me — it's the only reason I pay for it.

Tell me if you have any experience with this. ...

Three-plus-hour car drive in two directions today to a family gathering, coming off four hours of sleep Thursday night, and I stayed up playing Civ VI until 2 a.m. Fried this morning.

Sunday = sleep and restart the Civ cycle.

Happy gaming, everyone! Remember to sleep!