CANOEberry

Switch port of Wooly World took a weird turn...

@samuelvictor LOL The visual you just prompted in my mind was... oh Lord, I don't know why I'm laughing. That's genuine horror. Thank you... or not.

Am I the only one who sees a Burtonesque quality in the visuals? It actually slightly resembles Don't Starve, only more colourful and dynamic, I think.

Please tell me that the announcer from the trailer above is actually heard in the game itself.

Actually, I wouldn't mind having that lady be the audio narrator for Kate's articles on this site.

... maybe there's something wrong with me.

it has nothing to do with the content of the tweet. just a chance to beat up on something they hate.

@Chocobo_Shepherd Supposing I agreed with that first part, I would ask you - how do you reckon that EA became hated in this way?

What an interesting remark from a company that seems to think employee compensation is "single player" - i.e. all rewards to the CEO...

PS5 production up to this point has been solely dependent upon a single chimpanzee putting them together somewhere in Taiwan

@SwitchVogel Sounds like the story/premise for a classic single-screen '80s arcade game.

Shall I arrange the Kickstarter, or will you?

@AlanaHagues Thank you. Hot off the presses, eh?

Kate's sub-headline: "Risking your neck"
Headline: ... 'Lord Winklebottom investigates' ...

The sub-headline is usually where the action is, but - I'm sorry, no way can anyone top "Lord Winklebottom" for suggestive body humour...

@AlanaHagues With respect, I find the article text a little hard to follow.

But now that the notes from the meeting are live, NStyles has noted that the only game that remains mentioned in there is the futuristic racing title.

Here's a rough Google translate of the tweet

Whose tweet - NStyles', or Momiji's?

If I understand correctly, F-Zero is mentioned in Nintendo's meeting notes. Right? Then who is NStyles addressing when they say the following?:

After the general meeting of shareholders, you told Mr. Momiji, who asked this question...

@Severian I wonder if NCL in Kyoto honestly would have elevated Xenoblade to the status of Official First-party RPG without that whole campaign by non-Japanese fans. Somehow, I don't think that would be consciously acknowledged by Nintendo's people in Seattle or Frankfurt, though...

Wow... Blizzard be buying companies just to cancel their games and enslave them into only working on Blizzard games instead, what a sneak-like tactic.

@Chibi_Manny Hey, yeah... Blizzard would know about the Zerg tactic of infesting Terrans...

My, my. But so many people around here have been saying that this or that group of fans are whiners, that gamers in general are toxic, and that fan communities can't make a difference.

... and I suppose, if you actually believe any of that... it might actually be true. For you.

[Mother gained relevance thanks to] the fan community staying active and aggressive for over fifteen years.

There's a lesson in there about patience.

"Activision buys proletariat".

That speaks for itself.

It’s a spin-off of Shin Megami Tensei, right?

@NintendoWife LOL Um... if you like, you might find it enlightening/surprising/disturbing to research a certain phrase/tagline/command popular in some circles - "Play a real Shin Megami Tensei game!"

@JaxonH I read your recent long posts in the Nintendo Switch Thread with interest, and I mostly agreed with you, so I want to ask you a question in all sincerity: what do you consider "whining"? I find that term has lost all meaning for me, at least in the way it is used online. I am sure you have something particular in mind when you say it (no sarcasm here), so I'm curious.

I wasn't aware of the poor pre-order numbers for Soul Hackers 2. Very interesting!

So it seems like Atlus did indeed want to wait until a Direct before announcing Persona for Switch...

@westman98 I wonder how much of that was determined by Nintendo, rather than AtluSega. I realize that Ubisoft and others have announced forthcoming games on their own time, but I feel like there is some implied value in a Nintendo Direct that some companies may be considering.

Alternatively, Nintendo could have asked Atlus to reserve this particular part of the announcement. It would certainly be revealing to find out which way it generally goes!

@ShadowofTwilight22 Your incessant use of the phrase "port begging" says much more about you than it does anyone else.

Tozour explains that western developers have a tendency to compare their ideas to existing franchises, something that Nintendo wouldn't tolerate in pitch meetings

Interesting addendum to KateGray's article this past weekend.

I feel like we need to have a canvas and frame of reference far broader than gaming itself to make this medium all it can be. I believe Nintendo has even mentioned that their hiring practices of recent years have this need in mind - I remember reading that they look for candidates with arts backgrounds beyond gaming to inform their work. And wisely so.

@Orokosaki Nah, I like to Report your many violations of the TOS.

@WiltonRoots LOL I mean, I wouldn't want to rob you of your entertainment... I just don't want to read ten straight messages on the same theme. I guess it takes a village to raise a child, though...

So NOW third party titles don't matter. You guys...

@GrailUK I'm glad to see your furry face and comment here, because this thread hasn't just derailed - the tracks have completely melted, and the train is lying at the bottom of the ocean to keep the Russian flagship company. Maybe I'm old and grouchy, because I've been going down the thread and hammering the Ignore button. For all we know, this mini-Direct could hand us Silksong, Persona or even Goldeneye (though I think the latter will await September, if it ever comes), but we have a thread filled with children throwing temper tantrums because it wasn't the shade of shiny they wanted nooooooooooooow, mommy! The lack of perspective here...

I’m thinking development on Metroid has halted, Zelda 2 is months away and Advance Wars scrapped.

@Orokosaki Are you trolling us as usual, or are you actually in that much psychological distress? Seriously, this behaviour you're demonstrating is called "catastrophizing". It's not good for your health.

@Teksetter Your comment reminded me to actually check the prices on Backlog Club Games™ - I still nurse hopes of actually, properly participating someday (... before Kate kicks me out for being too mouthy). And here I find that, at last... StS is on sale! I can finally put my money where my big mouth is.

And since I roll in solidarity with your entire comment, it's rather appropriate...

a backlog of Backlog Clubs. 😆

@Ooyah The sad thing is, I never was one to call my game library "backlog" in the first place. (I never look at the unread books around me with anxiety or shame - more like anticipation!) But now I want to belong around here and participate in this interesting concept, so...

... didn't read the article because I haven't played the game. It's almost like I want to be part of this here Club, though some may not want a mangy gamer like me around; but if socks really are important to the ending here, I'm extremely disappointed by the spoilers.

Kate doesn't like pants, but from now on, I will be calling any spoilers foisted on the unwitting SOCKS, in recollection of this unhappy incident, with it's smelly and possibly unhygienic quality.

Classic example of gamers’ comments on specialist websites mean absolutely nothing in terms of real world sales.

@WiltonRoots Project Rainfall says Hello.

Have the stores for other nations and regions also undergone recent and significant maintenance? If there is to be a Direct, why would the UK shop alone prepare in this way?

It reminded me how much I enjoyed reading a CYOA book (Journey Under the Sea, I think) as a grade-schooler.

@Teksetter If you were a furball, I would swear we were separated at birth. As it is, lovely human that you are, I can only say I am glad someone else feels the spirit of those times as deeply as I. Others may say dismissively, "encore la nostalgie, c'est tout", but I feel like we saw some cool things before they were overly commodified. And we thought things were too commercial then!

it still feels like a miracle that this game works, works (mostly) well, and works well on the Switch to boot.

@KateGray This isn't a comment about technical performance on Switch versus other platforms, surely? I'm not sure how you mean this part, Kate - I understand that the flow of the game has a lot of complication and dependencies, but I would have thought a handheld-capable machine would make that easier to parse, rather like having an actual book in your grasp. Alas that Switch doesn't do note-taking very well...

In any case, I am very interested in this, having owned some of the books. I wonder how the game might add to the experience of playing the originals.

@KateGray Ah yes, my bad. I promise I'll read it while riding Roman on two crocodiles in the swamps of Loughborough.

we use easy points of comparison when talking about games: because no one actually reads the article

My dear staff writer... your article has Henry V (almost) reading a book by Charles Dickens, claims that lazy genre labels are my (collective) fault, and then states unequivocally that such reductionist verbal pastiche is good for me. Now, I know your sense of humour - you once tried to tell me straight-faced that Loughborough is surrounded by crocodile-infested swamps - so I can roll it off. I mean, we got through the pandemic together, as a writer and audience, and you only yelled at me personally once. But if more people had actually read the article, this comment section would have descended into rioting, like the reactions you'd get to a mid-2020 Partner Direct, BOTW2 delay announcement and EA livestream all combined.

I must differ with your statement that "Orwellian" and "Kafkaesque" are analogous to terms such as "roguelike", and thus equally filthy and lazy. These authors spend hundreds of pages (or more) creating a vision with a distinct voice, from a distinct time. Interactive media don't have that luxury, because the visual element that would otherwise belong solely to the imagination is mediated by the player as well as the developer. Not to mention certain disturbing facts we all seem to tiptoe around - this medium features Wario using his poor diet and ample backside in anger and aggression, an image that would have shamed even hardened authors like Solzhenitsyn, Alan Moore or Dazai Osamu... perhaps causing literature itself to expire as a medium.

This is a digital medium, so I propose a digital solution. Sort of. Tags are associative but not necessarily limiting, kind of like... I don't know, adjectives? They're rather useful in sorting large data sets and are searchable. ... Yes, I'm the furball with the answers tonight.

@KateGray

So far, June 2022 seems to have brought us more notable new releases that are avoiding the Switch than arriving on the platform. In the current context, this insular approach to Dragon Quest is more than tone-deaf... it's exasperating. DQ X could come along to take your heart, or sing to us in lulling silky tones, but no...

That last image, the moody monochrome close-up, somehow suits Samus and the series well. The slender Varia Suit, however, absolutely does not. The helmet and visor - so iconic in this franchise, our one consistent window into Samus' mood and reactions through her long struggles - are also noticeably discordant here.

There is a fine line between "re-interpretation" and alteration, but I think they've crossed it. I cannot agree with Ollie Reynolds here about this being "a more grounded take". Samus' armor has always conveyed power and competence - it is a little bulky, which is unsurprising given all it can do - rather than "form-fitting". It is some beautiful work, though, admittedly. ... I guess I won't mention the strangeness of an Xbox employee doing this...

@Teksetter The above video was recorded at Funspot!

I hope the US border types have forgotten about my last visit by now... I really want to go. I mean, how many years does a furball need to wait for grudges to fade?

and guess what?

I was right.

@sanderev This is one of my favourite emblems from Greek mythology.

we are working hard to announce the highly requested "that" title. We look forward to your continued support of Treasure.

THE ARBITERS OF ÉLITENESS

MY BODY IS READY ... FOR A PAINFUL AND VIRTUOUS CHALLENGE TO THE DEATH

@LCampoy8 Have you tried it yourself?

@KateGray Does this inspire wistful admiration for you, or horror? I'm curious! A while back, I read this article about early efforts to translate Western science fiction into Chinese, which came to mind here. You could probably teach a course about inter-cultural conceptualization in the case of this game.

... I am not going to make a comment about the depravity of disco here.

Looks like it is only releasing physical via one website (US based)

@XenoShaun EB Games (Canada) has physical copies coming, but we'll have to wait one extra day to get them.

I don't know if I've ever seen horror rendered in this style, let alone so knowingly. Something to think about! I hope to see more of this.

I don't understand why society wants to label us and put us in boxes! Its what the corporations and the billionaires want! Divide and conquer!

@samuelvictor Perhaps you think you're joking. I've seen multiple threads where some miscreant expresses hatred toward furballs, or even furry humans, on this site. Time was when no one on the Internet knew you were a toothberry (nor did they care)...

I'm not sure if this article represents despair on the part of the E3-bereft staff writers. I hope everyone's doing OK.

OTOH, I assume this will be the safest-ever thread on NL for the furriest among us.

@Strumpan Actually, no - our eyeballs and clicks make this site, or any other. Same for our money and any developer's games. If anyone's going to talk down to anyone around here, chief, let's get things straight.

Atlus: Sorry, what's that?

@SwitchVogel Some reviewers would consider the appearance of three new games/ports to simply be more work, but here you are leading the community in righteous protest.

I salute you, Mr. Vogel.

(Also, the characterization of Atlus as a slightly clueless individual with hearing loss works fairly well.)

The Arkanoid games were one of the main reasons I splurged on an Egret II Mini and its paddle/trackball controller

@Teksetter How has that one been working out? I found myself longing for that little delicacy. Arkanoid is a game (and genre) that I've badly missed all these years. There is an iteration of the concept called Siesta Fiesta on the 3DS which isn't bad, but it doesn't quite strike the same chord as the original.

BTW, I never complimented you on your hilarious comment about Drainus a while back. Rock on, arcade dreamer!

@Damo I for one would appreciate a clear definition of "eloquent" here. I've had some comments removed for reasons that don't chime with the TOS (i.e. comments being removed as "off-topic" when several other posts on same remain up). There seem to be some opinions that are unacceptable here, at times.

yeah devs are going to break their NDA's by talking about a Direct. yeah right.

@sanderev I don't mean to be disagreeable here when I say this: humans are bad at keeping secrets. The probability of leaks steadily approaches 1 as the number of "secret-holders" increases.

I have no idea if they will bother with a traditional June "all-industry expo month" Direct or not, but I do think it would look rather strange, perhaps even uncompetitive, if they decide, Sony-like, that they're above the need to show up.

So does this resemble (in terms of gameplay) those old MacVenture games that saw NES ports (Shadowgate, Déjà Vu, Uninvited)? I've always wanted to play this one...

Absurd.

The UK doesn't have mangroves, volcanoes, or giant octopi, let alone indigenous toothberries. Besides, the British are far from being the furriest primates. (... Alex Olney excepted)

I was literally just thinking of picking up a physical copy of the Platinum Edition, since EB Games (Canada) has this on sale. I appreciate the last-minute save, @AlanaHagues!

@GrailUK Did you find that the physical version needed any patches?