Comments 152

Re: Japan's Switch eShop Will Soon No Longer Accept Overseas Payment Methods

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It's unlikely but maybe we're looking at a potentially region locked Switch 2. The Yen is somewhat weak at the moment and Nintendo won't want the Switch 2 to be unaffordable to their domestic market if the prices match worldwide.

Blocking the Japanese eShop to foriegn payments may make it less likely people try to import a potentially cheaper Switch 2 from Japan if it can only accept Japanese payment methods.

This is of course wild speculation!

Re: Mailbox: Switch 2 Caution, Unpopular Opinions, Easy Games - Nintendo Life Letters

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I would like to see continued coverage of the Switch even when the Switch 2 is out as many people will still be using these systems. It did feel like the PS4 fairly quickly reduced in coverage on Push Square when the PS5 came out, when games released on both platforms there was rarely much mention of PS4 performance etc.

But I understand review time is very tight anyway and this would be very hard to actually achieve, maybe there won't be many games releasing on both Switch and Switch 2 anyway.

Re: Talking Point: Our 2025 Nintendo Gaming Predictions

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Those price point predictions seem very unappealing. There's been plenty of talk about comparing it to the ps5 Pro price but the base ps5 price (with disc drive) was around £400 for black Friday. The base ps5 will still be more powerful than the Switch 2, I worry going over £400 will mean a slow uptake for the Switch.

But could be wrong, it just seems to be slightly too much for an impulse purchase, especially parents buying for children, whereas the og Switch was nicely positioned as the cheapest of the 'big 3' consoles.

Re: The Game Awards 2024 Nominees Have Been Revealed - Zelda, Mario And Metroid Nominated

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Is the DLC rule change 'actually' a new rule change anyway? The Witcher: Blood & Wine definitely won the best RPG category whatever year that was, and I think a Monster Hunter expansion, Last of Us DLC and probably a World of Warcraft expansion have all be nominated here and there.

I'm not saying I do or don't think they should be eligible, I just think they always have been.

Re: Nintendo's Switch Online Playtest Is Already Being Streamed, Unsurprisingly

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If Nintendo actually cared about keeping it all under wraps they easily have the resources to employ worldwide play testers who could sign actual legally binding NDA's, not choosing people based on who's the fastest to sign up.

Perhaps the real playtest here is for Nintendo's copyright lawyers and they're testing how quickly they can respond to leaked gameplay footage

Re: Japanese Charts: Zelda Gets Booted Off The Podium As Metaphor Arrives In Style

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@Bluesaxo The developers said

"I think Silent Hill 2 just matches our DNA way better," Lenart began. "It's much more emotional, a much more personal story than, for example, the first game or the third game. And we at Bloober were always fans of telling personal stories about people's experiences, people's feelings and how they go through them. Not so much about, you know, occultism and things from other worlds, right? So I think that was the main reason, basically."

Re: Trails Through Daybreak II Release Date Adds To A Crowded February 2025

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Looking forward to this, Daybreak 1 was pretty enjoyable though is another of a trend of games with some text that's way too small for the Switch in handheld mode.

Also took far too long wracking my brain because the article says that Trails in the Sky was originally launched on CP and PSP. Couldn't for the life of me think what console the CP was, feel somewhat sheepish realising it's just a typo for PC.

Re: Bandai Namco Reportedly Cancels Nintendo-Commissioned Project

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Seems an odd move to cancel a Nintendo commissioned project, I'd imagine most Nintendo projects are mostly profitable these days especially if Nintendo is part financing anyway, but have nowhere near enough knowledge of the industry to know how true that is or how games are financed really.

Re: Talking Point: Just How Damaging Is This Big Pokémon Leak?

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The whole thing will blow over relatively soon when people lose interest, and will be another reminder that these things rarely impact the majority of people with a casual interest in video games. Your social media and gaming websites may be filled with this news for a while but it rarely penetrates too deeply to the general public.

Pokemon will still remain the anime/video game franchise with the cute Pikachu.

Re: Super Mario Party Jamboree Has Reportedly Leaked Online

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Leaking is inevitable. There are millions of hacked Switches capable of dumping a games data, millions of physical copies being sent to retailers in advance, and a financial incentive to have a popular game on a pirate site to get ad revenue. It can't be stopped this generation by Nintendo. Maybe the Switch 2 will be very security focused.

Re: Talking Point: After A September No-Show, Will There Be An October Nintendo Direct?

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I'd see a Switch 2 announcement being more likely than a direct, I assume they'd want to focus on highlighting Switch 2 games as soon as possible.

As soon as you announce the Switch 2 the 3rd parties can get to work developing on games (obviously some trusted devs will already have devkits, but with secrecy lightened more should become available.

With all that said, no I don't think it'll be an October reveal or a direct!

Re: Pour One Out For The Modchip Seller Facing Nintendo In Court Alone

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@mariomaster96 I'd imagine the Switch is maybe the most pirated console ever, certainly with regards to piracy happening whilst a console still being developed for. It just has a number of unique factors:

It was almost immediately hacked in a way only a hardware revision could stop so basically every Switch game ever is piratable

Being hacked early in its life cycle meant the Switch was a big scene for pirates developing software and tools, and it probably being profitable for sites hosting tools and games

The Switch being weak hardware wise means average computers can emulate the Switch, making games accessible for emulators much early than would normally be the case for a current gen console (for example ps4 emulation still isn't really possible yet).

Just a big snowballing of things for Nintendo, I imagine security will be a huge priority for the Switch 2.

Re: Pour One Out For The Modchip Seller Facing Nintendo In Court Alone

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I don't think some of the things in this case are actually illegal though not having any legal expertise I could easily be wrong. Modifying a piece of hardware seems reasonable.

Easily the stupidest thing he is accussed of doing in the filing is selling modified Switches PRE-INSTALLED with games, which is obviously and stupidly illegal and probably the main reason he's been targeted.

Re: Rumour: 'Switch 2' Will Launch Early Next Year, Claims Accessory Company

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I'd be surprised if an accessories manufacturer had been given legitimate access to near final versions of the Switch 2. As far as I'm aware only Hori make the only joycons that are deemed official that aren't made by Nintendo. I'm sure Nintendo would much rather sell their own expensive oem joycons rather than let a third party get a running start at producing cheaper versions.

Re: Poll: With 'Switch 2' Rumours Swirling, Will There Be A September Direct This Year?

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I don't think hardware sales are a huge factor in when Nintendo will announce a new Switch, at this point in its life cycle sales are slowing down and Nintendo make vastly more money from software sales than hardware sales.

So they could do a direct in September announcing new games but with a intriguing message of "We're not yet ready to announce our next generation console, but rest assured all current Switch games will work on our new device too through backwards compatibility"

This way people can still buy games over the Christmas period and know they'll be able to play them on the new Switch.

Re: Rumour: 'Industry Whispers' Fuel Speculation Of A Switch 2 Reveal This Month

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If I was to speculate, as no doubt these rumours are speculation anyway, I'd guess that Nintendo have a September direct announcing games for the current Switch, but also say, "we're not quite ready to announce a new system yet, but can confirm all games purchased for the Switch will be able to be played on our new system too"

Would mean that they don't lose software sales over Christmas as the games will transfer to the new system when it's ready.

Re: Soapbox: The Next Pokémon Game Should Rework Old Critters, Not Just Add Dozens More

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I'd agree with a thorough rework of older pokemon. Some are completely outclassed these days. But, the reality is that pokemon stats and competitive viability are only a concern to probably a small proportion of pokemon players who play competitive tournaments etc. The games themselves can be completed with even the weakest pokemon.

The Pokémon Company is far more interested in making new designs which they can sell as plushies etc, which makes far more money than the games themselves.

Re: New Atelier Game Brings More Alchemy And Action To Switch Next Year

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It looked a bit more serious than most Atelier games but it looked good. Hopefully there won't be font size issues like there was with Ryza 3.

Also think your dates are currently wrong at the start of the article, both Atelier Marie Remake and Ryza 3 were 2023 releases, the perils of having to produce so many articles on Direct date I imagine!

Re: Persona-Inspired JRPG 'Bloomtown: A Different Story' Lands On Switch Next Month

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It'll be interesting to see what sort of ESRB rating this gets, it doesn't look like it'll lean into the heavier themes that Persona games tend to.

Kind of interesting that the developers themselves describe the game as a JRPG, even though it doesn't appear to have any Japanese developer studios involved. Just semantics I suppose, can a non-Japanese games be a JRPG? It's probably a silly argument though.