I thought for sure they would have improved the service to delay it a year, but it seems the only thing they were doing was building an online userbase to put behind a paywall. Launching it with Smash Bros was obviously a move to bring in more money, and that's basically it for the service.
I'm really not sure what they are thinking with this - they could have at least put together some SNES and N64 games on the service.
I guess we'll see how the userbase online moves with the paywall.
For those who complain over systems being hacked and the method being made public, don't seem to understand infosec concepts here. Whether or not you're interested in hacking the console, this is a good thing, because whenever exploits are found they can be patched or redesigns made. More secure hardware and more secure OS will come out of this. And maybe if we're lucky, some additions or improvements will be made in that redesign that otherwise would not have.
One thing I can guarantee you: those who find exploits in hardware or software to use for nefarious means aren't making them public or letting people know about them. They're using them against you. The NSA leaks, Spectre/Meltdown, Ryzen Fall, etc - are all things people should encourage investigators to find and report responsibly and then release to the public after an agreed upon amount of time.
If Nintendo wants to mitigate things like this, they need to do the same thing other large tech companies do, and offer a bounty program to find exploits like this. They should be offering fail0verflow and other hackers $50,000 or more for reporting design flaws that cause open execution of code, and set an NDA with them for a few months to give them time to mitigate it before going public. Just like every other major tech company.
What someone does with their own system is irrelevant: discovering, reporting, and making public security flaws with an online connected device is something Nintendo needs to get with the times on.
@BulbasaurusRex Some were on XBox, some were on Gamecube at the time as well, it had nothing to do with a Sony thing or not. PS2 was by far the best selling console, so it's why they got the bulk of them.
I'm not sure why you're making a strawman argument over compilations - I just pointed out that the price of this things have gone up greatly since digital sales started and that's a factual statement.
If you want to pay what will likely be $7-$10 to play Sonic, Metal Slug, or whatever for the umpteenth time - then by all means, so do. To me it's a waste of money.
I'm really not sure how old you are, but this was a very common thing in the PS2 era. Most of them included around 20 games. It was only with the virtual console and digital sales crap that companies decided to start gauging prices again.
A simple $20 SNK Arcade Classic PS2 game back in the day would cost over $100 buying them separately on the Switch. It's ridiculous.
@BulbasaurusRex The Genesis Collection for XBox 360 had 49 Genesis games and could be found for $20 or less for most of the 360's lifespan, so I have no idea what you're talking about.
The game has been available on Steam for years to run on moderate PC's, for about $7.50 on various sales you can find every couple weeks on different websites.
I don't see why people care so much about it being on 'their' console. Third parties obviously have not given a crap about Nintendo systems for several generations unless they have Nintendo subsidizing something for them. Otherwise this version wouldn't have been outsourced in the first place.
There's plenty of first party games out there, games like this can safely be ignored.
More digital price gouging I'm guessing, just like the Neo Geo and Arcade Archive games. I don't understand how digital collections released years ago could contain a couple dozen or more games for about $20, and now, just because it's digital, and they can sell them for $8 - $10 apiece. These games have been rereleased dozens of times by now on different platforms at extremely low price, and I'm guessing Nintendo will allow another Switch tax for these as well.
@Anti-Matter It's doesn't matter what you consider illegal or not. I'm not sure your jurisdiction, but doing whatever you want with your system is legal in most countries. It sounds like English is maybe not your first language, so the word you're thinking is probably 'unethical', because that is a more subjective word.
I don't consider it either, but maybe you should look into DRM-free information and how attempts to lock up hardware or software via various methods are pretty meaningless in the grand scheme of things.
@Anti-Matter Hacking isn't illegal, and hacking isn't piracy. In fact, even if you do not care about running Linux or any potential hardware tweaks or games that could be played with doing it, hacking shows companies the insecure portions of their OS or hardware so it can be fixed in the future. How do you think security vulnerabilities are fixed in operating systems?
The bottom line is when exploits are found, it results it a more secure system, or possible improvements through the hardware through revisions in the future.
Before people start jumping on anyone hacking the system and saying it's piracy, just remember this:
CD Projekt Red has existed fine off of putting each one of their Witcher games completely DRM free on their site, and GOG has done great with DRM free versions of a ton of games. Those who are going to do anything with piracy are going to do it regardless. Piracy isn't an alternative to sales, people who pirate simply go onto the next thing, being 'forced' to buy doesn't mean they do. CD Projekt Red proves it doesn't matter in the slightest to release a game with zero protection, so please don't use that flawed argument.
Also, the Linux kernel is open source and available to anyone. I wouldn't say the Switch would be equal to a laptop or anything else, but it's cool to see some applications of Linux applied to the hardware. I think the biggest gaming application would be if someone could get Nvidia Shield Tegra/Android based games running on it. I think for the current games, unlocking to overclock the GPU/CPU for better performance would be interesting.
Agreed. Seriously what is the deal with this? I realize the cartridges themselves seem to be expensive, but they cannot even offer an option? Especially in the case of a ROM set with over-bloated storage.
It's sad this keeps happening, even with Bayonetta. At least give people a larger cartridge option with a special edition.
Unfortunately the lack or baseball, or other sports, has been on Nintendo basically dropping studios inside the US outside of Retro over the years. So instead they've focused on a narrow segment of niche JRPGs that are a dime a dozen and aren't expanding the userbase at all. People can trash baseball, but you don't have to look far to see MLB The Show is a heck of a lot more popular and sells better than some creepy half clothed anime JRPGs on Switch.
It's sad because there's a legitimate huge gap in sports games right now, and games like Waverace, 1080, MLB, etc would reach more than the typical audience on Nintendo systems. And Nintendo could do well by them, because the typical sports model today has turned into a ton of microtransactions and super hardcore simulation style games. A game in the style of Ken Griffey Jr in the past, with straightforward controls but deep gameplay would be great in the era of up-selling to people who already bought the game.
Unfortunately, I don't see this changing, because there's more reluctance than ever to use licensed games these days because of the greed of the ones granting the license. The same reason we don't see any 007 games, and Marvel vs Capcom Infinite are bombing, etc. It's just become an economy of how much can we monetize our fanbase instead of trying to bring new fans in, and its a recipe for disaster.
It just shows why I can't really ever get into apps, downloads, or online games and stick with physical games for the most part.
There's an obsolescence plan for everything. This is shutting down, Wii Shop is shutting down so you won't be able to redownload anything, DS and Wii online have been shutdown for a long while. And they don't make anything open source to give a chance to redistribute or preserve it (legally at least.) It won't be long before Wii U services, then 3DS, go out the door.
@zionich Unfortunately, I don't believe these companies change. They either lose power and allows others to take their place, or continue to monetize to the point we have now.
They'll always have excuses as to why a game did or didn't sell, and their dissonance will always place the blame anywhere except a corporate profiteering decision the CEO and directors made. Nintendo seems to be one of the few left that wants the 'traditional' path to continue, even admitting to prefer it in mobile games, even though Super Mario Run didn't do what they wanted. I'm fine with a future where the third party market implodes from its own greed.
People need to stop supporting companies that practice it, period, is the problem. I don't care if Ubi Soft releases a game with Mario in it, 90% of their other products are microtransaction hell. So because they get a gift cameo appearance from a Nintendo character I'm supposed to help their bottom line? Uh, no. All it does is enable them to add the crap to future games like they do EVERYTHING else.
Buy Nintendo products. Buy Indie Games. Stop worrying about third party crap. Ta-da, problem solved.
I've read people wondering why this game doesn't get more advertising, well there's your answer. How many people want to play a niche anime RPG that takes 80 hours to complete? Does every RPG have to be some anime, medieval, or sci-fi ripoff?
Hopefully in the future Nintendo can leverage the studio to do something with their own characters or something a little less niche/weird at least, because they obviously have some talent. It's just these games are not for the vast majority of people, and they're being underutilized.
This is why digital on consoles is a major problem. While GOG and Steam should be up indefinitely, barring the companies going under, you know every game you buy on a console isn't really 'purchased' - its borrowed. Yeah it might be 10-12 years, it might be 2028 or something before the same thing happens to Switch, but it WILL happen - its inevitable.
Good point. Seems some can't differentiate between arbitrary restrictions that have nothing to do with game design versus something opening up inside the actual game design that people may be hesitant to try.
Could you imagine that restaurant example in practice? "No I've had this tea before with and without sugar and I much prefer sugar." Nintendo's response to this is to brow beat you with a cup.
I mean, we've seen it before. Forced motion controls which causes a game to fail miserable (Star Fox Zero for example.) Or times where goofy restrictions may be fixed in a format years later that shows how ridiculous the restriction was in the first place (region locking, friends codes, cartridges vs CD, lack of a shoulder button etc.)
They typically lock on these restrictions foolishly early on, then in the sequel or a re-release let them go, and tout it as a 'feature.' Just wait for Splatoon 3 with selecting your own maps, no timed locked events, voice chat, etc. Then if they don't do much more than that, they'll just brag at all the improvements that could have been there in first place.
Well thanks to this type of comment, glad I didn't purchase the game, and never will.
The whole Henry Ford comparison is silly. Splaatoon as a concept was the whole "consumers don't know what they want until its made" analogy. Not placing arbitrary limits on the concept once its made.
This is like if Ford said, "OK, don't make the car faster than a horse. Oh and time lock it from being used on Sunday because I know a stroll to church is better for people."
The arrogance here is ridiculous. Obviously they don't always know best, otherwise the Wii U wouldn't have bombed, and progressive loosening of other restrictions like region lock, creating Mario levels, dropping friend codes, etc wouldn't occur.
This is why I can't really get into heavy online games. You're basically paying for "games as a service." The day you buy them is the day the clock starts ticking. It ticks on if you have to purchase an online subscription model (which you will have to next year), and it ticks on the game's lifespan itself.
Whether its taking some of the side features away like this, letting exploiters destroy the game, or turning it off completely - it seems like you have to run your life around a timeframe to play before it's not viable anymore. Or playing events at certain times or days.; or to get certain items.
This isn't just Nintendo, this is basically every company. I'm fine with Nintendo putting historically great local multiplayer games online; but this team-based, event-based, time-based crap they can leave behind for all I care.
I wonder how this would be received if it were the same game, except instead of Mario and friends it was just Rabbids.
Don't get me wrong, I think it will be a critically well received game, and the developers seem to have put a lot of passion and effort into it - but it really seems like Mario franchise is carrying this brunt to make one of Ubi Soft's D-tier franchises popular.
I think it's a missed opportunity on a lot of fronts. For example, Mario series has 30 years of powerups and attacks at their disposal and all that's being used are - guns? Maybe that's Nintendo's fault and direction because they didn't want it to be too similar to Mario - but I think it takes more personality out of the game.
Also, the Rabbids being a pretty mediocre series with no real personality themselves, they just make them parodies of the real Mario characters with some lame 2017-era "emoji" humor thrown in. I look at it as a real missed opportunity. They could have put together a 'Ubi Soft' team of Rayman, Prince of Persia, and Beyond Good and Evil to team up with Mario in environments and abilities from all the worlds. Instead you get Mario, Mario parodies, and generic weaponry with no ties to anything at your disposal.
I appreciate the effort, but we're looking at a series that would probably be mostly ignored without the Mario name attached.
Its sad there's such a big nostalgia tax for Switch that publishers are taking advantage of. Bomberman, SNK games for $8 a pop, Street Fighter, upcoming Namco Museum. I mean, its just ridiculous.
I know it's apples and oranges, but Humble Bundle has SEVENTEEN top notch, award winning, Indie games, for $23 right now on their two active bundles. And almost all those games can be run on any computer. Think about that.
I don't care for the cross-branding with Rabbids - I think it would have worked a ton better with Rayman as a co-star with Mario, and using Mario enemies in an RPG.
That being said, I do find it funny how many people trash this, but then will go play some ultra weirdo otaku anime JRPGs with 'waifus' and all that creepy crap. This is 10x better than Xeno-anything.
@thesilverbrick Agreed, I was hoping there would be some type of single player mode, and it at least has that and some sports spinoffs.
Also it looks like Splatoon 2 has one as well! I never played the first Splatoon, but I understand the single player was pretty barebones. Maybe someone can shed some light on how different and deeper the sequel's mode looks like.
@PlywoodStick That's unfortunate if so. I think both can be done without a ton of extra effort by mimicking some of the other multiplayer heavy Nintendo games that also included reasonable length single player games, like Smash Bros and Mario Kart.
I think those games hold up for any type of person, and Splatoon and ARMS by all indications is heading more towards your fun dependent on others. Hopefully some new information closer to release and today's Direct alludes to some other content besides versus play.
@abbyhitter I think single player is the main thing they need to be focusing on. Splatoon 2 single player as well. Especially if they're going to lock online services behind a paywall subscription service soon, what will these games be worth if they only have bare minimum single player modes?
Injustice 2's good reviews shows single player can still be impactful in a fighting game, and Splatoon looks like it could easily make a great campaign. Just do it Nintendo, we all don't want to be online players.
Not to mention Lego City was out on Wii U and has been for years, and shouldn't be a full price game anyway.
Really, the third party scam is just simply publishers seeing there's nothing on the release list, and trying to milk as much profit as possible with as little effort as possible. That's all there is to it.
Sounds stupid and ridiculous. Adding any platform is going to cost extra in terms of time and cost, that's the point. You invest your time to introduce your product to a new audience and then the return on that investment. They're acting as if it added extra requirements for their own decision to bring it to a new audience. Then don't bring it over then? Stupid philosophy.
Binding of Isaac goes on sale all the time. The base game itself is constantly under $10. Sure, it's a little more expensive with the expansions, but if you wait for a sale you can get them all for a little over $20 on Steam and it's only going to go down.
The physical version of Puyo Puyo Tetris is $30 on PS4. Not to mention it was out in Japan on several systems over THREE years ago.
Not buying any of this garbage. I'm fine with a Nintendo only system, and maybe some outside games Nintendo may get agreements for.
$40 for a puzzle game and an indie game you can get cheaper elsewhere is also ridiculous. Including plastic or paper junk that has no functionality into a 'bundle' adds nothing to me. Would rather spend the money on games rather than crap like a keychain SEGA is trying to push into a Tetris game.
I've really yet to see a single third party or indie physical game give me an equal deal as elsewhere, which is sad.
Tantalus seems like a talented studio who should be doing something a little better than pushing out indie ports that are overcharging for their games. Nintendo should just buy them out to help on remakes and virtual console games.
They probably saw how many people bought Bomberman or want Street Fighter II and thought, you know what, there's plenty of suckers who bought this thing to sell to.
Typical Nintendo tax. Third parties or indie games seem to have three different ways of gouging Switch owners:
1) Selling a port, or update, of an older game for full MSRP. See: Street Fighter II
2) Games being significantly cheaper at various times on other platforms like Steam, Humble Bundle, or PSN, because they are willing to put their game on sale on those platforms. See: $40 for Binding of Isaac.
3) We're just going to charge more, because there's nothing else out there and we're going to take advantage of that. See: this game, Puyo Puyo Tetris, Bomberman.
FYI - Now among 16 critic reviews, this site has the tied for, highest score. It's not surprising, Nintendo fan sites always inflate exclusive game scores.
IGN gave it a 6.2. Gamespot a 7. and Game Informer a 5.
Haven't heard the same issues with Zelda, Shovel Knight, or Fast RMX. Konami just doesn't know how to make games anymore, this was a budget offering they pushed out quickly to get a high ROI for. Not surprising the controls aren't crisp, it's the corporate equivalent of a bad Steam greenlight game.
There's input lag issues, and well as people saying the controls are not tight. Just some comments from people who purchased it I've read. It seems to be completely due to Konami's ineptitude with quality control, there's no excuse for it:
" the controls are messy. Once your movement speed increases a couple of levels youre going to be dying left and right. It just feels so bad. "
"Controls do feel loosy, not tight enough. It's pretty sad. "
"Glad to see it's not just me thinking there was something off with the movement."
"The controls feel very sloppy and the response time to turning corners is so sluggish it almost gives the illusion you're getting caught on geometry."
IGN and GiantBomb streams mentioned everything I posted, it didn't come out of thin air. If the single player is a broken mess with a horrible camera, terrible HUD and design, controls, and boring level design - it really doesn't add a lot does it?
Come back in October, lets see how many people are still playing this or would grant it this review score based on the hype of being a game for a new launch. Guessing many people won't care so much by then. This is probably the most pub a Bomberman game has gotten since Bomberman 64.
Really, there ARE great games at launch. Zelda may be the best game of all time. Shovel Knight is the perfect retro throwback, and may be the best Indie game of all time. Blaster Master Zero looks like another faithful retro throwback. You can buy the Shovel Knight series, Blaster Master Zero, and another eShop game for the price of just Bomberman. Wish people would think before they buy.
No offense, but reviews like this seem to be how Nintendo focused sites get a bad rep. Significantly higher score than other sites, and seems to be based on the fact it's an 'exclusive' cashing in off of nostalgia.
There seems to be major issues:
1) $50 price tag, significantly higher than Bomberman Blast which NL gave an 8 years ago.
2) Konami has tweeted online doesn't work correctly currently, terrible connection problems and people aren't able to play online without unplayable lag
3) * Horrible graphics that look like a cheap Unity game instead of fitting the Bomberman style, and make it more difficult to spot your character in levels, and even worse in multiplayer - especially with several players*
4) * Horrible rotating camera in single player that zooms in and out on the character, making you unable to see parts of the level*
5) * Very basic, boring single player levels that offer nothing but rudimentary gameplay that aren't as good as classic titles*
6) * Solid large HUD that blocks seeing enemies*
7) * Sloppy controls that aren't crisp and faithful to the grid pattern of classic Bomberman*
8) * Constricted multiplayer options that include no customization options of modes like the older titles, and also require unlocking most of the stages with a goofy in-game currency system*
Go buy Bomberman '94 ROM or get one of the older games. the fact that you could literally purchase a used Wii and an older Bomberman for the price if this entire game these days is hilarious.
Giving this more than a 5/10 is generous and seems to be based solely on it being an exclusive for the time being. If this were released mid-life on Wii U at the same time as other platforms, it would be completely ignored and forgotten in its terribleness.
Comments 44
Re: Nintendo Switch Online Finally Revealed: Cloud Saves, NES Games And Pricing Confirmed
I thought for sure they would have improved the service to delay it a year, but it seems the only thing they were doing was building an online userbase to put behind a paywall. Launching it with Smash Bros was obviously a move to bring in more money, and that's basically it for the service.
I'm really not sure what they are thinking with this - they could have at least put together some SNES and N64 games on the service.
I guess we'll see how the userbase online moves with the paywall.
Re: Hackers Have Found A Way To Exploit The Switch, And It's Apparently 'Unpatchable'
For those who complain over systems being hacked and the method being made public, don't seem to understand infosec concepts here. Whether or not you're interested in hacking the console, this is a good thing, because whenever exploits are found they can be patched or redesigns made. More secure hardware and more secure OS will come out of this. And maybe if we're lucky, some additions or improvements will be made in that redesign that otherwise would not have.
One thing I can guarantee you: those who find exploits in hardware or software to use for nefarious means aren't making them public or letting people know about them. They're using them against you. The NSA leaks, Spectre/Meltdown, Ryzen Fall, etc - are all things people should encourage investigators to find and report responsibly and then release to the public after an agreed upon amount of time.
If Nintendo wants to mitigate things like this, they need to do the same thing other large tech companies do, and offer a bounty program to find exploits like this. They should be offering fail0verflow and other hackers $50,000 or more for reporting design flaws that cause open execution of code, and set an NDA with them for a few months to give them time to mitigate it before going public. Just like every other major tech company.
What someone does with their own system is irrelevant: discovering, reporting, and making public security flaws with an online connected device is something Nintendo needs to get with the times on.
Re: Sega Announces AGES For Nintendo Switch, Mega Drive Mini Console
@BulbasaurusRex Some were on XBox, some were on Gamecube at the time as well, it had nothing to do with a Sony thing or not. PS2 was by far the best selling console, so it's why they got the bulk of them.
I'm not sure why you're making a strawman argument over compilations - I just pointed out that the price of this things have gone up greatly since digital sales started and that's a factual statement.
If you want to pay what will likely be $7-$10 to play Sonic, Metal Slug, or whatever for the umpteenth time - then by all means, so do. To me it's a waste of money.
Re: Sega Announces AGES For Nintendo Switch, Mega Drive Mini Console
@BulbasaurusRex There have been a ton of compilations:
https://www.usgamer.net/articles/The-Best-Arcade-Machine-is-Your-PlayStation%202
I'm really not sure how old you are, but this was a very common thing in the PS2 era. Most of them included around 20 games. It was only with the virtual console and digital sales crap that companies decided to start gauging prices again.
A simple $20 SNK Arcade Classic PS2 game back in the day would cost over $100 buying them separately on the Switch. It's ridiculous.
Re: Sega Announces AGES For Nintendo Switch, Mega Drive Mini Console
@BulbasaurusRex The Genesis Collection for XBox 360 had 49 Genesis games and could be found for $20 or less for most of the 360's lifespan, so I have no idea what you're talking about.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonic%27s_Ultimate_Genesis_Collection
Re: Dark Souls: Remastered Succumbs To Delay On Switch, Along With Solaire amiibo
The game has been available on Steam for years to run on moderate PC's, for about $7.50 on various sales you can find every couple weeks on different websites.
I don't see why people care so much about it being on 'their' console. Third parties obviously have not given a crap about Nintendo systems for several generations unless they have Nintendo subsidizing something for them. Otherwise this version wouldn't have been outsourced in the first place.
There's plenty of first party games out there, games like this can safely be ignored.
Re: Sega Announces AGES For Nintendo Switch, Mega Drive Mini Console
More digital price gouging I'm guessing, just like the Neo Geo and Arcade Archive games. I don't understand how digital collections released years ago could contain a couple dozen or more games for about $20, and now, just because it's digital, and they can sell them for $8 - $10 apiece. These games have been rereleased dozens of times by now on different platforms at extremely low price, and I'm guessing Nintendo will allow another Switch tax for these as well.
Re: Hackers Turn The Nintendo Switch Into A Functioning Linux Tablet
FYI it looks like MAME is running on the Switch now:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDVYXiOyRFM
Re: Hackers Turn The Nintendo Switch Into A Functioning Linux Tablet
@Anti-Matter It's doesn't matter what you consider illegal or not. I'm not sure your jurisdiction, but doing whatever you want with your system is legal in most countries. It sounds like English is maybe not your first language, so the word you're thinking is probably 'unethical', because that is a more subjective word.
I don't consider it either, but maybe you should look into DRM-free information and how attempts to lock up hardware or software via various methods are pretty meaningless in the grand scheme of things.
Re: Hackers Turn The Nintendo Switch Into A Functioning Linux Tablet
@Anti-Matter Hacking isn't illegal, and hacking isn't piracy. In fact, even if you do not care about running Linux or any potential hardware tweaks or games that could be played with doing it, hacking shows companies the insecure portions of their OS or hardware so it can be fixed in the future. How do you think security vulnerabilities are fixed in operating systems?
The bottom line is when exploits are found, it results it a more secure system, or possible improvements through the hardware through revisions in the future.
Re: Hackers Turn The Nintendo Switch Into A Functioning Linux Tablet
Before people start jumping on anyone hacking the system and saying it's piracy, just remember this:
CD Projekt Red has existed fine off of putting each one of their Witcher games completely DRM free on their site, and GOG has done great with DRM free versions of a ton of games. Those who are going to do anything with piracy are going to do it regardless. Piracy isn't an alternative to sales, people who pirate simply go onto the next thing, being 'forced' to buy doesn't mean they do. CD Projekt Red proves it doesn't matter in the slightest to release a game with zero protection, so please don't use that flawed argument.
Also, the Linux kernel is open source and available to anyone. I wouldn't say the Switch would be equal to a laptop or anything else, but it's cool to see some applications of Linux applied to the hardware. I think the biggest gaming application would be if someone could get Nvidia Shield Tegra/Android based games running on it. I think for the current games, unlocking to overclock the GPU/CPU for better performance would be interesting.
Re: The Mega Man Legacy Collection 1 & 2 Are Headed To Switch On 22nd May
@JasmineDragon
Agreed. Seriously what is the deal with this? I realize the cartridges themselves seem to be expensive, but they cannot even offer an option? Especially in the case of a ROM set with over-bloated storage.
It's sad this keeps happening, even with Bayonetta. At least give people a larger cartridge option with a special edition.
Re: Hackers Get Linux Running On Switch And Claim Nintendo Can't Patch The Exploit
@c2017nlifemedia Richard Stallman, is that you?
Re: Soapbox: What Happened To All The Great Baseball Games On Nintendo Consoles?
Unfortunately the lack or baseball, or other sports, has been on Nintendo basically dropping studios inside the US outside of Retro over the years. So instead they've focused on a narrow segment of niche JRPGs that are a dime a dozen and aren't expanding the userbase at all. People can trash baseball, but you don't have to look far to see MLB The Show is a heck of a lot more popular and sells better than some creepy half clothed anime JRPGs on Switch.
It's sad because there's a legitimate huge gap in sports games right now, and games like Waverace, 1080, MLB, etc would reach more than the typical audience on Nintendo systems. And Nintendo could do well by them, because the typical sports model today has turned into a ton of microtransactions and super hardcore simulation style games. A game in the style of Ken Griffey Jr in the past, with straightforward controls but deep gameplay would be great in the era of up-selling to people who already bought the game.
Unfortunately, I don't see this changing, because there's more reluctance than ever to use licensed games these days because of the greed of the ones granting the license. The same reason we don't see any 007 games, and Marvel vs Capcom Infinite are bombing, etc. It's just become an economy of how much can we monetize our fanbase instead of trying to bring new fans in, and its a recipe for disaster.
Re: Miitomo Meets Its End On 9th May
It just shows why I can't really ever get into apps, downloads, or online games and stick with physical games for the most part.
There's an obsolescence plan for everything. This is shutting down, Wii Shop is shutting down so you won't be able to redownload anything, DS and Wii online have been shutdown for a long while. And they don't make anything open source to give a chance to redistribute or preserve it (legally at least.) It won't be long before Wii U services, then 3DS, go out the door.
Re: Talking Point: Nintendo Has Embraced DLC, But Must Resist The Worst Industry Norms
@zionich Unfortunately, I don't believe these companies change. They either lose power and allows others to take their place, or continue to monetize to the point we have now.
They'll always have excuses as to why a game did or didn't sell, and their dissonance will always place the blame anywhere except a corporate profiteering decision the CEO and directors made. Nintendo seems to be one of the few left that wants the 'traditional' path to continue, even admitting to prefer it in mobile games, even though Super Mario Run didn't do what they wanted. I'm fine with a future where the third party market implodes from its own greed.
Re: Talking Point: Nintendo Has Embraced DLC, But Must Resist The Worst Industry Norms
People need to stop supporting companies that practice it, period, is the problem. I don't care if Ubi Soft releases a game with Mario in it, 90% of their other products are microtransaction hell. So because they get a gift cameo appearance from a Nintendo character I'm supposed to help their bottom line? Uh, no. All it does is enable them to add the crap to future games like they do EVERYTHING else.
Buy Nintendo products. Buy Indie Games. Stop worrying about third party crap. Ta-da, problem solved.
Re: Monolith Soft Discusses the Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Art Style and Its Focus on Story
I've read people wondering why this game doesn't get more advertising, well there's your answer. How many people want to play a niche anime RPG that takes 80 hours to complete? Does every RPG have to be some anime, medieval, or sci-fi ripoff?
Hopefully in the future Nintendo can leverage the studio to do something with their own characters or something a little less niche/weird at least, because they obviously have some talent. It's just these games are not for the vast majority of people, and they're being underutilized.
Re: Nintendo Has Announced the End of the Wii Shop Channel
This is why digital on consoles is a major problem. While GOG and Steam should be up indefinitely, barring the companies going under, you know every game you buy on a console isn't really 'purchased' - its borrowed. Yeah it might be 10-12 years, it might be 2028 or something before the same thing happens to Switch, but it WILL happen - its inevitable.
Re: Splatoon 2 Designer Explains Why The Maps Rotate And Salmon Run Is Time-Limited
@Yorumi
Good point. Seems some can't differentiate between arbitrary restrictions that have nothing to do with game design versus something opening up inside the actual game design that people may be hesitant to try.
Could you imagine that restaurant example in practice? "No I've had this tea before with and without sugar and I much prefer sugar." Nintendo's response to this is to brow beat you with a cup.
I mean, we've seen it before. Forced motion controls which causes a game to fail miserable (Star Fox Zero for example.) Or times where goofy restrictions may be fixed in a format years later that shows how ridiculous the restriction was in the first place (region locking, friends codes, cartridges vs CD, lack of a shoulder button etc.)
They typically lock on these restrictions foolishly early on, then in the sequel or a re-release let them go, and tout it as a 'feature.' Just wait for Splatoon 3 with selecting your own maps, no timed locked events, voice chat, etc. Then if they don't do much more than that, they'll just brag at all the improvements that could have been there in first place.
Re: Splatoon 2 Designer Explains Why The Maps Rotate And Salmon Run Is Time-Limited
Well thanks to this type of comment, glad I didn't purchase the game, and never will.
The whole Henry Ford comparison is silly. Splaatoon as a concept was the whole "consumers don't know what they want until its made" analogy. Not placing arbitrary limits on the concept once its made.
This is like if Ford said, "OK, don't make the car faster than a horse. Oh and time lock it from being used on Sunday because I know a stroll to church is better for people."
The arrogance here is ridiculous. Obviously they don't always know best, otherwise the Wii U wouldn't have bombed, and progressive loosening of other restrictions like region lock, creating Mario levels, dropping friend codes, etc wouldn't occur.
Re: Nintendo Is Ending SplatNet for Splatoon Next Month
This is why I can't really get into heavy online games. You're basically paying for "games as a service." The day you buy them is the day the clock starts ticking. It ticks on if you have to purchase an online subscription model (which you will have to next year), and it ticks on the game's lifespan itself.
Whether its taking some of the side features away like this, letting exploiters destroy the game, or turning it off completely - it seems like you have to run your life around a timeframe to play before it's not viable anymore. Or playing events at certain times or days.; or to get certain items.
This isn't just Nintendo, this is basically every company. I'm fine with Nintendo putting historically great local multiplayer games online; but this team-based, event-based, time-based crap they can leave behind for all I care.
Re: Preview: Jumping Into the Crazy World of Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle
I wonder how this would be received if it were the same game, except instead of Mario and friends it was just Rabbids.
Don't get me wrong, I think it will be a critically well received game, and the developers seem to have put a lot of passion and effort into it - but it really seems like Mario franchise is carrying this brunt to make one of Ubi Soft's D-tier franchises popular.
I think it's a missed opportunity on a lot of fronts. For example, Mario series has 30 years of powerups and attacks at their disposal and all that's being used are - guns? Maybe that's Nintendo's fault and direction because they didn't want it to be too similar to Mario - but I think it takes more personality out of the game.
Also, the Rabbids being a pretty mediocre series with no real personality themselves, they just make them parodies of the real Mario characters with some lame 2017-era "emoji" humor thrown in. I look at it as a real missed opportunity. They could have put together a 'Ubi Soft' team of Rayman, Prince of Persia, and Beyond Good and Evil to team up with Mario in environments and abilities from all the worlds. Instead you get Mario, Mario parodies, and generic weaponry with no ties to anything at your disposal.
I appreciate the effort, but we're looking at a series that would probably be mostly ignored without the Mario name attached.
Re: Review: Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers (Switch)
Its sad there's such a big nostalgia tax for Switch that publishers are taking advantage of. Bomberman, SNK games for $8 a pop, Street Fighter, upcoming Namco Museum. I mean, its just ridiculous.
I know it's apples and oranges, but Humble Bundle has SEVENTEEN top notch, award winning, Indie games, for $23 right now on their two active bundles. And almost all those games can be run on any computer. Think about that.
Re: Rumour: Artwork for Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle Posted Online
I don't care for the cross-branding with Rabbids - I think it would have worked a ton better with Rayman as a co-star with Mario, and using Mario enemies in an RPG.
That being said, I do find it funny how many people trash this, but then will go play some ultra weirdo otaku anime JRPGs with 'waifus' and all that creepy crap. This is 10x better than Xeno-anything.
Re: Preview: Going Some Rounds With ARMS on Nintendo Switch
Did you guys play Grand Prix? Any info on what is in that mode, what happens between fights, if there's any story or bonus stages, etc in that mode?
Re: Nintendo Reveals ARMS' Single Player Mode, Grand Prix
@thesilverbrick Agreed, I was hoping there would be some type of single player mode, and it at least has that and some sports spinoffs.
Also it looks like Splatoon 2 has one as well! I never played the first Splatoon, but I understand the single player was pretty barebones. Maybe someone can shed some light on how different and deeper the sequel's mode looks like.
Re: Talking Point: ARMS Has Plenty to Prove In Its Nintendo Direct
@PlywoodStick That's unfortunate if so. I think both can be done without a ton of extra effort by mimicking some of the other multiplayer heavy Nintendo games that also included reasonable length single player games, like Smash Bros and Mario Kart.
I think those games hold up for any type of person, and Splatoon and ARMS by all indications is heading more towards your fun dependent on others. Hopefully some new information closer to release and today's Direct alludes to some other content besides versus play.
Re: Talking Point: ARMS Has Plenty to Prove In Its Nintendo Direct
@abbyhitter I think single player is the main thing they need to be focusing on. Splatoon 2 single player as well. Especially if they're going to lock online services behind a paywall subscription service soon, what will these games be worth if they only have bare minimum single player modes?
Injustice 2's good reviews shows single player can still be impactful in a fighting game, and Splatoon looks like it could easily make a great campaign. Just do it Nintendo, we all don't want to be online players.
Re: Nintendo Switch Owners Will Have To Wait Longer And Pay More For RiME
@gortsi
Not to mention Lego City was out on Wii U and has been for years, and shouldn't be a full price game anyway.
Really, the third party scam is just simply publishers seeing there's nothing on the release list, and trying to milk as much profit as possible with as little effort as possible. That's all there is to it.
Re: Nintendo Switch Owners Will Have To Wait Longer And Pay More For RiME
The developer made a long response to the criticism on GAF which essentially says nothing new:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=231723468&postcount=616
TL;DR version, just saying vague development, production, and manufacturing costs with no real explanation.
Spend your money elsewhere.
Re: Nintendo Switch Owners Will Have To Wait Longer And Pay More For RiME
@NintySnesMan
Sounds stupid and ridiculous. Adding any platform is going to cost extra in terms of time and cost, that's the point. You invest your time to introduce your product to a new audience and then the return on that investment. They're acting as if it added extra requirements for their own decision to bring it to a new audience. Then don't bring it over then? Stupid philosophy.
Re: Nintendo Switch Owners Will Have To Wait Longer And Pay More For RiME
@Mega_Yarn_Poochy
Binding of Isaac goes on sale all the time. The base game itself is constantly under $10. Sure, it's a little more expensive with the expansions, but if you wait for a sale you can get them all for a little over $20 on Steam and it's only going to go down.
The physical version of Puyo Puyo Tetris is $30 on PS4. Not to mention it was out in Japan on several systems over THREE years ago.
Not buying any of this garbage. I'm fine with a Nintendo only system, and maybe some outside games Nintendo may get agreements for.
Re: Nintendo Switch Owners Will Have To Wait Longer And Pay More For RiME
@Mega_Yarn_Poochy
$40 for a puzzle game and an indie game you can get cheaper elsewhere is also ridiculous. Including plastic or paper junk that has no functionality into a 'bundle' adds nothing to me. Would rather spend the money on games rather than crap like a keychain SEGA is trying to push into a Tetris game.
I've really yet to see a single third party or indie physical game give me an equal deal as elsewhere, which is sad.
Re: Nintendo Switch Owners Will Have To Wait Longer And Pay More For RiME
@FX102A
Grey Box responded on the price stating:
"We set prices for our products based on the costs of development and publishing for each specific platform."
Re: Nintendo Switch Owners Will Have To Wait Longer And Pay More For RiME
Tantalus seems like a talented studio who should be doing something a little better than pushing out indie ports that are overcharging for their games. Nintendo should just buy them out to help on remakes and virtual console games.
Re: Nintendo Switch Owners Will Have To Wait Longer And Pay More For RiME
@Nygiantz17
They probably saw how many people bought Bomberman or want Street Fighter II and thought, you know what, there's plenty of suckers who bought this thing to sell to.
Re: Nintendo Switch Owners Will Have To Wait Longer And Pay More For RiME
Typical Nintendo tax. Third parties or indie games seem to have three different ways of gouging Switch owners:
1) Selling a port, or update, of an older game for full MSRP. See: Street Fighter II
2) Games being significantly cheaper at various times on other platforms like Steam, Humble Bundle, or PSN, because they are willing to put their game on sale on those platforms. See: $40 for Binding of Isaac.
3) We're just going to charge more, because there's nothing else out there and we're going to take advantage of that. See: this game, Puyo Puyo Tetris, Bomberman.
Re: Review: Super Bomberman R (Switch)
@RaphaBoss
FYI - Now among 16 critic reviews, this site has the tied for, highest score. It's not surprising, Nintendo fan sites always inflate exclusive game scores.
IGN gave it a 6.2. Gamespot a 7. and Game Informer a 5.
The MetaCritic now sits at 65%.
Re: Review: Super Bomberman R (Switch)
@RaphaBoss
Haven't heard the same issues with Zelda, Shovel Knight, or Fast RMX. Konami just doesn't know how to make games anymore, this was a budget offering they pushed out quickly to get a high ROI for. Not surprising the controls aren't crisp, it's the corporate equivalent of a bad Steam greenlight game.
Re: Review: Super Bomberman R (Switch)
@RaphaBoss
There's input lag issues, and well as people saying the controls are not tight. Just some comments from people who purchased it I've read. It seems to be completely due to Konami's ineptitude with quality control, there's no excuse for it:
" the controls are messy. Once your movement speed increases a couple of levels youre going to be dying left and right. It just feels so bad. "
"Controls do feel loosy, not tight enough. It's pretty sad. "
"Glad to see it's not just me thinking there was something off with the movement."
"The controls feel very sloppy and the response time to turning corners is so sluggish it almost gives the illusion you're getting caught on geometry."
Re: Review: Super Bomberman R (Switch)
@RaphaBoss
IGN and GiantBomb streams mentioned everything I posted, it didn't come out of thin air. If the single player is a broken mess with a horrible camera, terrible HUD and design, controls, and boring level design - it really doesn't add a lot does it?
Come back in October, lets see how many people are still playing this or would grant it this review score based on the hype of being a game for a new launch. Guessing many people won't care so much by then. This is probably the most pub a Bomberman game has gotten since Bomberman 64.
Re: Review: Super Bomberman R (Switch)
@ironside1911
Most accurate review summation I've read.
Really, there ARE great games at launch. Zelda may be the best game of all time. Shovel Knight is the perfect retro throwback, and may be the best Indie game of all time. Blaster Master Zero looks like another faithful retro throwback. You can buy the Shovel Knight series, Blaster Master Zero, and another eShop game for the price of just Bomberman. Wish people would think before they buy.
Re: Review: Super Bomberman R (Switch)
No offense, but reviews like this seem to be how Nintendo focused sites get a bad rep. Significantly higher score than other sites, and seems to be based on the fact it's an 'exclusive' cashing in off of nostalgia.
There seems to be major issues:
1) $50 price tag, significantly higher than Bomberman Blast which NL gave an 8 years ago.
2) Konami has tweeted online doesn't work correctly currently, terrible connection problems and people aren't able to play online without unplayable lag
3) * Horrible graphics that look like a cheap Unity game instead of fitting the Bomberman style, and make it more difficult to spot your character in levels, and even worse in multiplayer - especially with several players*
4) * Horrible rotating camera in single player that zooms in and out on the character, making you unable to see parts of the level*
5) * Very basic, boring single player levels that offer nothing but rudimentary gameplay that aren't as good as classic titles*
6) * Solid large HUD that blocks seeing enemies*
7) * Sloppy controls that aren't crisp and faithful to the grid pattern of classic Bomberman*
8) * Constricted multiplayer options that include no customization options of modes like the older titles, and also require unlocking most of the stages with a goofy in-game currency system*
Go buy Bomberman '94 ROM or get one of the older games. the fact that you could literally purchase a used Wii and an older Bomberman for the price if this entire game these days is hilarious.
Giving this more than a 5/10 is generous and seems to be based solely on it being an exclusive for the time being. If this were released mid-life on Wii U at the same time as other platforms, it would be completely ignored and forgotten in its terribleness.