Daggot

The way IP licenses work, they may have had their backs against the wall. The license could have a condition that they release a title by a set time period or they face a penalty, or worse, lose the license completely. If that was the case, they had to release the game no matter how bad it was. Yes, it's still a horrible practice to release and patch later. They are also likely under an NDA so they can't disclose this either.

That yellow shirt with the black wavy line is going to get a copyright notice eventually.

The art direction is nice looking. Hopefully the game offers something new and substantive.

Stunning. That's the only word that fits. That Elden Ring journal was impressive, I think Tears will lend itself better to this. I'm sure it's a massive time sink to do all that work, but WOW. I hope he continues.

The art direction is just beautiful. It's really captivating. Eager to see a little more of the gameplay. Looks like it could be a great kids game.

Early reviews are saying the game is very laggy. I assume that's just from the initial crush of new players. I'll wait a bit to see if they're able to stabilize the servers and then look into this.

I have enjoyed the resurgence of beat 'em ups lately. I've started replaying SoR4 and exploring more of the extra content/DLC that I kind of just skimmed when it first came out. That has really enhanced my appreciation for how good the game is. The TMNT one was fun, but for some reason didn't hold my interest. It wasn't bad, and I can't put my finger on what why I haven't gone back to replay it after beating story mode.

Hopefully this has more in common with SoR4 to hold my interest. Looks promising... now I need to figure out where the music in the trailer is from. So recognizable to me, but I can't place it yet.

Saw MVG's video about this earlier in the week. Very interesting. Hadn't heard of it before. I was ready to grab this, but then saw the performance was not what it needs to be. Far too many other things to occupy my time to pick this is as-is. If there's a performance patch it might bubble up on the list.

Still, just the concept of taking more modern tech to reimagine older 2D systems making them into 2D uber machine is just so intriguing. This approach gets around my issue with current retro games is that their pixels aren't always static. There's just block-style and the "pixel" can slide around between what should be a grid layout do to differences in resolutions. I might explore that more. I'm sure there are some smaller systems that do this, just with limited game support.

hmm. The trailer was in 60fps, but the gameplay didn't feel like it was recorded in 60fps.

@Slowdive More likely it's the library files used. Music can be compressed pretty small, but if you're using off-the-shelf library files they probably have to be distributed as-is so there isn't much space saving to be had. But, yes, content and shaders do add to it too.

Fate of Atlantis was one of the best PnC games of the era. I'd forgotten about Infernal Machine. I need to return to that one. But, FoA was really good.

Eventually it got to a Lemmings kind of puzzle vibe. W/o the limited counter of roles to give the Lemmings, I guess the challenge is to find the objects within the room to use to re/direct them tin men as needed. I guess this is kind of Lemmings meets physics puzzle? I like the general idea I see here. Hopefully this works ok on Switch, but it feels like something better on at least a bigger console and certainly a PC game.

When I was in the game industry, I heard from all the larger rep firms how they hated E3. It was so ridiculously expensive. The floor space was bad, but then you were almost contractually committed to a massive display set piece on top of just having the space. The logistics were always a nightmare too. It was tied to an era, and it served that era. Times have changed, and PAX and other events are more relevant now; not to mention so much of what can be done with a Direct style showcase. That social media in general. Even smaller studios and publishers don't need the event as much thanks to social media platforms, as well as being included in larger publisher's support for indie.

I shoulda read the text first, but looking at the screens I'm all...wait.. that's... oh, yeah, hey, I remember playing Cybernator on the SNES. Totally had forgotten about that game. I thought that might have been an early-ish SNES title, but checking the date, no it would have been part of the wave 2 stuff after developers had time with the systems. I honesty can't remember if I liked the original or not. Still a blast from the past though.

Total throwback to the old Data East game Kung Fu Master, but with a few new touches. That could be pretty fun if the difficulty scales better than the old game.

We are WAY overdue on a remaster of Metroid Prime Pinball. LOVED that game. Found my DS and rumble pack a few years back and was stoked that it still worked. The Switch would be an awesome platform for it, especially with the underused HD Rumble feature.

Not many mentions of this being the same developer as Asphalt 9, so they do have experience on how to build a decent racer. This is also the same developer that did Disney Dreamlight Valley, so it's easy to see how they're extending their license of the IP. That's a decent business strategy. My girls all play DLV. I believe it will eventually go F2P like how DSS says it will. Honestly, I'm fine with a kind of initial purpose if it the game is decent enough. My kids have gotten a lot of hours of play out of DLV, so it was money well spent, even if it does turn f2p in a year or so. With their experience with A9 I assume they're using a very similar kind of model, maybe toned down a little since it's a younger target audience. For DLV my kids have not asked for more of the premium currency. Honestly, even my 13yr old didn't realize that was even an option. To me, that actually speak highly that there's enough in that game to help justify the initial cost. IF you can unlock everything in DSS with free in-game currency, then I'm totally find with this, and I expect my kids should be too. Will I spring for this initial purchase? Maybe, but I want confirmation on what's going to be unlockable. HOWEVER my big concern is if this will also end up pushing season passes that do require premium currency. It mentions season, but I expect maybe they'll split to have free and paid unlocks within the season. Not going to be happy if I gotta shell out $10 per kid per season. So, probably going to wait for reviews to help clarify all of that.

Huge step up on the art direction from the previous titles. I swear when I saw those original images I thought they hired the art guys from Farmville and they were making a flash game. I lost all interest in the Natsume direction after the split. At least in terms of art direction this looks positive. Regardless, there's still the very high bar that Stardew Valley set to overcome. Huge challenge to say the very least.

I love this game, and it's awesome to see the devs still tweaking the game so long after release and even after the DLC. I still semi-hope there is another DLC with that missing stage. You can see it on the overhead map ,but I've never heard it talked about.

Going to have to do some re-play to check out these changes. That's a LOT of tweaks... just wow!

I would semi-invert this and then just say that the Switch hasn't had a bad year. Best is going to be rather subjective on which games you played. Nintendo has done a rather good job managing the 1st party release schedule; which was one of the key points they targeted for the system. I might just got with 2017 since I'm still playing MKD8, and not just because of the new DLC waves. I'd have to say most all years were rather strong given key title releases.

I was more on the SSX side, but it's such an under served genre as a whole. I'm surprised neither IP has gotten some kind of reboot. Seems like a good time for it.

Come on, Nintendo. Do the needful.

@Eagly I was just about to ask if this is F2P. The UI to me looks very much like a F2P mobile game.

No surprise here. It's all about money. I've heard from various sources how expensive E3 had gotten. Not just the fees to attend, the booth space, etc, but the expense of making the content/displays. Especially for the major brands it grew so large. And, I expect that's what E3 expects for the large brands to attend. There's no where near the ROI on that stuff compared to what they can get with a direct for a lot less money.

One complaint I've read many times over the year is how much developers hate E3 demos. They take so much work to prepare and it puts them behind on their dev schedule which are already strained to hit financial deadlines.

Besides, just want benefit is E3 to these members if the 3 biggest members go "meh." ?

Serious Force Five flashbacks!!! My inner 8yr old is semi-giddy with this. But... eh. as others mentioned, the video looks like there are performance issues. The gameplay looks basic/simplistic(?) Someone mentioned this was previously a mobile game. That may be why I feel like that then.

Still, giant robot games are under represented; especially in the west. Will keep a watch on this.

Xcloud support for sure. Nintendo has been exploring that technology path already. The big question is the next hardware platform. Will there be a kind of split between being able to use the cloud version and/or the next hardware iteration.

I love that they are trying a different take on the usual rpg concepts and troupes, but having to actively pacify a kid as a game mechanic could really trigger an adult who's had to deal with that IRL. lol. Interesting premise though.

The visuals remind me a LOT of this old laserdisc game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YANvpuBCQtA

Been following development of this title. It has moved far, far the origins of the series. It is now more of an action oriented RTS than the original focus on supply chain strategy. Going to wait on PC reviews before I make any kind of determination. But, I think most long time fans really wanted something closer to 4 than the recent direction. Too much focus on fast clicking.

@Horace This is absolutely the right way to think of it. Not so much an investor trying to tinker with a specific game development. It's their voting power that's going to hold massive sway. This is very alarming news indeed. There is eventually a tipping point where they can influence who sits on the board of directors. At that point it's too late and then they have full ability to influence game design. We need a lot more media coverage on this. Not just from SA, but any large entity taking a controlling interest in a company.

I'm going to give Nintendo some benefit of the doubt on Wave 1. Surely there is going to be more to it. They're just doing the trickle marketing tactic. Right? They announced the expansion, but didn't give a date. Now they've given a date. I assume either Friday or early next week we'll another tweet with some more bit of detail. And then again the week after that, and then it will be the release on the 28th.

I think NOA is just testing different marketing tactics is all.

@LikelySatan The problem with most storefronts is discoverability. Like how do I find a new game for my 8yr old? Other than the major IP, how do I find a new maybe inexpensive indie game? How do I know what's good? The genre selection is very weak. Most games have genre tags to ensure they show up in more searches. This makes it hard to find the kind of game you're really looking for. No #tags. No reviews. Just very limited on how you can explore the catalog.

Not going to be a new hardware announcement. Nope. Maybe the Direct around E3. The only real possibility on the hardware front would be a skinned model for Zelda launch. But, same specs.

I can only dream the One More Thing will be a redesign of eShop and it's finally a good storefront.

I would love to stick with physical, but these carts are too small. Some how I managed to lose my BotW launch game. I'm pretty sure it's in the house. Somewhere. Digital is just far more convenient for me. However, there is a LOT to be said about digital store fronts shutting down or games being removed from store fronts, or worse from our libraries. This has happened to me with TV shows on Amazon where episodes get locked behind a streaming service even when I bought the season years earlier. So, there is no perfect solution. Also, physical just takes up space to store over time.

I know the shmup-fans are as hardcore as they come. But, the genre feels like it's gotten to the point where the barrier to entry for new players has gotten too high. I miss the old arcade shooter games like Twin Eagles, UN Squadron and even that Avengers one, etc. Those were more mass destruction and bullet hell. But, I don't see any of that style any more.

That art style is awesome. Hopefully Switch can run this @ 60fps. I would think so given the reduced arena from the diorama concept. Sound design is good too. Definitely one to watch.

Love that there is some fresh ideas with this. Great art and production values from what I see.

Looking at that trailer a little closer, and I am kinda doubting we're going to get that kind of FPS performance on Switch. We've seen too many open world games like this to know the Switch just can't do consistent 30fps in these kinds of games. It looks cute and all. I'm also ok with it being a 4hr solo game given it's obvious target demographic. I'm sure they plan on DLC to extend it. Given both of those I also assume this should have lower price, like $10-15 USD tops.

I assume her clothes are oversized for her body, and that's making it look like her hands and face are out of proportion from her body. There's a lot of gap around the legs and arm between her clothes, which is why I think it's the clothes being too big.

@antisumo Looks like this is the only version on eShop now. Maybe you get upgraded?

I've spent hundreds of hours playing Factorio on Steam. The game is ridiculously engrossing. Worth $35? Easily for the amount of time I've spent playing the game. But, I understand the sentiment about raising prices on an existing game. They've pretty much made back their development costs from Steam and should be well into the profitability side of things. However, I could see if the port costs (publisher taking a cut I guess?) and Nintendo royalty aren't working out as they expected, then they'd be in an awkward position if they felt they needed to raise the price. Sales on Steam have surely tapered off by now. Maybe they need to reconsider the No Sales stance going forward.

I wanted to get into Amiibo stuff, but the ones I wanted were always controlled by the scalpers. Hard pass. Not going to fund their drain on humanity. I see some are more easily to get now. But, also my interest has faded compared when they were a new thing.

Far too many games to boil it down. But, the top 5 are almost all going to involve some of stupid jumping puzzle, or other jump situation that requires more timing it should it should within the context of the rest of the level.

This is the US. "Lowest cost provider." is the name of the game.

@Astral-Grain I'd say that's a pretty fair expectation these days.

I think a 2023 announcement is going to depend on how their catalog looks for holiday 2023, and how they handle backwards compatibility. If a new system can run current games, then they might announce this year and push to have a last big year in 2023. Otherwise I'd think the announcement would wait until next year and launch that year.

However, that would also mean they've got dev kits to dev studios very soon if not already there. Not going to have a launch title to take advantage of the new system if the game isn't already in scope for holiday 2024 by now.

Now I'm super curious to know how close to the original arcade design this is. Atari was at a time good at trying new ideas in the arcade. Now everything in the arcade is a ticket game or just a rehash of old ideas.

Super curious about some of those other titles. A new Macross game??? YES! From the bit of art in the background looks to be some kind of shooter?

A game based on Mushoku Tensei game? Woooo. Not familiar with the other 2.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TieDIw7zZ60

@HeeHo Well, there's no geometric word in the title, so maybe not.

Really, REALLY have to talk about the cons on both; especially digital. I'm on the digital side. But, we've already run into issues with digital. It's a limited use license and there's nothing in the license that requires the company to allow you access it to the game files in putridity. We've just seen Nintendo close down a digital storefront. Also, there's the question of licenses that can be revoked. I bought my daughter Season 2 of Dora and Friends on Amazon (not the original show, the follow on show where Dora is older and lives in the city). Some of the episodes are now only viewable on P+ despite the fact that I paid for the full season. There's nothing that Amazon is able to do, except refund my money. Fine. But, my point is, digital isn't necessarily forever.

Digital is also tied to someone's personal account. Can't exactly pass that on to your kids for collection purposes.

I forgot they had a printer separate from the camera printer. I bet my kids would love this. BUT, like anything, it's the consumables that get you. hmmm

Hopefully it's not like a year long exclusive (it probably is). Been hoping this game would find its way to Switch. Think my whole family would love it.