Darknyht

@Cinaclov Their business model is that they give the games away free because it gets them high on the charts. They are basically manipulating the charts in advance of Christmas so they will be the first thing that people see when they go into the eShop.

The game themselves are a mixed bag. Some like Rekt and Utopia9 I have really enjoyed, others not so much. To be brutally honest, they remind me mostly of old c64 games with updated graphics (sometimes). I say that in they are normally single concept games with the look of a single developer or small team.

NES, GBC, SNES, GC, Wii VC, and Switch are where I own it. At this point I refuse to purchase again on principle.

It was bound to happen eventually, and I am thankfully much like with Disney Infinity 3.0 that I already downloaded the levels I was most interested in.

Whether we like it or not, streaming a copyrighted game is considered a performance under US copyright laws. Technically every US based streamer is breaking the law when they stream games to an audience in Twitch. For most companies, they see this as free marketing but not all. Nintendo is one that doesn’t and typically has strict guideline for what they allow.

This streamer attempted to get around the rules and got burned. Stupid as it seems, he broke the law and was punished. You cannot stream copyrighted material to 100s of people without permission of the copyright holder. Has nothing to do with the story material or anything else. It’s the same reason that illegal NFL game rebroadcasters get shut down.

This guy wasn’t a hero, he was attempting to manipulate distribution to gain a financial benefit and suffered for it.

EDIT: This is what the big stupid mess with old video takedowns was about too. They all streamed (performed) copyrighted music in their streams and the copyright holder said no. The way Twitch went about it was in violation of the law, but the takedowns were probably due to copyright violations flagged by the rights holder.

While I love being able to go online and get the latest news, I do miss the print magazines and slower news cycle. I remember pouring over Nintendo Power looking for every bit of information it contained. (And yes, Nintendo has a fine tradition of advertisements disguised as magazines).

@KITG_GROUP Dreamcast lost because of a few major factors. At the time DVD players were still prohibitively expensive and the PS2 was the cheapest DVD player you could purchase. So people bought a DVD player and found they liked playing games too. In fact, people waited because they wanted the DVD player (and Sony always oversold their console's capabilities, especially the PS2).

Second, Sega pissed off major retailers by surprise launching the console. Not only were there no games from third parties ready for sale, the GD-Rom discs they were on had issues (and had less capacity than DVD). So much that KB Toys just refused to carry the console entirely.

Third, like the Wii U the Dreamcast launched out of sync with society. Networking was a huge feature for the console at a time when very few people were playing online outside of PC gamers.

So yeah, EA being whiny about sports games exclusively was an issue (which they monopolized later by buying exclusive rights to leagues), it wasn't the only thing that sunk the Dreamcast.

Doing something different is a gamble at best, but in the case of Sega's Dreamcast and Nintendo's Wii U they both did many, many things that basically killed the console before it got out of the gates.

The Wii U is still hooked up in the living room where my two sons play Hyrule Warriors, Breath of the Wild, Capt. Toad, Super Mario 3D World, Mario Kart 8, Kirby and the Rainbow Curse, and Yoshi's Woolly World. I still play Breath of the Wild and Xenoblade Chronicles X on it from time to time.

I agree with others. Too many games I owned or played missing from the list.

Well, technically Switch and Apple Arcade (TV and Phone). I really don't need much more than that.

Personally, I preferred Beauty and the Beast and Congo Bongo on the Intellivision for my DK rip offs back then. But it would be interesting to see one of these in the wild.

I really liked the series and Dragon Age: Origins/Awakenings, but I probably wouldn't have repurchased them. I simply don't have the 100+ hours to dedicate to games anymore, especially ones I have already sunk 100+ hours into previously.

@CarlosM87 This "purchase" is just like a purchase on Amazon Prime. The Access Pass grants limited access to the content, which premission to access can be removed at any time. That is a lease/rental no matter what they decide to call it.

As I said, gambling $30+ dollars for that is silly. I might want to spend $2-5 for a week of access much like I used to pay $2-5 to rent a physical game for a week.

@CarlosM87 By the definition you gave for the terms of usage, it is a rental or lease no matter what they choose to call it. To answer your question, I am not interested in a rental of a game for an undetermined period of time for $35. But just like I rent movies all the time, I might be interested in renting a cloud game if the price and terms are clearly defined. EDIT: and more agreeable.

As I said elsewhere, if they offer 6 months access for $20 I might be interested. I see cloud gaming with the same view I used to look at rentals from Blockbuster. I could play games I wouldn't otherwise bother with for a limited time, possibly finish them, and then not have to worry about them ever again. Not every game I play is worth having permanently in my collection.

My order of preference from best to worse is Physical->Digital->Cloud->No option. This is far better than the Switch slowly devolving into a Wii U style barren third party wasteland.

@AJ_Lethal You are right. Physical is always superior, but not always practical. I cannot go rent a game for a weekend from a store anymore, but I might “rent” a cloud game for a week. Not every game out there is worth me owning, but it might be worth playing through.

@MS7000 I understand your points, to a point. I tend towards the adage that just because you can, doesn't mean you should. Playing a game like Hitman 3 on a 5.5" or 6.2" screen just doesn't scream "Great Experience!" to me to begin with, but to each their own. Add to it that this potentially means we will get a better visual experience than playing it native also seems more of a plus than a negative. My Switch console generally stays in the dock or my house more often than not, and situations where I am without internet is very rare (including using a cell phone hotspot).

At the end of the day, I doubt developers are going to choose a Cloud experience for Switch if it is possible to run the game native. At the same time, very few games built for the new MS/Sony consoles can bridge that gap to the Switch while remaining the same fundamental game. The technological divide is just too wide now, and only getting wider. But the Switch can continue to get more of the new releases with this option, including a lot of games it wouldn't receive without this option.

At the end of the day, this is a glass half-empty/half-full issue. I see the potential benefits and choose to be optimistic. I am not sold on the concept of 'cloud' gaming, but as I said before it is better than the option of no game when you really want to experience something and have no other options.

@MS7000 If this was the Wii U, we would be watching games just skip the console entirely. At least there is a large enough install base that they are attempting to bring titles to the system, even if it is in a cloud gaming form.

Heck, I am currently playing The Outer Worlds on Switch now because the alternative is to not play The Outer Worlds. Is it perfect and matches beefier consoles? No, but it is a little stupid to expect that. Is it still enjoyable as a game? Yes, and since I never seen the alternative options I really don't miss extra foliage.

So I am not going to bemoan a great game I want coming to my console of choice (only console of choice) in a cloud form. At least it is an option. I remember the Wii U days, and I would have jumped for joy at the opportunity to purchase cloud versions of beloved franchises for what was at the only time my only console.

I played this as a teen back on PC. It was interesting and fun but not the most straightforward game. I remember it was strange because it ran on the Doom engine at a time when everything was going full 3D.

Let's review Pachter's bold predictions:

• 2006 prediction that Nintendo would leave the console business
• 2008 Assassin's Creed 2 will be set in French Revolution
• 2010 Kinect will sell for $50
• 2014 Xbox One will outsell the PS4
• 2018 Switch will only sell 8 million consoles this year

So I think it is safe to say the man's accuracy mark is well below the analyst Mendoza Line.

Well that was a little underwhelming. Three Major releases does not include Mario Party and Mario Tennis, those are side show attractions.

Well, it's cheaper than Earthbound Beginnings so I will probably pick this up although I stink at Tactical RPGS. I would guess that eventually this will see release on the Switch NES Online service.

Just wish they would get around to putting Earthbound Beginnings on there. I started it on the Wii U but never got around to finishing it.

I purchased it and sold it within a few weeks as I didn’t ever take Animal Crossing out to play it. Thankfully I got almost all my money back thanks to extremely high demand.

I’ll join in on playing Dragon Quest this weekend. It’s been a while since I last revisited it. Let’s see if I can remember where everything is still without pulling out the old Nintendo Power guide I got with my NES cartridge/Nintendo Power subscription.

If this was really nothing more than a ROM Hack and didn't distribute the original ROM, then what is the issue? ROM Hacks happen all the time, in fact my favorite one Final Fantasy IV: Free Enterprise is great. Sorry, but it is hard to be sympathetic to Nintendo on this one.

Seems a little weird that the first three are Doom. It makes me appreciate where they intentionally limit themselves to one game in a series.

@johnvboy there are very few Apple Fortnite customers. Hence why Epic was willing to do this to them. Apple has cultivated a valuable clientele by providing their products and services. Epic, Spotify and the like want access to them without upholding their part of the deal. If 30% was really the issue, then pull your services and abandon the platform. As seen with Windows Mobile, the platform died because there was no apps, but they stay because that is where the money is. No one forces them to support iOS or MacOS, they do it because they know they have paying customers.

The problem is that they want their cake and eat it too.

@johnvboy Apple singled out no one. As the judge noted, everything that has happened has been self inflicted by Epic when they breached their contract. All they have to do is come into compliance with their contract and the game would be restored.

30% is what they agreed to, whether it is fair or not is irrelevant as they willingly signed the contract with those terms. Apple has declined to renegotiate, and honestly it makes little sense to when the other side comes to the table with, “Hey, let us undercut your business model or we will set this bomb off.”

Kemco RPGs are about as generic JRPG as you can get. Typically boilerplate plot with all the expected trope characters for your party and enemies.

I played the Wii U ones because the console was starved for content of all kinds and they were at least an RPG, but you would be better served by just replaying better made ones from the SNES era.

I played part of the game with the WiiMote controls and quit because it got annoying. Then they updated it for the touch screen an I was able to finish it on Wii U.

Might spend some time with this again in the next few weeks.

This was so much better than Donkey Kong Country, and I remember replaying it to attempt to beat my times by being ever more creative in my Mario acrobatics.

I see this just as yet more evidence that people’s default setting is self centered. The sad thing is that it is for such a pointless and worthless matter as a game leaderboard. I can only think that the joy derived from this can be only from denying someone else first place, and that is just sad.

@RareAir23 Even purchasing [Edit: Good] Mesh routers can improve the experience as the device far away won't be shouting all the time at the router making it harder on other devices to talk to it.

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2020/02/the-ars-technica-semi-scientific-guide-to-wi-fi-access-point-placement/ is a great place to start to get a better understanding of how wireless works and what you can do to improve your experience.

EDIT: But wired will always be king. It is a pain in the backside, but running a dedicated cable to your gaming spot of choice will always result in a better experience.

@Sunsy that is because most wireless adapters have a speed limit of realistically 130 mb for wireless N. Wireless G is only 54 mb (in perfect conditions). Both are shared with all devices connected to the wireless. Wired has either a 100 mb or 1 gb rate for each wire depending on quality of wire/adapter.

Wired will almost always be better. And those with 150+ mb internet connections only using wireless are generally paying for a ton of unused bandwidth.

Japan mostly because the other is too busy and yellow?!?

@WillQuan I am more curious about Amazon's Luna to be honest because it is not an App Store application but a Progressive Web App. I have always wondered why more developers haven't gone that route to avoid the "App Store Tax" that is in the developer contract.

@WillQuan A second issue with Stadia is that Google is behind it. They have a record of killing services with little to no warning. Not really somewhere I trust to put my digital gaming future.

@WillQuan I am not misinformed, but I do understand the greed of ISPs in the US and the lack of regulation over them. Network neutrality was destroyed here so there is nothing preventing ISPs from throttling the life out of streaming gaming unless you pay for “Gamer” internet. Already Comcast marketing offers overpriced internet service for that purpose because the average consumer doesn’t know the connection speed needed for an HD Netflix stream. They will prey on consumers because they have in the past, and I would just rather not deal with it.

Chasing after the latest greatest graphics is a fool’s errand anyways. So who cares if I don’t get 8k graphics? I generally play on a 21” or 40” screen where even 4K makes little difference.

I will prefer to have a console dedicated to gaming vs a streaming device as long as we have a duopoly (at best) for ISPs in most of the country. Unless we have Stadia brought to you by Comcast, all those savings will go into paying the ISP overages everyone will be hit with in this new all digital world. So for now, I prefer something that I can purchase physical (although I prefer digital downloads for convenience, they cannot compete with physical new/used pricing) and store the games on the device I own.

Whichever service brings their product to Nintendo consoles however will probably get my attention.

I will pick this up at some point as a Smash-lite game. I enjoyed Super Kirby Clash, and I would like to hope that the money raised on that project went towards this one.

@Azuris Castlevania Adventure didn't sour me, but I was disappointed. I was the strange one that liked Simon's Quest (and later came to enjoy Dracula's Curse much later in life). Mostly I just remember that the jumping was cheap and the game loved to blindside you like Ninja Gaiden.

I eventually got better games and Castlevania was mostly something people would borrow while loaning me something more interesting.

Got this, Tetris, Castlevania Adventure with my Christmas Gameboy. Of the three this was played the most, makes me feel a little old to realize it was 30 years ago that I got that system.

I realized this was an issue when I went back to replay Xenoblade Chronicles X. The first time I used the gamepad without issue, but the second time I needed the TV. Part of it was my eyes got older and needed a prescription, but there was a lot of text crammed on there.

Outside of classic SNES games and Picross, I am pretty much a TV gamer now. I don’t get why Nintendo especially hasn’t made their games adaptive to which mode the switch is in.

It is always bad when something is released with an artificial shortage. It wasn't fun when they did it on the Gamecube with the Zelda collection, nor was it fun with the Wii games that were limited (especially Xenoblade Chronicles which was limited to better profit Gamestop). It is silly to have these games go away as a collection.

However, I think it is more likely that we will see these games sold individually afterwards at $30-40 a piece. Because people will pay the price to have them.

Yet I have expect EA to put Mass Effect 3: Special Edition on Switch and the Trilogy on everything else. Just seems more on brand.

Free to play is rarely “free”. There is always a cost involved, just look at the pressure and scorn that kids felt by being “defaults” in Fortnite. There is also the time spent grinding to unlock stuff which keeps the game active and popular for the people who will spend money. Finally there is the advertising that is sold knowing there is a captive audience (be that of the company itself or a third party).

It’s not an evil thing, but one to be very aware of when engaging “free” services and games.

Sadly, someone must be purchasing this because they keep selling them.

My Switch is so stable now that Art of Balance just automatically goes to the end game credits when I start it.

@B_Lindz no, you are not alone in your feelings. I finished the main story in a day on a Redbox rental when it released, and felt no need to play more afterwards.

Super Mario 3D World is my favorite. It is smartly designed and doesn't overstay it's welcome.

@WickedUnicarnBoi I have a feeling the arrogance of their CEO and own policies will eventually come back to bite them. When you paint yourself as the people's champion, there are high expectations that they eventually will not be able to deliver on.