Dringo

I suspect they’ll do something soon, even if it’s just focused on Bayonetta, the next batch of 64 games and Mario + Rabbids

It looks fine. If it has the mechanics of Arceus (Catching) and a similar 'research' concept like Arceus, then I am 100% in. But I suspect it might not.

But I'll get it anyway. Not like we've got anything else coming this year

@ClamDown I spend more on bottled drinks in a week

Looking forward to the next batch of announcements. I assume in the next Direct. I hope they’ve managed to convince Xbox to publish its Rare games in the service. If Nintendo gets them all (alongside the DK64 it wouldn’t need to work with Microsoft on), that’s 8 months worth of games.

Rescue Rangers movie sounds hilarious. Popstar for kids. I'm in

This is probably my most anticipated game of the year now Zelda has been delayed. Although Arceus has raised my hopes for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet.

It’ll drop to No.2 if Xbox announce Goldeneye. Just give me Grant Kirkhope soundtracks

@UltimateOtaku91 The software curve should be larger and longer than the hardware curve. Every day there are more Switch owners, therefore there are more people to buy Mario Kart, Animal Crossing, Pokemon etc…

Saying ‘we will sell more software’ isn’t remotely surprising. I fully expected them to.

@TexanBanjo There are over 100 million people already to sell games to.

20 million?!? That seems optimistic. They expect only a 10% decrease in their sixth Switch year? Incredible if so.

All over this. Get the mates over for some bowling

@Ralizah Quite normal. People don’t get excited for new things in the same way as they do for more of the thing from before. It’s why the most watched stuff at shows like E3 are sequels, rather than new IP.

The GBA Tony Hawks 2 game is a remarkable feat. HOWEVER, we do have Tony Hawks 2 already on the Switch and it's also a remarkable port.

Wonderful thing to try out and admire. Not sure why you'd choose it over Pro Skater 1 + 2

The problem is due to a cardboard shortage... so it'll not change anything in that regard

I would love to see one of the recent HD games from the Wii U come over. It wouldn’t require much resources from Nintendo, they could even outsource it, and they’re really great games. It’s not like it would impact new releases. So not sure why anyone would oppose the idea.

But I don’t think there’s a ‘need’ to release a Zelda. There’s quite a line-up, stretching from the more cult games like Fire Emblem Warriors 2 and Xenoblade 3, to the more mainstream Splatoon, Mario + Rabbids and Pokemon, plus a Bayonetta for good measure. Some of those games directly appeal to the Zelda crowd, too.

The question is… is there a gap in the release schedule? Are any of those undated games going to get delayed? Because if there isn’t, there’s simply no need. And Nintendo could save them for when things get a big quiet

That was a lot of chat about Satteliview

@HammerGalladeBro Ah yes, but it’s not just outsold GTA Trilogy on Switch. It’s outsold GTA Trilogy in total… every platform

They could have released it with no marketing, a little like Ubisoft did with Rainbow Six Siege after the Paris attacks.

But either way, I think it’s right to be sensitive in these situations. We’ve got plenty of games to play

Andy Yates is a legend. He made me do the ice bucket challenge once. Those were the days

E3 was a global event. Summer Games Fest is a US event. It’s not even summer in half of the world when it’s on

It’s all about the bowling. Arms is better than the boxing mode.

@Silly_G Although I agree with the sentiment, I also agree I’d rather have this now when there’s barely anything come out, than during the end of the year when it’s going to be crazy

@NintendoWife Well, it was more a reactive move to the fact HD games were taking so much longer to make. That's the issue... merging teams together like Nintendo has only just about helped with the fact games were taking extra time to make. It didn't allow for a stronger cadence of release.

This is the challenge for Nintendo going forwards.

@nocdaes Well. Smash was December.

Loved the end game. Didn't want it to end.

Nintendolife ought to acknowledge the pandemic boost. The big question is whether things are smaller now than pre-pandemic. UK and Europe data has it up 40 - 50% over Feb 2020 (according to GamesIndustry)

Just a note on this story... Switch was down 30% over the previous February, but still up over 25% over the previous February. It's still doing better than pre-pandemic levels.

@CactusMan Oh yeah. Although in this case, I think it was Rockstar trying to hit the anniversary, rather than skimp. Which was a mistake. We would have waited

@CactusMan as someone who worked on QA, the sports test will be because it’s online and that can be hard to do properly without public testing.

And Triangle Strategy was about getting a mass consumer reaction. Making a demo to get feedback is a lot more expensive than getting in focus groups

@Neoicelord It’s more a combination of having to change engine and having to hit the anniversary date. Probably should have just delayed it 3 months. We’d have forgiven it being a little late to their own party

Really enjoying NSO. Completed Ocarina and Banjo, going to get them Mario Kart tracks and going to do Majora. It’s already paid for itself this year for me.

But obviously not for everyone. It is an optional add-on for those who want it

This was such a brilliant remaster. I loved it… tempted to get the special edition although it feels excessive in the world we live

After this, I’ve definitely had my money’s worth from the Expansion Pass after just 3 months…

Pretty good for the spring Direct. Almost all of this is out before the end of the summer

@Sanjithechef They have maintained the formula quite a bit, and leaving innovation to the spin offs’… they seem almost afraid to change things. I wonder if there is a disconnect behind what gamers want and what more pure Pokemon fans want (if that makes sense?).

Even this release has been given a spin-off sounding title and released out of season. It suggests nerves and trying to satisfy a split fan base

@Sanjithechef Is that fair? Holding a game, aimed at a broad audience, to the standard of a game aimed at a core audience? Should Dark Souls be marked down because it’s not very accessible to kids?

Like with anything, if it does well and fans like it, it becomes a main series. If it misses and doesn't, it was a side story.

@jorel262 They are! Spencer would love them to. But Greg Mayles isn’t interested

@Troll_Decimator Nah. Toys 4 Bob would be a better fit

@DiamondJim Except they’re bigger now than they were under Nintendo

I was there. They went to other festival, too. Later, Guitar Hero would have its own stage. Ubisoft used to go to a lot of them as well.

Quite normal really. It’s just experiential interactive marketing executions designed to promote the brand and acquire contact details

I think Goldeneye and Perfect Dark have to be the ones to add. Love some retro shooter love. Add dual analogue and I’ll be happy.

But also Banjo-Tooie and DK64. Played both to death and never finished them.

Jet Force Gemini and Bad Fur Day were two of my favourites back in the day, but they’re a bit clunky to play in parts. Especially the second world of Conker.
Although it was such an influential game to me.

Diddy Kong Racing would be essential. And Blast Corps

@SpacedDuck Sea of Thieves baby. It’s got 3D adventuring and first person gameplay!

Widescreen on the Xbox version makes it much better.

But looks better than I expected. I’ll smash through it again

I have the 360 and Rare Replay version, and they’re great.

But I want to play it on-the-go. And for me, the subscription price isn’t a lot of money… although I get it isn’t amazing value by comparison to others. So I’m excited. All over it

Shadowman was one of my favourite N64 games. I remember N64 Magazine put it on the cover twice. I read the preview to death… ‘Zelda’s Evil Twin’. Final review gave it a 93 score. Obsessed back in the day.

Needed all those Dark Souls!

For we are many

I have NSO. Mostly for Banjo. And the inevitable Goldeneye.

I also have a PS5. Mostly for Spider-Man, Astrobot and Ratchet & Clank.

I’m a very lucky human. I’m very pleased with PS5. I can’t wait to be pleased with NSO

It’ll depend how fast Switch sales slow down. If it has another big year in 2022, then late 2024 seems obvious. But if sales drop steeply, then I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s early 2024.

@MaikonCSGarcia Indeed. And I interviewed Ed Fries, and his knowledge of what Activision did isn’t great. I put to him in my interview that Lee Schuneman and Gregg Mayles has a different recollection, and he said to ‘go with them, because we weren’t privy to the Activision conversations’.

He remembers raising their price to starve off the Activision bid, but Rare was already interested in Xbox first. Activision never removed its bid.

(I also sat next to Tim Stamper at the Develop Awards, and he made a comment about sometimes wondering if Activision would have been a better option in retrospect, which suggested it was a Rare choice)

Indeed, when Rare was took over they had some struggles. Their style of games didn’t gel with the ‘shooter box’ as it was at the time. And as AAA development got bigger, they took a while to consolidate. But I don’t agree that they’re a weak studio (which I know you didn’t say, but it is implied). They don’t make as many games, anywhere near, but then no studio does. Their 2008 games were wonderful. Their Kinect era went on too long but started well, and Sea of Thieves is their biggest ever game.

Mario + Rabbids for me. It won’t have Ubisoft’s microtransactions because that’s not what Ubisoft Milan is about (and Switch doesn’t support Blockchain), and I don’t follow the logic that not buying their game in some way supports the devs… seems like it does the opposite.

But each to their own.

@MaikonCSGarcia This isn’t true. Rare rejected the Activision bid. The directors at the time wanted to stay connected to hardware so they could continue to be seen as industry leading tech-wise. I interviewed them all about it for a magazine about 5 years ago.

Rare continue to make great games. Grabbed by the Ghoulies has aged well, Viva Piñata is iconic, Nuts and Bolts isn’t what people wanted but it’s a damn good game, Kinect Sports, the first one, is the best Kinect game. And Sea of Thieves is one of the best games on Xbox.

Kameo was a bit average. Perfect Dark 0 was poor. And they suffered a load of cancellations. But Rare remains a top top studio