Comments 457

Re: Nintendo Switch 2025 'Year In Review' Is Available Now

Hwatt

@DTFaux

That’s odd. I opted out once before (in December) but only for a couple weeks or so because I thought it was unnecessary. Then I discovered it was required for this year in reivew (thanks Nintendolife), so I re-enabled it.

My summary is 7 years long, since I first purchased a Switch in 2019 and that little blip didn’t seem to impact anything. I hope it gets resolved for you soon!

Re: Nintendo Switch 2025 'Year In Review' Is Available Now

Hwatt

23 Games
94 Hours

Top 3 based on playtime:

1. Mario Kart World - Switch 2 (22 hrs)
2. Hades - Switch OLED (18 hrs)
3. Metroid Dread - Switch OLED (16hrs)

I purchased Silksong at the end of the year but it’s already close to cracking those leaderboards, with 13 hrs. That’s like 15% of my yearly playtime in a couple weeks. So it’s a relatively large increase.

In all honesty, I am surprised I didn’t play more Donkey Kong Bananza. I’m sure I’ll get back to it, I have to finish Sea of Stars, I’ve got Cyberpunk 2077 to play, and I still want to buy Metroid Prime 4…. 😮‍💨

Curious if Elden Ring and The Duskbloods come out this year too. It’s gonna be a wild 2026. I have a good feeling

Re: Review: Fire Emblem: Path Of Radiance (GameCube) - Aged & Easier Than You're Used To, But Still A Winner

Hwatt

@sportymariosonicmixx

RE: Renting, I don't mind. I own a lot of games on Gamecube but it's in storage and I don't have a space to dedicate active, retro hardware. So I am A-OK with little sessions with no commitment to older games. I really like Nintendo's solution, even if I am not an active subscriber to the expansion pass. I personally don't have the need to repurchase these games.

RE: Profile photo, it's an attempt to combine Watt from Paper Mario with a hat from a character on the 'King of the Hill' TV series.

I always find it hilarious how the characters on that shown say "what". With the emphasis on an 'H' sound before the 'wa' sound in "what". The southern drawl accent.

I should remove Dale Gribbles hat from that Watt photo and replace it with Hank's glasses to be more representative of Hank's pronunciation of "what".

"I tell you hwhat, bobby..."

Thanks for entertaining my nonsense

Re: Nintendo's President Remains Coy On Potential Price Increases

Hwatt

@Pillowpants

While I would love to agree, if or when AI bubble does "burst", the allocation of materials and wafers will simply be redistributed across different products. In other words, don't expect RAM, storage, and GPU prices to crash.

The consumer products will just settle back to their theoretical MSRPs. It won't be a giant repository of consumer hardware flooding the market, like after bitcoin mining crashed.

Re: Poll: Box Art Brawl: Duel - Mario Power Tennis (GameCube)

Hwatt

I have the NA version of this game on GC, I really enjoy it but the cover is nothing special.

Now maybe because I’ve seen the cover so many times, I am biased and prefer the change, but the Japanese cover is fantastic. I love the tag line too. Feels like a poster you’d see at the cinema for an upcoming movie releasing in a few months.

Japan gets my vote.

Re: Switch 2 Sales Reportedly Struggled Over The Christmas Period

Hwatt

  • Everything costs more money
  • Average employers aren't paying more
  • Gap is widening between rich and poor (middle class)
  • Average consumer cannot afford as many luxury goods

What's throwing everything off: Consumer (lack of) spend isn't tipping the scale. Business' are supporting business. Lots of B2B sales and investments happening in tech, leaving consumers to rot and starve. Doesn't matter if the tech price goes up by 50% because a corporation is willing to pay for it.

Until companies are loosing revenue and profit, we wont see a change.

Another way to look at it: Extremely large corporations are spending their cash reserves on large capital investments (data centers) for AI. So the rich companies are investing and anyone else growing in AI who isn't Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, Alphabet, etc. is obtaining VC investments.

I have no idea if the AI bubble will "burst" but at some point, the investments will at least cool and the market should eventually regulate. E.g., An executive at Microsoft or Alphabet will stay "STOP" on those projects. Once we some orders pausing or canceling, I suspect other companies to follow suit. It doesn't mean the market will burst, it just means things should settle and suppliers will have to go back to the consumer market. As it's relatively stable and it's another revenue stream.

Even if we isolate Nintendo out of the AI craze, it (investments in AI) impacts their manufacturing today. Suddenly the memory and storage for systems, carts become more expensive. Lets also not forget tariffs too...

Notice that PS5 has gone up in price and they also offer less storage (~800GB vs. 1TB at launch)?

If it was simply a case of supply and demand, prices would have gone down already, but I don't see a clear way out of this unless companies are willing to have line NOT go up (which will never be the case) or they slow down investments on data centers.

Re: Disappointed In The Switch 2's Joy-Con Colours? Dbrand Has You Covered

Hwatt

@ThatOneLevel

I think it’s partly due to how they showcase the joycons, with the magnetic rails in full display. When the joycons are attached in handheld mode or when the system is in the dock, I don’t think the area under the sticks is punchy enough for those looking to have some colour with their system.

Re: Poll: Will You Be Getting The New Joy-Con 2 Set?

Hwatt

No but I like the colour palette of Switch 2 more than Switch 1. This lavender and sea foam colour scheme is fun, and should be an option for new buyers with the console.

I miss the days where you could buy different colours. Gamecube had the indigo, black, silver, and orange colours. N64 had a lot of really interesting choices and pioneered the transparent case trend. Why not more options for Switch 2?

Question: When you slot these into the console, does the UI colour change to match? Has this been mentioned?

Re: Poll: Box Art Brawl - Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition

Hwatt

@Dee123

100% agreed. I want art, not info on my covers. Something to pop and stand out. A cover full of generic enemies downplays how good RE4 is.

The only thing I don’t like about the European cover is the composition of the chainsaw enemy. I think just seeing the edge of the chainsaw or standing in a less aggressive pose would do it. Less is more.

I love the black and white forest. Works extremely well with the default white Wii title.

Re: Talking Point: Our 2026 Nintendo And Switch 2 Predictions

Hwatt

2026?

For third party, I am hopeful we’ll get that Viewtiful Joe announcement. A 1 and 2 remaster would be a nice treat too! I foresee Baldur’s Gate III happening and some other interesting ports, like Doom The Dark Ages.

On a more pessimistic side, I think The Duskbloods will get delayed to 2027.

First party, we won’t get a 3D Mario. Their commitment to Super Mario Wonder’s expansion around the movie release makes me believe it’s off the books. I think a new Paper Mario is more likely, but if I am looking for a new first party, I am hoping for a new F-Zero. It’s time, Nintendo!

I also think now that Sakurai is back, there was probably some weird deal that he could make Kirby Air Riders if he’s on board for the next smash. I think a Smash tease is possible.

Re: Feature: Farewell, Nintendo Switch - It's Finally Time To Bid Our Old Friend 'Adieu'

Hwatt

I know this is a republished article but oddly enough, I’ve been using both in tandem. To my surprise.

I originally listed my Switch OLED for sale but I haven’t really been convinced I need to commit and get rid of it. The main reason? A lot of Switch games don’t look that nice on Switch 2, especially in handheld mode. Sure, Switch 2 has more horsepower to help smooth out games when they’re struggling to meet 30, 60fps etc. However, since Switch games are targeting 720p in handheld mode, when you run them on Switch 2 and they don’t have a patch or upgrade, they look worse. Due to uninformed scaling. Image gets blurry and it just doesn’t feel fun to play.

What has happened is that I typically keep the Switch 2 docked or I play it handheld only for Switch 2 / upgraded games. Donkey Kong Bananza, Mario Kart World, Cyberpunk, or games like TotK (SW2), great! All fun in handheld mode on Switch 2.

Other titles like Metroid Dread, Hades (1), Into the Breach, all feel better on original Switch. Battery is better (even when comparing same games), OLED screen is responsive and provides a beautiful viewing experience.

Until all my favourite games get upgrades to run on Switch 2, I’ve decided I won’t sell my Switch OLED.

The list of my physical Switch games includes: Metroid Dread, TMNT Shredders Revenge, both Mario & Rabbid Games, Luigi’s Mansion 3, Smash Ultimate, Zelda Skyward Sword, BotW, and TotK, Super Mario Wonder, Paper Mario TTYD, Streets of Rage 4, Pikmin 3, Pikmin 4, Links Awakening, PoP The Lost Crown, Immortals Phoenix Rising, Super Mario Odyssey, and probably a few more I am forgetting. Mixed with all my digital copies, far too many just don’t play all too well on Switch 2.

If majority of games get patches and we get a Switch 2 OLED, then I could see myself parting away my Switch OLED, but it seems unlikely at this point.

Re: Cyberpunk 2077's Massive Switch 2 eShop Discount Was An "Error"

Hwatt

@Moistnado

Very true about the discounts! I’d just add that really popular games will not hit those discounts that quickly, let alone on Nintendo’s eshop. For instance, I wouldn’t expect Baldur’s Gate III in a couple years time to be 75% off.

On that note, I wish you happy holidays and many good deals

Re: Cyberpunk 2077's Massive Switch 2 eShop Discount Was An "Error"

Hwatt

Got my copy / In before the lock chooms 😂

For some context, I had been refreshing the eshop every day from the Nintendo app for the past week or so, waiting for Hollow Knight and Silksong to drop in price. This was following an article here on Nintendolife, mentioning Hollow Knight 1 will get a Switch 2 upgrade, and both games should be on sale soon.

After securing my copies of Hollow Knight and Silksong (yay!) I noticed CP2077 was charting 1st, above Hades 2. I saw the price and was shocked.

I quickly discovered on Reddit what happened and didn’t hesitate, bought it, and then immediately went to check out DFs video performance review on Youtube to see if it was a good call.

There I noticed a bunch of other people commenting they did the same thing. I started commenting online, encouraging others to join in. At 12:01 AM EDT, Dec 23, the sale was gone for both CP2077 and Witcher 3, fulfilling the prophecy that this was indeed, too good to be true.

This purchase felt like when Steam first had their big holiday sales in the early 2010’s. Fantastic deal and no I don’t feel guilty.

Re: PSA: Skyrim's 'Anniversary Edition' Bundle Is Currently 60% Off, Includes Free Switch 2 Upgrade (Europe)

Hwatt

@MarzoriuM

Don’t feel too bad. It happens to all of us. Nintendo sales aren’t as frequent compared to other platforms but they usually have a cadence. Deku Deals is a good platform to see the history but I suggest to try avoid any game purchases after Black Friday and before boxing day unless there is a Holiday Sale.

On another note, since so many indie games are cross platform with Steam, it’s good to check Steam’s sale schedule in advance. They publish it for the entire year now. You can likely expect a Nintendo eshop sale when Steam has their Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter sales

Re: Video: Digital Foundry Reviews Skyrim On Switch 2, And Yeah, It's Bad

Hwatt

Switch 2 can handle 60fps. It has more than enough horsepower. CPU, GPU performance. Memory. It’s all there.

This is up to Bethesda to sort out. They rushed another port before holidays and I’m glad this is being exposed by DF. This should be a free upgrade, but considering you have to pay for the anniversary edition, they were clearly trying to get consumers to upgrade for the “free” patch.

If they get 60fps and input lag to match, I may consider the upgrade. Until then, please sort it out!

Re: Star Wars: Fate Of The Old Republic Announced, But Will It Skip Switch 2?

Hwatt

@Misima Yes, my comments were based on AAA standard practices. I also suspect they've shifted to prototype stage (early pre-production). It's possible my message wasn't clear but this is what I was trying to indicate. Game got some sponsorship after concept development, now they can hire more people, insert CG trailer to build hype and get attention.

Re: Star Wars: Fate Of The Old Republic Announced, But Will It Skip Switch 2?

Hwatt

@jfp

It's more of an industry thing. If you see cinematics only for an announcement of an unreleased game, the project is likely shifting from "concept" to "pre-production". Pre-production is them building the prototypes. A cinematic trailer is a good way to indicate the game has been initiated, has some budget, and they're likely seeking intermediate / senior staff before production ramps up. Don't expect a release within less than 5 years.

Release dates and gameplay is typically shown when a game hits Alpha, which means the game (build) is substantially feature complete but will have lots of bugs and issues, and won't have the final pass of VFX, assets, textures etc.

My thoughts: If you see gameplay or a trailer that mentions pre-production or pre-alpha, don't expect that game for at least 2 years.

Re: Nintendo Expands Switch 2 GameCube Library With Wario's 3D Outing

Hwatt

Wait, there was a 3D Wario game on Gamecube?

Gamecube was my primary console during the PS2/XB/GC gen and if it wasn’t for a Nintendo Power magazine, I wouldn’t even believe this game existed!

I never knew anyone who owned nor have I seen video of gameplay until today… Very nice to see it show up and give players a chance to try it out. I am intrigued

Re: Opinion: Resident Evil Requiem Needs To Solve The Series' Villain Problem

Hwatt

I like the article and the lengths went into the details, but I don’t agree.

I like how Umbrella and the Spencer mansion is a consistent thread between all of these stand alone stories. I would not have gone back to RE in recent years if I had to catch up on a larger, more complex thread with one main antagonist. I don’t need a specific antagonist, I just need Umbrella to present and Im good.

RE7 / RE8 work so well because of how isolated, contained they are. Those constraints help focus the story telling within one game, in my opinion.

My only pain point is how the winters story ends in RE8. I do wish Rose would continue in RE9 but I am certainly open to this plot line with the Ashcrofts. I hope to be surprised with Rose showing up in a role more than a cameo, but my expectations are kept in check.

Re: Surprise! 'Skyrim Anniversary Edition' Lands On Switch 2 Today

Hwatt

@Chimichanga

I don’t believe Switch 2’s CPU will be able to handle the game well. I could be terribly wrong but considering the game is quite demanding, essentially UE5 rendering on top of the original gamebryo engine, I would be extremely skeptical of its playability on Switch 2.