ItsOKToBeOK

It'd be stupid to dump on this for being a mobile port. Not like Nintendo is gonna turn this away, nor is Gameloft going to ignore a +30 million user base

But, speaking broadly about smartphone games on the Switch, who is this really for? You can play for free on your phone. And, on the Switch, multiplayer communications is done with an app, while its supported natively on the phone. So does Nintendo really expect us to pull out our smartphone and fire up the Nintendo online app, so we can communicate in a game on our Switch that can be played for free with voice chat.... on our smartphones? Is that the future?

TL;DR third party support is great. But with Nintendo depending on smartphone functionality for the Switch's social features, it doesn't make a lot of sense to also depend on smartphone games as legitimate 3rd party support. At that point, you might as well just play on your smartphone, which is NOT what Nintendo wants

Nintendo’s Online service is the one thing I’ve been most critical of. It’s archaic, borderline broken, and added too little, even at the dirt cheap cost.

8 million subscribers— that’s at least $160,000,000 in straight cash, but the only new feature was cloud saves that can’t even be used in some games. Plus, no dedicated servers, so Splatoon and Smash matches lag and drop out completely on a regular basis

No excuses, that’s terrible

Love the buffs the Booyah Bomb got. It was so weak and easy to avoid. The bomb could be thrown right under your feet, and you could easily just walk away from the expanding dome.

Pretty alarming they didn’t have someone for this position in the first place...

However, it’s encouraging that they realize most of the company is horribly inept with dealing in this category. Redmond is an hour south of me (Whidbey Island represent!) and this entire area is crawling with immense technological talent.

I hate to say this but the more I think about it..... Labo would be better as a service.

The shortfalls of Labo are apparent- its fragile, expensive, and gives very limited entertainment after created. I'd even say most of the fun is in putting it together. So why not capitalize on that? Imagine if you could have a new set sent every couple of weeks for $10 a month. Schools would hop on that in a second.

TL;DR a monthly subscription is much more justifiable when the product is tangible, like Labo. For $10, I'd totally give it a shot. If I liked it, that 10 would turn to $120 in a year.

Ok so wait 3 million sold in the US and 2.6 in Japan, only counting physical copies. That's not counting the rest of the world. How is 5 million really news?

Don't get me wrong, that's a lot sold. But with the numbers we're looking at in just physical copies, would it be far fetched to say the game is closer to 10 million sold than 5?

@Ludovsky Yeah, you’re definitely looking at this wrong

How much of Nintendo’s resources does it take to release, say, a new Fire Emblem game for 3DS? Probably a solid team of 50, a few years, and $10-20 million in cash for a solid $40 experience. They’d need to sell probably 1 million units to offset the risk with a decent profit and funds for the next one. The game might sell that much, but could also bomb and be a huge money pit

Now with that new perspective, look at what they did with a mobile game

Holy s***

For probably a fraction of the cost and labor, they were able to release a more subpar, casual experience, and reel in 5x MORE cash than a traditional Fire Emblem game. No packaging costs, no memory card costs, no localization tariffs, no shipping costs.

I now perfectly see what Nintendo’s President was talking about. The console race carries far too much risk for Nintendo. Microsoft has software and $1 Trillion dollars of financial might to back Xbox. Sony has movie studios, and many different branches of hardware to support them, plus extremely lucrative licensing deals that make them king in Europe and the Americas. Now going into the next decade, Facebook, Google, and Apple are entering the arena. Companies 50 TIMES more valuable.Nintendo has... consoles. And even the biggest fan can admit Nintendo hardware has been behind for almost 20 years. Nintendo stock dropped 80% between the highs of the Wii and the lows of the Wii U. Billions. Gone.

I can definitely see Nintendo going mobile. Even if it means releasing a line of phones and managing their own App Store. They’ve allowed the future to become too uncertain, and other companies have the power to push them out

Wow how lame would that be? We already have 6 too many Fire Emblem characters, and plenty of fighters that already use a sword.

It may be a hit in Japan, where Dragon Quest is halfway popular, but this would be a total bummer for American, European and Australian audiences.

We’re reaching levels of stability that shouldn’t be possible

Isn’t this another case of “What did you expect him to say?”

Of course he’s gonna say they’re on track. If he showed anything else but confidence Nintendo’s stock would probably drop 5%.

If I’m keeping up correctly, Nintendo still needs to shift 7 million units between now and March. I just don’t see that happening without another huge release.

Sonics dumbfounded look made me laugh. Nothing in that whole video would make sense to Sonic. But, in the holiday season, it does. Merry Christmas!

I don’t understand how this is controversial. That’s incredibly unique choreography ripped move for move, put into a video game, and SOLD. This should overwhelmingly favor Alfonso, or at least be grounds for a cease and desist order.

I’d like to see the numbers. How much does a completely original dance move created by Fortnite devs make in cash compared to dance moves made by Snoop Dogg or Alfonso? Guarantee the two don’t even compare

Good, King K Rool wasn’t affected. He’s gonna get nerfed hard one day, but thank god today wasn’t that day.

@pullmyfinger You wanna cause WWIII? Make Smash political

Pretty sure Donkey Kong would be more of a villain.

And also heroes because Bayonetta

For anyone that doesn’t know YouTube, this is a huge win for creators. Before, if you weren’t part of Nintendo‘s program, ANY Nintendo game play or content was slapped with a cease and desist order, sometimes even if the video wasn’t monetized. Then, even if you joined the program and Nintendo allowed you to upload your videos, they’d take a decent chunk of whatever you earned. It was so backwards and barbaric, most high profile creators wouldn’t upload Nintendo content at all.

Although Nintendo is still trying to cash in on YouTubers content, at least it seems there’s less red tape. Creators don’t have to worry about having Mario in a video and having it demonetized

I’ve said for a while there should be a Switch bundle with 1 Dock and 2 Switch’s for $499. 1 SKU double the unit sales

Splatoon 3 confirmed for 2020

Ok but the thumbnail and header lead me to believe they were extending the Splatoon 2 free DLC support for a little longer than planned.

My disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined /s

@Nemodius If not the original voice actor, you gotta go with Gilbert Gottfried for Meowth. Almost no other choice

IMO so far they’ve nailed it. The internet cried and called for Danny Devito, but clearly he wouldn’t have fit the role. I’m pumped for this

Someone made a version with Queen and it’s the most perfect trailer I’ve ever seen

https://youtu.be/d3aZSpGwDJ4

This really makes me sad, with what could’ve been. The Wii was cut down in its Golden years with a half baked, rushed successor. Imagine if the Wii had lasted out a little longer, and the Wii U had baked in the oven for a few more years- If Mario Maker, Mario Kart 8 and Splatoon were in the launch window.

RIP Wii

@GrailUK I really don’t think Square Enix expected the game to sell as well as it did. It’s a $60 Sprite based RPG. They probably made a killing on that game.

These quarterly numbers would probably look far worse without Octopath Traveler

Oof, that must be a real sobering blow. However, the fact a 2.5D sprite game becoming one of their best sellers as an exclusive for a platform that had only around 15 million players at the time should be a major wake up call for Square Enix. Nintendo fans want their games.

If they were smart, they’d make Nintendo development a priority and pull back on the mobile front. A Kingdom Hearts collection would absolutely kill it on the Switch

Really, if we’re all being honest. Just Banjo and Kazooie. That’s it.

The implications of this would be too astronomical to list

I think the appeal of this goes far beyond retro. There’s an aspect of gaming that’s quickly being forgotten, and that’s the physical, offline, multiplayer medium. These retro consoles are something you can hold, sell, or play forever. They belong to you, and work out of the box with no subscription, no gigabit internet or account system necessary. There’s such an overwhelming feeling of comfort when you gather around the TV with your friends, hit the power button, and begin playing your favorite game.

It’s this form of gaming that’s kept me from jumping into the next gen. Xbox and PlayStation just don’t do it, and it’s slowly fading with Nintendo. I guarantee an N64 classic would be the best selling console for a good while if it does get made

I’d like to know more about the legal side of this. Does Nintendo own the rights to wearing red with blue in go karts? Usually IP differentiation can be as little as removing an emblem or logo (stop wearing Mario’s hat, turn Yoshi into a green rhino).

There was a studio that used Mario and Luigi for a porno. How’s that protected under fair use, but this isn’t?

See, this is the smoking gun though: the photos are too high quality.

This feels like someone made a work of fake leak art, and couldn't help but embellish it. If you really wanted to leak this, why not just take a non sideways, straight up photo of the bloody thing? These photos are the definition of coy

@LinkSword But Bowser isn't even blonde, he has red hair. And even in woman form, I'd think Bowsette would be taller and beefier than Peach

Cool, but that kinda just looks like Peach with horns and a shell

Really, wouldn't Bowsette be more Gerudo?

Its makes sense. To survive, you have to diversify.

As an investor, its always baffled me how Nintendo isn't worth more. Sure, they're worth 52 billion dollars (which is nothing to snuff at), but how much would Apple, Google, or Amazon pay to own Mario? How much would Disney, Netflix, or Universal pay to have Pikachu? How badly would Microsoft love to have a quarter of Nintendo's untapped IP portfolio? Remember when investors thought Donkey Kong was included in the RARE deal? Microsoft stock exploded.

Its almost frustrating to watch. All that cash sitting in the bank, Nintendo should be buying up studio's left and right to help fill out their gaming catalogue. Nintendo has enough money in cash reserves alone to buy Ubisoft, Sega, Bandai Namco, and Capcom in full, all at once. There's no reason for Nintendo not to have a new 1st party game on the shelf every month. There's no reason not to have a Nintendo Cinematic Universe- you already have a video game for it! There's no reason for Nintendo to be worth 1/3 of Disney, but here we are

Hopefully this younger CEO has bright ideas on how to bring Nintendo out of the stone age. Kids should really know Nintendo IP's

Really, I think coming out with new hardware is a big mistake. Even if it checks every box in everyone’s fantasy scenario, it’s going to be dwarfed by what Xbox and PlayStation are sure to do in 2020. All the Switch needs to do is reverse course on a TON of software decisions

-Bring in multimedia apps
-Bring back some form of the Virtual Console
-Enable the Bluetooth chip in the system to take wireless headphones
-ALLOW NATIVE VOICE CHAT WE KNOW ITS POSSIBLE NINTENDO GET YOUR SCHTICK TOGETHER
-Create a native party system
-Allow themes to be placed on the home screen

Do all these things, then come talk to me about a Switch revision. Nintendo needs to sit back, see what their competitors do, then attack their weaknesses. Right now, they’re playing with house money, and only they can mess it up

I think we're quickly moving into a world where sequels just don't make as much financial sense. The graphical improvements have become minimal, and gameplay is mostly defined by the platforms hardware- which isn't really going to change until VR/AR is a viable replacement for controllers. Plus, why dedicate an entire 200 man studio to churning out a 100 million dollar sequel that could very well be a bust when you can just overwork the free interns and churn out some more skins and loot boxes?

Games are quickly catching up with the rest of the industry- for the amount of hourly entertainment, they are WAY underpriced. So, just like every other form of entertainment, games will soon become a service, not property. Once most games are streamed and console cycles are obsolete, we may see the end of good sequels as we know them

“...best damn game titles...”

...Ok

@BensonUii I just reread his comment. It is insensitive. And Japanese company's are far more nationalistic than American company's that I'm used to. My quick take was Nintendo just saw 3 million possible viewers on their home turf (which they've been dominating) go down, so they delayed. I don't feel like they'll wait for restoration or that their overly empathetic of each persons situation- they're just waiting till electricity comes back. Once they know the audience is there, they'll deliver it

@BensonUii @nonprophetmusic Why is everyone trying to high-road this guy? Nintendo isn't paying for supplies for these families or supplying cots at headquarters- they're doing about as much as you and I right now. This was strictly business decision

These Directs are pre-recorded. The entire announcement has probably been sitting on a hard drive or in a server for weeks now waiting for tomorrow. There would be no technical problem releasing it. However, almost 3 million people in Hokkaido are without power right now. How many of them are Nintendo fans? How many people would miss out?

So that tells me 2 things- this Direct is important and critical to the Switch's future- its meant to be seen by EVERYONE, and Nintendo doesn't want a tragedy to overshadow their announcement. Guarantee you the Direct comes as soon as power reaches most of Hokkaido

People seriously need to get out of their Nintendo box. The social side of the Switch is outright embarrassing at best. Why the heck isn't there a party system? Why can't we have native chat support when it clearly exists and is possible with the hardware? Why can't we send game invites natively? Why on EARTH can't my game stay connected when I go to the home screen? Why are there STILL no apps?

The overwhelming support for a half baked paid service is just baffling. Its $20 annually for features that already exist for free, cloud saves, and NES games I own on 4 different Nintendo platforms BUT CAN'T PLAY ON THE SWITCH. Its maddening Nintendo would make its fans start over AGAIN.

Look over at Microsoft. $22 a month gets you all the social features you could want, online play, cloud saves, the back catalogue of almost every first party Xbox One game, plus the most popular releases of the last season, 2 free games a month, AND the console to play it all on.

Be honest- if there was a Nintendo All Access that offered exactly what Xbox All Access offers for a comparable price, the gaming world would turn upside down. But everyone is letting Nintendo off easy

This is a lot more telling of Nintendo's behavior than anything else. What else would Nintendo do to falsify otherwise true rumors?

I mean that's cool and all, but if that's the draw for this whole Direct, then this is exactly the level of disappointing we've all come to know and love from Nintendo

So its probably true

As great of a fit Carrey is, I feel like Bryan Cranston would’ve been a far better pick for the role. The cunning, mischievous voice, the mustache, the shape of his head, his comedic background- he was born to play Dr. Eggman.

Carrey, in his comedic roles, just seems too sporadic to play such a calculated, deliberate villain

When you look at it, that’s just a drop in the bucket for them. Mario Tennis has already sold 1.5 million units- a $90 million dollar return. When it’s all said and done, advertising might’ve only cost 1% of the games total income.

Now think of the advertising blitz they’ll have for games that’ll sell 10+ million units, like Smash. It’s probably gonna be all over TV

Others are right, a paywall should be all inclusive.

However, I've always thought having to pay to play online is borderline criminal. With most games forfeiting split screen play in favor of online functionality, multiplayer is completely neutered without it.

I’ve reached X rank for all ranked modes, and most matches are pretty much exclusively Japanese players. As good as I think I am, there are times I get absolutely crushed by Japanese teams.

Sometimes I wonder if they see an English name and think “aw great an American, hope he’s not on my team”

@Alikan Sarcasm isn’t necessary. Everyone knows software is what moved the 3DS. With no more headline software coming, why string people along? Wouldn’t you rather sell someone a Switch than a 3DS, especially with the Nintendo Online subscription dropping this year?

I never said it was a bad console. But with only Smash, Pokémon, and Mario Tennis in the next 8 months, dedicating resources to the 3DS seems baffling to me

A handheld doesn’t have to be the most powerful, pixel pushing beast out there, but at this point the 3DS is just painful to use. On such a small screen, the low resolution, dim backlight, and cheap LCD makes whatever fun you might have a chore. That, along with the cramped controls, makes playing a short affair. Plus, many desired games are $40 plus.

Really, in a world with free HD games like Fortnite and always improving smartphone hardware, the 3DS literally has no place in today’s gaming world

Needs more Ray-Man

Since Salmon Run came out, I always thought Nintendo should expand the 4 VS AI component of the game. I'd kill for a sort of Left 4 Dead mode, where 4 players have to go from point A to point B with the Rainmaker fighting off hordes of Salmonids or Octolings.

If there’s any sort of silver lining here, it’s that Nickelodeon might just be a gentle push away from making a Splatoon animated series.

This just doesn’t sound like the work of Nintendo. No way would they support live streaming any of their games, 1st or 3rd party. They’ve barely figured out YouTube

So I’ll tip my hat to the Rocket League devs, they’ve gone above and beyond what was necessary to deliver a true port