Which I find odd. Both games have less than stellar network performance. Do Japanese gamers like laggy peer to peer games that have less functionality than online pc games from 20 years ago?
Or are they playing lan/couch mostly?
I wonder if that's why Nintendos online offerings are so far behind. Their home audience doesn't rely on it like we do in the West perhaps.
It's not the game itself that's the problem, Harry.
It's the predatory business model behind it and aggressive marketing campaigns via twitch puppets to target kids.
This has zero to do with video game consumption and everything to do with what's wrong with modern video games as a business.
It's 2019. Most people do all their reading or work on a digital device. Do we consider it unhealthy if someone reads an entire novel series over a weekend on their eReaders? Whats the bloody difference?
And no. I don't want my kids to go play outside, Harry. People like you have helped erode any semblance of safe living or culture by allowing so many immigrants in. I'd rather my kid stayed safe in doors to play fortnite than go get stabbed by some foreigner.
They should be tackling the unfair practice of charging you for access to the internet with a device and software you already purchased.
The original intent way back when Microsoft pulled this with generation 1 of Xbox live, was to have giant server farms setup globally. This was part of the marketing back then and how they justified the cost.
We all know how that turned out. It was a lie. You are essentially paying the big 3 to access a basic network protocol that's been freely available to computers since the dawn of the internet. Connecting to a peer to peer solution doesn't have any cost overhead. Zero. Zilch. Notta. It's a scam.
Oh but what about games that actually do make use of dedicated servers?
Irrelevant. The big 3 aren't footing the bill for EA or Activision or fortnite servers. It's a scam.
All 3 companies are guilty of falsely locking access to the internet behind their walled off ecosystems. Charging money for it and then have the audacity to post earning reports in the double digit billions combined annually. For air. They're selling us air and making billions off of consumer ignorance.
Just bought smash ultimate on a whim the other night. I've never played any of the previous entries.
It's a fun little game. But I don't think it was worth 80 bucks. Seems pretty shallow for a fighting game. The rpg-xtra lite adventure mode doesn't seem deep enough. Playing online is a crapshoot of bad connections and goofy rulesets due to there not being any proper playlists. So the competitive (ie: the most important aspect) is wildly inconsistent. There should be stock rulesets for matchmaking and keep the goofy rules to private games.
I agree with the author. I can't relate to it's popularity. It's just a fan service game for people who can't "git gud" at real fighting games. No combos to memorize .... just smash.
I think the social differences between Japan and the West might explain why it's selling so well there.
It's not exactly considered appropriate for a bunch of adults to gather around a plastic box and fight each other with cartoons in the West.
Lol
They're going to have to considerably increase their output to make this worth 25 bucks a year.
The ability to access peer to peer quality online multiplayer in a small handful of titles without proper voice and social features isn't even a selling feature in 2019.
All the value of the subscription is placed entirely on this emulator and it's slow trickle is asinine. We should be playing gamecube and 3ds games from our old libraries. Not being nickel and dimed to access them again.
I won't be renewing. Already turned off auto renewal. Waste of money and an amateur paltry offering compared to the competition.
It becomes even less of a value knowing that they will take them away. So they can sell them to us again next gen.
This is exactly why the eshop needs stricter control.
Break it down by system and cap the price ranges for each to exceptionally appropriate values by today's standards.
Nes - 0.99 Super nes - 1.99 N64 - 2.99 And so on. For example.
The best solution going forward is for Nintendo to release emulators for each of their old systems as free downloads. Once launched they would all contain their own specific stores with appropriate pricing.
This would A) clean up the main switch eshop of retro games. B) spark an entirely new market for every single game ever released on a Nintendo platform. (Could easily be ported to other platforms) C) ensure that there is a certain level of quality and consistency being met through stricter certification due to it running on Nintendos official emulator. D) ensure that we can maintain our libraries in a digital future and not repeat the whole process again every new gen. E) not diminish the perceived quality of far superior games because of a false price points. F) not able to "hide" their game with top tier games using false inflated pricing. Which is ultimately predatory considering the demographic of the brand. Unsuspecting consumers that don't frequent gaming sites are easily tricked into buying some of this junk.
I think it's because, unlike Nintendo, these smaller accessory companies realized all that stuff unnecessarily drives up the cost.
I say unnecessarily because it's all gimmicks that aren't used beyond your honeymoon period.
Scanning toy figures? If I had a child that cared, simply sell me a separate thing.
Motion controls? No. Never. Not in our lifetime will it be good or accurate or 1:1.
HD rumble? So I can play ..... 1-2 switch minigames? Regular rumble was sufficient.
The Nintendo pro controller isn't anything special nor is it worth the asking price. Strip away the fluff and you have a decent controller that could sell at a reasonable price point next to ps4 and Xbox controllers.
Which is totally hypocritical of gamers in general. Xbox and Microsoft got blasted for forcing Kinect 2.0 on everyone this gen. It was a tech demo gimmick that zero developers supported. That was eventually pulled due to lack of support, lack of quality and the consumers didn't want to be forced to buy it.
But Nintendo does the same exact thing almost an entire generation after the fact and everyone's got amnesia.
Wow! Square Enix releases a 23 year old rom with barely any work done to it and still includes bugs that were never fixed.
Have the audacity to charge money for it. Despite the rom, which this version is based, being freely available just about anywhere on the web.
This site shills out a review saying "it's the best version".
Comments full of monkeys excited about it.
No wonder gaming is heading where it is. We can't even trust these fan sites anymore. Bunch of shills telling readers it's the best version...if you had any integrity or cared about gaming, you would review it poorly and warn readers not to pay 20 bucks for what amounts to an asset flip rom in 2019.
Look. I get it. Im starved for new games too. But pandering to square Enix and Nintendos insistence on selling copies of roms that are worth peanuts is making it worse. Why would they build a new game from the ground up when monkeys are buying 23 year old roms?
No square Enix doesn't deserve praise for waiting 23 years to bring one of their best games to a nintendo platform. They deserve to be called out for waiting 23 years and then flipping it on the eshop during an off month.
Wow a price point that's actually somewhat reasonable for
A) an old game that other platforms have already had.
B) a port.
C) a walking simulator
Is it still April fools?
I don't mind sloppy seconds years after the fact, but at least it's priced accordingly. This is a real indie game. There's no rules that say an indie has to be 2d pixel art. If this is priced at 30 then there's a plethora of titles that should be bumped down in price.
Eshop pricing needs to do a better job of reflecting the quality of the products and this is a good start.
15 us dollars for a river city ransom clone. Sweet.
Meanwhile in 2019.....
These people making these terrible games realize there's modern 3D engines that are free (cheap) right? Just checking.
If I were a real game developer, I'd be angry that junk like this was being listed next to my game in the eshop.
If that piece of junk is worth 15 bucks then it just brings the perceived value of real software down.
It's no worse than most of the other indie retro-bait garbage on the eshop. If they pull this, they should really consider backtracking to day 1 and pulling up ALL the weeds.
The lack of quality control on the eshop is inexcusable. The prices they're allowed to get away with are even worse.
There should be a special category for retro-bait and steam ports so the real library doesn't get buried. 90% of the eshop doesn't deserve to rub elbows with first party titles in the same category.
It's almost predatory lumping them together. You shouldn't have to wade through 100s of throw away 2d sidescroller college projects to get to the actual games that justify the cost of the hardware.
All these excuses from devs and publishers on a daily basis.
Nothing but mediocrity.
If you need commercial and critical backlash to teach you about releasing quality software and not lie about it using bullshots, then you're already lost. Sounds like they knew and are back peddling.
Wish I could drop some of these excuses at the point of purchase when asked for my credit card.
"Umm Sorry. You will have to wait 6-8 months while we investigate why my bank won't approve this transaction"
"Look. Real life is hard. Making real money is hard. It's not just a matter of flipping a switch"
"I don't know why using a prerendered photoshopped image of my paycheck isn't good enough....."
"Games are expensive to make hurr durrrrr" meanwhile these companies are posting record profits in the billions on shovelware dlc alone.
We didn't pay a premium for this console to play no name indie shovelware. I can do that on my phone or steam.
It's existence immediately cheapens the core experience because you don't get the full product with your initial purchase and you constantly have to be reminded of paying more to keep up. Constantly reminded that the product you already paid for needs more money to get the whole game.
I wonder though, if this no name mobile studio is going to get blasted for incomplete game releases and season pass grubbing, shouldn't everyone be held to the same standards?
Nintendo has season pass content in 80 dollar games as do many other "beloved" and "reputable" publishers. They seem to get a free pass though. I dont recall Smash bros or pokken tournament getting blasted for season passes.
Just picked up a switch and my god is the eshop terrible. Shovelware indie garbage that's all so grossly overpriced. Like 80 bucks cdn for a no name indie pixel art game...lolwut. Nintendo eshop makes steam look like a high-end shopping venue.
Nintendo themselves are guilty of this with their own games too. Just scroll through video footage available for first party games like Mario kart or splatoon 2.They actually use a tv spot as game footage or pre-rendered poster material....its beyond amateur. There isnt a single bit of honest or genuine gameplay footage at the point of sale.
How can we expect all these shovelware devs to be honest when nintendo isn't either? 80 cdn dollars plus tax for a Mario game that lasts less than 10 hours is pushing it.
Asking 80 plus tax for remastered and repackaged WiiU ports is pushing it.
Asking 25 a year for barely functioning online and a cheap NES emulator that's chalk full of bugs is pushing it.
The list goes on and on and on. I honestly don't know how they get away with their pricing and lack of features. I guess everyone goes goo goo for Mario and forgets that there are industry standards that we as consumers should expect.
As for this racing game? Who cares. Just more shovelware sent to the Nintendo eshop to either die or be consumed by an unsuspecting parent or kid.
95% of the games on the eshop are forgettable throw away projects that amateurs made and are trying to peddle for full price. Its disgusting. I'd be more supportive of indies if they were actually ALL priced accordingly. A piece of junk 2D sidescroller or pixel game should never be 80 bucks in 2019. Im sorry.
I'm all for a more powerful unit or at the very least a unit that supports basic, industry standard features. True Dolby surround sound, Ethernet port, proper headphone and mic support etc.
However, considering I just bought one last week, this news irritates me.
So long as Nintendo and their retail partners offer up a reasonable trade up program for people like me who got shafted on old hardware then I'm all for it.
Comments 118
Re: Japanese Charts: Yoshi's Crafted World Secures Another Number One
@Tantani
Which I find odd. Both games have less than stellar network performance. Do Japanese gamers like laggy peer to peer games that have less functionality than online pc games from 20 years ago?
Or are they playing lan/couch mostly?
I wonder if that's why Nintendos online offerings are so far behind. Their home audience doesn't rely on it like we do in the West perhaps.
Re: Random: Prince Harry Thinks Fortnite Should Be Banned
It's not the game itself that's the problem, Harry.
It's the predatory business model behind it and aggressive marketing campaigns via twitch puppets to target kids.
This has zero to do with video game consumption and everything to do with what's wrong with modern video games as a business.
It's 2019. Most people do all their reading or work on a digital device. Do we consider it unhealthy if someone reads an entire novel series over a weekend on their eReaders? Whats the bloody difference?
And no. I don't want my kids to go play outside, Harry. People like you have helped erode any semblance of safe living or culture by allowing so many immigrants in.
I'd rather my kid stayed safe in doors to play fortnite than go get stabbed by some foreigner.
Re: Nintendo, Sony And Microsoft All Under Investigation Over Online Gaming Services
They are barking up the wrong tree.
They should be tackling the unfair practice of charging you for access to the internet with a device and software you already purchased.
The original intent way back when Microsoft pulled this with generation 1 of Xbox live, was to have giant server farms setup globally. This was part of the marketing back then and how they justified the cost.
We all know how that turned out. It was a lie. You are essentially paying the big 3 to access a basic network protocol that's been freely available to computers since the dawn of the internet. Connecting to a peer to peer solution doesn't have any cost overhead. Zero. Zilch. Notta. It's a scam.
Oh but what about games that actually do make use of dedicated servers?
Irrelevant. The big 3 aren't footing the bill for EA or Activision or fortnite servers. It's a scam.
All 3 companies are guilty of falsely locking access to the internet behind their walled off ecosystems. Charging money for it and then have the audacity to post earning reports in the double digit billions combined annually. For air. They're selling us air and making billions off of consumer ignorance.
Re: This Is Snooker Will Leave Switch Players Spoilt For Choice This Year
@CaPPa
How many balls do you like to play with?
Re: Soapbox: I Don't 'Get' Smash Bros. And I Just Don't Know Why
Just bought smash ultimate on a whim the other night. I've never played any of the previous entries.
It's a fun little game. But I don't think it was worth 80 bucks. Seems pretty shallow for a fighting game. The rpg-xtra lite adventure mode doesn't seem deep enough. Playing online is a crapshoot of bad connections and goofy rulesets due to there not being any proper playlists. So the competitive (ie: the most important aspect) is wildly inconsistent. There should be stock rulesets for matchmaking and keep the goofy rules to private games.
I agree with the author. I can't relate to it's popularity. It's just a fan service game for people who can't "git gud" at real fighting games. No combos to memorize .... just smash.
I think the social differences between Japan and the West might explain why it's selling so well there.
It's not exactly considered appropriate for a bunch of adults to gather around a plastic box and fight each other with cartoons in the West.
Lol
Re: Nintendo Adds Three New Games To The Switch Online NES Library This Month
They're going to have to considerably increase their output to make this worth 25 bucks a year.
The ability to access peer to peer quality online multiplayer in a small handful of titles without proper voice and social features isn't even a selling feature in 2019.
All the value of the subscription is placed entirely on this emulator and it's slow trickle is asinine. We should be playing gamecube and 3ds games from our old libraries. Not being nickel and dimed to access them again.
I won't be renewing. Already turned off auto renewal. Waste of money and an amateur paltry offering compared to the competition.
It becomes even less of a value knowing that they will take them away. So they can sell them to us again next gen.
Re: Review: GODS Remastered - A Timely Update That Sticks Too Closely To The Original
That price point though.
This is exactly why the eshop needs stricter control.
Break it down by system and cap the price ranges for each to exceptionally appropriate values by today's standards.
Nes - 0.99
Super nes - 1.99
N64 - 2.99
And so on. For example.
The best solution going forward is for Nintendo to release emulators for each of their old systems as free downloads.
Once launched they would all contain their own specific stores with appropriate pricing.
This would
A) clean up the main switch eshop of retro games.
B) spark an entirely new market for every single game ever released on a Nintendo platform. (Could easily be ported to other platforms)
C) ensure that there is a certain level of quality and consistency being met through stricter certification due to it running on Nintendos official emulator.
D) ensure that we can maintain our libraries in a digital future and not repeat the whole process again every new gen.
E) not diminish the perceived quality of far superior games because of a false price points.
F) not able to "hide" their game with top tier games using false inflated pricing. Which is ultimately predatory considering the demographic of the brand. Unsuspecting consumers that don't frequent gaming sites are easily tricked into buying some of this junk.
Re: PDP Reveals Switch Controller With Headphone Jack And Adjustable Audio Settings
@mlj11
I think it's because, unlike Nintendo, these smaller accessory companies realized all that stuff unnecessarily drives up the cost.
I say unnecessarily because it's all gimmicks that aren't used beyond your honeymoon period.
Scanning toy figures? If I had a child that cared, simply sell me a separate thing.
Motion controls? No. Never. Not in our lifetime will it be good or accurate or 1:1.
HD rumble? So I can play ..... 1-2 switch minigames? Regular rumble was sufficient.
The Nintendo pro controller isn't anything special nor is it worth the asking price. Strip away the fluff and you have a decent controller that could sell at a reasonable price point next to ps4 and Xbox controllers.
Which is totally hypocritical of gamers in general. Xbox and Microsoft got blasted for forcing Kinect 2.0 on everyone this gen. It was a tech demo gimmick that zero developers supported. That was eventually pulled due to lack of support, lack of quality and the consumers didn't want to be forced to buy it.
But Nintendo does the same exact thing almost an entire generation after the fact and everyone's got amnesia.
Re: PDP Reveals Switch Controller With Headphone Jack And Adjustable Audio Settings
@RupeeClock
Nah. Motion controls are terrible. You can always tell when someone's using it because you run circles around them with a real controller.
I'd wager most people that are quasi serious about winning aren't using gimmicks.
Re: Review: Final Fantasy VII - A Timeless RPG Classic That's Beginning To Show Its Age
Wow!
Square Enix releases a 23 year old rom with barely any work done to it and still includes bugs that were never fixed.
Have the audacity to charge money for it. Despite the rom, which this version is based, being freely available just about anywhere on the web.
This site shills out a review saying "it's the best version".
Comments full of monkeys excited about it.
No wonder gaming is heading where it is. We can't even trust these fan sites anymore. Bunch of shills telling readers it's the best version...if you had any integrity or cared about gaming, you would review it poorly and warn readers not to pay 20 bucks for what amounts to an asset flip rom in 2019.
Look. I get it. Im starved for new games too. But pandering to square Enix and Nintendos insistence on selling copies of roms that are worth peanuts is making it worse. Why would they build a new game from the ground up when monkeys are buying 23 year old roms?
No square Enix doesn't deserve praise for waiting 23 years to bring one of their best games to a nintendo platform. They deserve to be called out for waiting 23 years and then flipping it on the eshop during an off month.
Re: Hellblade Release Date And Pricing Revealed For Nintendo Switch
@burgboy82
Ya except it doesn't matter how good your audio setup is when the switch can't output proper surround sound.
I guess forcing us to pay for motion controls absorbed any budget that could have gone to an optical out port and a real sound chip.
Re: Hellblade Release Date And Pricing Revealed For Nintendo Switch
Wow a price point that's actually somewhat reasonable for
A) an old game that other platforms have already had.
B) a port.
C) a walking simulator
Is it still April fools?
I don't mind sloppy seconds years after the fact, but at least it's priced accordingly. This is a real indie game. There's no rules that say an indie has to be 2d pixel art. If this is priced at 30 then there's a plethora of titles that should be bumped down in price.
Eshop pricing needs to do a better job of reflecting the quality of the products and this is a good start.
Re: The Friends Of Ringo Ishikawa Is An Open World Beat ‘Em Up Hitting Switch This Week
15 us dollars for a river city ransom clone. Sweet.
Meanwhile in 2019.....
These people making these terrible games realize there's modern 3D engines that are free (cheap) right? Just checking.
If I were a real game developer, I'd be angry that junk like this was being listed next to my game in the eshop.
If that piece of junk is worth 15 bucks then it just brings the perceived value of real software down.
Re: Dubious eShop Game Safety First Puts The 'Pee' In Puzzler
It's no worse than most of the other indie retro-bait garbage on the eshop. If they pull this, they should really consider backtracking to day 1 and pulling up ALL the weeds.
The lack of quality control on the eshop is inexcusable. The prices they're allowed to get away with are even worse.
There should be a special category for retro-bait and steam ports so the real library doesn't get buried. 90% of the eshop doesn't deserve to rub elbows with first party titles in the same category.
It's almost predatory lumping them together. You shouldn't have to wade through 100s of throw away 2d sidescroller college projects to get to the actual games that justify the cost of the hardware.
Re: 3DClouds Responds To Criticism Of The Switch Version Of Xenon Racer
All these excuses from devs and publishers on a daily basis.
Nothing but mediocrity.
If you need commercial and critical backlash to teach you about releasing quality software and not lie about it using bullshots, then you're already lost. Sounds like they knew and are back peddling.
Wish I could drop some of these excuses at the point of purchase when asked for my credit card.
"Umm Sorry. You will have to wait 6-8 months while we investigate why my bank won't approve this transaction"
"Look. Real life is hard. Making real money is hard. It's not just a matter of flipping a switch"
"I don't know why using a prerendered photoshopped image of my paycheck isn't good enough....."
"Games are expensive to make hurr durrrrr" meanwhile these companies are posting record profits in the billions on shovelware dlc alone.
We didn't pay a premium for this console to play no name indie shovelware. I can do that on my phone or steam.
Re: Review: Power Rangers: Battle For The Grid - A Promising Fighter Undone By Publisher Greed
The season pass. The perpetual double dip.
It's existence immediately cheapens the core experience because you don't get the full product with your initial purchase and you constantly have to be reminded of paying more to keep up. Constantly reminded that the product you already paid for needs more money to get the whole game.
I wonder though, if this no name mobile studio is going to get blasted for incomplete game releases and season pass grubbing, shouldn't everyone be held to the same standards?
Nintendo has season pass content in 80 dollar games as do many other "beloved" and "reputable" publishers. They seem to get a free pass though. I dont recall Smash bros or pokken tournament getting blasted for season passes.
Re: Talking Point: Xenon Racer Is Just The Tip Of The Iceberg For Falsely Advertised Games On Switch
Just picked up a switch and my god is the eshop terrible. Shovelware indie garbage that's all so grossly overpriced. Like 80 bucks cdn for a no name indie pixel art game...lolwut. Nintendo eshop makes steam look like a high-end shopping venue.
Nintendo themselves are guilty of this with their own games too. Just scroll through video footage available for first party games like Mario kart or splatoon 2.They actually use a tv spot as game footage or pre-rendered poster material....its beyond amateur. There isnt a single bit of honest or genuine gameplay footage at the point of sale.
How can we expect all these shovelware devs to be honest when nintendo isn't either? 80 cdn dollars plus tax for a Mario game that lasts less than 10 hours is pushing it.
Asking 80 plus tax for remastered and repackaged WiiU ports is pushing it.
Asking 25 a year for barely functioning online and a cheap NES emulator that's chalk full of bugs is pushing it.
The list goes on and on and on. I honestly don't know how they get away with their pricing and lack of features. I guess everyone goes goo goo for Mario and forgets that there are industry standards that we as consumers should expect.
As for this racing game? Who cares. Just more shovelware sent to the Nintendo eshop to either die or be consumed by an unsuspecting parent or kid.
95% of the games on the eshop are forgettable throw away projects that amateurs made and are trying to peddle for full price. Its disgusting.
I'd be more supportive of indies if they were actually ALL priced accordingly. A piece of junk 2D sidescroller or pixel game should never be 80 bucks in 2019. Im sorry.
Re: Talking Point: There's Room For A Switch 'Family' If Nintendo Nails The Messaging
I'm all for a more powerful unit or at the very least a unit that supports basic, industry standard features. True Dolby surround sound, Ethernet port, proper headphone and mic support etc.
However, considering I just bought one last week, this news irritates me.
So long as Nintendo and their retail partners offer up a reasonable trade up program for people like me who got shafted on old hardware then I'm all for it.