Comments 1,337

Re: Poll: Is Your Third-Party Switch 2 Dock Still Working After This Week's System Update?

JJtheTexan

I want a second dock for my bedroom TV. I really don't want to spend $120 U.S. on the official one, but I vividly remember reading about third-party docks bricking original Switch consoles years ago, and stuff like these software update reports make me even less confident in cheaper options.

Frankly, it stinks. Linus Tech Tips did a whole video addressing this several weeks ago, specifically how Nintendo apparently created its own proprietary HDMI tech for this purpose. Very anti-consumer if you ask me.

Re: Reggie Is "Surprised" We Haven't Seen More Xbox Titles On Switch 2

JJtheTexan

What confuses me the most is the total absence of Call of Duty. They're literally bound by legal contract to provide it for a ten-year period... so where is it? They can get it running on the Xbox Series S, so surely a Nintendo Switch 2 port shouldn't be impossible.

Not that I care too terribly much. I'm not a CoD player, and while I'd welcome Halo or Forza, I won't lose any sleep if they never come to NS2.

Re: Square Enix Aims To Automate 70% Of QA With Generative AI By 2027

JJtheTexan

I absolutely hate and deplore AI replacing human QA testers, because they are the last line of defense before release and work an exhausting and thankless job, usually for meager pay.

That said, I could see AI-driven QA having some actual potential. Where it could become a problem is if S-E decides to just fire all its human QA testers and go full speed ahead with AI. Can't wait for the rotten state games will release in should that happen.

Re: Rare NES Platformer 'Little Samson' Is Coming To Switch In 2026

JJtheTexan

@AlanaHagues I think there might be another interesting story angle worth pursuing (or maybe @Damo Time Extension can) if you have time. The "fine print" at the end of the Limited Run trailer reads:

"Seiri Densetsu Lickle (Little Samson) was developed in accordance with Article 67-2, Paragraph 1 of the Japan Copyright Act... Production and sale has been authorized by the Japan Arbitration System for products of unknown copyright holders."

Basically it sounds like nobody could find the copyright holder / IP owner, so they appealed to Japan's copyright office and convinced them that it was abandonware and no longer subject to copyright protection. I think.

Re: 50 Best NES Games Of All Time

JJtheTexan

Crystalis is missing from this list, sadly. There are two ways to play it on Nintendo Switch: NES Online / Classics, and SNK 40th Anniversary Collection. It's great! Please play it, everyone!

Re: Talking Point: How Do You Play NES Games These Days?

JJtheTexan

I was born in 1980, and I still have the NES I received for my birthday in 1988. I've got 44 NES cartridges, many which I had as a kid, and the rest acquired as an adult. I love my NES collection... but I hardly ever touch it. Getting older and settling down forced me to make priorities and tough choices, and it's just too much hassle to make my original hardware work on my TV, and we don't have room in our small home for a CRT.

That's why I love the Nintendo Switch / 2 so much: most of my NES games are playable there, and look great on my modern TV or the console's screen.

It's still difficult for me to think of anything newer than a Nintendo 64 as a "retro" console, though. -_-

Re: Two More Switch Games Have Received Compatibility Updates On Switch 2

JJtheTexan

@Hank_Scorpio oh! I missed that. I need to try firing it up again.

@Friendly someone else mentioned this, but it's still listed as incompatible on the eShop. I can't recall the exact issue but I think I read somewhere it's game-breaking, which is really saying something when you consider how many endings / routes that game has

Re: Poll: Is It About Time Game Freak Added Voice Acting To Pokémon?

JJtheTexan

Game Freak isn't going to add voice acting because it doesn't have to. The developers aren't going to improve graphics, visual fidelity, and performance, because they don't have to. They aren't going to include the entire Pokedex, because they don't have to. They can keep cranking out the same "good but not great" level of quality games year after year, because millions of people will still buy them.

Why increase the budget to make a game great, when you can make it just decent and still sell a ton of copies? Voice acting isn't going to have a meaningful impact on sales. At least I don't think so.

Easy for me to say all this as I never particularly liked the games!

Re: Poll: How Many New Games Do You Buy In A Year?

JJtheTexan

As a middle-aged DINK (Dual Income, No Kids), I am both very fortunate and somewhat embarrassed to admit I am not even close to 12 games per year. It's more like 100+ but I only buy used / on sale, mostly physical. That said, apparently I am keeping the industry afloat /s

Re: Poll: Do You Think Nintendo's New Animated Short 'Close To You' Is Pikmin Related?

JJtheTexan

I don't think it's anything. Yes, clearly the music borrows from Pikmin to some degree. It's not difficult to believe the same composer(s) from the game were asked to score this animation as well. The best theory I've seen is that this was simply a demo to impress investors. "Hey look, we spent a few hundred million dollars and we can make Pixar knockoffs now."

EDIT, THE NEXT DAY: welp