KingdomTears

Astro is borrowing heavily from Mario and personally I'm loving it

Literally playing through Metroid Zero Mission for the first time at the moment!

I missed out in a lot of GBA titles as I was a fairly early adopter to the system but subsequently had my console stolen it's nice to catch up on some of these titles now they are on Switch - played Minish Cap for the first time earlier this year and it was great!

@MegaMari0 @JJtheTexan - it's because you already answered the question here: https://www.nintendolife.com/features/poll-are-you-ready-to-move-on-from-the-switch

@Papery0shi and just to be clear, that comment was never supposed to be a slight again Mario Odyssey, it's just games of BotW's calibre come along perhaps once in a generation - I would personally argue that Mario Galaxy 2 was the last game to hit that level prior to BotW, and no game has hit that level since (I'm sure many would disagree and that's fine also of course - it's all subjective)

@Maubari that's a totally fair opinion. For many of the things I love about BotW, there's also several big aspects about it's design that bother me that weren't fixed (and should have been) in TotK.

There will always be people for which the change in direction just didn't click, and I can see that it's painful to lose aspects of a series that you love (believe me, I've been there) - You can't deny however that it was critically acclaimed, loved by a large audience, and has had influence on titles that have come along since - and it's that influence that I'm referring to as "genre-defining" in a way that people will describe certain games as being botw-like, in the much same way you might describe a souls-like. Admittedly it's not as prevalent as that example, but never-the-less, it exists.

It heartens me to see that BotW + TotK combined have sold slightly more than the two Pokemon titles here combined (52.85m vs 51.64m) - I know that if you added all the Pokemon titles up vs. all the Zelda titles then Pokemon will very likely have sold more but it just feels good to see Zelda commanding such high sales figures after all these years of paling in comparison

@Croctopus I think that would be a massive shame if Odyssey did outsell BotW. Odyssey is a great game, but BotW is a genre-defining title, which pulled Zelda into the modern era whilst keeping that Nintendo/Zelda charm faithfully intact. Odyssey is more influenced by its predecessors, than any influence it has had on other titles/the industry since its release.

I'd really like to see Hudson come back as comic relief in another / the next Zelda game. Tingle, not so much.

I suspect the game is set during the exact same time-period as Links Awakening, taking place concurrently. Links disappearence to Koholint Island could be explained through the portal that he falls through in the trailer (effectively going into a dream land) and then EoW will tell the story of what occured in Hyrule while Link was missing, following the events of aLttP - the end boss of that game is shown in the EoW trailer

I had totally forgotten about this game! Think I must've played the demo on PC before it came out, don't think I ever purchased the full game however even though I remember being quite keen to play it

@KingdomTears alternatively maybe where Link ends up when he falls into that hole is akin to the dark world in ALttP and they'll do something where you can switch between Zelda and Link in their respective areas?

Since this has the art style of the Links Awakening remake, with LA being a direct sequel to ALttP, plus the map of ALttP with that Ganon fight being a direct reference to the end of that game, I wonder if they're positioning this as the story of what happened in Hyrule while Link went AWOL during the events of Links Awakening?

I also found it interesting that in the first TotK trailer Zelda falls down a hole, and then in this trailer Link falls down a hole instead lol

I've somewhat realised in recent years that I'm not a huge fan of boss fights in general. In Mario or Zelda games at least they're often just a blocker to the more fun stuff (platforming / puzzles). There's been a couple of really good ones in recent memory: Colgera in TotK was great because it was more spectacle than difficult and I really enjoyed the bosses in Metroid Dread which follow the mandatory strategy being discussed here, but a lot of the time I kinda wish I had options to skip them altogether

@PikminMarioKirby actually NL has a scoring policy to ensure games are held to the same standards across reviewers: https://www.nintendolife.com/scoring and my point still stands that MP was reviewed 2-points higher than TTYD on GameCube so that easily accounts for the single point difference here.

@PikminMarioKirby maybe NL just thinks that MP is the better game? If you look at their review scores on the GameCube originals MP is a 10/10, while TTYD is an 8/10, which would suggest that their opinion is that Metroid Prime is the better game in general? Nothing to do with added content etc.

To me BotW was Zelda + open world + Nintendo's take on the survival genre. I really thought when TotK was approaching that it would be Zelda + open world + Nintendo's take on Minecraft, which it kinda was but they stuck the survivalist stuff in there also. Personally I feel like this was a missed opportunity to really make TotK stand apart from BotW, by eschewing the stamina meter and moving the focus from surviving the land to mastering the land. As it was they tried to do it all and imo felt really bloated as a result. Still very good game tho, just think it would have been so cool to give both games a very unique identity rather than have the sequel be the same but more.

@Serpenterror achievable yes, likely from Nintendo though? Sadly not. Power isn't their market differentiator, and hasn't been for many years.

@CazSonOfCaz isn't the land of Hyrule and it's inhabitants supposed to be based on Medieval Europe? In which case an all British cast* (since the film will be in English language) would be more appropriate, no?

*except for the Gerudo, who should be actors of middle eastern descent and any non-Hylians characters that aren't based on a pre-existing race/ethnicity

@BANJO apologies, you are right it's 5 - turns out neither of us can count properly

@BANJO not that it isn't impressive, but 6 or 7 weeks is overselling it. These charts are from Monday so it's 4 weeks

@Steel76 I can understand the logic behind not releasing MK8D and others as Selects, but what about Mario Tennis, Golf, Strikers, Super Party, and even games like NSMBU and DK:TF? Surely these are old enough, and are no longer selling like hotcakes?

It was my first (and last I think) Pokémon game. Gave it a fair shake at 10 hours but it just felt really cheap and not much fun tbh, so I sold it. Guess the series isn't for me, especially as I didn't play the series as a kid

If it's not coming out this year anymore (seems likely to be the case) then I think I'll mostly focus on getting through my backlog. Have Spider-Man 2, Sonic Origins, Portal, Ghostbusters, Jedi:Survivor, Gears of War 2, Batman Arkham Asylum, Alan Wake 2, Death Stranding, Hollow Knight, and more all ready to go and waiting. Think I'll be okay!

@electrolite77

Me: "other brands (iPhones, Playstations, etc) have continued to sell well after simply releasing new, more powerful hardware. But those always been because they were at the bleeding edge of what's possible for those platforms"

You: "I’m not sure you understand why consumers buy iterative products. They buy it because it’s the best and newest hardware within the ecosystem they’re already established in."

You say I don't understand how this works and they carry on to say the exact same thing, then follow that up by saying that Playstation, XBox, SteamDeck and ROG ally aren't in the same ecosystem because reasons?

We can go around in circles like this forever, but at the end of the day it's just a comment on the internet - it's perfectly acceptable for you to have a different opinion than me and I to you. Let's not get upset over something that's really not important in the scheme of things

@larryisaman "There’s no way it won’t fundamentally be a Switch in design, regardless of whatever wrinkles they add to it".

I never claimed that it wouldn't be the same design, what I said was: This is exactly why I don't think the Switch 2 will "just be a more powerful Switch".

So essentially you've been arguing with me about something I never said?

@electrolite77 the group that bought the Gameboy, GBA, DS & 3DS were the kids themselves. You can do that when a console is in the $150-200 range. The group that are buying the Switch is the parents of the kids; the people who want to be able to play on their commute but also play Switch Sports and Mario Kart as a family. It's not the same I'm afraid. As for buying the latest iPhones, Playstations, XBox's, etc.. I've already explained that that works because it's the latest technology that the consumers are after. This can't work for Switch 2 as there's already more powerful hardware out there

@larryisaman the GBA sold 40 million units less than the Gameboy and the 3DS half of the DS. I don't doubt that Nintendo could still shift a good number of consoles by simply releasing a more powerful version, but you can guarantee that they won't want to take a hit like that on the number of sales for their successor system - it's just how business works - if you're not growing year on year it means trouble for your business as investors lose confidence. As gamers we want to ignore this reality but Nintendo is not our friend, they are a business and they will do whatever is needed to make that business a success

@electrolite77 I'd refer you back to my last comment but here's the short of it; there are three main demographics that the Switch sells into:

1). The Nintendo core market (that's you and I)
2). The family market (typically families with kids between 5-12 years old)
3). Gamers who aren't particularly fussed about Nintendo IPs (at least not enough to buy a console just to play them) but bought into the idea of a console that could play AAA games on the TV and in handheld.

This last group I agree is the most niche and probably wouldn't impact Nintendo too much if they lost that particular audience for their next console.

However, the mistake most people on this site make is to think that the first group makes up the majority of Nintendo's core audience for Switch, when in fact it's the second group that Nintendo sells the most consoles to (essentially sites like this are echo-chambers for the first group making people discount this second larger group).

This website (https://www.start.io/blog/nintendo-target-market-segmentation-marketing-strategy-main-competitors-statistics/) sums it up nicely:

"(T)he key Nintendo target audience were big fans of Nintendo in the 80s and 90s. Now, as adults with families of their own, they are bringing Nintendo into their homes for a shared cross-generational experience."

A more powerful Switch alone won't appeal to this demographic on which Nintendo so heavily relies. The viewpoint of this type of user would be that they already have a Switch and a huge library of games to play, and that better graphics or frame rates isn't going to be enough for them to part with another $300-$400.

Without this audience Nintendo can expect to sell moderate numbers, but nowhere near the numbers they have done for Switch (likely less than half) which without a dual console and handheld strategy in place would make it the worst selling generation of any Nintendo generation ever - unlikely to be a position Nintendo wants to find itself in

@MysticX yes, I agree. That's what I would want, and that's what most of the people on this site want because we're lifelong Nintendo fans. However, keep in mind that to get anywhere near the levels of sales the Switch has had, they need to cater to both hardcore Nintendo fans and families with young kids between 5-12 (this segment is a substantial part of the Switch user-base). Without catering to both I would say they can expect to maybe sell maybe the equivalent of the SNES (~50 millions units) which would be an absolute disaster for Nintendo as they don't have a separate handheld division to fall back on this time

@FishyS @larryisaman @electrolite77 @MysticX yeah other brands (iPhones, Playstations, etc) have continued to sell well after simply releasing new, more powerful hardware. But those always been because they were at the bleeding edge of what's possible for those platforms. The Switch 2 will be at PS4 Pro level at the absolute maximum so will still be a generation behind, and there's already other hybrid systems (Steam Deck, Rog Ally, etc) that have offered this level of power for several years now

@OldGamer999 "Now we have 130 million Switch owners with that hybrid console already.
Switch 2 will be just be a more powerful switch so getting people over to Switch 2 won’t be as easy this time round"

This is exactly why I don't think the Switch 2 will "just be a more powerful Switch" - don't people think Nintendo already knows and has planned for this problem?

This game looks super fun, but something has always bothered me about the colour palette they've used and I think I've worked out what it is; Penny's primary colours (yellow and blue) are reused massively in the actual levels themselves, almost the exact same shade, meaning she often gets lost in the backgrounds. Dunno maybe it's just me?

@Qwiff
For one, they might have come up with solutions for better using the available bezel space, just like they did with the redesign of the OLED.

This is a good point to an extent, but doesn't solve the need for a bigger console. The Switch tablet itself measures 7.8inches across while there's actually a small area to the left and right of the tablet that houses the connecting mechanism for the joy-cons which a screen wouldn't be able to fit under, so even if they essentially made the thing bezel-less the whole thing would still be around half an inch too small. My argument here is what real benefit would Nintendo gain from increasing the size of the entire console to achieve this? Of all the asks I've seen people level at a Switch successor, I've literally not seen one person ask for a larger screen; the current size is ample so imo this is where the rumour just doesn't quite add-up - there are several clear downsides with no obvious upside. If they did spend time and effort reducing the bezel as much as possible, an obvious benefit that I could see them going for would be to actually reduce the size of the console, while retaining the screen size from the OLED, thus making the console a little more portable. I just don't see how a larger screen really benefits anyone in this case, neither the consumer or Nintendo.

@JaxonH
I don't think that's a reasonable conclusion. It's a new gen, which means new deals are struck for new components, and LCD likely remains a bit cheaper, especially for 8" panels

I don't actually doubt that the screen will be LCD, I just doubt that it's larger than the screen in the OLED.

The producer for Switch expects an increase of around 15 million panels (which coincidentally would be EXACTLY the amount of Switch 2 sales expected from Sept to March)

With all due respect; where are you getting this exact prediction for Switch 2 sales expected from Sept to March? Since Nintendo haven't even confirmed this thing exists, I don't know how anyone would be able to tell you exactly how many units this (until revealed, hypothetical) console is expected to sell outside of pure guess-work.

It's obviously for Switch 2.

I think that there's a couple of possibilities here that would make it more plausible in my eyes. First, the analyst could be correct that the screens are indeed for Switch 2 but may have made an assumption that the panels will be 8inch in size based on existing components built by the manufacturer, while the panels they actually supply will be custom-built at a smaller size to fit the new console. Or Second, that there's a different form-factor for the console (such as a console with a folding screen or some other gimmick) which necessitates a larger screen. As I mentioned before, I think this second option is fairly unlikely but this is Nintendo we're talking about so almost nothing should be off the table.

There is another (albeit somewhat smaller) possibility that the screens are intended for another technology company. Maybe a company such as Tencent, Samsung or Apple are planning to create a gaming device based on similar form factor to the Switch using their knowledge of the mobile and tablet market.

In whatever case, I don't think it's obvious at all that the Switch 2 will house an 8inch LCD screen. Of course I could be wrong but in my personal opinion, a device with the form factor of the Switch with a screen of that size just doesn't make any sense

Having worked with supply chain data in the past, I can tell you that this is merely a prediction based on available evidence and by no means a certainty.

The analyst has seen that a manufacturer who provided components for the original Switch is doubling productions of one of their screens and has made the assumption that these are for the new Nintendo console. He might have guessed correctly, but in my opinion he's put 2 + 2 together and come up with 5.

The main reason that I believe they've guessed incorrectly is that it's really not clear what benefit at all Nintendo would get from a larger, but lower quality display than the one in the latest Switch model.

Essentially the bigger size will make the graphics look worse if anything, and doesn't offer anything new to players - especially those who play mostly docked. I expect Nintendo spent a lot of time working out the balance between comfort and portability with the Switch, so what would be the benefit in making the thing much less portable when you can increase comfort through docking?

The only situation I can think of where a larger screen would be beneficial, would be to have the screen be foldable so the console can be half the size when being carried around. I think this is unlikely as folding screens have their own inherent issues, but it's the only way that I can see this rumour proving true right now.

Depends on the form factor but I'm guessing that they'll want a name that's similar, but not exactly the same with an extra word or number tacked on. So I think it could be another single verb: Shift, Pop, Flip, Snap, Click - something like that, giving a similar feel without being the same. If it is a dual-screen device, however then I could also see something like Duo or Duel being used.

I would very much like this and a similar treatment for Majora's Mask pretty please. Personally, I think I'd prefer the Metroid Prime Remaster style update, but wouldn't say no to a Resident Evil style reworking either.

@Darthmoogle 100% agree with your take there. Would much rather that the game didn't default to easy-mode, when the big coin collecting has always (since the "new" series anyhow) been the more challenging aspect of 2D Mario titles, and simply completing the game has always been fairly easy.

I wonder (pun intended) if they've fixed what I think is a bug where sometimes when you collect a purple 10-coin and die in the process of attempting to grab it, the coin is still marked as collected, whereas other times you'd have to collect it again without dying in the process. Could never work out which of these outcomes Nintendo was hoping for, but assume the way that has worked since launch is some kind of bug?

Yeah at first when I saw that gif I thought that's really interesting seeing the difference between the three settings. But I quickly realised that it has to be faked/not a true representation, as the math simply doesn't add up

To be able to simultaneously produce an image that shows 24, 30, and 60 fps, the gif itself would have to be rendered at 120 fps (the smallest number that can be divided by 24, 30, and 60 and still return a whole number/integer) - as it turns out the highest number of fps that a gif can produce is 100, and apparently most browsers cannot support this, so gifs will generally be capped at 50 fps meaning none of the numbers stated can truly be represented here.

Agree with everyone saying that live-action is a bad route to go (with the exception that at least it's not going to be another illumination movie, or worse still connected to a wider MCU-style movie universe) - however, the decision to use Wes Ball as a director is definitely interesting.

He's mostly known for visual effects and the Maze Runner films, but there may be more to him than meets the eye. This test footage that he put together for a (now cancelled) MouseGuard adaptation is actually pretty impressive and shows how a Zelda movie might be made as more of an Avatar style live-action film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWHPhc2xNNU&t=171s

Since he's also been trusted with the next Planet of the Apes movie, which is still a fairly big IP, I assume this kind of thing has instilled some trust with the movie studios that this guy is able to deliver.

Anyway time will tell, but I think there's reason to be somewhat optimistic about this adaptation.

Okay, I'm not usually fussed about movies based on videogame IPs. But I would watch the s#!t out of a full length movie version of this

@BTB20 I'd probably include the two Game Boy titles here also - at the very least SML2

@LikelySatan no, sorry - probably explaining things badly. Just saying that each site should have a uniform reviewing system that is implemented by all reviewers that contribute or work for the site in question. Otherwise reviews from that site become meaningless as the score ultimately depends more on the individual reviewer than the game itself.

@Poodlestargenerica but surely those people who only game on PS5s aren't the same people who review for PushSquare?

@gcunit respectfully disagree. Of course reviews are subjective, however gaming publications and any other media that reviews games/movies/music have to have some sort of consensus on what constitutes as a 6, 7, 8 or whatever ratings they have in their scoring range. If one person from a publication is constantly rating games a few points lower than others at the publication, then surely the editor would step in and tell them that the words they have written don't correctly translate to the score given when following the consensus of the publication. Otherwise we'd be saying Bob at IGN gave it this score and Sally at Destructoid gave it this score - but we don't - we say IGN gave this, and Destuctoid that. The individual reviewer is generally not mentioned in the conversation.

@GoshJosh it is odd how different NintendoLife and PushSquare are on this front however. PushSquare just gave Spider-Man 2, which the reviewer platinumed and said he "loved every minute" of his 40-hour playthrough the same score as NL gave Superstars (8/10), while PS gave Superstars itself 6/10. So it seems like there's a 2 point discrepancy in terms of leniency/harshness between the two publications, while they often appear to publicise themselves as if they are just the Nintendo/PlayStation arms of the same operation

videogamedunkey?

I tried to get this to work last night but the website kept crashing. This morning the game is now shown as sold out, so guess I've missed my chance. Looks like you can get it from a few other places for around £42 however, so not losing out on too much buying it elsewhere.

Possibly Spider-Man but I'll likely wait for reviews and decide then (of course I'll probably get them all eventually)

@shgamer Honestly I wouldn't use Amazon as a proxy for system sales when we have access to hardware sales from both Nintendo and Playstation:

https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/finance/hard_soft/number.html
https://sonyinteractive.com/en/our-company/business-data-sales/

I also wouldn't compare a system that has been on the market for over six years and clearly nearing the end of life, to systems that have only been out for only two and a half years. If you compared the Switch's 6th full year on the market (ending April 30th, 2023) with the Playstation 4's 6th full year on the market (ending April 30th, 2019) then you might have a more apt comparison - even then there's plenty of other factors to consider which might skew the numbers either way. FYI that comparison would be Switch @ 18m sales and PS4 @ 13.5m sales.

If Nintendo were really worried about sales numbers they could easily add a price cut (they were selling the thing at profit in 2017, so god knows how much profit they must be making on each unit now with barely a price cut in sight over the past 6.5 years), which they haven't done thus far because they haven't had to. The Switch is still selling quite well and with ToTK and Mario Wonder both out this year they are probably confident that they'll have healthy sales this final holiday period. They are nowhere near the situation they were in when the Wii U launched a full year after releasing the last big Wii game (Skyward Sword) as well as a loss of much of their active install base due to their "Blue Ocean Strategy" audience moving onto newer tech such as the iPad.