@JasmineDragon But that is the thing with marketing. Few people don't buy something because the name sounds stupid. Many people don't buy something because they are never really aware of the product.
Whether the name is good or bad, it stands out and from a marketing perspective, that is the most important part.
For Octopath Traveler it just made sense, because the project name was seen as funny and the game was already very well known under that name. It would have been almost idiotic not to release it as "Octopath Traveler" at that point. Triangle Strategy continues the naming scheme and the fact that we are talking about it proves that it works.
No matter how you look at it, this name will likely boost sales through awareness.
Apart from that, I don't know why this name bothers so many people. I neither like nor dislike it, personally.
What usually bothers me more than the graphics quality, is a poor graphical style. That is my issue here as well, even if the graphics were better from a technical standpoint, I still wouldn't really like it. That being said, with great gameplay I can overlook bad graphics any day. Still could be a better game if it just looked more pleasing to the eye though.
At this point I only saw a few hours of the game via a stream and I am already getting used to how it looks, so that is something as well, I guess.
@Kejomo Not really. I, for example, am a software developer. Right now I wouldn't know where to start when it comes to working with roms like this, but considering I have experience in the overall field I could probably learn to do that as well if I sit down and do my research.
That however does not mean I am able to produce a new good game. I am not a graphics designer, so I couldn't produce all the models and textures I may need depending of the type of game. I also don't know anything about sound design or music production of any kind. But OK, I could buy ressources like this from someone who knows what he is doing. But I still may or may not be talented in actually designing a game that is fun. Can I write a good story (if the game is supposed to have that)? Can I design a good combat system? Can I design a great world that people want to explore? Whatever my game would require, can I provide a good experience?
None of this matters when I want to port a game from one system to another. That is not saying a port like this is easy, in fact I could see this being very very hard in it's own way. But the point is that the skill set required for a project like this is different from the skillset you need to make your own game.
Bobby Kotick seems to be one of the leading experts when it comes to "making everything worse than it already is". Just imagine what would have happened if people found out he bought a gaming website and then the website defends him.
We have tons of people here who know for sure what is illegal. Funny how many people studied law and did the necessary research about the details of this case to come to a final conclusion. Most people probably didn't even research in which country the creator lives. An they are not only legal experts, but also experts when it comes to copyright law and software specifically.
Expert enough to be able to know that decades of modding of all kinds of games without consequences have actually been illegal all the time, with every company just not noticing that they are being screwed over but could easily do something about it. If only one of those companies had legal experts like you.
@Dr_Lugae It is not that simple, because if he profits, he profits very indirectly, and that is a big IF, as I am about to explain. Not only can profiting from a mod be a legal (dark) gray zone depending on the exact law of each country. On a site like Patreon people can get money not directly for their work. It further complicates things, because the modder himself says, on his patreon, that he isn't keeping any of the money for himself but gives it to people who make the tools he uses. He also says specifically that he isn't selling anything through his patreon, not the mod nor any parts of it. Assuming he isn't lying with any of that, all of this is legally significant.
Also you are putting someone who makes a mod and makes no profit (or if he lies, barely any profit) off it, on the same level as professional scammers who don't only use copyrighted material without any license to do so, but also scam anyone who buys this stuff and make a lot of money without much effort. Think what you want about the modder, but putting them morally on the same level is just wrong. Though what the bootleg creators do is usually not illegal either, mainly because they are usually selling in countries like China, where, to my knowledge, there is no law against these things. Morally, they are still disgusting people.
@SwitchForce Perhaps you should do that first. For example, in my country I am specifically allowed to make copies of things regardless of copyright, as long as it is for personal use. The part you quoted from the EULA would forbid me from doing that, but you know what? Doesn't matter in the slightest, because EULAs can't overwrite laws.
Also quite rich that you want to tell me about having to read something up. You techically didn't even link the EULA that would apply to most people here, as it is the one from Singapore. Though it doesn't really matter I suppose.
Also, I have no problems with the laws at all, a mod just doesn't cause problems with any of them. If they were to distribute Nintendo software for example, that would be against copyright. That is not what they are doing though. Their IP is still protected, a mod doesn't change that.
You are going on and on talking about a mod as if it was a standalone game. Honestly makes me think you don't understand how a mod works.
Also, again about modification of software. No code in the original files was directly changed (at least that is a very likely assumption), just some files replaced, so is this still considered a modification of the software? Legally, it is not that easy to answer.
But all of this doesn't matter I guess, if you are correct, Nintendo will shut down the mod any day now, right? I wonder what is keeping them, the mod is already available for a while after all...
@Dr_Lugae I give you the Patreon part, I didn't know they have that. That can complicate things.
But you can't be serious comparing making a whole game with making a mod for a game? Those are very different things. If I were to make a new "Zelda" game and distribute that, people could literally get my game instead of the original. I would directly hurt the potential profit Nintendo makes. A mod on the other hand requires the original data to be present, so to play a mod, you still need to buy the original game made by Nintendo. This isn't hurting Nintendos profit. Also, a mod, which doesn't use reverse engineered code (which would be illegal) can only use functionality that is already in the game one way or another. So a new Zelda game wouldn't get hurt by the mod either. Modding a game in itself is still not illegal because of these things, making a standalone game is.
Also regarding patreon: While this can make things more complicated in court, I don't understand why you are talking about this in such a degrading manner. Considering how much time and effort a mod like this requires, the patreon profits won't even repay them that. To be honest, for calling them shameless and leeches just because of that, makes me think very lowly of you instead.
@SwitchForce Even if the EULA is to be interprated as you think it is (which is not that simple to interpret, because we have to clear up what the software in that context even is. The core software isn't really changed after all, a mod usually adds on to it instead. The mod also isn't a modified software, but a tool for the user to modify the software, if anything. Legal things are complicated...) the EULA is irrelevant if laws state otherwise. The copy of the software that I have here on my cartridge, is still something I own and I can do what I want with what I own. No EULA can change that. Though of course these kind of things can be different depending of the laws of your country. By your logic though, I wouldn't even be allowed to save the game, as creating a savegame which the game uses, can be seen as a modification.
Also, on a different note: If a game publisher could stop mods through an EULA like that. Strange that no company ever does that, including Nintendo, still.
@steventonysmith You are mixing multiple different things together. Sure, when it comes to videos themselves, Nintendo may be able to do something (not so simple sintuation regarding Fair Use, but YouTube bends the knee to the comanies anyway), but this is more about having a gameplay video of any kind involving Nintendo material. Distributing ROMs on the other hand are an obvious violation of copyright laws. This is basically exactly the purpose of those laws.
Mods are different from both of those scenarios, which is why Nintendo going against the videos, is not equal to Nintendo going against the mod. At least not officially.
@BarryandWill I don't get this kind of behavior either. It is a 100% anti consumer stance, displayed by consumers themselves. As if people would like to take away their own rights for no benefit.
And as explained again and again, there is not even anything illegal about mods, at least not usually. People get angry about something that is to their own benefit, because it could potentially hurt profits of a big company a little bit, but not really, which is also completely legal.
Or in other words: Many people here are displaying just how much of a fanboy they actually are.
I am still not even convinced that Nintendo took down these videos because a mod is involved. They are, like many japanese companies, quite trigger happy when it comes to videos about their games in general.
@Dr_Lugae
And which part of copyright does a mod step on exactly?
Also, what kind of company simp do you have to be, that you, as a consumer, have a problem with mods? Projects of people who love the game so much, that they are trying to enhance the game for everyone without even making any money off of it.
And you lump them together with bootlegs, which are games that actively use big IPs to screw over consumers?
@Zenszulu Can you tell me which mod for a modern game Nintendo shut down in the past? Because I don't remember that ever happening. Note that this mod wasn't shut down either.
@steventonysmith OK, I am curious. Under which law exactly would Nintendo be able to specifically target videos of Switch ROMs running on PC? And don't just say something like "copyright", explain why exactly the law applies here.
It was explained a hundred times why mods are not illegal, yet the other side doesn't seem to explain anything.
Because at this point, huge parts of the Nintendo community seems to be anti-consumer, with no backing of the law when it comes to this topic. It's getting annoying at this point.
I don't get why so many people here, again, assume modding was illegal and Nintendo is working against it. It isn't, Nintendo can still possibly take down these videos simply because the video shows material under copyright. These videos can easily generate money after all, which changes things. Now whether this is Fair Use is its own discussion. It becomes an even bigger discussion when japanese companies are involved, because Japan, to my knowledge, does not have any "Fair Use".
The important part though: If they had legal ground against the mod itself, they wouldn't just take down videos of it.
@Dezzy70 You are accusing Nintendo of doing something that would not make any sense for them either. They have multiple teams of game developers and what do you think they are doing all the time when you think they are somehow lazy? Do you think they would just sit around and do nothing? That would literally just lose them money for no reason.
There is one thing you can be sure of here: All game developers at Nintendo are working on new games at any point in time.
@Matthew90 That sounds strange, not like typical OLED burn in (which technically isn't burn in, but image retention) at all. Normally you would slightly see stuff like parts of the HUD of a game permanently even in other games and stuff like that.
Besides that, if the screen is black, then the individual pixels actually turn off in an OLED, which is why even with severe "burn in", it should still be black.
Or do you mean when the Vita is actually turned off? Modern OLEDs actually do stuff to prevent long term problem while in stand by, not sure if the Vita did that as well though. Perhaps you just saw that?
I have an OLED TV for years now and I tend to use it in a pretty abusive way with lots of still images. No problems whatsoever... This is why I always say that the problem is very overblown.
That being said, what is true for a full blown TV, isn't necessarily true for a phone or, well, a Switch. So, glad to hear the Switch is fine in that regard as well.
You could just generate an infinite number unique weapons (to stay with the example), so that all players can get one, as one example solution. One may be a better than the others, sure, but how does this make the experience worse for everyone else? Well at least as long as the others are still good enough. You also don't need a new handcrafted assets for every unique weapon.
Imo, this kind of stuff has the potential to ruin games and some, or many, companies will definitly try to just use it to make loads of money, without actually making a better game. But I can easily see it enhancing some games as well. Unique things aren't always a bad thing.
@Poodlestargenerica
You remember the BotW situation way differently from me.
BotW was maybe one of the biggest hype games of all time, from the very first short trailer, many people couldn't wait to get their hands on it.
The game carried the entire release of the Switch on it's own, when it came out. Sure some people were skeptical, but they always felt more like a small minority.
At release, the game was flooded with extremely positive reviews, while some people are very vocal about not liking the changes, considering the overwhelming praise there was from players as well, this game may even be the no. 1 Zelda game, when it comes to fan reception over all.
With Arceus people seem waaaaay more sceptical or cautious.
The amount of hype before release deosn't seem comparable even in the slightest.
I think you are underestimating the appeal of Mario.
In a way, Mario himself is a much bigger star than Pratt ever could be.
Everyone knows Mario, he is one of the most well known characters ever created. You will get the attention of more than just the core audience.
Mario is not a niche franchise, not even by Hollywood standards.
Who even counts as "core fans" btw?
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on Switch already sold almost 40 Million, those are all just the people who like Mario games (even if just Mario Kart) and have a Switch excluding some who came from the Wii U and didn't buy again.
If we were to simply take those 40 million, then you already have 40 million people who could potentially be turned off by that wrong voice.
Most probably won't, but more people than who are attracted by Pratt? Maybe.
Than there are also some people who just hate Pratt and wouldn't watch the movie because of him...
Do we even have solid evidence that the name of a voice actor actually makes a huge difference? I am not even sure about that part, honestly.
Would a Pratt fan actually watch the movie, even though he is just a voice actor? Surely only part of them.
Lose a part of those 40 million Mario players, win some Pratt fans, which amounts to more?
If Martinet is out of question (which he is, imo), then you take a star of course. But otherwise, not sure about that.
Most people don't know who Martinet is, but one hell of a lot of people know how Mario usually sounds.
What is by far the most important will be a good trailer, since videogame movies still have a bad reputation, that needs to be overcome and for many, a good Mario movie is hard to imagine just generally. Delivering an overall good product is by far the most important part.
If not having Martinet as va for Mario helps with that, then that should be the main reason.
@johnvboy Yes, but a Mario movie already has that draw in the first place. That is my point. And for a regular movie, where it is more then just voice acting, you actually get the acting ability of the stars, there is, much more reason to go with stars here.
In a Mario movie you already have a huge potential draw because of what it is. There are great voice actors apart from the usual stars and for the few people you may draw additionally, you probably lose some because Mario doesn't sound like "he should sound".
I would agree with you for 99% of movies, just not this one.
@johnvboy I understand what you mean, but even outside of the hardcore fanbase, I imagine most people who will watch this movie do so just because it is a Mario movie and because of a (hopefully) good trailer.
Stars are great to get attention and to appear more special compared to other movies, but I imagine a Mario movie already raises enough eyebrows because of what it is. And for those who still don't care, won't care anyway. It's more important now for trailers to create a big impact, the rest will come automatically.
I could be wrong of course, but a Mario movie seems like an exception to some of the usual rules. Apart from that, you could still have star voice actors for roles other than Mario himself and still advertise them like that. I also wouldn't compare this to a regular movie, as we are just talking voices and nothing else.
I don't want Martinet as Marios voice in the movie, but this is not the reason.
@Crockin This game is supposed to be a kind of "BotW Warriors", if it doesn't look like BotW then it failed at that. The grass is very important for that purpose.
If you don't care about how close it is to BotW, that is your thing, but many will disagree.
@johnvboy I am not sure if it is really so important to have a big name as va, I think most people who watch a Mario movie will do so for other reasons. I do agree though, that we have to think about what is best for the movie and Martinet doesn't seem like the best choice for the job, as I have already explained.
Not sure why everyone just now assumes that the performance is due to the grass. I mean, yes?
Everything that you can see on screen costs performance in a way. Unless it is CPU performance which is the limiting factor (quite possible in a Warriors game), removing the grass would of course raise the performance. Just like having lower poly enemy models would also raise performance. Or lower detail backgrounds. Or lower anything visible really.
I am honestly surprised how many people want him to voice Mario in the movie. The way he speaks Mario is great for the purpose and I wouldn't want anyone else to do it as long as he is available, but in a movie, where the character might have more actual dialog, I would rather have someone I can easily understand.
With Martinets style I fear it would be kinda hard to understand what he is actually saying. This is irrelevant in the games where it is even part of the charm, but important in a movie.
This is assuming the movie has actual dialogs of course, which we don't really know for sure yet, I suppose.
The first time I saw gameplay of the game, I was actually very surprised that they were able to recreate the grass for a warriors game like that, while staying on the same hardware.
It being so hard to do doesn't surprise me in the slightest, though it was arguably necessary, because it wouldn't feel like the same world without it.
@UltimateOtaku91 Ok and on what basis can Nintendo take them to court? If it works like any other mod, it certainly isn't because of copyright, because a mod needs the original game data to work and as long as they don't distribute that data, they are not doing anything that would be against the law.
It's honestly surprising how well this game seems to sell.
Here in germany, I wanted to buy the game physical on day one. Got to some stores in the evening after work and had to notice: I couldn't get it anywhere. Looked on Amazon and there it also was sold out. Ended up buying it digitally, but wow, I don't know how many copies were actually on the market, but I didn't expect that to happen at all.
@dew12333 Or they just pay more attencion and don't put these kind of obvious references into the code. Make it either less obvious or only include the code necessary for the specific system.
@victordamazio The ideal scenario for the consumer here would be "no exclusives, all games for all systems". In that case, your idea of a console selling less and then not getting games anymore stops working.
Also you are arguing about the possibility that your console isn't getting enough games anymore in worst case. But if there aren't enough games for you, then you shouldn't have bought that console in the first place.
Ideally a console should simply sell because it is a good system. People buying consoles for the exclusives is already a huge problem in my book, because that means they have to spend more money on an additional system even though they would normally prefer a different one. This simply isn't good for consumers.
@steely_pete
I am wondering about that too. I mean, Joy Con drift is clearly a big issue, judging by how many people have it.
But more surprising is what you said, how many people say they didn't have any controller issues before.
I am generally more on the lucky side when it comes to controllers I think. Never had Joy Con drift.
What did break on me was the 3DS slide pad and 2 (!) Xbox 360 cotrollers. The 360 Controllers were not even used that much until they broke entirely...
@AlphaElite ""Wear is unavoidable" and yet my WaveBird controller from 2004 has zero drift, whereas my launch joycons began drifting after 2 years. 🤷♂️
The problem isn't really wear, it's poor design."
Well, there always is a luck factor as well, so that argument doesn't really work like that. I bought my Switch on day one and never had any drift issues on any contoller. If I bought that WaveBird controller and had issues with it, I could bring the same argument as you but in reverse.
Not saying the joy con drift issue is overblown, there are clearly way too many people who have that issue.
@BakaKnight Having someone like Chris Pratt as a voice actor in the movie is one thing, but having him voice Mario in the games seems needlessly expensive. For an ingame Mario, without much dialog you also rather want a voice that sounds special, like it is currently. You don't need celebrities for that but special talents.
Never had a screen protector on any of my devices and still never had any scratches on any of them ever. And yes, I had a Gameboy and the like as a child, yes I did cause some damages by letting them fall to the ground accidentally... Still no scratches though.
I kind of wonder if I have always been incredibly lucky in that regard or if others are just that careless.
@Pokester99 Maybe you will understand the problem with your argument if I use myself as an example.
I happen to be from germany. I fully realise that, what my country did in WW2, was beyond horrible. I will also agree that, what my country did back then, was worse then what China is doing right now. All of this, however, does NOT mean, that I can't criticise present day China for what they are doing right now.
Most people know about bad things their ancestores might have done, but as long as they do not deny that (and no one here did, unless I missed someone), you can not call hypocrisy. Present day China is a horrible place. I don't need to deny the past to be able to argue that.
So stop with your whataboutism, it is never a good argument and you are only making yourself look like a fool.
Also about your propanganda argument: It is just a very weak argument. Not only is this kind of propaganda, regarding thing anyone could fact check, hard to pull of in general with todays internet giving anyone the possibility to share their experiences (there would at least be a much bigger movement against that "propaganda"), you will also need to believe that, at least, the USA, the EU, the UK, Japan, Australia, India, Taiwan and more countries are all working coordinated together to pull of that kind of propaganda, as they all have worded their concerns with China in one way or another (not as much the EU, but they are big enough that they wouldn't need keep quite about false acusations.). You need some serious tinfoil to think that is happening. And to top it all of, you can't possibly argue pro China with that, since, even if you deny anything I just wrote, there is an equal chance that you are the one who fell for propaganda instead of everyone else. The most you can argue by saying that is that we don't truly know what is going on. Nothing more.
@Dm9982
While I haven't played Ni No Kuni or Monster Hunter Stories, I have yet to see a single game (or anything) that looks worse on OLED. Everything looks better, but to list every game here doesn't make much sense, so better list the ones that profit the most.
To me it is not a question whether it does look better, but only how much better.
That is the experience I have from my TV, compared to most other TVs.
@Casco "Interesting that the system's best and one of the most gorgeous games (BOTW) is not included. Definitely that's a most for anyone buying the OLED Switch."
Tbf. BotW is probably one of the big games that profit the least from OLED. It neither has very vibrant colors nor is it very dark a lot. Sure it looks better on OLED (I have an OLED TV myself, I know), but so does every game. If you want to just count games that profit the most, I would agree that BotW is not really one of them.
@Floki Just tried to find a site that explains this well. Apparently it is pretty hard to reliebly search for a site that does so. Problem is that that several sites don't really seperate actual burn in and temporary Image retention and explain only what you should do and not so much why. Seeing this, it makes me think I potentially got some wrong information in the past as well.
What I did find out again is the name of the feature which is "pixel refresh" or "panel refresh". Happens during standby and is the reason why OLEDs should not be turned off completely, that much is clear. Beyond that, I can't find much of an exact technical explanation right now. Only that it apparently works by adjusting voltage of the pixels.
I will try to look into it further, later. Unless you now know what I am talking about?
@Floki Oh, I know about the difference. That's not the problem. If you want to be exact, OLED does not have "burn in" at all, since there is no burn involved. The term is just being used because the effect is comparable with the actual burn in of plasma panels. Technically the OLED "burn in" is just wear. All individual OLEDs in a panel get darker over time through usage, but since different colors wear different OLEDs the colors get offset differently in different places, this is what appears to us as "burn in". The self repair I mean is the TV equalizing out the wear from the day by increasing the brightness of the individual LEDs. The TV does that during standby. When brightness can't be increased anymore, the TV should decrease brightness of everything else instead, causing the screen to get darker over all, If very old.
Of course the TV already corrects the small shifts of brightness during everyday use, so If you can see burn in, then the TV already failed and it is indeed irreparabel.
@Floki On my Phillips OLED TV (LG panel) I really have never seen any issues whatsoever despite, as mentioned, using it in pretty much the worst way possible. Hours of static images even. TVs are supposed to self repair while in stand by, which mine evidently does (even tells me to turn off the tv for the procedure, if it was on for a very long time without pause. Like over 12 hours (yeah, I tend to have it on in background)). This also fits exactly with what I read about modern OLED as well. There was even a long term abusive test somewhere on the internet having a hard time to get burn ins at all. Considering how the screens protect themselves, it seems strange that this happens at all, besides phones and tablets were that probably doesn't work very well. A console should be perfectly capable of doing that though, I don't think it is necessarily comparable with a tablet, as a Switch is actually on standby most of the time, which I am not sure, how well the turned off screen of at tablet is comparable for the task.
I am actually pretty interested in stories like yours, because you are not the first one I heard stuff like that from, but on the other hand there are also many people like me who do not have any issues. Out of interest, I try to find out, how experiences could differ so much, considering the facts. I just can't seem to find any connections though,
Comments 877
Re: Talking Point: Triangle Strategy Is A Bad Name, Which Hopefully Won't Matter
@JasmineDragon
But that is the thing with marketing.
Few people don't buy something because the name sounds stupid.
Many people don't buy something because they are never really aware of the product.
Whether the name is good or bad, it stands out and from a marketing perspective, that is the most important part.
Re: Talking Point: Triangle Strategy Is A Bad Name, Which Hopefully Won't Matter
For Octopath Traveler it just made sense, because the project name was seen as funny and the game was already very well known under that name. It would have been almost idiotic not to release it as "Octopath Traveler" at that point.
Triangle Strategy continues the naming scheme and the fact that we are talking about it proves that it works.
No matter how you look at it, this name will likely boost sales through awareness.
Apart from that, I don't know why this name bothers so many people. I neither like nor dislike it, personally.
Re: Soapbox: Pokémon Legends: Arceus Raises The Question - How Much Do Janky Graphics Matter?
What usually bothers me more than the graphics quality, is a poor graphical style.
That is my issue here as well, even if the graphics were better from a technical standpoint, I still wouldn't really like it.
That being said, with great gameplay I can overlook bad graphics any day. Still could be a better game if it just looked more pleasing to the eye though.
At this point I only saw a few hours of the game via a stream and I am already getting used to how it looks, so that is something as well, I guess.
Re: This Unofficial Zelda PC Port Is About '90% Complete', Say Devs
@Kejomo
Not really.
I, for example, am a software developer.
Right now I wouldn't know where to start when it comes to working with roms like this, but considering I have experience in the overall field I could probably learn to do that as well if I sit down and do my research.
That however does not mean I am able to produce a new good game.
I am not a graphics designer, so I couldn't produce all the models and textures I may need depending of the type of game.
I also don't know anything about sound design or music production of any kind.
But OK, I could buy ressources like this from someone who knows what he is doing.
But I still may or may not be talented in actually designing a game that is fun.
Can I write a good story (if the game is supposed to have that)?
Can I design a good combat system?
Can I design a great world that people want to explore?
Whatever my game would require, can I provide a good experience?
None of this matters when I want to port a game from one system to another. That is not saying a port like this is easy, in fact I could see this being very very hard in it's own way.
But the point is that the skill set required for a project like this is different from the skillset you need to make your own game.
Re: Pokémon Legends: Arceus Pre-Load File Size For Switch Revealed
Is it just me or do these screenshots look much better than anything else we have seen so far of the game?
Re: Bobby Kotick Considered Buying Game Websites To "Change The Public Narrative" Around Activision
Bobby Kotick seems to be one of the leading experts when it comes to "making everything worse than it already is".
Just imagine what would have happened if people found out he bought a gaming website and then the website defends him.
Re: Zelda: Breath Of The Wild 'Second Wind' Mod Videos Targeted By Nintendo
@SwitchForce
Exactly.
We have tons of people here who know for sure what is illegal.
Funny how many people studied law and did the necessary research about the details of this case to come to a final conclusion. Most people probably didn't even research in which country the creator lives.
An they are not only legal experts, but also experts when it comes to copyright law and software specifically.
Expert enough to be able to know that decades of modding of all kinds of games without consequences have actually been illegal all the time, with every company just not noticing that they are being screwed over but could easily do something about it.
If only one of those companies had legal experts like you.
Re: Zelda: Breath Of The Wild 'Second Wind' Mod Videos Targeted By Nintendo
@Dr_Lugae
It is not that simple, because if he profits, he profits very indirectly, and that is a big IF, as I am about to explain.
Not only can profiting from a mod be a legal (dark) gray zone depending on the exact law of each country. On a site like Patreon people can get money not directly for their work.
It further complicates things, because the modder himself says, on his patreon, that he isn't keeping any of the money for himself but gives it to people who make the tools he uses.
He also says specifically that he isn't selling anything through his patreon, not the mod nor any parts of it.
Assuming he isn't lying with any of that, all of this is legally significant.
Also you are putting someone who makes a mod and makes no profit (or if he lies, barely any profit) off it, on the same level as professional scammers who don't only use copyrighted material without any license to do so, but also scam anyone who buys this stuff and make a lot of money without much effort.
Think what you want about the modder, but putting them morally on the same level is just wrong.
Though what the bootleg creators do is usually not illegal either, mainly because they are usually selling in countries like China, where, to my knowledge, there is no law against these things.
Morally, they are still disgusting people.
Re: Zelda: Breath Of The Wild 'Second Wind' Mod Videos Targeted By Nintendo
@SwitchForce
Perhaps you should do that first.
For example, in my country I am specifically allowed to make copies of things regardless of copyright, as long as it is for personal use.
The part you quoted from the EULA would forbid me from doing that, but you know what? Doesn't matter in the slightest, because EULAs can't overwrite laws.
Also quite rich that you want to tell me about having to read something up. You techically didn't even link the EULA that would apply to most people here, as it is the one from Singapore. Though it doesn't really matter I suppose.
Also, I have no problems with the laws at all, a mod just doesn't cause problems with any of them.
If they were to distribute Nintendo software for example, that would be against copyright. That is not what they are doing though.
Their IP is still protected, a mod doesn't change that.
You are going on and on talking about a mod as if it was a standalone game.
Honestly makes me think you don't understand how a mod works.
Also, again about modification of software. No code in the original files was directly changed (at least that is a very likely assumption), just some files replaced, so is this still considered a modification of the software? Legally, it is not that easy to answer.
But all of this doesn't matter I guess, if you are correct, Nintendo will shut down the mod any day now, right?
I wonder what is keeping them, the mod is already available for a while after all...
Re: Zelda: Breath Of The Wild 'Second Wind' Mod Videos Targeted By Nintendo
@Dr_Lugae
I give you the Patreon part, I didn't know they have that.
That can complicate things.
But you can't be serious comparing making a whole game with making a mod for a game? Those are very different things.
If I were to make a new "Zelda" game and distribute that, people could literally get my game instead of the original. I would directly hurt the potential profit Nintendo makes.
A mod on the other hand requires the original data to be present, so to play a mod, you still need to buy the original game made by Nintendo.
This isn't hurting Nintendos profit.
Also, a mod, which doesn't use reverse engineered code (which would be illegal) can only use functionality that is already in the game one way or another.
So a new Zelda game wouldn't get hurt by the mod either.
Modding a game in itself is still not illegal because of these things, making a standalone game is.
Also regarding patreon: While this can make things more complicated in court, I don't understand why you are talking about this in such a degrading manner.
Considering how much time and effort a mod like this requires, the patreon profits won't even repay them that.
To be honest, for calling them shameless and leeches just because of that, makes me think very lowly of you instead.
Re: Zelda: Breath Of The Wild 'Second Wind' Mod Videos Targeted By Nintendo
@SwitchForce
Even if the EULA is to be interprated as you think it is (which is not that simple to interpret, because we have to clear up what the software in that context even is. The core software isn't really changed after all, a mod usually adds on to it instead. The mod also isn't a modified software, but a tool for the user to modify the software, if anything. Legal things are complicated...)
the EULA is irrelevant if laws state otherwise.
The copy of the software that I have here on my cartridge, is still something I own and I can do what I want with what I own. No EULA can change that.
Though of course these kind of things can be different depending of the laws of your country.
By your logic though, I wouldn't even be allowed to save the game, as creating a savegame which the game uses, can be seen as a modification.
Also, on a different note: If a game publisher could stop mods through an EULA like that.
Strange that no company ever does that, including Nintendo, still.
Re: Zelda: Breath Of The Wild 'Second Wind' Mod Videos Targeted By Nintendo
@steventonysmith
You are mixing multiple different things together.
Sure, when it comes to videos themselves, Nintendo may be able to do something (not so simple sintuation regarding Fair Use, but YouTube bends the knee to the comanies anyway), but this is more about having a gameplay video of any kind involving Nintendo material.
Distributing ROMs on the other hand are an obvious violation of copyright laws. This is basically exactly the purpose of those laws.
Mods are different from both of those scenarios, which is why Nintendo going against the videos, is not equal to Nintendo going against the mod. At least not officially.
Re: Zelda: Breath Of The Wild 'Second Wind' Mod Videos Targeted By Nintendo
@BarryandWill
I don't get this kind of behavior either.
It is a 100% anti consumer stance, displayed by consumers themselves. As if people would like to take away their own rights for no benefit.
And as explained again and again, there is not even anything illegal about mods, at least not usually.
People get angry about something that is to their own benefit, because it could potentially hurt profits of a big company a little bit, but not really, which is also completely legal.
Or in other words: Many people here are displaying just how much of a fanboy they actually are.
I am still not even convinced that Nintendo took down these videos because a mod is involved. They are, like many japanese companies, quite trigger happy when it comes to videos about their games in general.
Re: Zelda: Breath Of The Wild 'Second Wind' Mod Videos Targeted By Nintendo
@Dr_Lugae
And which part of copyright does a mod step on exactly?
Also, what kind of company simp do you have to be, that you, as a consumer, have a problem with mods? Projects of people who love the game so much, that they are trying to enhance the game for everyone without even making any money off of it.
And you lump them together with bootlegs, which are games that actively use big IPs to screw over consumers?
EDIT for a bit more clarity.
Re: Zelda: Breath Of The Wild 'Second Wind' Mod Videos Targeted By Nintendo
@Zenszulu
Can you tell me which mod for a modern game Nintendo shut down in the past? Because I don't remember that ever happening.
Note that this mod wasn't shut down either.
Re: Zelda: Breath Of The Wild 'Second Wind' Mod Videos Targeted By Nintendo
@steventonysmith
OK, I am curious.
Under which law exactly would Nintendo be able to specifically target videos of Switch ROMs running on PC?
And don't just say something like "copyright", explain why exactly the law applies here.
It was explained a hundred times why mods are not illegal, yet the other side doesn't seem to explain anything.
Because at this point, huge parts of the Nintendo community seems to be anti-consumer, with no backing of the law when it comes to this topic.
It's getting annoying at this point.
Re: Zelda: Breath Of The Wild 'Second Wind' Mod Videos Targeted By Nintendo
I don't get why so many people here, again, assume modding was illegal and Nintendo is working against it.
It isn't, Nintendo can still possibly take down these videos simply because the video shows material under copyright.
These videos can easily generate money after all, which changes things.
Now whether this is Fair Use is its own discussion.
It becomes an even bigger discussion when japanese companies are involved, because Japan, to my knowledge, does not have any "Fair Use".
The important part though: If they had legal ground against the mod itself, they wouldn't just take down videos of it.
Re: Random: Nintendo Kart Is Trending On Social Media, Following Claims Of Mario Kart 9 Being "In Active Development"
@Dezzy70
You are accusing Nintendo of doing something that would not make any sense for them either.
They have multiple teams of game developers and what do you think they are doing all the time when you think they are somehow lazy? Do you think they would just sit around and do nothing?
That would literally just lose them money for no reason.
There is one thing you can be sure of here: All game developers at Nintendo are working on new games at any point in time.
Re: Video: YouTuber Runs The Ultimate Switch OLED Burn-In Test, Left On For Over "1800 Hours Straight"
@Judgedean
I think that would make the Switch a tiny bit more expensive right now.
Re: Video: YouTuber Runs The Ultimate Switch OLED Burn-In Test, Left On For Over "1800 Hours Straight"
@Matthew90
That sounds strange, not like typical OLED burn in (which technically isn't burn in, but image retention) at all.
Normally you would slightly see stuff like parts of the HUD of a game permanently even in other games and stuff like that.
Besides that, if the screen is black, then the individual pixels actually turn off in an OLED, which is why even with severe "burn in", it should still be black.
Or do you mean when the Vita is actually turned off? Modern OLEDs actually do stuff to prevent long term problem while in stand by, not sure if the Vita did that as well though. Perhaps you just saw that?
Re: Random: Pokémon Whips Were Once Considered, But Game Freak Thought It Was "Too Cruel"
@Arawn93
The original sprite of the Team Rocket Grunts in Red and Blue, also had a whip, actually.
I guess they don't mean antagonists.
Re: Video: YouTuber Runs The Ultimate Switch OLED Burn-In Test, Left On For Over "1800 Hours Straight"
I have an OLED TV for years now and I tend to use it in a pretty abusive way with lots of still images.
No problems whatsoever...
This is why I always say that the problem is very overblown.
That being said, what is true for a full blown TV, isn't necessarily true for a phone or, well, a Switch.
So, glad to hear the Switch is fine in that regard as well.
Re: Mario Kart 9 Is "In Active Development" And Comes With A "New Twist", Analyst Claims
@Radical_Living
@UsurperKing
You could just generate an infinite number unique weapons (to stay with the example), so that all players can get one, as one example solution.
One may be a better than the others, sure, but how does this make the experience worse for everyone else? Well at least as long as the others are still good enough.
You also don't need a new handcrafted assets for every unique weapon.
Imo, this kind of stuff has the potential to ruin games and some, or many, companies will definitly try to just use it to make loads of money, without actually making a better game.
But I can easily see it enhancing some games as well. Unique things aren't always a bad thing.
Always depends on how you implement it.
Re: Video: Pokémon Legends: Arceus Has Us Excited (And Scared)
@Poodlestargenerica
You remember the BotW situation way differently from me.
BotW was maybe one of the biggest hype games of all time, from the very first short trailer, many people couldn't wait to get their hands on it.
The game carried the entire release of the Switch on it's own, when it came out. Sure some people were skeptical, but they always felt more like a small minority.
At release, the game was flooded with extremely positive reviews, while some people are very vocal about not liking the changes, considering the overwhelming praise there was from players as well, this game may even be the no. 1 Zelda game, when it comes to fan reception over all.
With Arceus people seem waaaaay more sceptical or cautious.
The amount of hype before release deosn't seem comparable even in the slightest.
Re: Charles Martinet Discusses Voicing Gaming's Most Iconic Character: "I Dream As Mario"
@johnvboy @Zequio
I think you are underestimating the appeal of Mario.
In a way, Mario himself is a much bigger star than Pratt ever could be.
Everyone knows Mario, he is one of the most well known characters ever created. You will get the attention of more than just the core audience.
Mario is not a niche franchise, not even by Hollywood standards.
Who even counts as "core fans" btw?
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on Switch already sold almost 40 Million, those are all just the people who like Mario games (even if just Mario Kart) and have a Switch excluding some who came from the Wii U and didn't buy again.
If we were to simply take those 40 million, then you already have 40 million people who could potentially be turned off by that wrong voice.
Most probably won't, but more people than who are attracted by Pratt? Maybe.
Than there are also some people who just hate Pratt and wouldn't watch the movie because of him...
Do we even have solid evidence that the name of a voice actor actually makes a huge difference? I am not even sure about that part, honestly.
Would a Pratt fan actually watch the movie, even though he is just a voice actor? Surely only part of them.
Lose a part of those 40 million Mario players, win some Pratt fans, which amounts to more?
If Martinet is out of question (which he is, imo), then you take a star of course. But otherwise, not sure about that.
Most people don't know who Martinet is, but one hell of a lot of people know how Mario usually sounds.
What is by far the most important will be a good trailer, since videogame movies still have a bad reputation, that needs to be overcome and for many, a good Mario movie is hard to imagine just generally. Delivering an overall good product is by far the most important part.
If not having Martinet as va for Mario helps with that, then that should be the main reason.
Re: Charles Martinet Discusses Voicing Gaming's Most Iconic Character: "I Dream As Mario"
@johnvboy
Yes, but a Mario movie already has that draw in the first place.
That is my point.
And for a regular movie, where it is more then just voice acting, you actually get the acting ability of the stars, there is, much more reason to go with stars here.
In a Mario movie you already have a huge potential draw because of what it is.
There are great voice actors apart from the usual stars and
for the few people you may draw additionally, you probably lose some because Mario doesn't sound like "he should sound".
I would agree with you for 99% of movies, just not this one.
Re: Charles Martinet Discusses Voicing Gaming's Most Iconic Character: "I Dream As Mario"
@johnvboy
I understand what you mean, but even outside of the hardcore fanbase, I imagine most people who will watch this movie do so just because it is a Mario movie and because of a (hopefully) good trailer.
Stars are great to get attention and to appear more special compared to other movies, but I imagine a Mario movie already raises enough eyebrows because of what it is. And for those who still don't care, won't care anyway.
It's more important now for trailers to create a big impact, the rest will come automatically.
I could be wrong of course, but a Mario movie seems like an exception to some of the usual rules.
Apart from that, you could still have star voice actors for roles other than Mario himself and still advertise them like that.
I also wouldn't compare this to a regular movie, as we are just talking voices and nothing else.
I don't want Martinet as Marios voice in the movie, but this is not the reason.
Re: Hyrule Warriors: Age Of Calamity's Development Was A Real Pain In The... Grass
@Crockin
This game is supposed to be a kind of "BotW Warriors", if it doesn't look like BotW then it failed at that.
The grass is very important for that purpose.
If you don't care about how close it is to BotW, that is your thing, but many will disagree.
Re: Charles Martinet Discusses Voicing Gaming's Most Iconic Character: "I Dream As Mario"
@johnvboy
I am not sure if it is really so important to have a big name as va, I think most people who watch a Mario movie will do so for other reasons.
I do agree though, that we have to think about what is best for the movie and Martinet doesn't seem like the best choice for the job, as I have already explained.
Re: Hyrule Warriors: Age Of Calamity's Development Was A Real Pain In The... Grass
Not sure why everyone just now assumes that the performance is due to the grass.
I mean, yes?
Everything that you can see on screen costs performance in a way. Unless it is CPU performance which is the limiting factor (quite possible in a Warriors game), removing the grass would of course raise the performance.
Just like having lower poly enemy models would also raise performance.
Or lower detail backgrounds.
Or lower anything visible really.
Re: Charles Martinet Discusses Voicing Gaming's Most Iconic Character: "I Dream As Mario"
I am honestly surprised how many people want him to voice Mario in the movie.
The way he speaks Mario is great for the purpose and I wouldn't want anyone else to do it as long as he is available,
but in a movie, where the character might have more actual dialog, I would rather have someone I can easily understand.
With Martinets style I fear it would be kinda hard to understand what he is actually saying. This is irrelevant in the games where it is even part of the charm, but important in a movie.
This is assuming the movie has actual dialogs of course, which we don't really know for sure yet, I suppose.
Re: Hyrule Warriors: Age Of Calamity's Development Was A Real Pain In The... Grass
The first time I saw gameplay of the game, I was actually very surprised that they were able to recreate the grass for a warriors game like that, while staying on the same hardware.
It being so hard to do doesn't surprise me in the slightest, though it was arguably necessary, because it wouldn't feel like the same world without it.
Re: Koei Tecmo Will Unleash Its "Full Power" In 2022, With New Projects That Have Been In Development For Several Years
Don't forget that they also developed Fire Emblem Three Houses, to a big part.
That is also a franchise that could potentially get a new entry.
Re: Zelda: Breath Of The Wild 'Second Wind' Expansion Mod Adds Brand New Hinox King Boss Battle
@UltimateOtaku91
They distribute a mod which requires the original game to work.
Where you get the original game from is not their problem.
Re: Zelda: Breath Of The Wild 'Second Wind' Expansion Mod Adds Brand New Hinox King Boss Battle
@GayusGayer
Why not do both?
Besides, this doesn't seem to be its own game, but an expansion.
It just gives the original game more content.
Re: Zelda: Breath Of The Wild 'Second Wind' Expansion Mod Adds Brand New Hinox King Boss Battle
@UltimateOtaku91
Ok and on what basis can Nintendo take them to court?
If it works like any other mod, it certainly isn't because of copyright, because a mod needs the original game data to work
and as long as they don't distribute that data, they are not doing anything that would be against the law.
Re: Shin Megami Tensei V Outshines Other Popular JRPGs At UK Retail
It's honestly surprising how well this game seems to sell.
Here in germany, I wanted to buy the game physical on day one.
Got to some stores in the evening after work and had to notice: I couldn't get it anywhere. Looked on Amazon and there it also was sold out.
Ended up buying it digitally, but wow, I don't know how many copies were actually on the market, but I didn't expect that to happen at all.
Re: Datamine Uncovers References To PS4 And PC In Switch Exclusive Shin Megami Tensei V
@dew12333 Or they just pay more attencion and don't put these kind of obvious references into the code. Make it either less obvious or only include the code necessary for the specific system.
Re: Datamine Uncovers References To PS4 And PC In Switch Exclusive Shin Megami Tensei V
@victordamazio
The ideal scenario for the consumer here would be "no exclusives, all games for all systems".
In that case, your idea of a console selling less and then not getting games anymore stops working.
Also you are arguing about the possibility that your console isn't getting enough games anymore in worst case.
But if there aren't enough games for you, then you shouldn't have bought that console in the first place.
Ideally a console should simply sell because it is a good system. People buying consoles for the exclusives is already a huge problem in my book, because that means they have to spend more money on an additional system even though they would normally prefer a different one.
This simply isn't good for consumers.
Re: Doug Bowser Comments On The Battle Against Joy-Con Drift, Says Nintendo Are Making "Continuous Improvements"
@steely_pete
I am wondering about that too. I mean, Joy Con drift is clearly a big issue, judging by how many people have it.
But more surprising is what you said, how many people say they didn't have any controller issues before.
I am generally more on the lucky side when it comes to controllers I think. Never had Joy Con drift.
What did break on me was the 3DS slide pad and 2 (!) Xbox 360 cotrollers. The 360 Controllers were not even used that much until they broke entirely...
Re: Doug Bowser Comments On The Battle Against Joy-Con Drift, Says Nintendo Are Making "Continuous Improvements"
@AlphaElite
""Wear is unavoidable" and yet my WaveBird controller from 2004 has zero drift, whereas my launch joycons began drifting after 2 years. 🤷♂️
The problem isn't really wear, it's poor design."
Well, there always is a luck factor as well, so that argument doesn't really work like that.
I bought my Switch on day one and never had any drift issues on any contoller.
If I bought that WaveBird controller and had issues with it, I could bring the same argument as you but in reverse.
Not saying the joy con drift issue is overblown, there are clearly way too many people who have that issue.
Re: Charles Martinet Wants To Voice Mario For As Long As He Possibly Can
@BakaKnight
Having someone like Chris Pratt as a voice actor in the movie is one thing, but having him voice Mario in the games seems needlessly expensive.
For an ingame Mario, without much dialog you also rather want a voice that sounds special, like it is currently. You don't need celebrities for that but special talents.
Re: Switch OLED Model Rates 2 Out Of 10 On Screen Durability Scratch Test
Never had a screen protector on any of my devices and still never had any scratches on any of them ever.
And yes, I had a Gameboy and the like as a child, yes I did cause some damages by letting them fall to the ground accidentally... Still no scratches though.
I kind of wonder if I have always been incredibly lucky in that regard or if others are just that careless.
Re: 25 Games That Are Better On Switch OLED
@Casco
"heavily disagree as the games features several scenes with both vibrant colors- contrast with dark and red (lava) and some dark areas."
True, but so do other games.
I am not denying that BotW looks gorgeos on an OLED screen, but some other games are profiting even more, imo.
Re: Grasshopper Manufacture Joins Chinese Video Game Giant NetEase
@Pokester99
Maybe you will understand the problem with your argument if I use myself as an example.
I happen to be from germany. I fully realise that, what my country did in WW2, was beyond horrible. I will also agree that, what my country did back then, was worse then what China is doing right now.
All of this, however, does NOT mean, that I can't criticise present day China for what they are doing right now.
Most people know about bad things their ancestores might have done, but as long as they do not deny that (and no one here did, unless I missed someone), you can not call hypocrisy.
Present day China is a horrible place. I don't need to deny the past to be able to argue that.
So stop with your whataboutism, it is never a good argument and you are only making yourself look like a fool.
Also about your propanganda argument: It is just a very weak argument.
Not only is this kind of propaganda, regarding thing anyone could fact check, hard to pull of in general with todays internet giving anyone the possibility to share their experiences (there would at least be a much bigger movement against that "propaganda"), you will also need to believe that, at least, the USA, the EU, the UK, Japan, Australia, India, Taiwan and more countries are all working coordinated together to pull of that kind of propaganda, as they all have worded their concerns with China in one way or another (not as much the EU, but they are big enough that they wouldn't need keep quite about false acusations.). You need some serious tinfoil to think that is happening.
And to top it all of, you can't possibly argue pro China with that, since, even if you deny anything I just wrote, there is an equal chance that you are the one who fell for propaganda instead of everyone else.
The most you can argue by saying that is that we don't truly know what is going on. Nothing more.
Re: 25 Games That Are Better On Switch OLED
@Dm9982
While I haven't played Ni No Kuni or Monster Hunter Stories, I have yet to see a single game (or anything) that looks worse on OLED. Everything looks better, but to list every game here doesn't make much sense, so better list the ones that profit the most.
To me it is not a question whether it does look better, but only how much better.
That is the experience I have from my TV, compared to most other TVs.
Re: 25 Games That Are Better On Switch OLED
@Casco
"Interesting that the system's best and one of the most gorgeous games (BOTW) is not included. Definitely that's a most for anyone buying the OLED Switch."
Tbf. BotW is probably one of the big games that profit the least
from OLED. It neither has very vibrant colors nor is it very dark a lot. Sure it looks better on OLED (I have an OLED TV myself, I know), but so does every game. If you want to just count games that profit the most, I would agree that BotW is not really one of them.
Re: Talking Point: Should We Be Worried About Screen Burn-In With Switch OLED?
@Floki
Just tried to find a site that explains this well.
Apparently it is pretty hard to reliebly search for a site that does so. Problem is that that several sites don't really seperate actual burn in and temporary Image retention and explain only what you should do and not so much why.
Seeing this, it makes me think I potentially got some wrong information in the past as well.
What I did find out again is the name of the feature which is "pixel refresh" or "panel refresh".
Happens during standby and is the reason why OLEDs should not be turned off completely, that much is clear.
Beyond that, I can't find much of an exact technical explanation right now.
Only that it apparently works by adjusting voltage of the pixels.
I will try to look into it further, later.
Unless you now know what I am talking about?
Re: Talking Point: Should We Be Worried About Screen Burn-In With Switch OLED?
@Floki
Oh, I know about the difference. That's not the problem.
If you want to be exact, OLED does not have "burn in" at all, since there is no burn involved. The term is just being used because the effect is comparable with the actual burn in of plasma panels.
Technically the OLED "burn in" is just wear. All individual OLEDs in a panel get darker over time through usage, but since different colors wear different OLEDs the colors get offset differently in different places, this is what appears to us as "burn in".
The self repair I mean is the TV equalizing out the wear from the day by increasing the brightness of the individual LEDs. The TV does that during standby. When brightness can't be increased anymore, the TV should decrease brightness of everything else instead, causing the screen to get darker over all, If very old.
Of course the TV already corrects the small shifts of brightness during everyday use, so If you can see burn in, then the TV already failed and it is indeed irreparabel.
Re: Talking Point: Should We Be Worried About Screen Burn-In With Switch OLED?
@Floki
On my Phillips OLED TV (LG panel) I really have never seen any issues whatsoever despite, as mentioned, using it in pretty much the worst way possible. Hours of static images even.
TVs are supposed to self repair while in stand by, which mine evidently does (even tells me to turn off the tv for the procedure, if it was on for a very long time without pause. Like over 12 hours (yeah, I tend to have it on in background)).
This also fits exactly with what I read about modern OLED as well. There was even a long term abusive test somewhere on the internet having a hard time to get burn ins at all.
Considering how the screens protect themselves, it seems strange that this happens at all, besides phones and tablets were that probably doesn't work very well.
A console should be perfectly capable of doing that though, I don't think it is necessarily comparable with a tablet, as a Switch is actually on standby most of the time, which I am not sure, how well the turned off screen of at tablet is comparable for the task.
I am actually pretty interested in stories like yours, because you are not the first one I heard stuff like that from, but on the other hand there are also many people like me who do not have any issues.
Out of interest, I try to find out, how experiences could differ so much, considering the facts. I just can't seem to find any connections though,