Krull

Considering the prices paid for Activision and, more to the point, Bungie (with its one game), does this seem cheap? Destiny for $3.6bn or all of those Eidos games for $300m? Square must have really wanted to drop these studios.

Good to see so much Xenoblade Chronicles happening on staff! I’m still working my way through the 3DS port, having just reached Makna Forest, which is surprisingly pretty on that low-res 3DS screen.

Also fiddling with Super Metroid on NSO. Is it as good as Zero Mission? So far I’m not sure, but it is good.

@jrt87 Fair enough! I think we just have different viewpoints. Maybe I’m too naive, maybe you’re too cynical. I saw plenty of coverage about the dangers of lockdowns - masses - as much as I saw coverage of what would happen if we didn’t lock down.

As another perspective, I have family in Sweden who were angry about the lack of lockdowns there and wondering why they weren’t following other European countries such as the UK, Germany and even Denmark just when, as I’m sure you remember, plenty of media coverage in the UK was praising the Swedes for keeping society open.

@jrt87 I don’t remember anyone demanding the destruction of the economy. Or of jobs. Not even the media. I do remember people being a bit worried about the deadly and highly contagious virus that was sweeping the globe, though, and maybe felt the government was being a little blase.

None of the outcomes were good. People mostly did the best they could. (Emphasis on mostly, sadly.)

I think what this article teaches us is that we are lucky to still get new entries in Fire Emblem and Metroid, given how little they sell compared with other franchises. Kudos to Nintendo for not simply chasing the biggest possible sales.

I started Xenoblade Chronicles 3D a couple of weeks ago. I’m genuinely worried I may not now finish in time for XC3…

You’ve ruined it! Now this has been leaked, Nintendo will just cancel its plans out of spite. Just like that Switch Pro that was all ready to be launched last summer.

🤣🤣🤣

Glad to see another third-party title hit seven figures on Switch, and well-deserved too. I had a good time with SMT V - the exploration was first class, and the battle system is as good as ever. I prefer SMT IV Apocalypse overall, as the story had more charm, but I hope the new HD assets mean Atlus can start churning out the spin-offs now.

@Xellen I’ve been told… I’ll get back in my corner…

@Fizza Crystal, Emerald and Platinum are remixes of two-title entries, and Arceus most certainly isn’t - but I had missed that Arceus is considered a main series game. I’d still argue it’s a spin-off, because it is so different to the usual titles and they’re going back to the turn-based well with the next one. Also, Arceus doesn’t introduce a new generation and it comes out in the same year as Scarlet and Violet (which suggests it was made by a totally different development team). But this is semantics. Main series game or not, Arceus is different from the usual, and hasn’t slowed down the release of a more typical Pokemon title. To me, it’s a spin-off or gaiden game.

@Fizza Thanks for your prayers!

I take it you don’t think Arceus is a spin-off? It totally is! It didn’t come in two variations (Sword/Shield, Diamond/Pearl) for starters.

@shoeses Arceus? Snap? Unite? Quest?

That’s four new spin-offs in recent years, plus a remake of Mystery Dungeon. We’re getting about one a year which, considering how long game development seems to take now, is a fair lick. It’s not like they could ever keep pace with the DS era. I think those days are over.

Whether or not you rate ALL of those spin-offs is another matter!

Played 999 for the first time last year. Still holds up really well. (And all three Zero Escape games are on Game Pass atm, if anyone’s interested.)

But my favourite is The World Ends With You. That game is sublime on every level: visuals, audio, gameplay and story. Well, maybe the story is merely good, but as a package it’s one of my all-time favourite games.

@JustMonika 🤣🤣🤣 Yes, it’s amazing how Atlus listens to its fans and always gives them exactly what they want!

(This does look quite fun, but even if it was translated, which I suspect it won’t be, I doubt it will rock anyone’s world)

Same thing as last weekend, and likely to be the same for a good few weekends hence: Xenoblade Chronicles 3D. About 14hrs in, still only on the third area, but chewing up sidequests like handfuls of popcorn. Love it.

@mcdreamer @Rayquaza2510 Don’t give up. I have bought all of SMTIV:A, Etrian Odyssey 1, 2 and Nexus, Radiant Historia, Stella Glow and Devil Survivor 2 on sale in the EU over the past couple of years or so. They will come again - but they’re never seemingly on sale at the same time as the US. Wouldn’t surprise me if they go on sale here the moment the sale ends for America.

The only Atlus title that never seems to go on sale is Overclocked. It has literally never had a price drop on the EU eShop, according to PSprices. Not once. So I wouldn’t bother holding out for that one.

Love that they’ve got FFXVI in there too!

FF1 and FFVI are my favourite designs here - but they’re all good.

I don’t like the American one that much. I may actually like the Japanese one more. But I still voted for NA, because it actually looks like video game box art. Kudos to Japan for doing something different - but I’m not sure it touches entertainment for me, despite the incredible slogan.

@fafonio Fair question - but I picked Xenoblade Chronicles 3D before the Switch port was announced, and hadn’t gotten around to playing it. And I still like breaking out the 3DS as much as the Switch.

Finally in the mood for some Xenoblade Chronicles 3D. There’s a lot of information on that little New 3DS screen, but I’m ready. Even from the opening movie, I feel like the storytelling is better than in the sequel. Long way to go, though. I spent over 200hrs in XC2!

I’m playing Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations, before Capcom retires it from my phone.

Really enjoying it so far - already much better than the second one, and I’m still on the first case.

@Enigk Do you prefer Tom Claney’s Goat Recon series or Tom Claney’s Banerow Six?

@Snatcher It’s good if you haven’t bought them yet and want to play them on your phone. If you already own them, then they’re basically going to become unplayable at some point when your OS updates.

I have played AA 1 & 2 on my phone - and thought it was a perfectly fine way to play them. I bought AA3 ages ago but not got around to playing it yet. This means I could at some point soon get locked out of playing it.

Admittedly, I’ve had about two or three years to do so. Guess I’m going to take it on now.

@Savino There are over 100 million Switches in the wild, about three or four times the combined sales of PS5 and Series X/S consoles. I don’t think that means we won’t see any more third party titles - quite the opposite.

What it does mean is that we are unlikely to see many more multi-platform releases also hitting Switch. Not that there have been that many anyway. But we should still get Switch first titles, like Triangle Strategy and MH Rise, that end up on PC later.

I’ve dipped into my backlog to take on Child of Light. The poetry is awful, but the game is excellent! Battle system makes it one of those RPGs where you actively seek out combat, rather than try to avoid encounters.

More Dragon Quest announcements?! We had so many last time! I like the look of everything they showed before, but we could use some release dates for DQIII HD and I’d like to see more of Dragon Quest Treasures, which looks like Erik and the Forgotten Land.

Like the T-shirt. I feel like, on the back, it should show a massive pile of spent AA batteries…

I’ll definitely be playing more Fire Emblem The Binding Blade - I’m over halfway through now, doing 1-2 chapters a day.

However, Guardians of the Galaxy popped up on Game Pass this week too, so I’m also giving that a go. Seems like a blast.

TBF, Microsoft had an excellent year, undoubtedly better than Sony’s, which can’t be that common.

They done Capcom wrong, though! My personal nominee for best publisher of 2021.

@themightyant Maybe we just need to stop expecting or caring about ports. Switch is big enough as a platform to get bespoke software - and the bespoke software it does get is, generally, excellent, be it it first party or third party. It took Capcom until 2021 to bring out genuine Switch-first titles, and both were very well received (MH Rise and MH Stories 2). I don’t pick up a 3DS and complain that it can’t run Dark Souls.

That said, as much as I’m being argumentative, I wouldn’t mind a Switch 2 by 2025. As long as it’s backwards compatible. I really don’t want a mid-generation upgrade, though. Should be like a DS to 3DS jump.

@themightyant OK, I was missing the word “console”, as in handheld console. Fair cop.

On the other hand, a brand new, top of the range smartphone is at least twice the price of a Switch. And also does not come with bespoke controllers and internal cooling and a dock. If Nintendo had made something which people seem to think they should have done - and in 2017 - it would easily end up costing consumers a thousand pounds/dollars/euros (deplete as applicable). And hardly anyone would have bought it.

@Kisame83 Totally fair. I meant to raise the issue of price too. I’m sure Nintendo could have brought out a beast of a handheld/hybrid in 2017 - but there’s no way it would be selling for under 300 smackers. And then it wouldn’t have sold enough for people to bother porting stuff to it.

@Medic_Alert Can’t help thinking that you’re comparing apples and oranges. Until the Steamdeck, no handheld was more powerful than the Switch. If Nintendo had released a pure TV console as powerful as the Switch, then I think you’d have a point. PS4 and Xbox One are more powerful, sure, let alone the Series X and PS5 - but I can’t pick them up and carry them on the train. It’s a totally unfair comparison. It’d be like me going on Push Square and complaining about how unportable the PS5 is.

I’m playing an utterly compelling turn-based strategy RPG. Yes, that’s right: Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade. It’s really good!

As an aside, I have Triangle Strategy coming, but old-school GBA Fire Emblem is a great appetiser.

It’s a love Triangle.

(Sorry. Not sorry)

Picked up Virtue’s Last Reward a year or so ago for the same price as now. Looks like CFW is going to be the only way to get Zero Time Dilemma on 3DS, which is a shame. And odd.

Still waiting for Devil Survivor Overclocked to go on sale, and I’ll probably pick up the FE Fates path DLC (I have Conquest physical), but otherwise there’s not much more I need or want from the 3DS eShop. However, if Nintendo did decide to do a fire sale near the end…

Not sure why a visual novel needs rollback netcode anyway. Wait, what? What do you mean there’s a fighting game in Persona 4 Arena?

Finished Boxboy, which was fun but don’t think I’ll get the others for 3DS. Going to manage a bit more Fire Emblem (GBA) and maybe knock out another chapter of Bayonetta, which I’ve just been dipping in and out of. It’s made me want to try some later Platinum stuff, so I’m itching to start Nier: Automata this week.

@Ralizah That was my takeaway too! I guess most people bought FE Awakening physically. However, makes sense to get FE Fates digitally, given that two-thirds of the game are missing on cartridge.

Nice to see an Etrian Odyssey sneak into a late top 15, once all the competition died down.

Lots of very big 3DS titles seem to have had no digital impact at all. Mario Land, Mario Maker, Link Between Worlds, Samus Returns, OoT and MM… There’s been a far more marked shift to digital since the Switch came out.

Spreading myself too thin… I’m about 85% through Halo Infinite, 65% through Bayonetta and two chapters into Fire Emblem, the first GBA release. I’d like to finish one this weekend. It won’t be Fire Emblem!

OK, I’m still interested. I’ll take story and gameplay over graphics - and this likely means a less onerous development, so that’s fine.

@TowaHerschel7 Er, I actually would say that the Trails battle system is SRPG-like, but yes, the game itself is certainly a JRPG in every other way (exploration, story, etc).

@VoodooTrumpet Team 17 is more of a publisher than a development studio these days. And Worms is only the tip of the iceberg - Overcooked is probably their biggest seller these days.

As someone who trends optimistic, this seems hopeful. If you are working in a toxic environment, it is often far easier to speak anonymously to a third party, like the media, than blow the whistle internally. Sometimes it takes a third party to lance the boil, as otherwise people might not dare speak up or feel it is hopeless to do so. Once stuff is out in the open, then work can begin to tackle the culture.

@Rambler I love UN Squadron - I’m up for that.

I’m going for… Dragon’s Dogma 2. Because, why not?

Or, let’s go crazy, a new Breath of Fire that isn’t a mobile FTP nonsense!

@BulbasaurusRex By most of the Western Hemisphere, do you mean just the Americas? Because Europe is also the West, and baseball comes below handball and volleyball in Europe. Baseball is basically just North America and Japan. And we all know why it exists in Japan.

I also enjoyed your comment about baseball being most popular in the Caribbean. When cricket is synonymous with the West Indies.

That said, I quite like baseball. It’s alright. I like gridiron and (ice) hockey more, out of the big US favourites, but I like it a lot more than basketball. Which is also a much more international sport that baseball.

I switched to the Japanese voice track. I just found it too parochial hearing northern and Welsh accents spill out the overblown shonen dialogue!

I still like the new logo - it’s not like the previous one is some amazing design. This has a nod to company’s output with the manga speech bubble, clean lines and doesn’t look like it’s out of focus or badly printed. Magenta was fine, but red harks back to the logo before the last one, so it’s a nice nod. Approved.

@Axecon We can’t help it in the Uk. It’s a compulsion. I think I’m just going out to buy a pint of milk, but I come home with three copies of GTAV and a half-dozen Fifas.

On a side note, I had zero interest in Dying Light as a franchise, but the reviews for 2 have been so good, I’m considering the Switch port of the first game.

@Pokester99 I admire your zeal and patriotism, but maybe you could admit that some criticism of Saudi Arabia is justified - in exactly the same way many westerners will admit their democracies are far from perfect.

https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/middle-east-and-north-africa/saudi-arabia/

Also, plenty of people have thrown up their hands when Microsoft bought Activision and pretty every time TenCent buys something. The reason Saudi Arabia is being namechecked here is because it’s a sovereign wealth fund. You can’t exactly blame Microsoft for American foreign policy or TenCent for the treatment of Uighurs.

If the UK government suddenly bought, say, Rockstar, maybe we could bring up Windrush, Randox, Partygate or even dredge up the long and inglorious history of colonialism.

Above all, though, I do actually find your perspective refreshing and it’s important to thoroughly examine our views and prejudices. It is indeed easy to fall into a trap of throwaway slurs and they need to be considered.

And my favourites series, Virtua Fighter, is conspicuous by its absence. Oh well.

Did Pokken get added to the Tekken sales? Cause it should be.

How about somebody buys Bioware off EA? EA can then stick to making Sports Franchise 23, and Bioware can get the support to make interesting games that don’t need a service component.

I’d hate to see any of the big/medium Japanese studios get swallowed up, like Capcom, Falcom, Bamco, Sega or Squenix. Konami, though? They’d be doing everyone a favour by selling their IP to people who actually make games.