@JaxonH Cool, I still have my reservations on the small distance between the buttons and the shoulder bumpers and the d-pad location, but I haven't held it in my hands so I can't be sure. I looked up the hands on and I noticed he hardly used the bumpers. However, I did see that the bumpers are shaped to be pressed coming from the bottom rather than straight. It seems a workable solution to make them more accessible to compensate from the low placement.
As for the lower pad placement, I disagree. Grab a regular modern controller like a Switch Pro controller, the adjusted placement of the pads is around .5 cm lower than the right Thumbstick. The thumbstick and buttons on my mock up are still quite high up to make room for the pads.
In the end I think the design of the grips and the triggers set on an angle might tilt your hand forward into a position where this lay-out works. In 3D space the button placement might not be that off because of that.
P.S. of course I know they have ergonomics experts on their team. Every competent product design team does. Still compromises are made. Always, but even more when space is limited. It could very well be fixed by the design of the grips and triggers. Hopefully it is!
Unfortunately, at this point all we can do is judge by eye. That's a large part of how we all are judging this unreleased product.. I would definitely like to try it out to see (and feel) for myself.
I've got a feeling Valve worked from the button lay-out of the Switch as template and moved things around from that point to make room for the thumb pads. The big problem is that they kept the placement of the bottom buttons ("Home" and "Capture" on Switch, "Steam" and "Quick Access" on Deck). Keeping those buttons there and also cramming the thumbpads in forces all the other controls higher up.
If they had moved those two bottom buttons to a different position the thumb pads could have moved down and still be very comfortable (similar to the bottom half of your phone screen with more grip). In turn it would have left space for the control sticks and buttons and d-pad to be placed more ergonomically.
The "Steam" and "Quick Access" could find new homes up top where the other menu buttons are as well. It would be a similar configuration like the Pro controller menu buttons.
Those kind of adjustments would have allowed for a MUCH better and more ergonomic button layout.
If it weren't for that horrible button layout I'd see it as a good option for PC gamers who want to take their games on the go but carry something a bit smaller than a gaming laptop..
But those BUTTONS.. Especially the D-Pad! Don't they have ergonomics experts on their design team?
Seriously, the size and thickness is a compromise people can deal with. And it actually has a valid reason, more power.
But with this crazy high button placement using the triggers and buttons at the same time is going to require some horrible claw grip with this one... And they're not replaceable like the Joy-Con so you're stuck with this bad design.. It's a complete deal breaker in my eyes.
I foresee a lot of people and reviews complaining about their hands hurting after longer play sessions... If only they moved everything slightly down..
@TheFrenchiestFry I do this in the train all the time!
It's comfortable setting it up on the little desk and taking out the joycon, just resting my arms on my legs while playing, really free and relaxed!
This new stand should fix a lot of balancing problems. Most of the time I actually use my travel case to support the middle and other side while the kickstand is holding it up..
@Henmii I remember it to be the other actors that took the gruff plumber from brooklyn approach.. And that the contrast of him with those others was what got him hired...
They’re really not that expensive per controller. Especially since they’re official first party wireless versions of a classic controller made by the original manufacturer.
The problem is really that the few button design itself offers low compatibility with modern games. So the value for the general consumer is lower because of that.
And the fact they only come in a set of two while most uses only require one makes them seem even more expensive.
It’s really just a mismatch between perceived value and actual value.
@madmatt213 I wasn't being serious. (Hence the tongue smiley) I was referring to them featuring 8bitDo a lot lately.
I knew it was ambiguous though. But didn't care enough to change it xD
Hmm.. Is this the first Spirit of a character that's already a fighter in the game? Can't wait for people who say that opens the way for all spirit characters to also still be possible as fighter xDDD
@kokjopan They should report it, it's proper news about the fact that there's an new update.. The joke about stability may be old but that doesn't mean they should stop reporting updates without significant changes altogether...
Xenoblade 2 (just started, it's been sitting in my backlog even though I have the collectors edition xDD) and Splatoon 2 (the game increasing my backlog daily xD)
So, I hadn't fully watched the interview when I posted the link to it here, but you guys seriously need to watch it if you want to say anything in-context and informed about this topic. This article almost completely pulls it out of context, misrepresenting the whole idea that Reggie conveyed..
Here's the link again: https://youtu.be/ROE_zV7Ntjc?t=219
@Hams96 Not integrated with the Switch.. A good voice chat application can facilitate VC with randoms and team based VC..
That's what gives a dedicated VC application so much potential.
@Ralek85 Yes, I agree that these things are not without value. However, the point here is that for many it's eating up >too< much time compared to the time we spend actually playing the games. If all we mostly do is revel in anticipation and discuss or even argue (at length) about gaming related things, there is a problem – provided one's main aim is to actually play those games as a hobby.
The whole community and news thing could be a hobby in and off itself of course.. It's just about what you spend your time with and what you'd prefer to spend your time with being misaligned...
@JamesJose7 Thanks for the link! I wonder though if he's only talking about dedicated hosting servers or any kind of servers (for example matchmaking servers)... It does sound like he's talking about hosting servers though since those are what you need the most of for smaller regions.
There are a few issues with what you said after.. Did you know that with 1v1 matches dedicated servers can add lag compared to p2p? If they do it right 1v1 matches in Smash will be p2p to minimise lag between the connection.
If you're playing against a person with a bad internet connection no dedicated server is going to save your match. Simply because they have to connect to the server with their bad connection as well. In a 1v1 match it can only get worse.
More important to having those precious dedicated servers everyone is so hyped about is making sure the games have better netcode to minimise lag and handle the connection to either a peer or server properly. That together with stricter matchmaking could improve the system a lot already.
Anyway, keep in mind that there's more areas one can improve a network than just slapping dedicated servers onto every game... People should learn that it's not the holy grail it's made out to be...
Great article! I sometimes find myself spending too much time reading gaming news and following what happens in the community instead of actually playing the games. It's good to make a conscious effort to put the hype and drama aside and just enjoy the games themselves.
This issue definitely does deserve more attention.. Thanks for putting it in the spotlight!
"Modders used their already modded system to add some software to an app on the system." "That was fast!" No, it wasn't. It's just that easy if you have a modded system.
Since there are random legitimacy checkups I wonder how fast those systems will be banned if they ever connect online again without reverting back to the original..
@Deanster101 I expect the only way we'll see GameCube games – especially third party – anytime soon is rereleases and remakes like Final Fantasy Chrystal Chronicles.
I think we all should be focused on asking devs to rerelease their GCN games on Switch rather than hope for a GCN classic collection.
N64 I see happening in a while, GCN much less likely. Particularly for third party games.
The whole issue is that it's simply more expensive to develop a GCN emulator of the same quality these NES and SNES emulators.. Maybe Nintendo will eventually do it, but it might be better to release remakes of the most popular/requested games..
@Moroboshi876 The NES Classic was basically a field test for Nintendo's new emulator they were developing for Switch. It's the same emulation with Online, voice chat, etc. added.
So all the new features NES Classic introduced should be there, with a new, snappier and more versatile user interface.
@JohnG Yes, to take advantage of your family membership, all accounts you want to have an NSO membership should be part of your Family Group. Once you have the membership and (as long as) they're part of the Family Group you all have a full NSO membership with all features it comes with.
@Cartune The point of Voice Chat on the app is so that people can use as little as simple earbuds and their phone to enable voice chat.
And the differences with calling someone are: – it's for multiple people rather than one person. – it's over your internet connection (preferably Wifi) instead of a more costly phone plan – it enables voice chat with people you play online with, regardless of whether you have their phone number. – it sorts people in the voice chat into the in-game teams.
There's room for improvement, but it's not as bad as people say.
@jadair539 Yeah, they have done a great job allowing you to mix and match any accounts with any number of Switch consoles with a family plan..
In the end I think this online service will be pretty well set up and thought through. We all just need to familiarise ourselves with how everything works..
@Gold_Ranger
Your phone doesn't have WiFi hotspot? Or just no USB/Bluetooth tethering?
Data plan is irrelevant. It takes maybe a few kB's of data to ping the server. You don't have to download anything. Just verify your subscription is still active.
If all else fails you can find a free WiFi hotspot.
And if even that's not possible you lose access for the short period you can't find any way to connect.
I'd think you have other things on your mind about in those situation.
Seriously @Nintendolife.. Stop turning every uncertainty into a definitive negative. Lately your articles have been hastily drawing negative conclusions more and more often..
No where in the FAQ answer does it say they immediately delete the data when the subscription expires. The North American FAQ even only speaks about availability. Maybe ask Nintendo for a clarification statement or something? You know like journalists do?
Or if you can't get a statement, be sure not to draw hasty conclusions but address multiple possibilities.
This way you're not spreading information you're spreading confusion, and that's bad for the community. Please try to be better!
@1UP_MARIO Yes, that's correct. Since they have their own accounts (and I guess want to play the same games with their own accounts) you'd need a separate subscription for each of them to play online with their accounts. The Family Subscription offers a subscription for up to 8 accounts (whether they are regular or child accounts).
In your case a Family Subscription would provide a subscription for your own primary account and your 2 child accounts, with optionally 5 other potential spots open for other accounts should you decide to add more.
Yup, according to the SplatoonUS tumbler:
– Pro is a single player splatfest mode where you climb the ranks with your individual score. You can increase your score (Splatfest Power) by winning.
– Normal has two versions: Solo and Friends. Now you can join either one, two or three friends instead of needing to put a full team together. The rest of the team will be put together with players that play Solo.
In Normal mode both individual and team matchmaking rank is determined by not only your wins but also the amount you inked and team bonuses. Also, teams on win streaks will be matched together.
– You can't choose your team name, but your team can get a fitting nickname when you have certain weapons, gear or styles as a team. You'll also get a matching bonus to boost those qualities.
– The 100x isn't about 100 variations of Shifty Station, nor is Shifty Station being released as a regular stage.. That image is a Splatfest battle where the win counts 100x. It's a super rare random occurrence, with a less rare variation being 10x battles. Winning either one can get your team a honorary spot on the big screen in the Square during the Splatfest (including your nicknames). With a 10x battle win being shown to Switch friends and a 100x battle win being shown to everyone.
There is a new stage coming though. It'll be in version 4.1.0 (like has been said here already).
Basically guys, it's pretty simple. – Each account that want's to go online has to have a Nintendo Switch Online membership. – Aside from the regular single membership, you can get a group discount by getting the family membership. – To benefit from the family membership each account needs to be in the same "Family" Group as the admin account (the one who buys the membership). – Each account in the Family Group gets their own individual subscription including all the perks. – To add other accounts, the admin account need to fill in each account's associated e-mail address to send an an invite by e-mail. The other accounts need to accept the invite to be added. (Just like is described in the article above.) – Child accounts are automatically part of their parent account's family group. – The admin can add and remove regular accounts at will, with a limit of 8 accounts per Family Group. – Parents need to buy the family membership to give each child account their own NSO membership to go online and receive the other perks like the classic game library and cloud saves. (If they buy the regular membership only their own account receives a NSO membership.
@Toph6661 @Do-_One @Devlind It all goes by account, not by system. So each account can have their own Switch or you can all use separate accounts on the same Switch in a single household. Or any other combination. Each account gets their own NSO subscription, with of course all the perks that come with the subscription.
@NCChris There is no check on residential address or any other validation that members are related. You can add any account to a family group. (Although accounts from different regions might or might not be a problem since each region has their own e-shop. But that's unknown as of now). While it's called a "family" account, it really is more like a "group" account since you can use it with non-related people as well: knowing an account's associated e-mail address is enough. You do need to trust the person managing it all.
@1UP_MARIO @daveh30 Nintendo Switch Online is tied to the individual account, not the system. So if you want to play an online game you'll need to play with an account that has a NSO subscription. That's what the family account is primarily for: so that family members can each have their own account and go online with it separately.
Note that it's impossible to have the same e-mail for two different regular accounts: each has their own unique e-mail address. So you don't need to – in fact: can't – connect to the same e-mail address. Only child accounts have the same email address as their parent's regular account (so parents can manage their kids activity etc.).
Also, child accounts are automatically part of your Family Group but you can add any other regular account (presumably including their child accounts) to the Family Group.
@Captain_EO Yes, you can add or remove people whenever you want. The only limitation is the maximum of 8 people per Family Group.
Since there is one admin account that manages and pays the bills, and since only the admin account can add or remove accounts at will, you need to trust the person that sets the whole thing up.
@roadrunner343 Actually, not so silly Nintendo since the USB-C to HDMI standard (HDMI alternative mode) wasn't yet released during the development of the Switch. In fact, that functionality was only announced just one month before the Switch reveal video in 2016.
So, there was no way the Switch was going to use the native USB-C to HDMI function USB-C has today.
P.S. The few USB-C to HDMI dongles that existed previous to that all converted DisplayPort to HDMI.
As a (small) defence for the current actions of Nintendo UK, there's a possibility this is a mis-evaluation of the defect by the current repair team employees of Nintendo, or possibly even the company that handles repairs for them. Broken plastic housing of a product is quickly seen as caused by user error/negligence. In this case that's provably not the case. They really ought to know about this issue since it's known and covered under warranty in different countries (in and outside the EU).
A small peace of advice: If you're filing a repair ticket, be sure to properly describe what you believe is the actual cause of the defect. Do your research and motivate why you think it should be covered under warranty. This could go a long way in having it covered under warranty. Also, look up what your rights as a consumer in your country are and how you can challenge an evaluation by the repair team if they told you it's not covered..
Remember: if your Switch is out of warranty, you're most likely out of luck.. But if it's still under warranty the broken chip around the power button and probably the other cracks should be covered.
Industrial design student here.
The cracking around the power button is likely due to a weakness in the plastic caused by the plastic not filling the injection mould quickly and properly enough. The result is a seemingly properly filled back cover, while a weakness in the material is still present.
The screw at that location is causing tension, particularly when the system heats up and cools down. This results in the chip of plastic on the exact same point breaking off. This triangular shaped chip of plastic is typically shaped and easily recognisable as an injection moulding defect. – in other words a manufacturing defect caused by an faulty mould design.
This should be covered under warranty since it's provably a manufacturing defect. And in fact it's covered under warranty in other EU countries (I live in a different EU country and had the same issue on my Switch be repaired for free). So the charging for this repair seems to be limited to Nintendo UK and not across Nintendo EU.
What I am curious about is how many of these Switches are Switches sold close to launch. If not, it would mean that this defect which has been known for a while now, hasn't yet been fixed.
To the people questioning whether this isn't accidental damage, it's clearly not, especially to the trained eye. This (the chip of plastic off the back cover around the power button specifically) is an obvious weak point in the design of the injection mould.
As for the other cracks of the top strip of plastic (around the vents etc.) I can't say. Likely also to do with heat and the quality or thickness of the plastic.
In any case, systems under warranty deserve a free repair when it comes to the chip off the back cover, out of warranty and other cracking defects are a different case and shouldn't be piled on the same heap.
Guy's there is no system yet. Not a "Switch mini" or a "HDS/NewNew3DS". It's not even a single idea or concept yet.
They are currently >considering various possibilities< on what they are going to do next for a successor for the 3DS. So they aren't even sure about which direction they are going to go
Switch can't fulfil that fully even though it does partly. So they do need a next thing to cater to the lower price market ($100-$200 system, $40 and less games) which 3DS is currently serving very well.
There are a myriad of possibilities which also include "Switch Mini" concepts and "HDS" concepts.
The amount of integration with the Switch ecosystem will most likely be another big point of consideration.
Don't panic, we're not going to see anything tangible come from this for several years.
And reading these comments I'm sure most of you might be disappointed anyway, since most of you are game enthusiasts and aren't primarily in that low price segment market. (Even though many of us will still be enticed by Nintendo's creative new system and still buy it. xD)
@Donutman They combined the teams to make it easier to integrate and move resources and developers between projects. That way they could release a bigger volume of software at a more consistent rate.
It also makes dual releases (Smash, Hyrule Warriors, Mario Maker, Yoshi's Wooly World, Captain Toad), or releases based on games on the other system (3D Land/World etc.) possible and easier.
It was never about having just one system to support. They never said that. That's what people made from it.
Contrary to that thought, it's going to help them support two systems better.
What a surprise! xP I've said this all along. Switch isn't a full replacement for the lower price segment the DS line caters to. It's obvious they are considering the actual end of life of the 3DS and the replacement for the market the 3DS still serves.
Of course it will be more integrated with the Switch. Integration within the modern account system will update the product line to "Modern Nintendo". This successor would probably be designed as part of the "NX-type" family. They might even use a cheaper modification of the Tegra chipset from nVidia.. Possibly making compatibility with (lightweight) Switch games possible or even (wishful thinking) crossbuy. That'd make Captain Toad style dual releases and easy ports possible.
Backwards compatibility with all 3DS games would make a new DS system very attractive, which could be beneficial to the success of the system. However, Backwards Compatibility would still would require the (New) 3DS chip in there to enable that benefit. Maybe they can commission dedicated hardware emulation with nVidia to integrate that functionality into the new custom chip? I wonder what's cheaper: a separate 3DS BC chip or integration of essential functions on a custom nVidia chip (if that's even possible).
On the other hand, do you really need to add BC and make the system more expensive by doing so? Consumers could just buy a cheap 3DS if you want to play those games? We're talking about end of life of 3DS after all.. That means, the moment interest in 3DS and its games is really dwindling.
So obviously a lot of things for Nintendo to consider deciding on what their next lower cost handheld system will be. And what will be the best course of action to retain that essential market after 3DS is really at it's end.
Don't expect it anytime soon though, considering it means most of the development still needs to happen. Count on a few years from now. And expect it to be something interestingly new as well: Can't turn of Nintendo's creativity!
I made a FAQ of sorts for people who are interested. It addresses a lot of misconceptions and confusions I read here. I tried to be as concise as possible while also thorough. If someone has more questions feel free to ask.
– Just 1 cent per gold coin, that's a really small exchange rate! Why not 1$/€ per coin?
– The real reason for setting this exchange rate is to align the coins with local currency to pay with them on the eShop. Since it's impractical to create "gold cents" (can't use platinum coins either) they decided to set the coin value to the smallest unit of local currency. That way you can pay exact amounts in coins and also easily combine the two payment methods.
Example: a game with a 30% discount to 8.74 local currency can be purchased in full with a whole number of coins (874).
– Won't it take ages to earn a decent amount of coins!?
– The amount of gold coins earned per game has increased as well. On average you'll earn 3.4x more coins for physical and 3.85x more coins for digital games compared to now. You'll also now earn coins for every (registered) purchase instead of from a certain price since that bottom minimum to earn coins has been removed.
– What will happen to the gold rewards?
– We don't know for sure but gold rewards will probably not go anywhere. However, the additional coins earned per game implies there also needs to be an increase of the amount of coins you exchange for future gold rewards. The current amounts would be laughable otherwise. It makes sense to simply let the old ones expire (most will do so on March 1st, the rest April and May) and have the new ones be balanced to the new system.
Keep in mind that, as a smaller, limited time selection of games, gold rewards are promotions as well. They don't directly reflect the exact value of gold coins.
That's why they will likely stay pretty good deals, having more bang for your coin compared to directly exchanging your coins towards a less limited selection of games in the eShop.
– Does this mean my old coins will be worthless!?
– Well, it depends. At the moment it does seem like they're going to be "worth" "less". Unless Nintendo is going to "upgrade" or "convert" them to the new system (which they might), your old coins will be significantly less valuable. "Upgrading"/"converting" them is the best and most member friendly solution I'd say, but that's more complicated (and confusing for the end user) than you'd think.. Again we don't know for sure yet how this will be handled.
– But isn't 1% and 5% is too little?
– Remember this is effectively a free and standard discount on every single game you buy (unless it's used). And with download codes and physical games sales or discounts won't affect the amount of coins you earn. So you'll earn back an even bigger percent of what you spent in those cases.
I'd say see it as effectively a small but nice default discount on your games.
– This is confusing.
– Yes, it's pretty complicated.. It's pretty much a fundamental overhaul of how the system works. However, this is probably how the coins should have been designed from the beginning in order to make purchases with coins possible in the future. It's a good thing they are fixing that now. In the end when it's implemented it'll be much clearer how it all works, and you'll see: it won't be as bad as some of us might think.
@Grawlog Not a dev or ties to the game, if I did I wouldn't talk about it like this since I'd have a conflict of interest. I am simply good at observing different perspectives, although I do have a small background in product design and know a bit about marketing and product strategy.
Don't worry your opinion of the game doesn't sting, I haven't played the game myself so I haven't formed an opinion myself yet.
I don't think I missed what you were saying. I was just adding to your highlight of the consumer perspective with the perspective that actually determines what the pricing of a game will be. An explanation on why the game is priced this way.
From the consumer perspective of a certain segment of the market the product isn't worth the current price because the game isn't good enough in their opinion. Like I said given the interest there will be segments of the market that do think it's worth the current price, just as there are segments that don't think it's worth the time at all.
From a publishing perspective the development cost of the game justify this starting price. Regardless of how the end product is evaluated by critics and consumers you don't base your (launch) pricing on those opinions. Sales are certainly affected by them, but you don't base your initial price on opinions.
The comparison with Super Bomberman R is not completely on point, that game has a significant lesser amount of content than Yooka Laylee. That game will have made a lot more profit per copy than this game will at this price. From a consumer perspective the situation might have been similar when it comes to public opinion about the pricing, but from a publishing perspective they are totally different.
See how the different perspectives matter? That's exactly what I tried to clarify. The pricing is justified by the development cost. The sales will be justified by the quality (and popularity) of the game. And over time the price will change to address different market segments and according to the progress of the return on investment.
@Grawlog Well, the game does justify the price, the substantial size and length of development completely warrant a $40 starting price.
Really, the starting price isn't determined by subjective opinions of people, it's determined by the size and cost of the project.
The subjective opinions on how good people think the game is affects sales, not (starting) price.
Lowering of the price and discounts are also mostly not because of peoples opinion or reviews (although those can definitely have an impact on price timeline, particularly for retail units). Instead lowering the price or discounting is a tactic to target other groups of consumers who are only willing to buy the game at a lower price for any number of reasons (yes, including their opinion on the game).
So you see, setting the price isn't done from a consumer perspective. Consumers look at it as a potential purchase, publishers look at it as a potential sale. The approach is fundamentally different. One is evaluating personal budget and the value of a product, the other is evaluating the production cost and value in different segments of the market.
P.S. If the game launched for $24.99, you bet backers would be even more dissatisfied. After all, they should have gotten a great deal as reward for backing the project. An effective five buck discount would be insulting to backers.
P.P.S By the way, launching at a sub par price on Switch would also be insulting to the system and to the game itself. Really, part of pricing is also setting the value of their game, and the standard for future games from Playtonic as well.
@Grawlog "If the game was a good game worth $40, only the haters would care." Funny thing is, all the people complaining shows that there is still a big interest in the game. So unless they are all haters who love to spend time complaining about the price of a game they don't even want to play, there's a good number of people who still want to play the game.
They just don't want to pay $40 for it.
But as the interest is this high, there are per definition a good number of people who do want to pay that amount rather than wait. (Even though some of them might even be among the complainers.)
What's more is that kickstarter backers originally paid a certain amount ($21 for the bare digital version) for the game. That was a cheaper price than it would be at launch as thanks for supporting the project. It would be really bad to not launch at normal price from that perspective as well.
Really, the quality perception is a non issue with this amount of interest. A good number of people who aren't going to get it at this price will just get it when the price drops eventually. And the rest are indeed like you say, haters.
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Re: Poll: So, Will You Be Getting A Switch OLED Or Valve Steam Deck?
@JaxonH Cool, I still have my reservations on the small distance between the buttons and the shoulder bumpers and the d-pad location, but I haven't held it in my hands so I can't be sure. I looked up the hands on and I noticed he hardly used the bumpers. However, I did see that the bumpers are shaped to be pressed coming from the bottom rather than straight.
It seems a workable solution to make them more accessible to compensate from the low placement.
As for the lower pad placement, I disagree. Grab a regular modern controller like a Switch Pro controller, the adjusted placement of the pads is around .5 cm lower than the right Thumbstick. The thumbstick and buttons on my mock up are still quite high up to make room for the pads.
In the end I think the design of the grips and the triggers set on an angle might tilt your hand forward into a position where this lay-out works. In 3D space the button placement might not be that off because of that.
P.S. of course I know they have ergonomics experts on their team. Every competent product design team does. Still compromises are made. Always, but even more when space is limited. It could very well be fixed by the design of the grips and triggers. Hopefully it is!
Unfortunately, at this point all we can do is judge by eye. That's a large part of how we all are judging this unreleased product..
I would definitely like to try it out to see (and feel) for myself.
Re: Poll: So, Will You Be Getting A Switch OLED Or Valve Steam Deck?
I've got a feeling Valve worked from the button lay-out of the Switch as template and moved things around from that point to make room for the thumb pads. The big problem is that they kept the placement of the bottom buttons ("Home" and "Capture" on Switch, "Steam" and "Quick Access" on Deck). Keeping those buttons there and also cramming the thumbpads in forces all the other controls higher up.
If they had moved those two bottom buttons to a different position the thumb pads could have moved down and still be very comfortable (similar to the bottom half of your phone screen with more grip). In turn it would have left space for the control sticks and buttons and d-pad to be placed more ergonomically.
The "Steam" and "Quick Access" could find new homes up top where the other menu buttons are as well. It would be a similar configuration like the Pro controller menu buttons.
Those kind of adjustments would have allowed for a MUCH better and more ergonomic button layout.
I reworked the outline image from the technical specs page to show what I mean:
https://imgur.com/t/steamdeck/pBFc9nu
Re: Poll: So, Will You Be Getting A Switch OLED Or Valve Steam Deck?
If it weren't for that horrible button layout I'd see it as a good option for PC gamers who want to take their games on the go but carry something a bit smaller than a gaming laptop..
But those BUTTONS.. Especially the D-Pad! Don't they have ergonomics experts on their design team?
Seriously, the size and thickness is a compromise people can deal with. And it actually has a valid reason, more power.
But with this crazy high button placement using the triggers and buttons at the same time is going to require some horrible claw grip with this one... And they're not replaceable like the Joy-Con so you're stuck with this bad design.. It's a complete deal breaker in my eyes.
I foresee a lot of people and reviews complaining about their hands hurting after longer play sessions...
If only they moved everything slightly down..
Re: Soapbox: Could Switch OLED Actually Make A Reality Of Nintendo's Cheesy Tabletop Dream?
@TheFrenchiestFry I do this in the train all the time!
It's comfortable setting it up on the little desk and taking out the joycon, just resting my arms on my legs while playing, really free and relaxed!
This new stand should fix a lot of balancing problems. Most of the time I actually use my travel case to support the middle and other side while the kickstand is holding it up..
Re: Video: Get To Know The Voice Of Mario And World Record Holder Charles Martinet
@Henmii I remember it to be the other actors that took the gruff plumber from brooklyn approach.. And that the contrast of him with those others was what got him hired...
Re: The Wireless NES Controller For Switch Has A Few Surprises But Still Lacks Compatibility
They’re really not that expensive per controller. Especially since they’re official first party wireless versions of a classic controller made by the original manufacturer.
The problem is really that the few button design itself offers low compatibility with modern games.
So the value for the general consumer is lower because of that.
And the fact they only come in a set of two while most uses only require one makes them seem even more expensive.
It’s really just a mismatch between perceived value and actual value.
Re: Analogue Announces New Limited Edition Super Nt, And You Can Order One Right Now
@madmatt213 I wasn't being serious. (Hence the tongue smiley) I was referring to them featuring 8bitDo a lot lately.
I knew it was ambiguous though. But didn't care enough to change it xD
Re: Analogue Announces New Limited Edition Super Nt, And You Can Order One Right Now
Is this a news story or an ad?
You sure are 8bitDo fans here at nintendolife, aren't you?
The system looks great though, can't argue with that!
Re: Unlock Pikachu And Eevee Spirits In Smash Bros. Ultimate With Your Pokémon: Let's Go Save Data
Hmm.. Is this the first Spirit of a character that's already a fighter in the game? Can't wait for people who say that opens the way for all spirit characters to also still be possible as fighter xDDD
Re: Nintendo Switch System Update 6.2.0 Is Now Available
@kokjopan I guess I just don't find that that much funny xD
Clearly people have different kinds of humour
Re: Nintendo Switch System Update 6.2.0 Is Now Available
@kokjopan No. What about what you wrote was even supposed to be a joke?
Re: Nintendo Switch System Update 6.2.0 Is Now Available
@kokjopan They should report it, it's proper news about the fact that there's an new update.. The joke about stability may be old but that doesn't mean they should stop reporting updates without significant changes altogether...
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (November 10th)
Xenoblade 2 (just started, it's been sitting in my backlog even though I have the collectors edition xDD) and Splatoon 2 (the game increasing my backlog daily xD)
Re: Random: This Marimba Rendition Of The Super Mario Bros. Theme Is Utter Perfection
Awesome! Thanks for sharing!!
And of course, this is talent combined with hard work and effort to reach this level of play! Really impressive!
Re: Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aimé On Why The Switch Uses A Mobile App For Voice Chat
So, I hadn't fully watched the interview when I posted the link to it here, but you guys seriously need to watch it if you want to say anything in-context and informed about this topic. This article almost completely pulls it out of context, misrepresenting the whole idea that Reggie conveyed..
Here's the link again:
https://youtu.be/ROE_zV7Ntjc?t=219
Re: Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aimé On Why The Switch Uses A Mobile App For Voice Chat
@Hams96 Not integrated with the Switch.. A good voice chat application can facilitate VC with randoms and team based VC..
That's what gives a dedicated VC application so much potential.
Re: Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aimé On Why The Switch Uses A Mobile App For Voice Chat
If people here are interested, you can watch and listen to the whole talk in-context here:
https://youtu.be/ROE_zV7Ntjc?t=219
Just because the article doesn't point to the original source doesn't mean you have to be uninformed.
Re: Soapbox: Why Do We Want More Games When We've Already Got Too Many?
@Ralek85 Yes, I agree that these things are not without value. However, the point here is that for many it's eating up >too< much time compared to the time we spend actually playing the games. If all we mostly do is revel in anticipation and discuss or even argue (at length) about gaming related things, there is a problem – provided one's main aim is to actually play those games as a hobby.
The whole community and news thing could be a hobby in and off itself of course.. It's just about what you spend your time with and what you'd prefer to spend your time with being misaligned...
Re: Nintendo Switch Online Prepaid Cards "Selling Extremely Well", Says Major Japanese Retailer
@JamesJose7 Thanks for the link! I wonder though if he's only talking about dedicated hosting servers or any kind of servers (for example matchmaking servers)... It does sound like he's talking about hosting servers though since those are what you need the most of for smaller regions.
There are a few issues with what you said after.. Did you know that with 1v1 matches dedicated servers can add lag compared to p2p?
If they do it right 1v1 matches in Smash will be p2p to minimise lag between the connection.
If you're playing against a person with a bad internet connection no dedicated server is going to save your match. Simply because they have to connect to the server with their bad connection as well. In a 1v1 match it can only get worse.
More important to having those precious dedicated servers everyone is so hyped about is making sure the games have better netcode to minimise lag and handle the connection to either a peer or server properly.
That together with stricter matchmaking could improve the system a lot already.
Anyway, keep in mind that there's more areas one can improve a network than just slapping dedicated servers onto every game... People should learn that it's not the holy grail it's made out to be...
Thanks again for the link though!
Re: Nintendo Switch Online Prepaid Cards "Selling Extremely Well", Says Major Japanese Retailer
@JamesJose7 When did Reggie say they want to implement dedicated servers for MK8D and Smash? I can't find a statement anywhere..
By the way, dedicated servers aren't the holy grail people make them out to be.
Re: Soapbox: Why Do We Want More Games When We've Already Got Too Many?
Great article!
I sometimes find myself spending too much time reading gaming news and following what happens in the community instead of actually playing the games. It's good to make a conscious effort to put the hype and drama aside and just enjoy the games themselves.
This issue definitely does deserve more attention..
Thanks for putting it in the spotlight!
Re: Vivendi Set To Sell All Shares In Ubisoft By March 2019
YES!
Man, I'm glad for Ubisoft! A hostile takeover by Vivendi would be bad for pretty much everyone except Vivendi...
Re: Random: Introducing The Nintendo Labo Toad Kit Of Your Dreams (Or Nightmares)
That second video is more terrifying than anything else in this article..
Re: Hackers Are Already Uploading Additional Games To The Switch NES Library
"Modders used their already modded system to add some software to an app on the system."
"That was fast!"
No, it wasn't. It's just that easy if you have a modded system.
Since there are random legitimacy checkups I wonder how fast those systems will be banned if they ever connect online again without reverting back to the original..
Re: Video: Here's How Nintendo Switch Online Handles NES Gameplay Over The Web
@Deanster101 I expect the only way we'll see GameCube games – especially third party – anytime soon is rereleases and remakes like Final Fantasy Chrystal Chronicles.
I think we all should be focused on asking devs to rerelease their GCN games on Switch rather than hope for a GCN classic collection.
N64 I see happening in a while, GCN much less likely. Particularly for third party games.
The whole issue is that it's simply more expensive to develop a GCN emulator of the same quality these NES and SNES emulators..
Maybe Nintendo will eventually do it, but it might be better to release remakes of the most popular/requested games..
Re: Video: Here's How Nintendo Switch Online Handles NES Gameplay Over The Web
@Moroboshi876
The NES Classic was basically a field test for Nintendo's new emulator they were developing for Switch. It's the same emulation with Online, voice chat, etc. added.
So all the new features NES Classic introduced should be there, with a new, snappier and more versatile user interface.
Re: Guide: How to set up a Nintendo Switch Online Family Group
@JohnG Yes, to take advantage of your family membership, all accounts you want to have an NSO membership should be part of your Family Group.
Once you have the membership and (as long as) they're part of the Family Group you all have a full NSO membership with all features it comes with.
Re: Guide: How To Sign Up For Nintendo Switch Online
@Cartune The point of Voice Chat on the app is so that people can use as little as simple earbuds and their phone to enable voice chat.
And the differences with calling someone are:
– it's for multiple people rather than one person.
– it's over your internet connection (preferably Wifi) instead of a more costly phone plan
– it enables voice chat with people you play online with, regardless of whether you have their phone number.
– it sorts people in the voice chat into the in-game teams.
There's room for improvement, but it's not as bad as people say.
Re: Guide: 7 Things You Didn't Know You Could Do With Nintendo Switch Online
@jadair539 Yeah, they have done a great job allowing you to mix and match any accounts with any number of Switch consoles with a family plan..
In the end I think this online service will be pretty well set up and thought through. We all just need to familiarise ourselves with how everything works..
Re: NES Games On Switch Playable For Up To Seven Days Without Internet Connection
@Gold_Ranger
Your phone doesn't have WiFi hotspot? Or just no USB/Bluetooth tethering?
Data plan is irrelevant. It takes maybe a few kB's of data to ping the server. You don't have to download anything. Just verify your subscription is still active.
If all else fails you can find a free WiFi hotspot.
And if even that's not possible you lose access for the short period you can't find any way to connect.
I'd think you have other things on your mind about in those situation.
Re: NES Games On Switch Playable For Up To Seven Days Without Internet Connection
@Gold_Ranger
"I have no internet here in remote PA. The closest place that does offer it is 40 minutes away, one way!"
How are you making this comment???
Use that connection to ping the server. Enjoy your next week of access.
Re: Your Nintendo Switch Cloud Save Files Will Be Lost If Your Online Subscription Expires
Seriously @Nintendolife.. Stop turning every uncertainty into a definitive negative. Lately your articles have been hastily drawing negative conclusions more and more often..
No where in the FAQ answer does it say they immediately delete the data when the subscription expires. The North American FAQ even only speaks about availability.
Maybe ask Nintendo for a clarification statement or something? You know like journalists do?
Or if you can't get a statement, be sure not to draw hasty conclusions but address multiple possibilities.
This way you're not spreading information you're spreading confusion, and that's bad for the community.
Please try to be better!
Re: Guide: How to set up a Nintendo Switch Online Family Group
@1UP_MARIO Yes, that's correct. Since they have their own accounts (and I guess want to play the same games with their own accounts) you'd need a separate subscription for each of them to play online with their accounts. The Family Subscription offers a subscription for up to 8 accounts (whether they are regular or child accounts).
In your case a Family Subscription would provide a subscription for your own primary account and your 2 child accounts, with optionally 5 other potential spots open for other accounts should you decide to add more.
@Captain_EO
No problem
Re: Gallery: Check Out The Splatoon 2 Ver.4 Update
Yup, according to the SplatoonUS tumbler:
– Pro is a single player splatfest mode where you climb the ranks with your individual score. You can increase your score (Splatfest Power) by winning.
– Normal has two versions: Solo and Friends. Now you can join either one, two or three friends instead of needing to put a full team together. The rest of the team will be put together with players that play Solo.
In Normal mode both individual and team matchmaking rank is determined by not only your wins but also the amount you inked and team bonuses. Also, teams on win streaks will be matched together.
– You can't choose your team name, but your team can get a fitting nickname when you have certain weapons, gear or styles as a team. You'll also get a matching bonus to boost those qualities.
– The 100x isn't about 100 variations of Shifty Station, nor is Shifty Station being released as a regular stage.. That image is a Splatfest battle where the win counts 100x. It's a super rare random occurrence, with a less rare variation being 10x battles. Winning either one can get your team a honorary spot on the big screen in the Square during the Splatfest (including your nicknames). With a 10x battle win being shown to Switch friends and a 100x battle win being shown to everyone.
There is a new stage coming though. It'll be in version 4.1.0 (like has been said here already).
Re: Guide: How to set up a Nintendo Switch Online Family Group
Basically guys, it's pretty simple.
– Each account that want's to go online has to have a Nintendo Switch Online membership.
– Aside from the regular single membership, you can get a group discount by getting the family membership.
– To benefit from the family membership each account needs to be in the same "Family" Group as the admin account (the one who buys the membership).
– Each account in the Family Group gets their own individual subscription including all the perks.
– To add other accounts, the admin account need to fill in each account's associated e-mail address to send an an invite by e-mail. The other accounts need to accept the invite to be added. (Just like is described in the article above.)
– Child accounts are automatically part of their parent account's family group.
– The admin can add and remove regular accounts at will, with a limit of 8 accounts per Family Group.
– Parents need to buy the family membership to give each child account their own NSO membership to go online and receive the other perks like the classic game library and cloud saves. (If they buy the regular membership only their own account receives a NSO membership.
@Toph6661 @Do-_One @Devlind
It all goes by account, not by system. So each account can have their own Switch or you can all use separate accounts on the same Switch in a single household. Or any other combination. Each account gets their own NSO subscription, with of course all the perks that come with the subscription.
@NCChris
There is no check on residential address or any other validation that members are related. You can add any account to a family group. (Although accounts from different regions might or might not be a problem since each region has their own e-shop. But that's unknown as of now). While it's called a "family" account, it really is more like a "group" account since you can use it with non-related people as well: knowing an account's associated e-mail address is enough. You do need to trust the person managing it all.
@1UP_MARIO @daveh30
Nintendo Switch Online is tied to the individual account, not the system. So if you want to play an online game you'll need to play with an account that has a NSO subscription.
That's what the family account is primarily for: so that family members can each have their own account and go online with it separately.
Note that it's impossible to have the same e-mail for two different regular accounts: each has their own unique e-mail address. So you don't need to – in fact: can't – connect to the same e-mail address.
Only child accounts have the same email address as their parent's regular account (so parents can manage their kids activity etc.).
Also, child accounts are automatically part of your Family Group but you can add any other regular account (presumably including their child accounts) to the Family Group.
@Captain_EO
Yes, you can add or remove people whenever you want. The only limitation is the maximum of 8 people per Family Group.
Since there is one admin account that manages and pays the bills, and since only the admin account can add or remove accounts at will, you need to trust the person that sets the whole thing up.
Re: Use Original Cartridges On Your SNES Mini With This Classic 2 Magic Attachment
@jobvd It is modding the SNES firmware.. (That's the installation part.) So, no.. Unfortunately it doesn't..
Re: This Switch Dongle Can Replace Your Dock And Includes An Ethernet Port
@roadrunner343 Actually, not so silly Nintendo since the USB-C to HDMI standard (HDMI alternative mode) wasn't yet released during the development of the Switch. In fact, that functionality was only announced just one month before the Switch reveal video in 2016.
So, there was no way the Switch was going to use the native USB-C to HDMI function USB-C has today.
P.S. The few USB-C to HDMI dongles that existed previous to that all converted DisplayPort to HDMI.
Re: Nintendo UK Is Asking For As Much As £180 To Repair Cracked Switch Consoles
As a (small) defence for the current actions of Nintendo UK, there's a possibility this is a mis-evaluation of the defect by the current repair team employees of Nintendo, or possibly even the company that handles repairs for them. Broken plastic housing of a product is quickly seen as caused by user error/negligence. In this case that's provably not the case. They really ought to know about this issue since it's known and covered under warranty in different countries (in and outside the EU).
A small peace of advice: If you're filing a repair ticket, be sure to properly describe what you believe is the actual cause of the defect. Do your research and motivate why you think it should be covered under warranty. This could go a long way in having it covered under warranty. Also, look up what your rights as a consumer in your country are and how you can challenge an evaluation by the repair team if they told you it's not covered..
Remember: if your Switch is out of warranty, you're most likely out of luck.. But if it's still under warranty the broken chip around the power button and probably the other cracks should be covered.
Re: Nintendo UK Is Asking For As Much As £180 To Repair Cracked Switch Consoles
Industrial design student here.
The cracking around the power button is likely due to a weakness in the plastic caused by the plastic not filling the injection mould quickly and properly enough. The result is a seemingly properly filled back cover, while a weakness in the material is still present.
The screw at that location is causing tension, particularly when the system heats up and cools down. This results in the chip of plastic on the exact same point breaking off. This triangular shaped chip of plastic is typically shaped and easily recognisable as an injection moulding defect. – in other words a manufacturing defect caused by an faulty mould design.
This should be covered under warranty since it's provably a manufacturing defect. And in fact it's covered under warranty in other EU countries (I live in a different EU country and had the same issue on my Switch be repaired for free). So the charging for this repair seems to be limited to Nintendo UK and not across Nintendo EU.
What I am curious about is how many of these Switches are Switches sold close to launch. If not, it would mean that this defect which has been known for a while now, hasn't yet been fixed.
To the people questioning whether this isn't accidental damage, it's clearly not, especially to the trained eye. This (the chip of plastic off the back cover around the power button specifically) is an obvious weak point in the design of the injection mould.
As for the other cracks of the top strip of plastic (around the vents etc.) I can't say. Likely also to do with heat and the quality or thickness of the plastic.
In any case, systems under warranty deserve a free repair when it comes to the chip off the back cover, out of warranty and other cracking defects are a different case and shouldn't be piled on the same heap.
Re: Nintendo Is Considering A Successor To The 3DS According To Its New President
Guy's there is no system yet. Not a "Switch mini" or a "HDS/NewNew3DS". It's not even a single idea or concept yet.
They are currently >considering various possibilities< on what they are going to do next for a successor for the 3DS. So they aren't even sure about which direction they are going to go
Switch can't fulfil that fully even though it does partly. So they do need a next thing to cater to the lower price market ($100-$200 system, $40 and less games) which 3DS is currently serving very well.
There are a myriad of possibilities which also include "Switch Mini" concepts and "HDS" concepts.
The amount of integration with the Switch ecosystem will most likely be another big point of consideration.
Don't panic, we're not going to see anything tangible come from this for several years.
And reading these comments I'm sure most of you might be disappointed anyway, since most of you are game enthusiasts and aren't primarily in that low price segment market. (Even though many of us will still be enticed by Nintendo's creative new system and still buy it. xD)
Re: Nintendo Is Considering A Successor To The 3DS According To Its New President
@Donutman They combined the teams to make it easier to integrate and move resources and developers between projects. That way they could release a bigger volume of software at a more consistent rate.
It also makes dual releases (Smash, Hyrule Warriors, Mario Maker, Yoshi's Wooly World, Captain Toad), or releases based on games on the other system (3D Land/World etc.) possible and easier.
It was never about having just one system to support. They never said that. That's what people made from it.
Contrary to that thought, it's going to help them support two systems better.
Re: Nintendo Is Considering A Successor To The 3DS According To Its New President
What a surprise! xP I've said this all along. Switch isn't a full replacement for the lower price segment the DS line caters to. It's obvious they are considering the actual end of life of the 3DS and the replacement for the market the 3DS still serves.
Of course it will be more integrated with the Switch. Integration within the modern account system will update the product line to "Modern Nintendo". This successor would probably be designed as part of the "NX-type" family. They might even use a cheaper modification of the Tegra chipset from nVidia.. Possibly making compatibility with (lightweight) Switch games possible or even (wishful thinking) crossbuy. That'd make Captain Toad style dual releases and easy ports possible.
Backwards compatibility with all 3DS games would make a new DS system very attractive, which could be beneficial to the success of the system. However, Backwards Compatibility would still would require the (New) 3DS chip in there to enable that benefit. Maybe they can commission dedicated hardware emulation with nVidia to integrate that functionality into the new custom chip? I wonder what's cheaper: a separate 3DS BC chip or integration of essential functions on a custom nVidia chip (if that's even possible).
On the other hand, do you really need to add BC and make the system more expensive by doing so? Consumers could just buy a cheap 3DS if you want to play those games? We're talking about end of life of 3DS after all.. That means, the moment interest in 3DS and its games is really dwindling.
So obviously a lot of things for Nintendo to consider deciding on what their next lower cost handheld system will be. And what will be the best course of action to retain that essential market after 3DS is really at it's end.
Don't expect it anytime soon though, considering it means most of the development still needs to happen. Count on a few years from now. And expect it to be something interestingly new as well: Can't turn of Nintendo's creativity!
Re: And Just Like That, Customer Reviews On The Nintendo Site Are No More
@SLIGEACH_EIRE
It's the website that got the reviews though, not the console.
Re: Splatoon 2's Pearl And Marina Are Getting Their Own amiibo And They're Off The Hook
@MegaMari0 Yup 4 dodge rolls and shooting while rolling That's definitely sounds OP.. It probably has some big drawbacks...
Re: Rejoice, Soon You'll Be Able To Use Your My Nintendo Gold Points On The Switch eShop
I made a FAQ of sorts for people who are interested. It addresses a lot of misconceptions and confusions I read here. I tried to be as concise as possible while also thorough. If someone has more questions feel free to ask.
– Just 1 cent per gold coin, that's a really small exchange rate! Why not 1$/€ per coin?
– The real reason for setting this exchange rate is to align the coins with local currency to pay with them on the eShop. Since it's impractical to create "gold cents" (can't use platinum coins either) they decided to set the coin value to the smallest unit of local currency. That way you can pay exact amounts in coins and also easily combine the two payment methods.
Example: a game with a 30% discount to 8.74 local currency can be purchased in full with a whole number of coins (874).
– Won't it take ages to earn a decent amount of coins!?
– The amount of gold coins earned per game has increased as well. On average you'll earn 3.4x more coins for physical and 3.85x more coins for digital games compared to now. You'll also now earn coins for every (registered) purchase instead of from a certain price since that bottom minimum to earn coins has been removed.
– What will happen to the gold rewards?
– We don't know for sure but gold rewards will probably not go anywhere. However, the additional coins earned per game implies there also needs to be an increase of the amount of coins you exchange for future gold rewards. The current amounts would be laughable otherwise. It makes sense to simply let the old ones expire (most will do so on March 1st, the rest April and May) and have the new ones be balanced to the new system.
Keep in mind that, as a smaller, limited time selection of games, gold rewards are promotions as well. They don't directly reflect the exact value of gold coins.
That's why they will likely stay pretty good deals, having more bang for your coin compared to directly exchanging your coins towards a less limited selection of games in the eShop.
– Does this mean my old coins will be worthless!?
– Well, it depends. At the moment it does seem like they're going to be "worth" "less". Unless Nintendo is going to "upgrade" or "convert" them to the new system (which they might), your old coins will be significantly less valuable. "Upgrading"/"converting" them is the best and most member friendly solution I'd say, but that's more complicated (and confusing for the end user) than you'd think.. Again we don't know for sure yet how this will be handled.
– But isn't 1% and 5% is too little?
– Remember this is effectively a free and standard discount on every single game you buy (unless it's used). And with download codes and physical games sales or discounts won't affect the amount of coins you earn. So you'll earn back an even bigger percent of what you spent in those cases.
I'd say see it as effectively a small but nice default discount on your games.
– This is confusing.
– Yes, it's pretty complicated.. It's pretty much a fundamental overhaul of how the system works. However, this is probably how the coins should have been designed from the beginning in order to make purchases with coins possible in the future. It's a good thing they are fixing that now. In the end when it's implemented it'll be much clearer how it all works, and you'll see: it won't be as bad as some of us might think.
Re: The Gorgeous-Looking InnerSpace Glides Onto Switch Early Next Year
Looks great. Seems like a surreal interactive experience!
Re: Video: Yooka Laylee Runs Surprisingly Well on Switch Compared to the Xbox One Version
@Grawlog Not a dev or ties to the game, if I did I wouldn't talk about it like this since I'd have a conflict of interest. I am simply good at observing different perspectives, although I do have a small background in product design and know a bit about marketing and product strategy.
Don't worry your opinion of the game doesn't sting, I haven't played the game myself so I haven't formed an opinion myself yet.
I don't think I missed what you were saying. I was just adding to your highlight of the consumer perspective with the perspective that actually determines what the pricing of a game will be. An explanation on why the game is priced this way.
From the consumer perspective of a certain segment of the market the product isn't worth the current price because the game isn't good enough in their opinion. Like I said given the interest there will be segments of the market that do think it's worth the current price, just as there are segments that don't think it's worth the time at all.
From a publishing perspective the development cost of the game justify this starting price. Regardless of how the end product is evaluated by critics and consumers you don't base your (launch) pricing on those opinions. Sales are certainly affected by them, but you don't base your initial price on opinions.
The comparison with Super Bomberman R is not completely on point, that game has a significant lesser amount of content than Yooka Laylee. That game will have made a lot more profit per copy than this game will at this price. From a consumer perspective the situation might have been similar when it comes to public opinion about the pricing, but from a publishing perspective they are totally different.
See how the different perspectives matter? That's exactly what I tried to clarify. The pricing is justified by the development cost. The sales will be justified by the quality (and popularity) of the game. And over time the price will change to address different market segments and according to the progress of the return on investment.
Re: Video: Yooka Laylee Runs Surprisingly Well on Switch Compared to the Xbox One Version
@Grawlog Well, the game does justify the price, the substantial size and length of development completely warrant a $40 starting price.
Really, the starting price isn't determined by subjective opinions of people, it's determined by the size and cost of the project.
The subjective opinions on how good people think the game is affects sales, not (starting) price.
Lowering of the price and discounts are also mostly not because of peoples opinion or reviews (although those can definitely have an impact on price timeline, particularly for retail units). Instead lowering the price or discounting is a tactic to target other groups of consumers who are only willing to buy the game at a lower price for any number of reasons (yes, including their opinion on the game).
So you see, setting the price isn't done from a consumer perspective. Consumers look at it as a potential purchase, publishers look at it as a potential sale. The approach is fundamentally different. One is evaluating personal budget and the value of a product, the other is evaluating the production cost and value in different segments of the market.
P.S. If the game launched for $24.99, you bet backers would be even more dissatisfied. After all, they should have gotten a great deal as reward for backing the project. An effective five buck discount would be insulting to backers.
P.P.S By the way, launching at a sub par price on Switch would also be insulting to the system and to the game itself. Really, part of pricing is also setting the value of their game, and the standard for future games from Playtonic as well.
Re: The Switch is Getting its First Game Boy Advance Port Soon
@rjejr That is games that are already on all platforms of course. Just the concept of when you buy a game you can play it wherever it's available.
It's a separate concept from (digital) backwards compatibility which is what you are describing.
Re: Video: Yooka Laylee Runs Surprisingly Well on Switch Compared to the Xbox One Version
@Grawlog
"If the game was a good game worth $40, only the haters would care."
Funny thing is, all the people complaining shows that there is still a big interest in the game. So unless they are all haters who love to spend time complaining about the price of a game they don't even want to play, there's a good number of people who still want to play the game.
They just don't want to pay $40 for it.
But as the interest is this high, there are per definition a good number of people who do want to pay that amount rather than wait. (Even though some of them might even be among the complainers.)
What's more is that kickstarter backers originally paid a certain amount ($21 for the bare digital version) for the game. That was a cheaper price than it would be at launch as thanks for supporting the project. It would be really bad to not launch at normal price from that perspective as well.
Really, the quality perception is a non issue with this amount of interest. A good number of people who aren't going to get it at this price will just get it when the price drops eventually. And the rest are indeed like you say, haters.