I went all digital a long time ago. Granted I'm mostly a pc gamer, so I'm used to it. I don't really understand the perception that you "don't own" a digital game... I still have a physical copy, it's just a 1Tb microSD instead of an oversized cartridge that came in a ridiculously oversized box! Also digital is going to keep the price of games down. Most analysts say video games are long overdue for a price hike. Cost of development has skyrocketed over the last 20 years, but prices are only 10 dollars more than when I was a kid. Digital will keep prices at 60USD a bit longer.
No criticism to people who prefer physical releases, it's just not for me. I get a little nostalgic for boxes and seeing my collection on a shelf, but you can't beat the convenience of digital. Especially on a handheld.
Does this guy even play games? I'm 36, and have a wife and career, and the switches versatility is literally the key selling point for me. If my wife wants the TV, I have handheld mode, if she's reading, I use the TV. I play it on my lunch break, or on the bus (before I started working from home), and my nephew uses the TV while I play handheld when I visit and we play smash multiplayer. At night I have one of those snaking phone clips attached to my headboard so I can lie flat in bed and play using my 8bitdo controller while I wait to get sleepy. I don't have kids, but I imagine the versatility is even more useful for people who do... Nintendo absolutely makes some baffling decisions, but a docking handheld was not one of them.
@DrDaisy "Maybe all three major video game companies should just die off and be replaced by people who actually give a damn about the fun and artistic aspect of video games."
That's actually kind of already happening and it's awesome! I don't think the big 3 are going anywhere, but self-publishing has become very easy over the last 10 years or so, which led to the deluge of high quality indie games we have today. I own a Switch, but Fire Emblem and BOTW are the only two nintendo games I own. I bought it because indie games publish there, and it's the only place to play most of them portable. I'm just waiting for a gaming-centric handheld pc, so all the great indies I own on that platform can be portable and I can say goodbye to nintendo's crap hardware.
Can someone explain to me the point of doing a "limited release" of a video game? Making limited numbers of collectable nicknacks to sell with special edition preorders makes sense because they can arbitrarily charge a huge premium for worthless plastic, but the software itself? Even limiting physical releases makes some sense, but am I understanding correctly that they're limiting the digital release as well? It's just one more inexplicable decision from nintendo showing how out of touch they are. I'll just put this in the bucket with never putting games on sale, online support circa 2000, attacking youtubers, and not fixing joycon drift after years of knowing about it 🤦♂️
I wish devs and publishers would realize there's a law of diminishing returns at play here. I understand the thought process of wanting games to be cutting edge, but look at what Indies are able to accomplish. A lot of those games are better than their big budget counterparts for a third of the price. Then you compare current gen to previous gen games... Are you having more fun? In my opinion at least, the most exciting part about new games is the refinement of gameplay, not the insane amount of graphical detail. If graphics stayed the same and only resolution increased with hardware advancements for a while, I'd be perfectly fine with that.
Maybe I'm in the minority, but I love randomly generated content. Although I guess for a long time I preferred tight narratives which is never easy in randomly generated games. Announcement doesn't give us much, but I've been looking for a game with good "tall ship" combat.
@Anti-Matter The only explanation I've heard is that they used graphite for the thumbsticks which erodes over time and causes a dust build up that messes with the sensors. Also graphite is a really good conductor, so even if it's not debris blocking the sensors, the dust could be causing electrical problems with the circuits the sensors are connected to causing false positives of user input. @SwitchForce while you're right about hearsay, if the court accepts the case then Nintendo would be subpoenaed for repair inquiries during the discovery phase and would be legally required to disclose them along with internal estimates of failure rates. Flooded help forums far exceed the activity of typical hardware issues, the number of articles on the subject compared to others, as well as Google search trends are also admissable as supporting evidence. There is also evidence in the popularity of replacement parts on Amazon, ifixit and other online retailers that can be used to give an estimate of DIY repairs. A bunch of people starting a law suit and testifying is hearsay, but demonstrable statistics is not.
Side note for anyone having the issue: You can buy oem thumbstick replacements and rails for 4 and 6 dollars respectively, and do the refurbishing yourself like I did if you're out of warranty. It's actually not super difficult, and way cheaper and convenient than sending it to Nintendo for repair... but the fact that these parts are so cheap, without having to order in bulk, doesn't say much for the build quality of a controller that costs 80 dollars.
This is the fault of your government, and to a lesser extent Yetee; not Platinum. Your government is the one slapping on the import tax which most likely wasn't a thing before the pandemic, thus wouldn't have been known by Platinum or Yetee. If/when it was known, the distributor is the one who should have informed the kickstarter, which they did, albeit 9 days after the campaign started. I read somewhere that the physical copies were being shipped from the US, so I'm sure our wannabe emperor had something to do with it too (I'm sorry, I didn't vote for the guy and I'm convinced he's the surest sign yet that humanity is going to destroy itself... but I digress). In any case, take it easy on Platinum. They're one of the few devs out there still making quality action games. SIDE NOTE: can someone explain to me why people insist on physical copies? It's like insisting on using Post instead of email. It's slower, more expensive... I just don't get it. I get the whole DRM argument, but that only matters if the game requires a server connection to play, which in the case of single player games is stupid, but it's rarely a thing anymore. If you're worried about servers going offline and not having access to it, then doesn't the SD card you install it on satisfy as a physical backup? Just my two cents; no judgement, just curious.
I'm not sure I even understand what the game is from the description and trailer 😅 I tend to love mechs and turn-based combat but I'm not sure I could stare at a monochrome game for very long. Even if there were just a single pop of color like how some art styles just use color for blood or eyes or just to draw your attention to a single important thing. I tend to gravitate to bold unrealistic color like toon shaders and whatnot. Regardless, I'm still interested if the gameplay is truly unique, or fun blend of genres.
Supported this in early access what feels like years ago. I really enjoyed what I played even in that very early state. So much that I didn't want to spoil anything on such an early build, so I decided to wait until full release... And forgot until this article reminded me 🤦♂️ it was a really neat blend of rpg and real time w/ pause encounters. Think like in jrpgs where you go into a turn-based arena for the battles. It's like that, so the encounters are more well planned, and the arenas are intelligently designed. Unique story as well (from what I played and read).
I love Nintendo, but AC is a strong example of how they get in their own way. I have 2 major gripes. 1) Nintendo's online features are at least 20 years behind the curve. A big selling point of AC is the sharing and cooperation, but after adding a friend, I'm confused as to why I can't see my friends in the game. I had to look online to learn that they have to visit your island first with another code before they can search for you in game... What? How can they not just read my friends list like every game since Xbox live released 20 years ago! 2) Tedium. It's important to make the distinction between Tedium and Monotony. Stardew Valley and Minecraft are monotonous, Animal Crossing is tedious. So I need to wack a rock 8 times, monotonous; after wacking the rock 8 times, I have to sit through 8 animations picking them up, tedious. Digging for clams? Monotonous. Crafting 40 clams? Tedious. There are countless examples in that game. Nintendo needs to understand what makes the game fun and give us unlockable tools that can automate the tedious parts. If they never fix these things this will easily be both my first and last AC game.
@ThanosReXXX I'm with you there. Gouging the public for life-saving medical supplies is one of the grossest things I've witnessed in my adult life. In the states we're witnessing capitalism run rampant and taken to such extremes that we somehow elected a sociopath to our highest office that not only allows these things to happen, but practices his own terrible business at the expense of the poor and desperate while simultaneously demonizing them. Not trying to make this political, but my point is that I agree with you. You're not wrong. The world is a disgusting place, and this kind of behavior should be prevented by retailers.
@ThanosReXXX Honestly I don't think anyone is making a living doing this. It's a hustle at best. I get your anger, I really do, but let's keep things in perspective. Limited release items like Pokemon consoles etc are one step above scalping. They're not necessary, and only serve to create artificial shortages to sell to people hoping they'll be worth something someday (be it monetary or simply intrinsic value from being rare). Also what you're not seeing is the fruits of their labor. Scalping like this is risky, and chances of being stuck with leftovers is a very real possibility. This would be much more common if it was easy to pull off. Stores tend to limit to one item per person when supplies are short, or work off of preorders or backorders. I worked retail in college and these tactics are well known and mitigated using a variety of techniques. But that doesn't get people reading nintendolife articles.
Now don't get me wrong. I'm not defending this behavior; simply calling for the internet mob to temper it's anger. Try to imagine for a moment that these might be otherwise decent people. If this is the worse thing they do, then they're not exactly demons to crusade against. All one has to do is wait a few weeks for production to catch up to demand. It's not fair that decent hardworking people are inconvenienced by this behavior but just please keep it in perspective.
@redd214 I'm with you. Scalping is in poor taste, but if people weren't willing to pay 300% or more inflated prices, then there wouldn't be a market for them. What people aren't understanding is that the people paying these prices understand what they are doing, but are rich enough not to care.
PSA: Don't kid yourself that if Nintendo could sell the Switch for $700 they would choose not to out of kindness. Most people can't afford that, and they also can't increase the price for just rich people, so they find a balance that maximizes profit. Meanwhile, scalpers can take advantage shortages to filter out those who have more patience and/or less money. Let's just pump the brakes on the internet mob BS. At best these people make a few grand. Just like scalpers outside a sporting event, they are a handful of people out of the thousands of tickets sold. They don't deserve to be murdered, or catch diseases, whether you say it literally or figuratively.
@bluemage1989 I get what you're saying about the "it's art" argument, but I think you're misunderstanding the argument being made. I'm a developer that works in enterprise software. In my spare time I make little games for fun. Are they great? No. Are they good? I mean... I have fun with them, but probably not. Do they have the right to exist? Yes. Now don't get me wrong, it's probably a waste of everyone's time to argue that a game like this is anything but using "shock value" for a cash grab using articles like this as free publicity, and even as far as that goes the only thing even close to shocking about this game is how the devs chose to advertise it. Other games are more shocking and more fun, but I'm not going to be the one to tell someone what they can and can't develop and market. This article is the height of their success... and that's kinda pathetic. If that's what they want to do with their (lack of) talent then have at it.
@PorllM I would call a lack of bulk or automated crafting a huge omission; also tedious repetitive conversations between you and every single common task. And personally I find the animations to be about twice as long as needed, and some just aren't necessary at all. I already sat through 3 wood chopping animations, do I really need 3 more to pick everything up? Just put the materials in my inventory. Imagine if Mario had to pick up each coin individually! I like the game, and I get it's supposed to be about relaxing and enjoying the journey, but you can make a game about monotony without making it tedious. Dedicated servers would be nice as well, so I can visit my niece when she's not online and leave her messages or gifts, but online features are something Nintendo is always a decade behind in. Maybe some of this will be fixed, but it's valid criticism even on launch day.
@SkullDragr Wasn't he agreeing with you? I took his statement to mean he can absolutely see how you could burn out on Animal Crossing binging it for a week. Yes it was designed for shorter sessions as evidenced by certain things only happening at certain real-world time. If you play non-stop, you're stuck doing filler activities while you wait for different fish or bugs to spawn; for flowers to cross pollinate, fossils to spawn, or fruit to bloom. Acknowledging that developers make games with a vision of how it's intended to be played is not logically equivalent to telling you how you personally are allowed to enjoy the game.
@xpownz I am a software developer and approve this message.
Anyone who thinks using a glitch or exploit is fair game because the devs should have flawless code knows nothing about software. No one re-creates the wheel every time they make a new game. First they build or license a game engine, then use that engine to make the game. If you license an engine, you may be limited in how much you can modify the game engine's source code, so exploits can be inherited in that way through no fault of their own. Then there's the law of diminishing returns. Yes, you can have 100 engineers working round the clock to find and fix every exploit, but it's way more cost effective to get the software stable and fun enough that you have to actively try to break it for it to fall apart. That way people who want to play the game as intended can do so, then ban the bad actors trying to ruin it for everyone else while simultaneously squashing bugs. In other words, fill out a bug report if you find an exploit; don't abuse the hell out of it until you get caught then blame overworked indie devs for not doing a good enough job.
@NEStalgia I couldn't agree more. I don't know if it's like that globally, but in the US rich and poor alike WORSHIP growth to the point where they vote against their personal interest because they hate the idea that if they ever do start their own company they might... gasp... be subject to regulation, or be put in a higher tax bracket! Universal healthcare? Higher education? Preserving the environment? Those will cut into our bottom line!
Sorry... Rant over. But yes I completely agree. The tone of the FT article is so condescending like they are judging Nintendo for not selling their souls to China, or investing in unproven tech. Nintendo truly is one of the few good ones that I trust is really in it for love of the medium, and not just to extract as much money from their fans as possible.
Wow, comment sections 🤦♂️ "FT is wrong, consoles are not outdated, Nintendo is not doomed, etc..." A stock can be a poor investment while the company is a huge success. Investing relies on growth to get a return, and Nintendo is a poorly diversified company that has experienced rapid growth for the last several years. Wii was a huge success that pushed Nintendo into a period of rapid, sustained growth. Wii U was a massive failure that destroyed Nintendo's share value. Another failure like that would have toppled the company. You have to look at what FT said through the lense of an investor, and nothing they said is incorrect. "On pause" doesn't mean "doomed." Nintendo has nothing on the horizon to suggest the stock will reach new heights in market valuation. The Switch Lite was an expansion into low income households, so was a good investment. China is a huge new market, but is heavily regulated by an authoritarian government. While streaming services are bleeding edge tech, Nintendo is not pursuing it, so there's no growth possible there. There's no new first party flagship titles in the near future (in fact they announced BOTW2 when it was in fact barely in preproduction to try and mask this fact). There's no official announcement of next generation hardware, so no growth there either. Nintendo very much is "on pause" and will likely experience a dip in market valuation. But hey, if you think they're wrong, and think Nintendo will experience growth beyond that of other investment opportunities, buy up some of their stock and make some money. I for one am more likely to short their stock than buy into it at current prices.
Comments 20
Re: DOOM Eternal Switch eShop File Size Revealed
I went all digital a long time ago. Granted I'm mostly a pc gamer, so I'm used to it. I don't really understand the perception that you "don't own" a digital game... I still have a physical copy, it's just a 1Tb microSD instead of an oversized cartridge that came in a ridiculously oversized box! Also digital is going to keep the price of games down. Most analysts say video games are long overdue for a price hike. Cost of development has skyrocketed over the last 20 years, but prices are only 10 dollars more than when I was a kid. Digital will keep prices at 60USD a bit longer.
No criticism to people who prefer physical releases, it's just not for me. I get a little nostalgic for boxes and seeing my collection on a shelf, but you can't beat the convenience of digital. Especially on a handheld.
Re: "Nintendo Isn't That Smart": Pachter Says Nintendo Should Scrap Switch And 'Only Have Switch Lite'
Does this guy even play games? I'm 36, and have a wife and career, and the switches versatility is literally the key selling point for me. If my wife wants the TV, I have handheld mode, if she's reading, I use the TV. I play it on my lunch break, or on the bus (before I started working from home), and my nephew uses the TV while I play handheld when I visit and we play smash multiplayer. At night I have one of those snaking phone clips attached to my headboard so I can lie flat in bed and play using my 8bitdo controller while I wait to get sleepy. I don't have kids, but I imagine the versatility is even more useful for people who do... Nintendo absolutely makes some baffling decisions, but a docking handheld was not one of them.
Re: Popular Twitch And TikTok Star Pokeprincxss Has Been Sued By Nintendo
@DrDaisy
"Maybe all three major video game companies should just die off and be replaced by people who actually give a damn about the fun and artistic aspect of video games."
That's actually kind of already happening and it's awesome! I don't think the big 3 are going anywhere, but self-publishing has become very easy over the last 10 years or so, which led to the deluge of high quality indie games we have today. I own a Switch, but Fire Emblem and BOTW are the only two nintendo games I own. I bought it because indie games publish there, and it's the only place to play most of them portable. I'm just waiting for a gaming-centric handheld pc, so all the great indies I own on that platform can be portable and I can say goodbye to nintendo's crap hardware.
Re: Online Retailer Cancels Orders For Super Mario 3D All-Stars Due To "Woefully Short" Supply
Can someone explain to me the point of doing a "limited release" of a video game? Making limited numbers of collectable nicknacks to sell with special edition preorders makes sense because they can arbitrarily charge a huge premium for worthless plastic, but the software itself? Even limiting physical releases makes some sense, but am I understanding correctly that they're limiting the digital release as well? It's just one more inexplicable decision from nintendo showing how out of touch they are. I'll just put this in the bucket with never putting games on sale, online support circa 2000, attacking youtubers, and not fixing joycon drift after years of knowing about it 🤦♂️
Re: Talking Point: Are You Prepared To Spend $70 On The Latest Games?
I wish devs and publishers would realize there's a law of diminishing returns at play here. I understand the thought process of wanting games to be cutting edge, but look at what Indies are able to accomplish. A lot of those games are better than their big budget counterparts for a third of the price. Then you compare current gen to previous gen games... Are you having more fun? In my opinion at least, the most exciting part about new games is the refinement of gameplay, not the insane amount of graphical detail. If graphics stayed the same and only resolution increased with hardware advancements for a while, I'd be perfectly fine with that.
Re: Pirate RPG King Of Seas Announced For Nintendo Switch
Maybe I'm in the minority, but I love randomly generated content. Although I guess for a long time I preferred tight narratives which is never easy in randomly generated games. Announcement doesn't give us much, but I've been looking for a game with good "tall ship" combat.
Re: Nintendo President Apologises For Joy-Con Drift, Can't Comment Further Due To Ongoing Lawsuit
@Anti-Matter
The only explanation I've heard is that they used graphite for the thumbsticks which erodes over time and causes a dust build up that messes with the sensors. Also graphite is a really good conductor, so even if it's not debris blocking the sensors, the dust could be causing electrical problems with the circuits the sensors are connected to causing false positives of user input.
@SwitchForce while you're right about hearsay, if the court accepts the case then Nintendo would be subpoenaed for repair inquiries during the discovery phase and would be legally required to disclose them along with internal estimates of failure rates. Flooded help forums far exceed the activity of typical hardware issues, the number of articles on the subject compared to others, as well as Google search trends are also admissable as supporting evidence. There is also evidence in the popularity of replacement parts on Amazon, ifixit and other online retailers that can be used to give an estimate of DIY repairs. A bunch of people starting a law suit and testifying is hearsay, but demonstrable statistics is not.
Side note for anyone having the issue: You can buy oem thumbstick replacements and rails for 4 and 6 dollars respectively, and do the refurbishing yourself like I did if you're out of warranty. It's actually not super difficult, and way cheaper and convenient than sending it to Nintendo for repair... but the fact that these parts are so cheap, without having to order in bulk, doesn't say much for the build quality of a controller that costs 80 dollars.
Re: Wonderful 101 Kickstarter Backers Hit With Customs Charges And Handling Fees
This is the fault of your government, and to a lesser extent Yetee; not Platinum. Your government is the one slapping on the import tax which most likely wasn't a thing before the pandemic, thus wouldn't have been known by Platinum or Yetee. If/when it was known, the distributor is the one who should have informed the kickstarter, which they did, albeit 9 days after the campaign started. I read somewhere that the physical copies were being shipped from the US, so I'm sure our wannabe emperor had something to do with it too (I'm sorry, I didn't vote for the guy and I'm convinced he's the surest sign yet that humanity is going to destroy itself... but I digress). In any case, take it easy on Platinum. They're one of the few devs out there still making quality action games.
SIDE NOTE: can someone explain to me why people insist on physical copies? It's like insisting on using Post instead of email. It's slower, more expensive... I just don't get it. I get the whole DRM argument, but that only matters if the game requires a server connection to play, which in the case of single player games is stupid, but it's rarely a thing anymore. If you're worried about servers going offline and not having access to it, then doesn't the SD card you install it on satisfy as a physical backup? Just my two cents; no judgement, just curious.
Re: Developer Of Turn-Based Monochrome Mech Mash-Up Wolfstride Wants To Bring It To Switch
I'm not sure I even understand what the game is from the description and trailer 😅 I tend to love mechs and turn-based combat but I'm not sure I could stare at a monochrome game for very long. Even if there were just a single pop of color like how some art styles just use color for blood or eyes or just to draw your attention to a single important thing. I tend to gravitate to bold unrealistic color like toon shaders and whatnot. Regardless, I'm still interested if the gameplay is truly unique, or fun blend of genres.
Re: Tower Of Time Brings More RPG Dungeon Crawling To The Switch Later This Month
Supported this in early access what feels like years ago. I really enjoyed what I played even in that very early state. So much that I didn't want to spoil anything on such an early build, so I decided to wait until full release... And forgot until this article reminded me 🤦♂️ it was a really neat blend of rpg and real time w/ pause encounters. Think like in jrpgs where you go into a turn-based arena for the battles. It's like that, so the encounters are more well planned, and the arenas are intelligently designed. Unique story as well (from what I played and read).
Re: Talking Point: Are You Suffering From Animal Crossing: New Horizons Fatigue?
I love Nintendo, but AC is a strong example of how they get in their own way. I have 2 major gripes. 1) Nintendo's online features are at least 20 years behind the curve. A big selling point of AC is the sharing and cooperation, but after adding a friend, I'm confused as to why I can't see my friends in the game. I had to look online to learn that they have to visit your island first with another code before they can search for you in game... What? How can they not just read my friends list like every game since Xbox live released 20 years ago!
2) Tedium. It's important to make the distinction between Tedium and Monotony. Stardew Valley and Minecraft are monotonous, Animal Crossing is tedious. So I need to wack a rock 8 times, monotonous; after wacking the rock 8 times, I have to sit through 8 animations picking them up, tedious. Digging for clams? Monotonous. Crafting 40 clams? Tedious. There are countless examples in that game. Nintendo needs to understand what makes the game fun and give us unlockable tools that can automate the tedious parts. If they never fix these things this will easily be both my first and last AC game.
Re: New Checkout Bot Targeting Online Switch Stock Is Driving The Scalpers Market In North America
@ThanosReXXX
I'm with you there. Gouging the public for life-saving medical supplies is one of the grossest things I've witnessed in my adult life. In the states we're witnessing capitalism run rampant and taken to such extremes that we somehow elected a sociopath to our highest office that not only allows these things to happen, but practices his own terrible business at the expense of the poor and desperate while simultaneously demonizing them. Not trying to make this political, but my point is that I agree with you. You're not wrong. The world is a disgusting place, and this kind of behavior should be prevented by retailers.
Re: New Checkout Bot Targeting Online Switch Stock Is Driving The Scalpers Market In North America
@ThanosReXXX
Honestly I don't think anyone is making a living doing this. It's a hustle at best. I get your anger, I really do, but let's keep things in perspective. Limited release items like Pokemon consoles etc are one step above scalping. They're not necessary, and only serve to create artificial shortages to sell to people hoping they'll be worth something someday (be it monetary or simply intrinsic value from being rare). Also what you're not seeing is the fruits of their labor. Scalping like this is risky, and chances of being stuck with leftovers is a very real possibility. This would be much more common if it was easy to pull off. Stores tend to limit to one item per person when supplies are short, or work off of preorders or backorders. I worked retail in college and these tactics are well known and mitigated using a variety of techniques. But that doesn't get people reading nintendolife articles.
Now don't get me wrong. I'm not defending this behavior; simply calling for the internet mob to temper it's anger. Try to imagine for a moment that these might be otherwise decent people. If this is the worse thing they do, then they're not exactly demons to crusade against. All one has to do is wait a few weeks for production to catch up to demand. It's not fair that decent hardworking people are inconvenienced by this behavior but just please keep it in perspective.
Re: New Checkout Bot Targeting Online Switch Stock Is Driving The Scalpers Market In North America
@redd214
I'm with you. Scalping is in poor taste, but if people weren't willing to pay 300% or more inflated prices, then there wouldn't be a market for them. What people aren't understanding is that the people paying these prices understand what they are doing, but are rich enough not to care.
PSA: Don't kid yourself that if Nintendo could sell the Switch for $700 they would choose not to out of kindness. Most people can't afford that, and they also can't increase the price for just rich people, so they find a balance that maximizes profit. Meanwhile, scalpers can take advantage shortages to filter out those who have more patience and/or less money. Let's just pump the brakes on the internet mob BS. At best these people make a few grand. Just like scalpers outside a sporting event, they are a handful of people out of the thousands of tickets sold. They don't deserve to be murdered, or catch diseases, whether you say it literally or figuratively.
Re: Controversial "Adults Only" Murder Simulator Hatred Is Coming To Nintendo Switch
@bluemage1989
I get what you're saying about the "it's art" argument, but I think you're misunderstanding the argument being made. I'm a developer that works in enterprise software. In my spare time I make little games for fun. Are they great? No. Are they good? I mean... I have fun with them, but probably not. Do they have the right to exist? Yes. Now don't get me wrong, it's probably a waste of everyone's time to argue that a game like this is anything but using "shock value" for a cash grab using articles like this as free publicity, and even as far as that goes the only thing even close to shocking about this game is how the devs chose to advertise it. Other games are more shocking and more fun, but I'm not going to be the one to tell someone what they can and can't develop and market. This article is the height of their success... and that's kinda pathetic. If that's what they want to do with their (lack of) talent then have at it.
Re: Team17 Is Publishing Hokko Life On PC, And It Sure Gives Us Animal Crossing Vibes
@PorllM
I would call a lack of bulk or automated crafting a huge omission; also tedious repetitive conversations between you and every single common task. And personally I find the animations to be about twice as long as needed, and some just aren't necessary at all. I already sat through 3 wood chopping animations, do I really need 3 more to pick everything up? Just put the materials in my inventory. Imagine if Mario had to pick up each coin individually! I like the game, and I get it's supposed to be about relaxing and enjoying the journey, but you can make a game about monotony without making it tedious. Dedicated servers would be nice as well, so I can visit my niece when she's not online and leave her messages or gifts, but online features are something Nintendo is always a decade behind in. Maybe some of this will be fixed, but it's valid criticism even on launch day.
Re: Animal Crossing: New Horizons Player Commits To Two Whole Weeks Of Non-Stop Livestreaming
@SkullDragr
Wasn't he agreeing with you? I took his statement to mean he can absolutely see how you could burn out on Animal Crossing binging it for a week. Yes it was designed for shorter sessions as evidenced by certain things only happening at certain real-world time. If you play non-stop, you're stuck doing filler activities while you wait for different fish or bugs to spawn; for flowers to cross pollinate, fossils to spawn, or fruit to bloom. Acknowledging that developers make games with a vision of how it's intended to be played is not logically equivalent to telling you how you personally are allowed to enjoy the game.
Re: Temtem Developer Lays Down The Law And Bans "Almost 900" Cheaters
@xpownz
I am a software developer and approve this message.
Anyone who thinks using a glitch or exploit is fair game because the devs should have flawless code knows nothing about software. No one re-creates the wheel every time they make a new game. First they build or license a game engine, then use that engine to make the game. If you license an engine, you may be limited in how much you can modify the game engine's source code, so exploits can be inherited in that way through no fault of their own. Then there's the law of diminishing returns. Yes, you can have 100 engineers working round the clock to find and fix every exploit, but it's way more cost effective to get the software stable and fun enough that you have to actively try to break it for it to fall apart. That way people who want to play the game as intended can do so, then ban the bad actors trying to ruin it for everyone else while simultaneously squashing bugs. In other words, fill out a bug report if you find an exploit; don't abuse the hell out of it until you get caught then blame overworked indie devs for not doing a good enough job.
pant pant pant 😓
Re: The Switch Is "Teetering On The Brink Of Becoming Outdated", Says The Financial Times
@NEStalgia
I couldn't agree more. I don't know if it's like that globally, but in the US rich and poor alike WORSHIP growth to the point where they vote against their personal interest because they hate the idea that if they ever do start their own company they might... gasp... be subject to regulation, or be put in a higher tax bracket! Universal healthcare? Higher education? Preserving the environment? Those will cut into our bottom line!
Sorry... Rant over. But yes I completely agree. The tone of the FT article is so condescending like they are judging Nintendo for not selling their souls to China, or investing in unproven tech. Nintendo truly is one of the few good ones that I trust is really in it for love of the medium, and not just to extract as much money from their fans as possible.
Re: The Switch Is "Teetering On The Brink Of Becoming Outdated", Says The Financial Times
Wow, comment sections 🤦♂️
"FT is wrong, consoles are not outdated, Nintendo is not doomed, etc..." A stock can be a poor investment while the company is a huge success. Investing relies on growth to get a return, and Nintendo is a poorly diversified company that has experienced rapid growth for the last several years. Wii was a huge success that pushed Nintendo into a period of rapid, sustained growth. Wii U was a massive failure that destroyed Nintendo's share value. Another failure like that would have toppled the company. You have to look at what FT said through the lense of an investor, and nothing they said is incorrect. "On pause" doesn't mean "doomed." Nintendo has nothing on the horizon to suggest the stock will reach new heights in market valuation. The Switch Lite was an expansion into low income households, so was a good investment. China is a huge new market, but is heavily regulated by an authoritarian government. While streaming services are bleeding edge tech, Nintendo is not pursuing it, so there's no growth possible there. There's no new first party flagship titles in the near future (in fact they announced BOTW2 when it was in fact barely in preproduction to try and mask this fact). There's no official announcement of next generation hardware, so no growth there either. Nintendo very much is "on pause" and will likely experience a dip in market valuation. But hey, if you think they're wrong, and think Nintendo will experience growth beyond that of other investment opportunities, buy up some of their stock and make some money. I for one am more likely to short their stock than buy into it at current prices.