@roadrunner343 Your not wrong in saying this could apply to any business decision, and isolated this reasoning makes sense. Who know's how tight ActiBlizzard's wallets are?
Apparently enough to payout $15m in salaries/stock/benefits for a single top-end employee but not enough for 800 employees. I'm pretty that enormous disparity for a video game company is the primary dissonance for a lot of the fans & media outlets. It has felt more like the goal is turning into "make as much money as possible" rather than "sustainable long-term business".
@Orin41 I think even among CEOs in the video game industry, Reggie is a phenomenon. He has been the face of NoA for years with an arsenal of memes and community fanfare. I think any talk of a successor to him (not to mention someone named Bowser) would be of some interest to the fans.
Things will be ready when they are ready, I'm assuming. Last year's first major Direct was in March, and I'd imagine Nintendo don't see any particular rush if games aren't ready to show. We can yell "BUT THE FEB 13TH RUMORS THOUGH" or make vague overarching statements like, "this is the perfect time wtf is nintendo doing" but those are fairly shallow excuses for our impatience.
My TLDR; Keep the Joycons, release an Expansion Dock for existing Switch Users alongside Switch 'Pro' for PS5/Project Scarlett parity.
The 3DS will remain THE handheld to go to for the next 1.5 years minimum, until Nintendo are able to profit off a Nintendo Switch that sells at a $140-200 price tag. Nintendo have expressed their commitment to the platform, and while it may not be receiving any new high-profile games, it retains an impressive library of existing ones. The 3DS/2DS has no challengers in the low-end console spectrum.
The current Switch currently exists at the medium-high end of the console spectrum, trailing more so to the med-end VS the PS4/One leading towards the higher-end. Considering the rumors of the potential PS5 & the growth of the One X AKA the purely high-end console market, it's reasonable to believe if there is a revision it would follow suit in that high-end market. Despite history of Nintendo under-powering their consoles (480P Wii amongst 1080P PS3/360 & Wii U vs current-gen), I believe current third-party interest has Nintendo wanting otherwise this time. For that, they need be sure that there is some form of console performance parity WITHOUT sacrificing the good points of the current Switch.
Nintendo will never have a Joycon-less, "all-in-one" Switch. It is unreasonable to ask developers to take advantage of Joycon-dependent gameplay without the guarantee that EVERY Switch user have them. To introduce a Pro version by itself may also alienate the existing user-base if we consider how substantial such a leap may be.
The best compromise IMO is Nintendo releases a Switch 'Pro' (the 'new' Nintendo Switch, etc) that features similar design , substantially better performance but ALSO an expansion dock for existing Switch users to have parity with the new Switch. Considering how developers currently juggle portable/docked performance, I would imagine the above setup to look like this:
Portable (current Switch)
Docked (current Switch) / Portable (new Switch)
Expansion (current Switch) / Docked (new Switch)
OR
Portable (current Switch)
Docked (current Switch)
Expansion (current Switch) / Portable (new Switch)
Docked (new Switch)
This performance parity is REALLY important if Nintendo want to continue building their third-party library with the current momentum they have with the Switch that we haven't seen on any other Nintendo console to date.
@KingdomHeartsFan Season passes are so inconsistent across games that you really have to judge case-by-case. In Suda's case, the DLC seems to be well underway, just not at the 'release-ready' polish. It's not like he's locking parts of the core game away.
Should Suda51 have just said, "If TSA does well, we'll see. I hope your guys enjoy this game?" or "For now, I want to focus on TSA?" As a spin-off it's always gonna have that shadow of NMH3 hanging over it, a decision he probably made given the logistics and timeframe. What better way to gauge some newfound interest in NMH then release a focused & hella quirky arcade game in the style and direction of Suda51? If TSA actually does well, imagine the freedom & vindication he'll have in actually creating the NMH3 the he always wanted.
This whole situation hinges on whether TSA is actually bad, which is what people are presuming based on trailer. If it turns out to be good, the story turns around. Otherwise, kaboom.
@Syrek24 The competitive scene for any game is always the minority. It's an important minority, and particularly for Smash it's one that's kept interest in the series for a long time for many a fan. Why do you think Melee has remained in contention til present day? To say that Smash is not a 'serious' fighting game community is laughable and untrue. To call the players "man-children" is disingenuous when they raise well-reasoned and valid complaints to the current state of the game, backed up because they understand the game at a high-level.
When I mentioned input lag, I'm not talking about online lag. That's an entirely separate problem that people are understandable about. I'm talking about the buffer between controller-to-onscreen locally. Ultimate currently has a measured ~8ms frame delay. You compare that with any other fighting game: DBFZ(2-5ms), Guilty Gear (~2ms), Melee (3-5ms), etc.
Tournament organization, roster unlock woes, the competitive vs casual arguments aside, it (again) comes down to the fact that Nintendo (as in, the brass at Nintendo HQ in Japan) do not consider the competitive scene as a core tenet in their game design philosophy. You could almost say that they don't care much at all of the competitive scene, and that trickles down to much of their design decisions, which no doubt leads to friction with the competitive community.
The obvious outliers are the heavily criticized roster unlock debacle, horrendous online/netcode infrastructure, and the input lag. Nintendo would rather entertain the fantasy of a 4-player items free-for-all 'competitive' match then accept the reality that players want 1v1 no item matches. Organizers need codes? There is actually a difference of 3-4 frames and 8 frames of lag? Whether they will listen, who knows.
The competitive community is no doubt excited about Ultimate, and the host of new players wanting to get into it. But it is a bit frustrating to imagine that, in a world of developer-grown esports leagues, Nintendo has shown no serious inclination into bringing one of esports' most faithful under its own wings.
All the reactions & comments to Pokemon Let's Go always seem to neglect the fact that the "veteran" Pokemon game is coming next year in this new casual/veteran core Pokemon game combo, all the while bemoaning all the casual nuances of Let's Go.
Our turn will arrive soon, but let's at least attempt to knowledge that Let's Go is quite the gracious landing pad for Pokemon GO players looking to dip into mainstream Pokemon.
The "No portable play" subtitle is a bit of a misnomer don't you think? The game IS portable as the Switch itself is, but just can't hold it in your hands and play, which makes a lot of sense given the Joycon controls.
@Likethepear Outside of the obvious "business" reaction to a earthquake that has effectively shutdown the north island of Japan, imagine employees with family and friends up there wanting to know if they are safe.
@spadgy Yeah, that balancing act is an art in itself. Achieving praiseworthy responsiveness & feedback has so much precedent (platforming alone gives examples of Bad > OK > Good > Excellent levels of responsive control). Having that responsiveness change based on some precise, granular control much like modding and tuning a car would be incredible (and thinking about it now, the kind of feedback you get from racing games wouldn't be too far off). Motorstorm had some great examples of the different responsiveness you get from a heavyweight truck vs a 4x4.
Expanding on the mech/cars analogy, if there's something a mech game should nail, it's the soundboard. We've all heard, felt the difference between your average coupe, the purr of a Mustang, the adrenaline boom of V8, and also NOT heard the almost unnatural silence of an electric. Stuff like that I think could go a long way in really immersing the player in that "weight" I was talking about.
I'm a huge fan of the mecha-genre, but a lot of games seem to dismiss the "weight" that a giant metal machine should have, especially when it comes to these humanoid-style designs, and I feel like DaemonXMachina is falling into that same trap. I have nothing against the art-style, but the physics and motion just feel off. Maybe it's just the OG Gundam model, but even that had the benefit of physics in space (or lack thereof). But I think there's a lot of beauty in the hypothetical 'mechanical' movement of a mecha that doesn't really express itself well in a lot of these mecha games.
Some awesome examples would be Pacific Rim 1 Jaegars (whereas 2 really falls into the patterns aforementioned), Metal Gear REX, MCU Hulkbuster V1. You can see the internal suspension when those mechs move, the sheer weight and power. Hell, the mechs don't even have to be these heavyweights to show off. Gundam IBO demonstrates that with some of the best fast-paced mech animation.
Comments 12
Re: Activision Admits Recent Layoffs "Could Negatively Impact Business"
@roadrunner343 Your not wrong in saying this could apply to any business decision, and isolated this reasoning makes sense. Who know's how tight ActiBlizzard's wallets are?
Apparently enough to payout $15m in salaries/stock/benefits for a single top-end employee but not enough for 800 employees. I'm pretty that enormous disparity for a video game company is the primary dissonance for a lot of the fans & media outlets. It has felt more like the goal is turning into "make as much money as possible" rather than "sustainable long-term business".
Re: Feature: Meet Doug Bowser, The Man Behind The Meme
@Orin41 I think even among CEOs in the video game industry, Reggie is a phenomenon. He has been the face of NoA for years with an arsenal of memes and community fanfare. I think any talk of a successor to him (not to mention someone named Bowser) would be of some interest to the fans.
Re: Talking Point: Is A Nintendo Direct Really On The Way?
Things will be ready when they are ready, I'm assuming. Last year's first major Direct was in March, and I'd imagine Nintendo don't see any particular rush if games aren't ready to show. We can yell "BUT THE FEB 13TH RUMORS THOUGH" or make vague overarching statements like, "this is the perfect time wtf is nintendo doing" but those are fairly shallow excuses for our impatience.
Re: Gaming Analysts Predict 'Switch Pro' And 'Switch Lite' Revisions For 2019
My TLDR; Keep the Joycons, release an Expansion Dock for existing Switch Users alongside Switch 'Pro' for PS5/Project Scarlett parity.
The 3DS will remain THE handheld to go to for the next 1.5 years minimum, until Nintendo are able to profit off a Nintendo Switch that sells at a $140-200 price tag. Nintendo have expressed their commitment to the platform, and while it may not be receiving any new high-profile games, it retains an impressive library of existing ones. The 3DS/2DS has no challengers in the low-end console spectrum.
The current Switch currently exists at the medium-high end of the console spectrum, trailing more so to the med-end VS the PS4/One leading towards the higher-end. Considering the rumors of the potential PS5 & the growth of the One X AKA the purely high-end console market, it's reasonable to believe if there is a revision it would follow suit in that high-end market. Despite history of Nintendo under-powering their consoles (480P Wii amongst 1080P PS3/360 & Wii U vs current-gen), I believe current third-party interest has Nintendo wanting otherwise this time. For that, they need be sure that there is some form of console performance parity WITHOUT sacrificing the good points of the current Switch.
Nintendo will never have a Joycon-less, "all-in-one" Switch. It is unreasonable to ask developers to take advantage of Joycon-dependent gameplay without the guarantee that EVERY Switch user have them. To introduce a Pro version by itself may also alienate the existing user-base if we consider how substantial such a leap may be.
The best compromise IMO is Nintendo releases a Switch 'Pro' (the 'new' Nintendo Switch, etc) that features similar design , substantially better performance but ALSO an expansion dock for existing Switch users to have parity with the new Switch. Considering how developers currently juggle portable/docked performance, I would imagine the above setup to look like this:
Portable (current Switch)
Docked (current Switch) / Portable (new Switch)
Expansion (current Switch) / Docked (new Switch)
OR
Portable (current Switch)
Docked (current Switch)
Expansion (current Switch) / Portable (new Switch)
Docked (new Switch)
This performance parity is REALLY important if Nintendo want to continue building their third-party library with the current momentum they have with the Switch that we haven't seen on any other Nintendo console to date.
Re: Grasshopper Manufacture Shares Another Mini-Game Trailer For Travis Strikes Again
@KingdomHeartsFan Season passes are so inconsistent across games that you really have to judge case-by-case. In Suda's case, the DLC seems to be well underway, just not at the 'release-ready' polish. It's not like he's locking parts of the core game away.
Should Suda51 have just said, "If TSA does well, we'll see. I hope your guys enjoy this game?" or "For now, I want to focus on TSA?" As a spin-off it's always gonna have that shadow of NMH3 hanging over it, a decision he probably made given the logistics and timeframe. What better way to gauge some newfound interest in NMH then release a focused & hella quirky arcade game in the style and direction of Suda51? If TSA actually does well, imagine the freedom & vindication he'll have in actually creating the NMH3 the he always wanted.
This whole situation hinges on whether TSA is actually bad, which is what people are presuming based on trailer. If it turns out to be good, the story turns around. Otherwise, kaboom.
Re: Locked Character Roster In Smash Bros. Ultimate Raises Concerns About Tournament Play
@Syrek24 The competitive scene for any game is always the minority. It's an important minority, and particularly for Smash it's one that's kept interest in the series for a long time for many a fan. Why do you think Melee has remained in contention til present day? To say that Smash is not a 'serious' fighting game community is laughable and untrue. To call the players "man-children" is disingenuous when they raise well-reasoned and valid complaints to the current state of the game, backed up because they understand the game at a high-level.
When I mentioned input lag, I'm not talking about online lag. That's an entirely separate problem that people are understandable about. I'm talking about the buffer between controller-to-onscreen locally. Ultimate currently has a measured ~8ms frame delay. You compare that with any other fighting game: DBFZ(2-5ms), Guilty Gear (~2ms), Melee (3-5ms), etc.
Re: Locked Character Roster In Smash Bros. Ultimate Raises Concerns About Tournament Play
Tournament organization, roster unlock woes, the competitive vs casual arguments aside, it (again) comes down to the fact that Nintendo (as in, the brass at Nintendo HQ in Japan) do not consider the competitive scene as a core tenet in their game design philosophy. You could almost say that they don't care much at all of the competitive scene, and that trickles down to much of their design decisions, which no doubt leads to friction with the competitive community.
The obvious outliers are the heavily criticized roster unlock debacle, horrendous online/netcode infrastructure, and the input lag. Nintendo would rather entertain the fantasy of a 4-player items free-for-all 'competitive' match then accept the reality that players want 1v1 no item matches. Organizers need codes? There is actually a difference of 3-4 frames and 8 frames of lag? Whether they will listen, who knows.
The competitive community is no doubt excited about Ultimate, and the host of new players wanting to get into it. But it is a bit frustrating to imagine that, in a world of developer-grown esports leagues, Nintendo has shown no serious inclination into bringing one of esports' most faithful under its own wings.
Re: Let's Go Pikachu And Eevee Will Feature 151 Post-Game Master Trainers, One For Each Pokémon
All the reactions & comments to Pokemon Let's Go always seem to neglect the fact that the "veteran" Pokemon game is coming next year in this new casual/veteran core Pokemon game combo, all the while bemoaning all the casual nuances of Let's Go.
Our turn will arrive soon, but let's at least attempt to knowledge that Let's Go is quite the gracious landing pad for Pokemon GO players looking to dip into mainstream Pokemon.
Re: Super Mario Party For Nintendo Switch Won't Support Handheld Mode
The "No portable play" subtitle is a bit of a misnomer don't you think? The game IS portable as the Switch itself is, but just can't hold it in your hands and play, which makes a lot of sense given the Joycon controls.
Re: Nintendo Direct Delayed Due To Powerful Earthquake in Hokkaido
@Likethepear Outside of the obvious "business" reaction to a earthquake that has effectively shutdown the north island of Japan, imagine employees with family and friends up there wanting to know if they are safe.
Re: Interview: Daemon X Machina Producer Kenichiro Tsukuda On Cooking Up An Authentic Mech Game For Everyone
@spadgy Yeah, that balancing act is an art in itself. Achieving praiseworthy responsiveness & feedback has so much precedent (platforming alone gives examples of Bad > OK > Good > Excellent levels of responsive control). Having that responsiveness change based on some precise, granular control much like modding and tuning a car would be incredible (and thinking about it now, the kind of feedback you get from racing games wouldn't be too far off). Motorstorm had some great examples of the different responsiveness you get from a heavyweight truck vs a 4x4.
Expanding on the mech/cars analogy, if there's something a mech game should nail, it's the soundboard. We've all heard, felt the difference between your average coupe, the purr of a Mustang, the adrenaline boom of V8, and also NOT heard the almost unnatural silence of an electric. Stuff like that I think could go a long way in really immersing the player in that "weight" I was talking about.
Re: Interview: Daemon X Machina Producer Kenichiro Tsukuda On Cooking Up An Authentic Mech Game For Everyone
I'm a huge fan of the mecha-genre, but a lot of games seem to dismiss the "weight" that a giant metal machine should have, especially when it comes to these humanoid-style designs, and I feel like DaemonXMachina is falling into that same trap. I have nothing against the art-style, but the physics and motion just feel off. Maybe it's just the OG Gundam model, but even that had the benefit of physics in space (or lack thereof). But I think there's a lot of beauty in the hypothetical 'mechanical' movement of a mecha that doesn't really express itself well in a lot of these mecha games.
Some awesome examples would be Pacific Rim 1 Jaegars (whereas 2 really falls into the patterns aforementioned), Metal Gear REX, MCU Hulkbuster V1. You can see the internal suspension when those mechs move, the sheer weight and power. Hell, the mechs don't even have to be these heavyweights to show off. Gundam IBO demonstrates that with some of the best fast-paced mech animation.