Max_the_German

I would have voted for the Western cover of Super Metroid. And while I find the depiction of the foes on the Japanese cover attractive, the fact that Samus‘ beam is charging and not firing is confusing to me.

So, my dear Metroid Dread

It’s likely EPD 3, and they use this game to adapt Nintendo‘s latest standard engine ModuleSystem to Switch 2, implementing DLSS (and ray tracing?).

For the next mainline Zelda game, Nintendo will have a modern engine ready for development.

And I like coffee.

@AmplifyMJ There are renowned political and military analysts who say that 2027 would be a great opportunity for China to attack Taiwan, because of the expected disaster for the Republicans at the midterms and the depleted missile arsenal of the US forces. And if it’s not 2027, a combined attack of China on Taiwan and Russia on Europe (plus Iran on Israel) seems realistic for 2029.

Now imagine the consequences: While sourcing electronics for products like cars would still work somehow, even the manufacturing of smartphones would be almost impossible, not to mention electronical toys.

For a toy company like Nintendo, this could be dangerous. And they are in a dilemma: Making Switch 2 more attractive now is almost impossible due to already exploding component prices, while waiting too long could result in a relatively low install base before the next global crisis. So, the best strategy for Nintendo would be to bring many more and attractive Switch 1 titles, using a massive install base of more than 156m units.

But I guess that Nintendo has chosen the strategy for a quick transition to Switch 2, and most high-level games are in development exclusively for Switch 2.

Let‘s hope that my horror scenario remains fiction.

When weekly Japanese NS2 sales numbers dropped below 50k, I said that it’s a bad sign, and Nintendo should announce new and interesting games to raise them again.

Almost all replies were like „NO, Switch 2 was selling great in recent months!“

30k is even more alarming to me.

I reiterate:

• The transition phase from Switch 1 to Switch 2 will be longer than in previous generations, as it’s the case with PlayStation and Xbox. 155m systems are massive, and Switch 2 is pricy.
• Switch 1 games sell like hot cakes, just check the weekly Japan numbers. Look how much money Tomodachi Life made!
• Nintendo has not enough Switch 1 titles with hit potential in the making, at least they are not yet announced.

I believe that the producers at Nintendo no try to bring upcoming Switch 2 titles also to Switch 1.

@Olliemar28 „Think what you like about Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, the music in that game is absolutely stellar, much like the rest of the Prime series.“

I strongly disagree. The music of MP4 is significantly worse imo. It’s hard to combine smooth atmosphere and memorable melody in a soundtrack. MP1 did it, MP4 didn’t.

@Cia Same with me: In consecutive playthroughs, I appreciated the soundteack of Metroid Dread more and more. I couldn’t hum these melodies, but in 30 years, I will still recognise them as soundtracks from Metroid Dread.

In the position of Nintendo, I would have increased the price of Switch 2 even more: Making bundles the only option, but for 530 instead of 500 euros for the non-bundle.

This would help to stabilise the price (another price increase in 2027 wouldn’t go down well), and giving away a digital copy is practically free. I know, many people would instead buy this game for full price. But the margins for physical Switch 2 games on cartridges, sold via retailers, are probably not that attractive either.

@billiybob76 Your „IA“ instead of „AI“ immediately revealed you as a native French speaker 😬

I‘ve played this game so many times in my life, I don’t know if I want to replay it again.

But to see all these places, people and monsters again in graphics of today is really tempting!

@PanchoRPG Yes, these are unironically those games which deserve preservation on physical media the most. And these games seem to be at home on Switch.

That price is… a joke?

I checked the price for the PS5 version, and I found out that
1) there is only a horrible PS4 version (got 2/10 on PushSquare) and
2) I „own“ it via PS Plus as a monthly „free“ game, totally forgot that I claimed it, and I couldn’t care less.

This game is a typical candidate for „permanent on sale“.

Again: Switch 1 software dominates, both third- and first-party. And I repeat my statement that Nintendo has not announced enough new Switch 1 titles to ride on this wave.

And the PS5 Digital Edition is the heavily subsidised Japan-only model. It‘s successful not because of being a digital-only model, but because Sony pushes it. And btw, you can easily upgrade it with a drive, and you can’t see it in these charts.

So, based on that, the statement „Doesn't exactly help those advocating for physical media, though...“ is not very robust.

He achieved everything possible in this industry. With avoiding doing questionable stuff like Peter Molyneux, Miyamoto will go down in history as the by far most important artist of this artform for a very long time.

I knew it! And a perfect fit for Switch

No wonder software sales are so unimportant to GameStop. After all, it’s a highly competitive market, with standardised products that lend themselves perfectly to comparison on price comparison websites.

GameStop simply cannot – and does not want to – compete in that arena.

@Aquinas If sony really didn’t sell all manufactured PS2 consoles, we should search for them in Alamogordo, NM. More than 1m big boxes are not easy to hide.

Seriously, what do you think happened to the manufactured PS2 consoles? Even selling them for a fraction of the manufacturing costs would have been cheaper than disposing them!

@AussieMcBucket Just compare the combined numbers for sales of Switch 1 games and Switch 2 games. Switch 1 games dominate, and Switch 2 system sales are quite low and will probably remain there for some time.

@Aquinas Here:

https://www.vgchartz.com/article/468318/switch-vs-ps2-sales-comparison-may-2026/

The „fake-PS2 numbers“ don’t seem to be too faky. There are serious calculations which show that 159m units is the realistic lower bound.

Nintendo needs more releases of new Switch 1 games!

@Nintyname @Mjplaysgames 100% agree. I say it for several weeks now:

New Switch 1 games are important for Nintendo‘s business, and in this dire economic situation more than I expected. There are not enough significant new first-party games announced. And Nintendo managers probably try to release upcoming Switch 2 games also for Switch 1 as heavily stripped down versions.

And more ports of older titles like Yoshi‘s Woolly World, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Kirby‘s Epic Yarn and so one, made by external porting studios.

Let‘s see if we see a last hurrah on Black Friday this year.

Switch Lite with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Super Mario Odyssey for 150 euros?

That‘s how to announce such a massive change. Others would keep silent until the last possible day. Chapeau, Nintendo!

@Ducklizard A forced upgrade path for other publishers would simply mean fewer upgrades.

@roy130390 Yes, I know. So they did the serious compromise of cappibg it ar 30 fps.

But they don’t call 30 fps a serious compromise, which it is for me!

How many people at Aspyr actually like playing this version on Switch 2? Most of them would never touch it, because they have access to a PS5 with a much smoother gameplay. 40 fps is somewhat tolerable for me, 30 fps a no-go, enjoyable gaming starts at 60 fps for me.

@roy130390 I know all of that. And I still find this statement hypocritic, because it suggests that they chose an uncompromising solution, which simply doesn’t exist in engineering.

Aspyr had to choose between a compromised graphics fidelity and a compromised framerate, and they chose the former. And it’s the compromised solution which attracts me far less.

This hypocrisy is annoying. There are almost ALWAYS compromises to make.

And 30 fps is THE compromise I‘m not willing to accept.

Nintendo seems afraid of becoming a leading force in the market as it was with the SNES. Kyoto seems to be quite happy to be the one who does things differently (controllers, performance of the systems).

And now imaging that Switch would become the main platform for third-party games!

@N00BiSH This is VR slang, pretty established. I don’t like it either.

Moss 1 and 2 are good VR games. As pancack games though, they won‘t be as remarkable I‘m afraid.

@squiddu-real MP4 had no middling reception, it was a clear 9/10. When it gets discounted, it will appear in these „all discounted games with 9/10 or better“ lists!

When people will discuss „At which day did the Gilden Age of Gaming die, which was born 1985 with the release of Super Mario Bros?“, the 31 December 2027 will be mentioned.

I hope that we will see a cheaper cartridge option for Switch 2 soon:

Modified Switch 1 cartridges (to prevent extraction) which serve as medium for installation and license validation. The data for running the game are actually stored on the internal storage. Basically the today‘s model for disc usage, and probably cheaper than classic Switch 2 cartridges, which must be a lot faster.

@aperl19 I prefer the classic 3-lap-courses for multiplayer races, and the devs of MKW try to force players to the cross-circuit races. As effect, I recently played more MK8D on my Switch Lite than MKW on Switch 2.

MK8D is the purer and more approachable experience, and Nintendo should make changes to MKW to bring it into the same direction.

@Anguspuss That match was an embarrassment of the highest order. At least it spares us the humiliation of losing to France.

Does a mediocre game become better when put on a cartridge?

If the Power Saving mode of PS5 is actually an indicator for the performance of this „PS Portable“, we will see many PS5 games running at 30 fps, and the battery and the system as a whole will be huge.

In conparison, Switch 2 will be considered „light“.

I can‘t imagine how Sony could make a pleasant gaming experience with these specs. A very niche gaming device for a very niche audiance?!

The nostalgia for the Western design is just too strong for me.

@solarwolf07 @SneakyLink @ParrakerriRush

There are over 155m Switch 1 consoles out there, and all can be coupled as a second screen for Switch 2 via GameShare.

WCW/NWO Revenge and all the other WCW and NWO games

It was the wrestling era!

I wanted to vote for Sonic Colours, but there was something off about the logo.

So I voted for Sonic Mania Plus.

So fans of the Italian and the Turkish teams can have some fun.

@Bunkerneath That‘s not the standard edition. The standard edition lacks the „Exclusive O-Sleeve“.

Switch 1 games dominate. I think that Nintendo has the problem that almost no new Switch 1 games were announced.

In an era of more and more expensive new hardware, selling games for the existing 154 million Switch 1 systems out there is becoming really important.

Now everyone says how bad Microsoft is.

But many studios were smaller before the pandemic. And with home entertainment booming (Animal Crossing as the most prominent example for video games), the number of employees in the industry grew. At the same time, AAA and AA games became more expensive to make. And now, international politics and the AI boom create price shocks, which sour the customers‘ buying mood.

The conclusion: There are too many studios and staff in this business, compared to what customers are willing to pay. The reduction in personnel is not finished yet.

But Microsoft on the other hand demonstrates how not to close studios, just a week after the announcement with trailer and all of the next, now probably dead game. „Selling“ studios in this climate are merely a (vidible) figleaf.

@McGregor

First Space Marine 2, and now Oblivion too. Switch 2‘s CPU is more capable than I expected, or the publishers want overly ambitious ports. Let‘s see what kind of stutterfest we will get!

@Twilite9 The Water Temple is great! You need an attention span which exceeds that of a TikTok video though.

The Japanese-only Switch 2 model was way too cheap and is still too cheap, compared to what Nintendo could earn by selling a unit in other countries.

Now they have to introduce other mechanisms to lower sales.

My key-finding:

Nintendo has not enough Switch 1 games in the making!

• The sales numbers for consoles suffer from economic shocks. (Trump said that he finds inflation great!?)
• There are almost 37 million Switch 1 systems in Japan, more than 154 million in the world.
• The best-selling game in Japan last week was a Switch 1 title, which already sold better than the best Pokemon game in decades.
• The only game from Nintendo for Switch 1 showed in the June Direct was Rhythm Heaven Groove, which was already revealed before.
• Switch 1 still sells, despite no major game announcements.

Metroid Prime 4 was Nintendo’s last big hurray for Switch 1 (or it should have been). I imagine that in Kyoto, they are actively discussing which of the Switch 2 games in development could also be released on Switch 1.

Rhythm Heaven Groove being in its own „Switch 1“ field is a bad decision. Because more casual gamers could think that it won‘t run on Switch 2. Nintendo should have put it in the „Switch 1 + 2“ section, regardless of the technical details.

I find it generally weird that this game and Tomodachi Life haven‘t got Switch 2 versions! Is Nintendo lacking Switch 2 dev kits for itself?!