Comments 2,900

Re: Talking Point: Did All The Switch 2 Leaks 'Damage' Nintendo Or The Console's Reveal?

Maxz

The leaks ruined the surprise that it was going to be fundamentally unsurprising — at least in terms of form factor.

I still imagine Nintendo has a few tricks up its sleeve that will be able to surprise as well as delight. It’s easy to forget just how many gimmicks from Nintendo’s long lineage are crammed into the original Switch design given how cohesive the whole thing feels.

Home console? Check.
Portable? Check.
Wii U-style Gamepad with touchscreen? Check (kind of)
Wii-style waggle controls? Check.
Virtual Boy-style ‘strap it to your head and enjoy somewhat cumbersome VR experience’? Check.

Michelangelo didn’t reinvent pencil and paper but he did put the boundaries of what would be achieved with them.

There’s plenty of potential for combining all that tech (plus the updated IR sensors) in exciting new ways. And even if that falls through (a la Labo) they’ve still got the fact that ‘it’s a portable with Nintendo games that you can play on the TV’ to fall back on.

The tech itself was never going to blow people’s minds, so in that sense there was very little for the leaks to spoil. What matters — and remains to be seen — is how Nintendo utilises that tech to create an exciting and enticing product.

Those cards are still very much in Nintendo’s hand, and it’s going to be interesting to see (in April) how they play them.

Re: UK Charts: Nintendo Can Be Proud Of Its Last Christmas Before 'Switch 2'

Maxz

I’m not a betting man but I would bet my entire Switch collection that we’ll have a successor to the Switch before next Xmas.

It’s seems about as certain as Nintendo announcing a new video game featuring Super Mario. I have zero concrete evidence that Nintendo are working on a new Mario title, but it would take a lot to convince me otherwise.

Re: Thieves Steal Thousands Of Pounds Of Rare Pokémon Cards From YouTuber's Company

Maxz

@VHSGREMLIN You’re right! Many modern banknotes are now made of polymer rather than paper, which makes them more durable but also more likely to shrink if you put them in the microwave.

Many of us are now trading plastic (or more often digital money) for goods and services instead of paper.

If any of the above is objectionable, feel free to give your own take on the financial system instead. I’d be interested to hear how it functions without the use of some form of currency, be that paper, plastic, crypto, or something else entirely.

Re: Thieves Steal Thousands Of Pounds Of Rare Pokémon Cards From YouTuber's Company

Maxz

@VHSGREMLIN To be fair, the same could be said of pretty much the entire financial system — especially in the pre-digital age.

Pokémon cards are basically banknotes at this point, but with the beardy blokes replaced with cartoon critters.

Yes, they’re just bits of paper, but much of human society still revolves around exchanging bits of paper for goods and services. One of the advancements of the last few decades has been making the paper increasingly invisible, but the basic idea is the same.

It’s a fairly bizarre system, but… well, in Golduck we trust, I suppose.

Re: As Switch Closes The Gap, Sony Officially Confirms PS2 Has Sold "Over" 160 Million Units

Maxz

You think 160 million is big number you should have seen the crowds at my latest gaming event — at least 160 billion people maybe 160 trillion, all good people, loyal people, excellent smart people, all there to hear me announce the concepts of a plan for the world’s biggest and best video games console ever and let me tell you this console is gonna blow all the other consoles out of the water, smoke ‘em like cigars, it’s got the highest power and the most graphics and the biggest games and the smartest chips on the face of the earth and those PHONEYS at Sony and the low IQ individuals and NintenDUMB better watch out because that 160 million units is gonna be looking more like 160 millionths of the sales of my console once it exists in any tangible form.

Re: Nintendo Would Rather "Organically Expand The Organisation" Than Rely Solely On Acquisitions

Maxz

@Banjo- Sakurai made an interesting video about how throwing more people at something doesn’t always bring the productivity gains you’d expect.

https://youtu.be/1-iZFmenARA?feature=shared

Ubisoft often has multiple teams in multiple countries working on a single game around the clock. Nintendo tends to use smaller, more tight-knit dev teams.

There are advantages and disadvantages to both methods. But as you’ve said, Nintendo doesn’t seem to be doing too badly with its current strategy, which no doubt promotes face-to-face communication and makes developing a shared company culture easier.

Re: Talking Point: Nintendo's Latest Financials Make One Thing Abundantly Clear

Maxz

“Coupled with a slump in profits due to R&D expenditure, a weak yen…

Wouldn’t the weak yen increase profits for a Japanese company that sells more products overseas than domestically?

…Or am I missing something?

Back in 2012 every dollar of profit made in the US would translate into about 80 yen for the Japanese company’s coffers. These days it’s almost double that at roughly 150 yen per dollar.

Overseas manufacturing/advertising/etc. costs will have also risen (relatively speaking) but on balance I’d imagine the weak yen is a boon. Nintendo is primarily spending in yen, but earning in much stronger currencies.

…Right?

I’m not an expert on this by any means so let me know if I’m wrong!

Re: Plans To Announce The 'Switch 2' Have Not Changed, Says Nintendo's President

Maxz

But I want it now and I want it with a cherry on top!!!

NOT FAIR!!!!

WHY WON’T YOU LISTEN TO ME NINTENDO!? I am your MOST STABLE and MOST GENIUS investor… assuming investment means ‘time invested in complaining about your products online’ …which BTW is a sign of PASSION because I am a REAL FAN! Way more PASSIONATE than these FAKE INVESTORS who only care about MONEY MONEY MONEY. You shouldn’t run a business for MONEY. You should run a business for ME!

ANNOUNCE SWITCH 2 NOW!!!

…OR SO HELP ME I WILL BUY THE STANDARD EDITION OF XENOBLADE CHRONICLES X INSTEAD OF THE DELUXE COLLECTOR’S EDITION WITH STEEL CASE AND ART BOOK AND FULLY POSABLE SKELL FIGURINE.

Re: Nintendo Lowers Its Hardware Forecast As Switch Sales Slow To A Crawl

Maxz

@BenAV The Xenoblade release date is interesting, isn’t it? The absolute final deadline for the Switch II announcement is 31st March 2025, which means there’s a very strong possibility we’ll already know about it by the time XCX is released — and even if not, we should know within two weeks.

They’ll be trying to push this ambitious, sprawling open-world game for geriatric hardware at a time when everyone will be talking about the hot, new, far more powerful successor that would clearly run it much better.

It wouldn’t surprise me at all if XCX ends up playing the role of the cross-generational Zeldas that occasionally bookend a console’s life.

“Yes, we put it on the old console as promised, but don’t you want it on the new, shiny one? Yes, you do. Yes, of course you do.”

Time will tell!

Re: Nintendo Lowers Its Hardware Forecast As Switch Sales Slow To A Crawl

Maxz

@RetroGames I don’t think Nintendo really cares about the sort of accolades that Console Warrists care about. I think the main accolade they care about is earning lots of money, with only half an eye on the competition (and even then that eye is winking amicably.)

We’re no longer in the SNES vs. Mega Drive era. Mario and Sonic are only rivals if you pit them against each other in the same (Nintendo) game. Horizon is on Switch (albeit in brick form). Banjo is in Smash. One of the biggest Switch games — Minecraft — is owned by Microsoft.

I don’t think Nintendo is going to turn itself inside out to get the top spot on a fairly meaningless chart if that effort could be better spent on its successor.

As @OorWullie had said, maybe a price cut could push it over the edge. But I doubt it’s their top priority.

Re: Nintendo Lowers Its Hardware Forecast As Switch Sales Slow To A Crawl

Maxz

I can’t see the logic in Nintendo announcing the Switch successor any time before December 25th.

I know NintendoFan1337 wants it. I know NintendoFan1338 wants it too. Heck, I know I want it.

But the run up to the ‘Holidays’ seems a very strange time to announce something that you cannot actually buy for the Holidays.

I don’t think the combined ire of NintendoFans 00001~99999 is going to change that.

Re: Review: Mario & Luigi: Brothership (Switch) - Easily The Best Mario & Luigi RPG Yet

Maxz

@ViewtifulCool You said ‘ever’ and you were wrong. You said ‘one’ and you were wrong again.

https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/nintendo-switch/endless-ocean-luminous

And again.

https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/2009/03/donkey_kong_barrel_blast_wii

And again.

https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/2009/04/warioware_snapped_dsiware

Please stop moving the goal posts. And please do your own research. The onus is not on others to correct you when you can easily check this yourself.

Re: Nintendo Music - Every Nintendo System, Series And Song Included

Maxz

@Nanoline52 I don’t think it’s all they were able to prepare for launch. I think it’s all they wanted to prepare at launch, so they can drip feed new content and keep the service ‘relevant’ for months to come.

It’s likely less a matter of ‘low effort’ and more a matter of ‘deliberate marketing strategy’. Not sure if that’s better or worse, but I imagine it’s more accurate.

Nintendo could have easily dropped the entire NSO library in its current form at the beginning of the Switch’s life, but they chose not to, and as a result we get regular updates and corresponding swells of hype. Arguably cynical, but also effective.

Re: Review: Shin chan: Shiro And The Coal Town (Switch) - A Stunningly Beautiful Game, Uncomplicated Yet Weird

Maxz

Really nicely written review. Paints a lovely picture of the game’s charming landscapes (and is very informative to boot).

It sounds like the game has very much achieved what it set out to do. While it probably won’t be topping many GOTY lists, it looks to offer a relaxing and immersive world to frolic around in, true to its Bokunatsu lineage.

It’s nice a game can home in on being ‘pleasant’ while still maintaining a unique character, as opposed to relying on the copy-and-paste ‘cosy’ aesthetic that typifies most Wholesome Direct games.