Comments 531

Re: The ROG Xbox Ally X Receives Glowing Reviews, But It's Still Pretty Pricey

Metazoxan

It's literally just the Rog Ally which already existed but with Xbox logo slapped on it and maybe a few upgrades.

I'm not against Xbox trying to compete with the Switch. But I'm honestly disgusted how completely shamelessly corporate their strategy is "Why make something when we can use our monopoly over the PC industry to just take something someone else made?".

If the steam deck wasn't Linux based we probably would have seen the "X deck" or something.

I feel people aren't talking about this issue enough and act like this is a legitimate entry into the market like switch or steam deck. It's not, it's just Microsoft putting in minimal effort to muscle into a market without committing to it.

If you want Switch competition just stick with Steam Deck. I own both and there is basically no game I can't play even if you don't count emulation.

Re: Review: Pokémon Legends: Z-A - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition - Stellar Battles, But A Step Down From Arceus

Metazoxan

I honestly don't mind them scaling back on the exploration if it meant they were able to make the more dynamic and fun combat system.

People need to understand games don't just have infinite man power and budget. You make compromises.

Open worlds can be very resource intensive and take a lot of time to get right.

So if we traded that for better combat... I'm good with that. In fact given their apparent struggle with open world I'd say they might want to avoid that.

HOWEVER... They do need a better compromise than locking you into a city the entire time.

I'd love to see them do like Mario and Luigi style graphics and perspective. Not overly detailed or large but enough flair and exploration to give a sense of this being a world I can explore.

Re: Nintendo's "Mysterious" Switch Online Playtest Program Gets Another Patent

Metazoxan

@WhiteUmbrella "Nintendo are notoriously litigious. Everyone knows this. Nintendo is a law firm that makes games." just because a lot of people say it doesn't make it true.

Seriously people don't know how to read past headlines to rage bait articles anymore.

Especially with that US government nonsense ... WTF do you think even would have happened? It wasn't for profit so even trying to make a suit would have debatably overlapped with arguments over fair use and fanmade stuff.

But no one cares about that do they? Nope they just wanted Nintendo to go after Trump. That's all that was. Has nothing to do with gaming at all, people just get upset when the big coporations they constantly complain about don't validate their politics.

and of course you'll continue to completely ignore all of the Mario Kart and other clones of Nintendo games they don't go after. Nope Nintendo is DEFINITELY goign to threaten and preassure people with their patents and ruin the industry ... as long as you ignore all the time they don't.

Nintendo aren't saints, but they're not the boogeyman either. People really jump from one extreme to the other too much these days.

Re: Nintendo's "Mysterious" Switch Online Playtest Program Gets Another Patent

Metazoxan

@WhiteUmbrella "So, you're arguing that Nintendo should have unlimited power, because we can trust them not to use it? Go and look in the mirror, and take that Mario hat off, while you're at it." You take off the tin foil hat first and look in the mirror.

Do you ... have no grasp on how patents work? How lawsuits work? That junk isn't free or instant. Nintendo couldn't do what you're afraid of even if they tried.

You aren't a freedom fighter stopping a tyrant from taking power. You're the old man on the street screeming "THE END IS NEAR!" everytime he hears thunder.

Nintendo seriously can't afford to just .... sue absolutely everyone over everything. Again you take ONE CASE where they appear to use a game mechanic in a suit, and suddenly you act like that's the norm.

Do you have any idea how much time and money goes into lawsuits like this? People act like Nintendo is some kind of lawsuit Tyrant, but the vast majority of their lawsuits were related to Piracy. Yes even the emulation lawsuits were because those emulators were being used for piracy even if players played dumb and acted like they were fighting for "game preservation" ... I mean FFS one of the emulators Nintendo sued sold a "Premium version" with tools specifically for pirating Nintendo games pre-installed. But all people cared about was "Oh no my emulator I totally used for legal reasons got taken down!"

So seriously, enough with this paranoid nonsense. I'm not naive for not losing my mind over every rage bait article I see. I'm actually looking at trends beyond outlier cases and using common sense. Because even in the WORST CASE scenario possible ... all that really happens is Nintendo goes after a few other copy cat games, and developers either counter sue or just tweek the formula enough to dodge the patent.

It's seriously not even a fraction as serious as you're making it out to be ... I mean WTF do you think Nintendo could do anyway? You're seriously over estimating Nintendo's power here.

Re: Nintendo's "Mysterious" Switch Online Playtest Program Gets Another Patent

Metazoxan

@WhiteUmbrella patent troll companies don't win but they can still cause problems. Plus a somewhat larger issue is when smaller game companies engage in the same practice.

But look you brought up two examples but just immediately go "Oh but THOSE are different" no, no they aren't.

People just don't pay attention when others do it and only highlight Nintendo. You go "It's different Nintendo is trying to control the industry" You don't even have one example of that. Again the Palworld suit is an outliar and there is far more to that than some game mechanics.

You're just making far reaching assumptions that outrage articles told you to think "Oh look Nintendo did this, so we're going to assume that" and you're not questioning it further.

Seriously aside from Palworld has Nintendo actually done any of the ***** you claim yet? Some of these "dangerous" patents have been out for a few months now.

Seriously did you develop amnesia for all of the other "Nintendo-like" games that have come out that Nintendo NEVER bothered? What about all of the Mario-kart clones? many even used damn item blocks with the same functions are Mario kart ones but nothing happened. What about Smash Bros clones? Zelda clones?

THe Palworld suit drops and everyone loses their heads like Nintendo is suddenly some patent tyrant.

Look the reality of all of this is simple. Nintendo isn't some massive monolith company with infinite money. THey are certainly a big game company but just being a game company only gets you so far. They do not have infinite reach or power and a few silly patents won't change that.

These patents largely mean NOTHING, because even if Nintendo got possessed and turned pure evil. THey can't really afford to just burn all of their money on lawsuits that won't even get them a return on the money they'd sink into them. Plus many of their games are made in collaboration with other game companies, so they can't afford to just ... go to war with the entire industry even if they lost all sense and tried to.

So enough of the tin foil hat nonsense.

Re: Nintendo's "Mysterious" Switch Online Playtest Program Gets Another Patent

Metazoxan

@Wewewi have you not heard anything infamous lord of the rings nemesis patent?

Shadow of mordor has a really cool system where, If a mob killed you they got promoted to an elite mob. There were some other aspects but that was the main one.

But no one else can do something like that because they patented it and do go after people.

Also just to make clear. Nintendo filing a patent doesn't actually mean anything. The Palworld situation is an outliar, not the norm.

The reason japanese game companies NORMALLY file for parents like this is so no one can do it themselves and then patent troll them.

Besides, we all know it wasn't really the game mechanics that started the Palworld suit. That was just the angle their lawyers chose to go from. It doesn't mean they are going to suddenly start sueing everything that plays like any of their games.

Re: Nintendo's "Mysterious" Switch Online Playtest Program Gets Another Patent

Metazoxan

@WhiteUmbrella what you people don't understand is this isn't a Nintendo thing.

Most major game companies do this, especially Japanese ones and they don't because if they don't then eventually a patent troll comes in and files for the patent themselves and creates a big legal headache they need to spend a bunch of money fixing.

I'm not saying Nintendo are Saints BTW. But people really need to realize this isn't unique to Nintendo. It's just people only care when it's Nintendo.

Re: Sonic Adventure 2 'Live And Learn' Lawsuit Dismissed, Crush 40 Musician Issues Statement

Metazoxan

@MirrorFate2 except SEGA had no issues using the song until Gioeli just popped in and went "Actually I want money".
But you're still blaming SEGA ... I swear anti-coporate culture is insane these days.

As far as I'm concerned if being payed for this song was that important then this should have been dealt with ages ago.

It's a bit late to not only launch a lawsuit but throw a tantrum over it going "Mine mine mine mine mine mine mine!".

This honestly reeks of someone that smelled money and took their shot. Which I wouldn't mind ... If it didn't mean we might never hear this song in a sonic game because SEGA might just not want to have to deal with this.

Re: Do Bananza And Odyssey Share The Same Pauline? Donkey Kong Dev Won't Confirm Anything

Metazoxan

@Anti-Matter I wasn't really. The reply just kind of also addressed the idea in general as it's not the first time I've seen that argument.

Honestly feels like ever since marvel made multiverse series mainstream people just kind of try to apply it to everything and I'm just ... Annoyed.

Not taking it too seriously, but I just dislike how every show or game that doesn't 100% fit into a firm timeline is just "Oh must be another universe". Again that's not directed at you specifically, it's more a general trend I'm seeing lately.

Re: Do Bananza And Odyssey Share The Same Pauline? Donkey Kong Dev Won't Confirm Anything

Metazoxan

@Rob3008 I only care in terms of what it means for future character appearances. Will we see young Pauline again? Will she show up in a Mario game or just the DK series?

Will adult Pauline meet DK and go on an adventure?

Questions like this is why Continuity does matter. It establishes what lore future games can reference.

This is true even for Mario which has made regular uses of Bowser Jr. Ever since his sunshine debut.

So while some take Continuity TOO seriously, that doesn't mean it doesn't matter at all.

Re: Do Bananza And Odyssey Share The Same Pauline? Donkey Kong Dev Won't Confirm Anything

Metazoxan

@Anti-Matter Nintendo generally doesn't doesn't multiverse stuff with Mario aside from paper Mario and the other RPG series.

Aside from that and a couple other minor one offs everything generally fits into this vague timeline of "It happened at some point". So while Mario doesn't have an especially firm timeline they don't really do the multiverse thing if they can help it and DK is largely the same with all of its games being implied more or less canon, just without a rock solid timeline to answer when they are.

It's not likely Bananza would be the odd one out and just exists in a separate universe entirely.

Some people are so dismissive of continuity in Nintendo games just because they don't regularly post official timelines.

But while Nintendo shys away from firm timelines, they do generally keep some sense of continuity. At least in the sense that most games canonically recognize one another.

Again there are exceptions, but I doubt a major release like Bananza would get treated like a one off.

Re: Japanese Charts: Switch 2 Surpasses 2 Million Units Sold

Metazoxan

Stuff like this is good to see.

Especially when the vocal people online won't stop trying to start a riot over petty stuff like the virtual boy shell being $100. Is that too much for virtual boy. Yes honestly. Even with 14 games I wouldn't pay $10 for any of them.

But frankly I don't care. If you just want to try it get the cardboard virtualboy or get a labor on clearance.

I do not understand the modern gamer mentality that something being expensive is a reason to be upset even if said thing isn't even something they want.

But anyway seeing strong sales means so matter how pervasive those people are it doesn't matter since actual customers are still buying.

Re: Sega Reignites Its Nintendo Rivalry In New Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds Trailer

Metazoxan

Honestly I'd be all for a rivalry revival.

Competition breeds innovation and at this point Nintendo has no real competition.

This isn't me glorifying Nintendo BTW, more just everyone else is either just not even competing with Nintendo or seem to be winding down.

Xbox is more a brand label than an actual console at this point. PlayStation is still around but between Microsoft putting everything on steam and Nintendo maintaining its exclusive library, it doesn't have the massive presence it used to. Even if you put all of that aside, PlayStation always painted itself as more a rival of Xbox and rarely clashed with Nintendo.

Sega is arguably in the best position to have the image of a Nintendo rival.

Re: Nintendo Is "Acting To Protect The Industry" With Switch 2 Game Key Cards, Says Ex-Capcom Composer

Metazoxan

So many people tin foil hatting in the comments. People need to calm down.

First of all people need to accept that keycards aren't killing physical media, it was already massively on the decline and most game companies were only barely supporting it with many games requiring downloads to even work anyway. If anything the keycard is just cheaper and more honest.

Now that doesn't mean I support key cards. But I've thought about it and I can see the non-malicious logic behind it.

The rise of digital media is killing physical stores and retail and companies looking to get eyes on their game need to stand out in a digital ocean of games.

Keycards are, on paper, a great way to not fight the digital trend but still preserve presence in physical stores and preserve the resell value of the game.

This, however, does come at the trade off of the inconvenience of a physical game card and needing servers to download from.

What I'm trying to say is angrily shouting blindly won't convince anyone. If you want to do anything of worth you need to approach the issue properly and address the problems while not ignoring the benefits.

Because it's not that keycards have no benefits. It's just the downsides are more important for a lot of people that favor physical media in the first place.

Re: ICYMI: If You Want To Play Virtual Boy Classics, You'll Need To Buy One Of Nintendo's Accessories

Metazoxan

@Warioware it was a few things.

*Because it was basically an oversized face mask on a stand you had to use it an an awkward angle cause neck pain.
*the harsh red lines combined with the screens of the time lead to eye strain
*The hardware itself was rather expensive for the time and while 3D itself was novel. You were sacrificing color and resolution in exchange. Pretty much everyone wanted better color and resolution, not 3D effects.

There might be a few other things but those are the big ones I remember hearing about.

Re: New Kirby amiibo Will Apparently Be Nintendo's "Most Expensive amiibo Ever"

Metazoxan

@Dr_Corndog have you NEVER looked at the price of a figure? $50 is still on the cheaper side compared to some.

Of course Amiibo are small and while good quality they aren't peak quality.

Over all $50 is certainly pricey, but it's not outrageous. You wouldn't find anything else a lot cheaper while still having the same build quality and features.

So really it's just a question of if it's worth it for you.

Re: New Kirby amiibo Will Apparently Be Nintendo's "Most Expensive amiibo Ever"

Metazoxan

@canaryfarmer quality figures regularly go to over $100. So yes $50 for a decent one with a swappable function isn't strange.

Of course I'm probably NOT getting one either. $50 is a lot.and I just don't really want a single amiibo that price. I payed that for BOTH Pyra and mythra, but Kirby is just not worth that much for me.

Unless maybe they release a Kirby on dragoon. That is Kirby air ride's best looking machine. That I would at least consider.

Re: Surprise! Kirby Air Riders Is Getting A Second Direct

Metazoxan

@Krisi some people just want to be miserable. Or they delude themselves into thinking something like this is replacing something they want.

I've seen a few people complain about wanting a new Smash Bros, as if Kirby Air riders replaced that. They don't understand Sakuari just DID NOT want to make a new smash bros, at least not yet.

He has stated before he's not sure how he can go further with it. So for now he wants to make other games. If he didn't make Air riders he still would not make a new smash bros. People just need to accept that.

We'll probably get a switch 2 edition of ultimate eventually. Maybe some new dlc. Bit I wouldn't expect a fully new smash bros game for a while. Certainly not from Sakurai who seems happy to try other things.

That might change someday, but let the man create what he has passion for.

Re: Surprise! Kirby Air Riders Is Getting A Second Direct

Metazoxan

@JumpingJackson Its not mainly a racing game.

City trial is pretty much the main mode and it's not a race. It's more a BR mode with the original made long before they became popular.

So racing isn't the main draw, although the racing mode did look decent.

The second direct might be to show off other modes in the game plus the internal achievement system Sakurai adds to every game he can. Again he was doing that back in the GameCube era.

Dude was way ahead of the curve on a lot of stuff.

Re: Super Mario Galaxy 1 + 2 Prices Are Live, And It's Sticker Shock Time

Metazoxan

@Nintoz Skyward Sword HD was a pretty significant enhancement though.

I've heard a lot of people dislike Skyward sword, but I've heard pretty good things about the HD release.

Honestly I doubt anyone would have said anything if they just sold each game for $35.

In fact you might be able to do that digitally..the direct seemed to imply the eShop versions wouldn't necessarily be a bundle.

Re: Pokémon Pokopia Looks Like An Adorable Mix Of Minecraft And Animal Crossing

Metazoxan

I'll keep an eye on this.

It was cute and seems to be a blend of animal crossing and Minecraft.

I might get this depending on just how engaging the building is.

I love the idea of playing as a ditto. I'm guessing the human like firm is meant to be an imitation of our former trainer.

I like that idea. Concept wise I'm sold. Just need to see more gameplay.

Re: Pokémon Legends: Z-A Unveils A Newly Discovered Mega Evolution

Metazoxan

@ParrakerriRush sure there are better ones.

But still they could have done worse than Malamar and it's design isn't bad. It actually feels like an evolution where Malamar focused on its psychic powers and pushed it to the extreme.

Again it's at least better than "we made victreebel look like a balloon with a derpy face".

Re: Nintendo's Patent On 'Sub Characters' Could Have Some Dire Ramifications

Metazoxan

Meh. we all know this won't mean much. Enforcing this in any major way would completely antagonize the industry as a whole.

This is probably just in an effort to get Palworld since the other legal arguments keep dragging out. That or Nintendo was worried about someone else trying to patent troll them and just decided to patent everything possible.

Because game companies have had problems before where some smaller company issues a patent that they claim the bigger company violated and force them to go through a long legal process to prove they did it first.

That's why companies like Nintendo started doing stuff like this.

But for this one this will either get thrown out later or will get remade to be immensely more specific.

Re: Strong Final Fantasy Tactics Sales May Lead To More Remasters And Sequels

Metazoxan

@Fazermint There is a limit to how beneficial lowering price to increase sales is. Increased sales numbers only help if you actually still make a profit per sale and overall only if total profits surpass development cost. Game studios that produce games people like and yet still go bankrupt just proves this point. You can sell plenty of units and it won't matter if actual profits aren't enough.

And again, It's not like I'm condemning sales. But if people really want to encourage a franchise or developer to grow then buying full price helps. Especailly at release as publishers and investors tend to make decisions pretty quick based on those initial numbers.

of course you're free to not care about any of that, it's certainly not your responsability alone, but that's still the reality of buisness.

Re: Strong Final Fantasy Tactics Sales May Lead To More Remasters And Sequels

Metazoxan

@snil4 Your acting like I condemned sales in general. Everyone likes a good sale, but if that's the only time anyone buys a game then don't act surprised when a game studios shuts down because of lack of profits to keep the lights on.

Of course that's hardly your sole responsibility, so no need to defend yourself. Again everyone likes a good sale, I buy games on sale all the time.

Just be self aware that companies do actually need people to buy full price to make a profit. That's just the nature of business, it's not a personal attack.

Re: Strong Final Fantasy Tactics Sales May Lead To More Remasters And Sequels

Metazoxan

@LastFootnote 100% agree. I was only saying that I don't ENTIRELY blame companies at this point for feeling the need to remind people they need to actually buy games if they want them to continue.

The fact companies can take the wrong lesson from failure is certainly an issue and aside from them giving a physical release, the other way to deal with that is for people to buy digital instead of keycards if true physical isn't offered.

At least they'd know people wanted the game then.

But on the topic of this article I was just playing a little devil's advocate for square enix.

Re: Strong Final Fantasy Tactics Sales May Lead To More Remasters And Sequels

Metazoxan

@breach187 I agree. But I also think people have gotten TOO used to waiting for games to go on sale and not supporting them at release.

People seem to have forgotten if a product doesn't do well it doesn't continue.

So, to a degree, I think it's fine to remind gamers of the realities of business.

Just as long as they don't pull a Capcom and say "We cancelled MegaMan legends 3 because YOU didn't want it enough!".