Mountain_Man

StreetPass was a terrific idea that unfortunately didn't seem to catch on in a big way in the US. I carried my 3DS everywhere, and it was sometimes weeks between StreetPass hits. Even a day of traveling through multiple airports would only net me a few contacts. I understand it was a lot more successful in other countries.

Arcade games were deliberately unfair. The companies didn't want people to be able to play more than a few minutes without spending another quarter.

I like how friendly the demons appear in the Doom boxart. Just look at those big ol' goofy grins. Those guys aren't trying to kill you, they just want to hangout and have a good time.

@BloodNinja As I understand it, "mining" involves using complex mathematics to derive a unique numerical value that fits certain very strict parameters, and your reward is a Bitcoin that is added to the public pool. Obviously my understanding is extremely simple and probably partially or totally incorrect, but that's about as much knowledge as I have about the technical side of the subject.

You can, in theory, mine Bitcoins using any device capable of being programmed to carry out the necessary calculations, even something like a decades old HP programmable calculator, but it's obviously not going to be anywhere near as capable as a high powered computer system.

From the "someone with too much time on his hands" department.

The fact is, manufacturers are under no obligation to make their products easy to modify, and frankly, it's in their best interest if they don't, because ease of modification would imply to the consumer that it's something they are allowed to do, and can you imagine the customer service nightmare that would ensue when ham-handed consumers break their toys?

I'm still not sold on the idea of Gollum as a protagonist. He's not exactly a likeable character, nor is he supposed to be.

Well, I hope they ship my copy of Monster Hunter Rise.

A 600MB patch is considered small?

"Everything We Know So Far"

Which is precisely nothing. But nice clickbait.

I've seen several reviews that imply that Monster Hunter Rise is the first Monster Hunter game for the Switch. Are they simply not aware of Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate?

@NEStalgia I don't think I'm interpreting your remarks incorrectly since that's pretty much what you said, claiming that those of us who enjoy New Horizons "never really 'got' Animal Crossing before" and that we missed "the real core of the past games". You even implied that those who enjoy New Horizons are narcissistic. This would appear to be your attempt to subtly insult those who happen to disagree with you about your opinions of New Horizons, so don't feign surprise when people take offense at your comments. We get exactly what you're saying even if you think you were being clever about it.

I would further argue that it's not that we failed to notice certain systems in New Leaf but, rather, that you (and others) have simply failed to notice those same systems in New Horizons. They are simply presented in a different and perhaps more subtle way. I suppose you could argue that Nintendo "flipped" the formula a little, whereas before, the life sim aspects were more obvious and you had to dig a little bit for the customization aspect, now the customization aspects are more obvious, and you have to dig a little bit for the life sim. For instance, people complain about villagers not having enough unique dialogs, but all that tells me is that they're not making the effort to talk to their villagers more than once or twice a day. In other words, they're not doing the mundane things which you claim are the "real core" of the Animal Crossing experience!

And for a game that supposedly stripped out all the Japanese-centric flavor in order to appeal to Western audiences, New Horizons has still been a huge success in Japan. Are you going to claim that they don't "get" Animal Crossing?

@NEStalgia Right, we don't "get" it, so we're playing "incorrectly". To be blunt, that's a stupid argument.

As for the rest of it, New Horizons has at least as much "day to day life" as New Leaf. I can't comment on other games in the series since I've not played them, but if New Leaf is the benchmark, as many people suggest, then New Horizons is at least on the same level.

So... how much is the DLC going to be? Honestly, it's a bit hard to swallow paying $60 for what the review suggests is an unfinished game game and then being asked to pay extra to the get the whole thing. Is this how developers are sneaking $70 and $80 games onto the market? By selling it piecemeal so the final price tag is less obvious?

@NEStalgia Claiming that people who enjoy New Horizons aren't playing Animal Crossing "correctly" is a novel argument. It's not a good argument, but I'll give you credit for originality.

@NEStalgia To be honest, I don't actually see any vast difference between New Leaf and New Horizons. They are both Animal Crossing at their core with many of the same features that have always been in the series since it was first released all those years ago. But like with any long running series, not everybody is going to enjoy every single game.

@NEStalgia If anything, it seems like New Leaf appeals more to those players who enjoy the repetition of grinding out unlockables since that was one of the central features of the game. New Horizons is more about the ambience, enjoying your island, interacting with your villagers, collecting, decorating, etc. Seems like the people who really like having explicitly defined goals seem to prefer New Leaf. People who like an open ended sandbox experience enjoy New Horizons.

@VoidofLight You're a "glass is half empty" kind of thinker, aren't you? Were some features not carried over from the previous game? Sure. Were some features carried over but changed slightly? Yes. Were a number of significant new features added? Absolutely. Is New Horizons "lacking"? Not for countless players who have enjoyed it for dozens and even hundreds of hours. Honestly, with your attitude, perhaps we should complain that New Leaf is "lacking" because it doesn't have a number of key features that were added to New Horizons.

@jrb363 What are you talking about? Nothing is locked. Your whole family can share the same island and even play together through same-screen multiplayer (each player only needs a single Joy Con). Those are two of the basic features of the game.

@boxyguy The truth is, New Horizons isn't actually "lacking", it's just that some people don't seem to enjoy and appreciate what it has and instead choose to focus on what it doesn't have.

@dugan "How long after New Leaf came out did they add the campsite DLC?"

I think you're referring to the "Welcome amiibo" update which released in the fall of 2016, so about four years after the initial release of New Leaf.

I love the game as it is (already well on my way to blowing past my New Leaf play time), but it doesn't mean I wouldn't like to see some improvements:

• More uses for Nook Miles.
• Mystery islands that are actually worth visiting.
• Being able to collect all varieties of fruit and flowers without trading online.
• More house expansions and exterior design options.
• I would like to see Tommy and Timmy be able to expand their shop.
• A return of town projects for more elaborate semi-permanent structures would be neat, as well as the ability to customize the external appearance of your shops, museum, and town hall.

@jrb363 "I realized I'd need a separate console and copy of the game to play with my wife and also that my kids couldn't play either."

You can all share the same island. Of course you'll need to take turns on the Switch, or use the same-screen multiplayer feature so you can all play together at the same time (however, I think this is limited to four players).

@NEStalgia As far as I can see it, Nintendo didn't actually take anything away in terms of New Horizons being a "life sim". The animals are still chatty (the more you talk to them, the more they have to say), they still give you tasks and ask you to play the occasional game, you can still exchange presents with them which they'll wear or use to decorate their homes, they still converse and argue with each other, they wander around the island doing a number of different activities, which, I think, is something new for New Horizons. At least I don't remember the villagers in New Leaf ever walking around with a drink, or sitting under a tree to read a book, or inspecting something with a magnifying glass. They still gather to celebrate holidays. I think, all things considered, villagers are at least as lively and interactive as they were in New Leaf. (I can't comment on earlier games in the series since the only other Animal Crossing I've played is Wild World, and that only for a few months.)

What else are people really missing? Grinding for shop upgrades? Having villagers visit your house only to wander around for a few minutes and say the same random things each time? Playing the barista minigame at the Roost? (Something I only did a once or twice and thought, "What's the point?") To be honest, if I had a criticism, it's that Nintendo left villager interactions largely untouched for New Horizons. I was hoping to see it take a leap forward like the island decorating.

@NEStalgia "Once your island is as you want it, there really isn't anything else happening in the game unless you destroy it. Nl didn't have that problem because it wasn't about customizing things out was about interacting."

Interesting you would say that, because my thoughts are different. For me, New Leaf was all about the collecting and customizing, with villager interactions, as limited as they were, being largely secondary. So when New Horizons was announced with its landscaping and ease of outdoor decorating, I was excited, because it would finally allow me to do something that was always a chore in New Leaf.

@VoidofLight I suppose you could look at certain features that were in New Leaf and not New Horizons as "cut content", but that's "glass half empty" kind of thinking. Yes, fewer shops and fewer shop upgrades, but these are supplanted by a regular rotation of visiting merchants in New Horizons. No Gyroids, but we have an entirely new collectible in crafting recipes which can come from a variety of sources. And then of course there's crafting itself, which is a significant new feature to the series, not to mention landscaping and the ability to relocate structures and freely decorate the outdoors. A "lack of casual things" to do? I guess that depends entirely on what you want to do.

As I pointed out earlier, the main difference between the two games, New Leaf and New Horizons, is not in their content, but in their structure. If you prefer a more guided experience with explicitly defined activities and goals, then New Leaf is for you ("Here's what you need to do."). If you want something more open ended where the player has more control over his experience, then New Horizons will be more appealing ("What would you like to do?"). This is not to denigrate New Leaf. As I said, it's one of my all-time favorite games and my most played 3DS game by a huge margin (no other game even comes close), but I do greatly appreciate the more laid back, less "grindy" approach of New Horizons.

It seems like New Horizons is suffering from the "It's different, so it sucks" syndrome for a lot people.

@VoidofLight You keep going on about lack of house upgrades, and I agree, it is arguably lacking compared to previous games, but then you're given a whole island to freely sculpt and decorate, so it's like one step back and ten steps forward.

Villager interactions are about the same as I remember from New Leaf, or is my memory failing me? Holidays seem largely the same, unless I've also remembered this incorrectly.

You complain about a lack of items but then also complain about the "grind" to collect new recipes, so it seems that in this instance, it's not that New Horizons is missing content, you just don't like how it's presented.

Nobody is right or wrong here since it's all a matter of personal preference, but I still find some of your criticisms rather confusing and in some cases contradictory.

@VoidofLight "A bunch of the people I’ve seen who did quit loved New Leaf and past entries."

I continue to be baffled by these people who seem to suggest that New Leaf was rich with content and depth that is missing from New Horizons. Did I completely miss it in the hundreds of hours I spent playing New Leaf? Because the two games seem on par to me. They are each structured differently — New Leaf was comparatively rigid with more explicitly defined goals and gated content; New Horizons is a much more open and free experience — but as far as actual content and features like villager interactions, I really don't see the disparity.

If I had to sum up each game, New Leaf tells the player, "Here's what you need to do," while New Horizons asks, "What do you want to do?" Some people prefer the former, some the latter. Others, like me, appreciate both approaches, although I slightly prefer New Horizons over New Leaf since it feels more relaxing and less "grindy" to me.

@LavaTwilight "I'm glad to see almost a third of us are playing every day. With so many saying they've stopped or only come back once in a while it makes me feel like I'm the only one."

It's about what I expected. Animal Crossing isn't for everybody. A lot of newcomers seem to approach it as a typical gaming experience and binge on it for several weeks and then get frustrated because they feel like they're not progressing quickly enough, or they've run out of things to do, and so they give up. I think us "old hands" realize that once you've done everything you care to do in a day, even if you've only played for 20 or 30-minutes, then it's okay to put it aside until the next day. It's a game that's designed to be played for years, not just a few months.

Still actively playing almost every day. New Leaf was my most played 3DS game by a huge margin. New Horizons is the same for me on the Switch. Even after a full year and hundreds of hours, I still feel like there's plenty left to do and see.

I miss the good ol' days of Club Nintendo. They used to offer some pretty cool stuff that was actually worth getting.

@X68000 GTA 5 is okay. I would much prefer another game in the style of Chinatown Wars.

Speaking of GTA, I would love to see a Chinatown Wars sequel for the Switch. Chinatown Wars was my favorite DS game and my favorite GTA game.

The Friends Of Ringo Ishikawa ... at first I read that as "The Friends Of Ringo Starr" and was baffled by what kind of game it might be. I was about to buy it based on the name alone.

@quangtuyensa90 "...can AC Crossing be played offline, or is it compulsory to play online?"

I don't have a Nintendo Online account, and I've still managed to sink 400+ hours into New Horizons, so it's certainly not compulsory. It's not without some downsides, such as the inability to collect all non-native fruits and flowers which requires trading with other players, or accessing the custom design portal which is an online-only feature, but these are minor deficiencies. You will still have access to 99.9% of game content even without a Nintendo Online account.

@johnvboy Right. I'm not saying New Horizons is perfect. Mystery Islands are pretty much a bust, there's not nearly enough to do with Nook Miles, and the inability to collect all non-native fruit and flowers without trading with others online sucks, and I do kind of miss town projects which would be a neat way of giving more "stretch goals" in the game, but all in all, there is far more I like about New Horizons than what I don't like.

To all the complainers, I'm still trying to figure out what wonderful depth and variety of content was supposedly in previous Animal Crossing games but is missing from New Horizons.

I've seen complaints about a lack of non-resident NPCs and shops, but what about the regular rotation of island visitors like Redd, Sabelle, Lief, Kicks, and so on?

People complain about not enough house upgrades, but instead we have an entire island that we can sculpt and landscape and decorate and move island structures to our heart's content (no more residents randomly plopping a house down where you don't want!), so is this a case of one step back and ten steps forward?

As for villager interactions, if I had a complaint it's that they seem identical to every previous game in the series. I personally would have appreciated more complex interactions, perhaps even a rudimentary system of branching dialogs, but I suppose that may be asking too much for a game that is intended to be played for years, so quick and simple is probably for the better. And even after 400-hours, my villagers still manage to surprise me with some of the things they do and say. Just yesterday, one of my residents swatted a neighbor with his net and then did the "D'oh!" emote, which I thought was hilarious.

All in all, New Horizons seems perfectly par for the course for Animal Crossing.

Like most JRPGs, the Zelda series are adventure/puzzle games. A role playing game would be one where player choice can change the outcome of the story, or at least the way it is told.

Oh, darn, people on other systems will be able to play a game that I've been enjoying on the Switch. Whatever will I do?

Everybody laughing about the $200 gift cards, but that's in addition to 90 days severance pay, health benefits for a year, and access to reemployment services, so the employees aren't being totally screwed.

"...the most difficult aspects of the pandemic..."

The problem is not the pandemic, it's how the wannabe tyrants in our governments have responded to it.

I'd buy it. Make it happen, Nintendo.

All these people raving about how great it looks, but honestly, it doesn't look significantly different from the stock game.

I was hoping for some significant new gameplay features and not just a collection of new items.

I would hope Nintendo has tweaked things to make this event less onerous.

And people really believe that Nintendo is going to spike this momentum with the sudden release of an upgraded model?

@anoyonmus Keeping the framerate at a solid 60FPS is a laudable goal, and I don't mind if there are certain visual concessions necessary to achieve that. What I'm concerned about — assuming EA is even planning on a Madden release for the Switch — is that the entire experience will be watered down by simplifying or even cutting features like season and franchise modes.

Terrible game. Forgot it even existed.

@anoyonmus I would hope you recognize that "testing the waters" with a second rate product is a flawed approach.