So, I have an OG "launch day" Switch that I'll keep for myself even if I'll probably never actually use it again. Barring some massive emergency, it'll just be a "keepsake" of the time I waited outside a West Des Moines Best Buy for 7 or 8hrs in blustery 20 degree weather for the midnight release.
However, I also have a Switch OLED which will stay in the family, but which I plan to offer to my wife so that she has a Switch of her own once I can snag a Switch 2. She's not the gamer that I am, but has made overtures of wanting one. She had a Lite briefly, but gifted it to a nephew. So I want to give her my OLED. If it really takes off for her, then we'll see about getting her a 2 of her own the first chance we get (probably at the next tax or bonus time).
But, for the purposes of the poll, I voted "pass it on to someone else".
But hey, listen, if absolutely nothing else, a SINCERE thank you for reading that whole thing and engaging with it. Truly. Most people don't have the mental energy to deal with anything longer than a tweet, and would've simply "tl;dr'd it" and moved on. But not you. So, I do sincerely appreciate the engagement, @Kestrel.
If, after everything I've had you read, you feel like replying back, I would at least owe you the courtesy of reading it. So I'll be sure to do so. But my guess is that this is where things will probably begin to wind down. And if so, a completely genuine "all the best"!
@Kestrel no, no. That still misses the point. Live (liv) and Live (laiv) are two separate English words. They're closely related words, sure. They're two words which are spelled the same, like "trunk of an elephant" vs "trunk of a car"...also sure. But they're still two different words that have slightly different meanings, and, unlike our "trunk/trunk" example, noticeably different pronunciations. But most important of all, they are not interchangeable without significantly altering the meaning of a sentence.
The first mistake you're making here is this: it's not a case of "potayto" vs "potahto" or "tomayto" vs "tomahto", it's a case of "live from New York, it's Saturday night" vs "I don't want to die, I want to live". And all the Katakana does for us here - that even our own roman alphabet cannot do for us is to specify which of the two separate, similar, but technically different English words were being used / intended by the Japanese creator. And on each side of the "-a-", it just so happens to be the "live from New York" one. I suppose we could put it this way: in writing, the words are indistinguishable without the aid of context. And to be sure, "Live-A-Live" itself gives us no context. But the Katakana's specificity here gives us the missing context we need. Your second mistake is to presume this is a Japanese vs English thing here, when really, it's English vs English with the Japanese simply providing the clarity.
tl;dr: We're dealing with two different words, not two different opinions over how to pronounce one word. And it's just a weird quirk that we need to appeal to the Japanese writing system to settle the ambiguity for us.
So, as I said, you are absolutely free to be wrong, if being comfortable is more important than being right to you. But to help put the error in better perspective for you: to argue "liv-a-laiv" is an equally valid pronunciation here as "Laiv-a-laiv" is PRECISELY as valid or as invalid of an argument (not one iota more or less valid) than to argue "'liv' from New York, it's Saturday night', or "I don't want to die, I want to 'laiv'" are valid pronunciations of the previous examples - that do NOT change the original sentences' meanings in the process.
If that's something which you'd REALLY want to attempt to argue here, then your "rightness / wrongness" factor is....well.....precisely identical to what it has been this whole time, at which point I suppose I would be euphemistically polite enough to simply say "then I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree". Failing your willingness to attempt such a silly argument, then if being comfortable is more important than being correct, then by all means, please continue to enjoy "liv-a-laiv". Hell, I would even agree with you that it -IS- more comfortable! Way more comfortable! I don't really actually like "Laiv-a-laiv" very much, if we're being honest! Failing that also, though.... well, then welcome to the exact same boat I am finding myself in: learning to reprogram my "mental muscle memory" on this matter away from something I like much better to something I like much less, and start calling it "Laiv-a-laiv" instead of "liv-a-laiv". Because once again, until yesterday....until the facts forced me to do otherwise....I would've totally been on your side on this.
@Kestrel I mean, hey, if what's more comfortable to you as an English speaker about a Japanese game with an English title where the Japanese Katakana clears up the Japanese creator's English intent is more important to you than said Japanese creator's actual English intent, then, go nuts, I guess. "Liv-a-Laiv" it is (or "baked potato" for as much as it would matter at that point - your options are that point are as infinite as the entirety of the English language itself).
But if the Japanese creator's English intent (as merely REVEALED by the Katakana), is more important, then your choices are a) "Laiv-a-laiv", b) "Laiv-a-laiv", or c) "Laiv-a-laiv".
This one isn't a matter of Japanese language rules vs English language rules. This is ultimately a question of English. -BUT- it is a question of English -AS INFORMED BY- the Japanese syllabary for words of foreign origin (katakana, as opposed to hiragana, the syllabary for words of Japanese origin, or Kanji, the ideographic symbols carried over from Chinese Hanzí).
Perhaps it's a tad bit reductionist to do so, but you can almost think of Katakana as the opposite of Romaji. Romaji is Japanese words in our writing system, such as "tanoshii desu ne" (trans. "this is fun, right?"), where Katakana is our words (or any non-native Japanese word) in their writing system (such asコンピューター or "computer"). Only, since the Japanese language has vastly fewer unique sounds than English (something crazy, like 110 vs 8000), the more complex pronunciation of English words is reduced to the more limited sounds available in Japanese, and thus, "computer" becomes "konpyutah", "Playstation" becomes "pureisuteishon" (a la the late 90's early 00's Playstation commercials), or more relevantly, "Laiv-a-laiv" becomes "raibu-a-raibu". If it had been "liv-a-laiv" that had been intended instead, then I suspect the Katakana would've looked something more like リブ・ア・ライブ ("reebu a raibu").
So, again, this is ultimately not a question of "how Japanese works". This is simply a matter of a moment in language where there is ambiguity in our own writing system which is cleared up by cross referencing the same thing as expressed in their writing system (or more properly, ONE OF their writing systemS).
In light of this, you can call it whatever you want...and be happy...but you can only call it one thing....and be correct. If you've read my earlier comments, you'll already know that I too had been pronouncing it "Liv-a-laiv" this whole time, as I followed the Legacy Music Hour example in feeling that this was the most intuitive, linguistically comfortable, and "obvious reading as an English speaker ". But looking at the Katakana pointed out my error and set me straight. And now I'm going to try to retrain my brain to adjust accordingly, and try to start saying "Laiv-a-laiv" (even though, yes, that's awkward as hell!) 🤣
But what YOU do with this info (if you even bothered to read it in the first place) is entirely up to you, my man. I can only lead you to it.
@NerdNoiseRadio ライブ・ア・ライブ - (raibu a raibu)....so, that's that. I've been wrong this whole time, and Legacy Music Hour (for as fantastic as they are) "done told us all wrong"! 🤣
It is "LIE-VALIVE" /laɪv ə laɪv/ (or, "jiver jive")....and that's that! One may cling to an alternate pronunciation if they so wish...but they cannot do so CORRECTLY. And as such, I'll immediately abandon the "giver jive" I've enjoyed this whole time, and issue a correction on our next "Channel 2" episode!
I'd have been even happier had it turned out to be what I've been calling it this whole time....but at least the ambiguity is cured, and now I know for certain what the real answer is - and that by itself feels nice!
I've been following "Legacy Music Hour" protocol and pronouncing it ""LIV-ALIVE" /lɪv ə laɪv/" (or "giver jive" by the NL distinction). It's a game that has also been featured once on our show once as well (C2E5 "Nihon Dake De" - where my co-host Hugues brought the VERY "Ken's Theme"-like "Knock You Down") and referenced a couple other times in addition to that, where it has also been pronounced this way.
You know, if we could just see the Japanese katakana for Live-A-Live, that'd probably straighten this all right up! I'll go have a look, and reply-to-self if I find it. I'm not so married to the pronunciation that I would refuse to abandon it if we can get conclusive katakana confirmation to the contrary. But until then, it's "giver jive" in the book of NNR!
You know, since getting the Steam Deck, I've hardly touched my Switch. It went shockingly quickly from getting almost all my play time to getting very very little. Still more than the PS5....but you know, almost certainly less than my XBSX now (thanks to GamePass).
But, when I saw this headline, and saw that it included Wily Wars....I was like "that's it, I'm dusting off my Switch!!" I love Wily Wars! I mean, I already had access to it on my Genesis mini, but playing that means having to dick with hooking it up, and trying to sneak in some game time where the toddler won't run by and trip over the controller cord (and also not being able to play it out and about anywhere). This way I can play it all the ways the Switch let's you play, which is what had made the Switch become my #1 system for so long in the first place! 😊
Now, of course, I could always just set up something like Emulation Station on the Deck, download a bunch of ROMs, and then have this kinda stuff not really matter to me anymore either (have only big AAA 1st party Switch exclusives still matter anymore). And someday? I will! Mark my words!....
.....until then, though? This article has got me seriously excited to spend some time with my Switch again!! ❤️
Cheers!
[edit: Zero Wing has me excited too. I mean, how can I not be excited about getting to experience "All your Base" outside of a YouTube video?!]
Words cannot express how excited I am about this!!
I've always said that if one were to marry the functionality of a Genesis 6-button with the form and feel of a Genesis 3-button, it'd become my all time favorite retro game controller instantly. I know Saturn is close, and so is 3DO, actually - which, by the way, is what I had previously named as my favorite retro controller, the original 3DO controller...
.....but now....we have this....the literal fulfillment of my adolescent dreams! A 6-button in the exact form of a 3-button!! They even have three versions: hardwired 9-pin versions for actual Genesis consoles, hardwired USB for other systems and/or the mini, and then wireless with each kind of dongle for "all the above" purposes.
This is.....well...... EVERYTHING!!! ❤️❤️❤️ I will certainly be picking up a 9-pin hardwired or two for my old Genesis / Sega CD / 32X, and may even pick up a wireless or two for my other systems. 🥰
Here's what I'll say about this (sorry for the long-winded):
Being a Nintendo fan has long felt like being in an abusive relationship where [STRICTLY METAPHORICALLY SPEAKING] it's like getting the ***** beat out of you all the time, but you still don't leave because the sex is just too good. By that, I mean, I am simply appalled by their litigious, draconian, seemingly arbitrary blatantly anti-consumer practices and decisions. But I can't quite bring myself to do the one thing that might possibly inspire a change from them, and hit them in the pocketbook by walking away from them, and their products. Neither of the following sentiments are exaggerated even one iota: as a content and culture and experience creator....I LOVE them! Best in the entire industry in my opinion! But as a corporate business entity....I HATE them! Full stop!
In the past, with the Switch being my #1 system, I really felt even more trapped than I do now that the Steam Deck has supplanted it as my top machine, and so maybe soon I'll feel sufficiently emboldened to take some kind of action. Either way, even if (as a now secondary, or possibly even tertiary system for me, possibly also now behind the XBSX), I never completely abandon the Switch, the balance between love and hate has shifted from a bitter stalemate to one where the negative feelings and indignation and disgust finally have the liberty to begin to dominate. So, maybe I won't hard drop N. Instead, maybe I'll just let them do a slow fade. And then, when it comes time to possibly buy whatever Nintendo does next....maybe I just won't do it. That's probably a long ways down the road, though, so we'll see. But I do have a hard time envisioning my outlook towards them sweetening, rather than only continuing to sour in the time between.
Lastly, for years, I posted [as a repeater] my VGM podcast on YouTube, but stopped a few years ago as I watched my numbers migrate from there to the podcast feed (a corresponding and nearly equal lowering on the one and raising on the other). I had planned to return Nerd Noise Radio as a music-only mixtape service to YouTube starting next year to celebrate the 10yr anniversary of its existence. But with Nintendo only getting more and more brazen and draconian as time goes on, it is more and more uncertain (and maybe now even somewhat "unlikely") that I will do that. My show is big enough that I feel justified continuing to make it (sorta middle of the pack by the far more modest standards of VGM podcasts), but small enough that it should stay off most radars. However, Nintendo seems uniquely focused on YouTube in particular, and so why should I risk putting a spotlight on myself like this?
I guess we'll see. But either way, this is ***** that content creators like myself have to even be making these kinds of mental calculus just because the house of Mario are going to be such dicks! Yeah, the needle is definitely moving further from green to red on them the more time passes and with each new headline.
Here's to hoping that they don't manage to completely ruin a good thing!
Yet another example of me reading a Nintendo Life review for an intriguing 3rd party game heading to Switch, and then rushing to add it to my wishlist - only not on the eShop, but on Steam (for play on the Steam Deck).
This has happened so frequently since getting the Deck that I'm starting to feel actual guilt about getting my Steam recommendations from a Switch site - like I get this is 100% silly of me, but it's actually starting to feel like I'm ripping Nintendo Life off somehow by doing this.
But I also don't see it stopping, as a) Nintendo Life is a great news and reviews source, and b) even if the Steam Deck for me has not quite become a "Switch killer" so to speak, it has ABSOLUTELY become a "Switch Tax Killer". Since purchasing the deck, I have made absolutely zero software purchases on the Switch, well, certainly no purchases that exist on both platforms anyway....
....and that seems unlikely to change anytime soon! 😂
@NerdNoiseRadio LONG VERSION (part 2 of 2 - character limits are bulls***!)
(continued)
-BUT- All is not perfect. If there is one unhappy reality that I've faced that my blog could not anticipate, it's that at present, the Steam Deck is still somewhat "not fully baked". And the way in which this is the most painfully evident to me personally is in the docking situation. The official Steam Dock isn't here yet, and who knows how much it'll cost? A lot of the higher end DisplayLink-based docks, like the famous Dell D6000 don't seem to work on the Steam Deck (a Linux problem in general as my laptop also doesn't really work with it either), and the little cheapy D-Links that people are being successful with are so limited on their own, that they can't even charge the device - something that the article highlights, but errs in presenting as if it were a permanent condition for the device, when really, it's more a problem with the basic docks that are working.
The biggest part of the charm of the Switch for me was that it, well, switches, right? The Switch Lite never interested me a bit because...well...it doesn't. A humongous part of the draw to the Steam Deck for me is that it might not only switch between handheld and console like the Switch, but also switch between a console-like streamlined experience, and a full-fat desktop PC OS / UI, and be able to be a console, handheld, AND desktop. And you know, it will.....but it's not yet. Not really. And so, for now, of the three ways I had hoped to use the Deck, thus far, I've only been able to do the one. Thus far, it is like an ultra-gigantic Switch Lite - just one mode.
Again, we'll eventually get the dock situation worked out, on both the "console" side, and the "desktop" side. And once that happens, and we can play in higher res due to AMD FSR, and play with ray tracing enabled (waiting on a MESA driver update), and we can charge while we're playing, and all of that stuff...then I feel like at that point there'll no stopping the Steam Deck's meteoric rise to claim quite probably a good 90% of my total playtime, just like the Switch did 5yrs ago.
But until all the major bugs are worked out, and until the docking situation is resolved, then I feel the idea of the Deck taking the throne may be "a dream deferred". Even if so much less powerful, so much less capable, and by far, so much less flexible / malleable / exploitable, the one thing we absolutely CAN say about the Switch....is that it is 100% fully baked and ready to shine at full brightness - unlike we can say about the Steam Deck....at least for now.
I'll "reply-to-self" one final time with a link to the blog post. Again, minus the caveats listed above, and with the added tweak that "Steam Deck isn't firing on all cylinders just quite yet", I would stand by everything else I say in the blog. So, standby for that! It's imminently incoming!
@NerdNoiseRadio LONG VERSION (part 1 of 2 - motherf***ing character limits!!):
A few days before the February 25th launch of the Steam Deck, I did something I hadn't done in the 7 years prior: I wrote a blog. And it was a blog about the Steam Deck, written from the perspective of a Linux enthusiast and Switch lover over how I predicted this thing would rather quickly [in my personal use case, anyway] kick the Switch off the throne of "my #1 most used system" and take that crown for itself.
I still believe that this will happen, and indeed, if play patterns and purchase habits since getting "the Deck" are anything to go by, then, you know, perhaps it already has taken that throne. I have done only very, very little Switch playing in the time since, and, like, ALL my third party game purchases that exist on both systems have been Steam purchases, rather than eShop purchases. In fact, I actually feel a little guilty about this, but I cannot even count the number of NintendoLife articles I've read since getting the Deck, which review, or at least announce XYZ 3rd party game that sounds interesting to me, and then immediately.....add it to my eShop wishlist? No. I go and add it to my Steam wishlist instead.
Maybe the Steam Deck isn't a "Switch Killer". But in my personal use case, at least, it seems VERY much to be a "Switch Tax Killer", as the proposition of paying $20-$30 more, a year or two later, and at very bottom graphics and performance settings that comes with Switch purchases that used to be a no-brainer, automatic yes for me have now become a nearly automatic no, when I can pay less, wait less, and have higher settings for the same game on the Steam Deck.
Plus, the part that is the most obviously missing from your article is the application of the Steam Deck as a full-fat Linux desktop PC, that with a working dock becomes a "roving secondary desktop PC". Now, granted, the audience for that is going to be pretty niche, but it certainly exists, and certainly warrants the mention. In fact, I've already promised myself that I'd plan, produce, and release at least one episode of Nerd Noise Radio from entirely on the Deck....just because I can! #SteamDeckDoesWhatNintendont.
What is more important and less niche than that I can use the thing as a full-fat Linux PC based on Arch, and using the KDE desktop environment - the perfect mix of new and exciting to me (Arch) and old favorite (KDE) - as one who uses Ubuntu Studio on his laptop (which this is being written on) and gaming PC, is the catalytic significance and self-perpetuating, exponential growth, infinite feedback loop for the advancement and acceleration of Steam Proton, and Gaming on Linux more generally by finally having a mainstream, popular, "flagship device" to coalesce around. Proton has grown at light speed already even with the audience being so disparate and niche. Imagine just how much faster and more decisively that will happen now with a "champion device" to rally behind.
SHORT VERSION (will "reply-to-self" with a longer version later):
As one who owns both a Steam Deck (the middle-tier version), and a Switch OLED, I think this is a pretty fair comparison. There are bits I could quibble with here or there, but I think I'll largely leave those alone (or at least save them for my "long version" reply). On balance, this is a good, solid write-up.
For as similar as the two things seem from a distance, they are apples and oranges enough that it defies time-honored internet favorites like "this one is the clear winner, and only idiots and perverts disagree". I think so long as we can avoid sounding anything like that, then we really can't find ourselves going too far afield here.
I'll say more in my "reply-to-self". But for now: a pretty satisfying read! Thank you for writing it!
I was so honored to have been one of the people anonymously quoted in this! I was the quote about Animal Crossing and 2020 / 2021 blending into each other!
That aside, the survey was a fun read! This was my first year participating in it, or even reading it! I'll plan to stick with it going forward, I think!
@ivory_soul okay, yes. The battery for sure! The battery is way better than the day one. But I don't know if it's necessarily better than the 2nd gen V1. That's where the big battery change really happened as far as I understand. And there are other changes too, but things that's I'd consider pretty minor. The speakers, the storage, the stand....well, maybe that stand is a bit more substantial.
I wasn't trying to say that the OLED isn't worth the $50 over a fresh V1. In fact, I think it's totally worth the $50. Hence why I have an OLED and not a fresh V1. My point was that -in my opinion- [YMMV, we may just have to agree to disagree] what the OLED is NOT worth is the $350 to replace a perfectly solid existing unit. If my day one hadn't been beaten to hell, then I probably would've passed on the OLED. That's my point. I just wanted to retire my beat up day one BEFORE it broke.
@NerdNoiseRadio One more reply-to-self. Since I don't know if replies containing links get auto-banned, I'm doing a separate follow-up comment. So, if you never see this comment, then I guess we know links get banned.
I have a Google Photos photo album of 03/02/17 4pm - 03/03/17 approx 1am (aka, the getting of the Switch), a couple pics of this same unit taken on 03/03/22, and a screen capture of the text from my social media blast about it.
On the one hand, I -LOVE- the Switch OLED. On the other hand, the -ONLY- reason I even have an OLED to begin with is because my 03/03/17 OG launch unit had been beaten to hell, and while still 100% functional, I wanted to be able to retire it from active use and make it a permanent display piece BEFORE that changed.
So, it'll be seldom (if EVER) that I ever power it up again, but instead, it'll always have a place of honor and prestige as a display piece in my game rig, for however long as fate allows me to not be deprived of it. And, knowing that I can at least power it up should I ever want to does make me feel a lot better than if it were just a Switch-shaped decorative item.
The OG was the only system I have EVER waited in line for a midnight launch for in my entire life (and I'm in my early 40's now), and it got me through the care / support / recovery period of a loved one's major surgery / long recovery that occurred just days after. It also quickly became my #1 system, eventually commanding 95% (or more) of my total game time for most of its life. Game Pass via XBSX eventually managed to claw that back to something still majority, but much less monopolistic, and I envision Steam Deck will claw back even more, likely even replacing it as my #1 system. I paid "the Switch Tax" cheerfully on hundreds of games (which I will do a lot less of once I have "the Deck"), and I took the thing everywhere with me. So, even in a protective case inside a backpack, it still got beaten up pretty badly.
Even though, as I said, it still worked perfectly (beyond the obvious Joycon drift), I felt the crushing weight of conviction that this would not last. And this is why I replaced it with the OLED. For as much as I love the OLED, I feel there is no way I could even remotely have justified paying that much money for just a better screen when the original screen was sufficient, had my OG been more solid.
I would've replaced it even sooner, but like so many of us, I had been tantalized by the rumored "Pro", and I was waiting it out. But when it became clear that the Pro wasn't coming, and the OLED was what we were getting instead, given the choice between a $350 brand new OLED or a $300 brand new V1.5, $50 was a much easier expense to justify, so I pre-ordered on day one.
SHORT VERSION (I'll reply-to-self with LONG VERSION):
I still have my 03/03/17 launch day OG Switch, and it's still 100% functional. But it's very beat up, and so I pre-ordered the OLED on day one, and retired the OG from active service once the OLED arrived. The plan is to keep the OG as a permanent display piece. It's nice to know that I COULD turn it on if I ever wanted to. But I struggle to envision a scenario where I ever WOULD.
That's the short version. See my reply-to-self if you'd like to know more.
I grew up with the NES version and liked it plenty well. However, in my early 20's, during the early 2000's, when retro-gaming was still cheap and abundant, and I had "more dollars than sense", and was going back for all those systems and games I had known about, but never got to experience as a kid, I came into possession of the Mastersystem version of this game, and I can indeed attest that it is significantly better than the NES port. I don't really remember it being "faster" than the NES version, but the visuals were certainly better, (not surprising given the system's generally superior graphics hardware) and even the music and sounds we're better and more engaging (perhaps a bit more surprising given the system's generally inferior sound hardware). Also, a lot of the little touches of the Arcade that were scrubbed for the NES are still present.
All in all, it was just a much better presentation.
Perhaps the biggest difference between them, though, is that one allowed infinite continues, where the other did not. If you're a fan of challenge, then that makes the Mastersystem version the better one yet again. But unless you were just a master at the game, if you wanted any realistic chance at all of making it to, say, Des Moines, the NES version, limitations and deficits aside, was still your way to go.
I will say, as an aside, that that was a big deal to me as a kid, to be playing through the US and arrive eventually at Des Moines. Des Moines is a mid-sized city / metropolitan area, and so it's really neither big nor small in the grand scheme of things. More "tiny big city" mid-sized today, more "giant small town" mid-sized back when this game was being made. But even mid-sized cities are not that much more likely than properly small towns to appear in movies or games and the like, and so for my brother and I, a pair of Des Moines kids, it was sort of a double-take situation to see our own city show up on-screen. But an exciting one to be sure.
Of course, in the world of Rampage, there is no meaningful difference between Los Angeles, California or the even bigger New York City, New York on the one hand, and Des Moines, Iowa or the even smaller Bismarck, North Dakota, on the other, with none of them or any of the other cities in the game featuring anything unique to the town...but still. I was in Des Moines, playing a game taking place in Des Moines, and for mid-sized city kids, that's not something that comes along just any old day.
I think that in general terms - based on the results of these polls, a lot of people here among the NL readership are doing a pretty solid job of avoiding a strong "familiarity bias" - meaning, I don't think a lot of people are just arbitrarily preferring what's familiar just because it's familiar, or what's novel just because it's novel, but letting simple tastes weigh more than that, and chosing a mix of the two. I know that in my own case as an American, I'm probably not that far removed from voting NA, EU, and JP about equally. Actually, if anything, it's JP I'm voting for the most. Based on the polls, it seems like there's a lot of people like me here, who are not being "region ruled".
However, in this case, I do think familiarity / novelty biases will be stronger, as, is your frame of reference playing these games playing as vaguely Stallone / Schwarzenegger-esque humans in Contra, or playing as sorta generic robot soldiers in Probotector (which I must admit sounds a bit too much like "Probiotic" for me). 😂
Here, I think we will all be a bit more likely to either run towards or away from the familiar because of how striking the difference is. In my case, I am a bit averse to the robots, preferring the humans, although, I didn't go full familiarity, as I favored the more opened up artwork and style of the logo on the JP version.
Also, if my theory here holds any water at all, it makes loads of sense that the presumably predominantly EU readership of this UK site would predominantly favor Probiotic....er, I mean Probotector! 😉😂
In any case, they're all three decent box arts, so it's kinda hard to go too far amiss here. Anyway, I do really enjoy these contests. Please keep them up!
This is one I really look forward to getting and giving a try. Downgraded though they may be, those visuals still look pretty good to me - especially in docked mode.
Which brings me to a semi-related counterpoint: I can't help but notice a near 100% refrain at NintendoLife which says "looks better in handheld". Everyone is entitled to their opinions, of course, and that's the beauty of the Switch, that you can play it big screen or small (not you, Switch Lite!) But the virtually invincible persistence of this refrain from NL makes me wonder if the reviewers are sitting 18" away from a 80" TV or something. If you're sitting too close to too big of a screen, even a 4K Ultra PC game will show it's seams. Of course it's gonna look bad.
My docked playing of the Switch [50% or less of my total play time in truth, but as close to 100% as I can manage in intent] is mostly split between the three lower-middle-priced 4K TVs in my house ranging in sizes from 40"-49", in ages from 2017-2020, and in price from $250-$800. I tend to sit anywhere from 3ft to 8ft away from them when I play. And a radical majority of the time, I prefer the look docked, and often times MUCH prefer it.
Not only are the seams not so obvious on those screen sizes at that distance, but the visual perks of the higher visual settings on most games coming from the system in docked mode are often more than apparent (just one example: transparent dragonfly wings in Animal Crossing vs dithered wings in handheld).
Also, in the case of all three TVs, the colors are more vibrant, the contrast, white balance, and black levels are all better than the Switch's screen, even on the one with the softest colors and shallowest black levels.
None of these are high end sets: and yet they all offer vastly superior viewing experiences than the Switch screen in my opinion, which, rather than hiding visual compromises for me vs other platforms, it usually only highlights compromises in undocked mode vs docked mode (such as, once again, dithered dragonfly wings in Animal Crossing vs transparent).
Anyway, take that as a counterpoint on the "looks better handheld" thing. Not having had the chance to play this particular game yet, I can't speak specifically to it in this dynamic. But I wish NL would qualify these kinds of statements better - as their own subjective opinions rather than objective fact - when the only TRUE objectivity here is that docked mode is the more capable mode. And maybe reveal something of their methodology, such as "we're pointing binoculars at a 130" projector screen for our docked analysis".
Otherwise, most readers will believe it and/or agree with it simply on the grounds that it was said. I realize that never once did NL actually use the words "objectively better" when it comes to handheld visuals, but given the kind of eternally persistent, non-qualified repetition, it begins to take on that kind of implicit ring over time.
Anyway, looks like a great game, and I am glad that it has finally arrived on the platform. Now here's to hoping we'll eventually see No Man's Sky as well, eh?
Haha! Talk about "missing the forest for the trees" on my part, but the thing that jumped out at me most was the picture with the computer desktop / navigation area, and I was like...."(gasp!) LINUX!!!!!"
I'm sure it's just a mock-up, but it looks like a recent Gnome desktop environment! It even has terminal! As a relatively new and enthusiastic Linux user, that got me excited (even though I use a mix of KDE and DDE myself).
Beyond that, yeah, I kinda like this little FMV revival movement we're having, now that the tech has caught up to do it well, and now that our discernment as a community requires quality acting / writing. Long gone are the days where simply having moving people talking was good enough. The author said it just right that the original FMVs ranged from "'so bad it's good' to 'just plain bad'".
You know, we really are feeling the effects of this here at Nerd Noise Manor.
My daughter turns 13 next month, and is wanting a Switch for her birthday. We can find Lites a number of places, but she wants the full-fat version, because, just like me, while we both prize the ability and flexibility to play handheld, her much preferred way to play is docked, on a decently sized TV, lounging on the couch, or bed, or whatever.... with just a controller in hand.
Only there is nary a full-fat Switch proper to be found anywhere within hundreds of miles of Des Moines, and no one even allowing you to get on a backorder list. For us, it's pay a hawker an obscene mark up in the second-hand market, make do, regrettably with a Lite, bide our time in the hopes of an improved availability (which is what we've been doing so far)...or just try to find something else with which to make the kiddo happy... on a major milestone birthday in which she is probably going to have to miss out on the festivities of a big party anyway due to lockdown.
Here's to hoping something will come available. Otherwise, I'm kinda tempted to just give her a choice between a brand new Lite, or my old Launch-Day Switch to tide her over til we can get her a proper one - who knows when, so she can at least play Switch on her own right away.
Fingers crossed.
p.s. oh, I'm also in "pre-order jail" on a TG16 mini. Initial ship estimate 12/31/20. Now they've actually pushed it back into January 2021. Yikes!
Will it catch the NES? Definitely. Will it catch the Wii? Hard to say. That depends on so many circumstances and variables that we just can't see very well yet.
I mean, I kinda hope it overtakes the Wii to become #1. It would be pretty rad. But if it doesn't? No biggie! The Wii was a superlatively exquisite system - the thing to really being me back into gaming and gamerdom as a central facet of my life and identity, after I had started to drift off towards other things in my mid-late 20's.
And I mean, it's not like the Switch wouldn't still be fantastic even if it does fall short of the Wii in lifetime sales. Sales numbers only mean so much. Hell, the WiiU, a definitive last place was still an extraordinary system as far as I'm concerned! The sales crown would be a nice feather in the cap, and it would be nice to see Nintendo's "finest hour" in the present, rather than in the past. But otherwise, what is it worth other than as vindication that the system already long since stopped needing?
I realize the possibility (even probability?) that Gamevice's bid to kick Switch out of the US is not intended to actually kick Switch out of the country after all, but just to leverage the ability to do so as a playing card to get them more favorable terms at the negotiation table in allowing them to stay. So I'll just get that little caveat out of the way. The rest of what I am about to say factors out this contingency.
Now, assuming that they really are out to kick Nintendo out of the country....and they succeed? Why, I can't think of a single worse fate for Gamevice.
Right now, they are a pretty small time brand that only so many people even know about, and even fewer actually care about, who makes products that are only interesting to a niche audience. If they actually do succeed in driving out the Switch, what will they achieve for themselves but to become one the most hated companies in video gaming, earn legions of haters who boycott their products on principle, and encourage / evangelize others to do the same, and find themselves blacklisted out of existence. Should they win the battle, that very act of winning the battle in and of itself shall become the direct cause of their losing the war, as people, in addition to blacklisting Gamevice, will find workarounds to get their Switches and games, and at the very, VERY least, Nintendo will be around next generation with something big that doesn't beholden them to Gamevice.
I cannot escape the parallels here between Gamevice / Nintendo and Captain Ahab / Moby Dick, hell bent on plunging his harpoon into that great, terrible eye. He did...and it cost him everything. Best case scenario, he and his men drowned at sea. Even more disturbing - the possibility that their bodies (dead or still living) actually ended up feeding, nourishing, and CONTINUING the very beast he wasted everything to END, turning the ultimate victory into the ultimate defeat.
I realize that the odds of Gamevice actually succeeding here are relatively modest to begin with, and thank the universe for that! But should they actually succeed in plucking out the eye of the great red whale with that tiny, tiny harpoon of theirs....then gamerdom will never forget, and never forgive, and Gamevice will get their headlines, just as Mr. Ismay did on the day the Titanic sank. They will trade obscurity for infamy, and if that moment in the spotlight really is worth it to them....well, then I sure hope they have alternate sources of income lined up.
Lastly, what about me personally? Well, so far, they haven't made anything particularly interesting to me, so it's moot. But I am on "temporary boycott" with them while this all plays out. If they lose, or even better, if they simply relent, then should they ever do release anything that catches my eye, I would at least be willing to consider it. But if they win, I will never give them a penny of my money, nor a second of my time. They will be dead to me, irrevocably....as I'm sure they will be to so many others.
Let's hope level heads prevail, and no petty businesses go under, harpooning for that terrible eye.
I just featured a piece of music from this game on my pod in Feb: C1E51 - my second-to-most-recent episode, and most recent non-April-Fool's! I will be buying this game for sure!
I've long said that my favorite retro gaming console is actually a tie between two, the Sega Genesis / Mega Drive, and the TurboGrafx16 / PC Engine. I have both of the classic original "actual" systems. I also have both of Nintendo's miniaturized systems as well as the Genesis mini. So it's one of those "barring complete, and completely unpredictable catastrophe" situations, for me. It's pretty much a foregone conclusion that I intend to pick one up....
.....it's just a matter of deciding which region version I want. Probably US. We'll see.
I hate that it was delayed, of course, but am glad that at least it was delayed before I uploaded my TG16/PCE episodes as the month's reruns in celebration! Now to see whether there will be enough advance notice of its actual final arrival to give me time to act and still release the series...once again, we shall see!
Whether it's worth the wait or not will come down to one's own individual views on "The Switch Tax" / "The Switch Sacrifice", and how strongly they feel the way they feel.
To someone who tends to eschew the "Tax", of course they're not gonna even consider the Switch version. And that's understandable. People who are fairly neutral, or even perhaps softly favorable to the "Tax" are probably not going to be that likely to wait either if they have another platform on hand. The "true believers" though, will very, VERY likely be just fine to wait. To them, the freedom and flexibility trumps all, and makes it well worth the wait!
So, it all comes down to that, really.
As for me, with a PS4 Pro, XB1X, and a gaming PC that can just edge out XB1X in real-world performance, and as one who just got paid today, I could totally just go out and buy it right now, and would be lying if I said I wasn't super tempted to do just that. But my plan, at least, as one who is generally very strongly favorable of the "Tax" is to wait out the Switch version, play it there first with the freedom and flexibility. Play it big screen as much as I'm able to get away with, play it small screen the rest of the time (and probably the majority of the time), and then after I've finished it, jump on the first Steam sale and play it a second time with the visuals cranked to the limits my poor i5 7600K / GTX1070 will let me get away with, and feel like I'm playing it again for the very first time....
.... that's how I roll, gang....
...but I could also see myself maybe caving just this once. Not only because, c'mon, it's DOOM, but also because I ABSOLUTELY ADORE this whole "Doomimal Crossternal" thing, and I DID buy AC! Because of the singularly wacky and heartwarming tie-in binding the two, there is a total magic to having both together on launch day that normally wouldn't be quite so compelling to me.
So, I think if I can just last out the day, then I think I could probably make it the rest of the way to Switch day without a ton of trouble..... reasonable minority chance that I don't hit the pillow before I hit the purchase button on Steam, though! 😂
I'm just glad I hadn't uploaded my rerun episodes for the month on my podcast yet. They were all gonna be TG16/PCE/CGFX themed in celebration of the release. I'll think of something else, I'm sure!
Here's to hoping the delay isn't too long, though. I'm a HUGE fan of the system, and was very excited to get my hands on this!
This is one of those games that I somehow missed on the WiiU. I know it was well received at the time, but for reasons I can't even recall - let alone explain, I guess I just never pursued it. With all the talk of a possible Switch port, I got curious, so I finally read the Nintendo Life review for the original yesterday, and it sounds....in a word.... wonderful! 🥰
I still have my WiiU, though, and when I saw that it was only $30, I had planned to buy it this upcoming payday. But now that I know that it's hard-confirmed for the Switch, I think I'll probably just wait it out instead.
Do we have any loose ideas of when it will be available? If it's gonna be something crazy, like a year or more, I might be tempted to reverse, and tide myself over on the WiiU version after all. If it's less than that, though, then yeah, I think I can wait.
If I could've, I would've voted for the Atari version, if we're being honest. Which sub-type? The big silver, even though the small silver (red background) is the one that's actually sentimental to me.
That said, out of 28 brawls so far, I think I've been with the majority on maybe 20? 21? 22? 19? I dunno. I haven't kept perfect track. This may be the first time I've voted for the least liked one, though. That's right, I went JP on this. I almost went EU, though. I really had to think about it.
All I want from the Switch Pro (and some rumors are making it sound like we may not get it), is for it to not lose further ground in a relative sense as the new Sony and MS systems are coming out.
The "blah blah blah":
What do I mean by that? This:
We could maybe quibble super nuance for either a slightly smaller or larger gap at various points, but speaking in very general, nebulous terms, since the Wii, Nintendo has maintained a position of being roughly "one generation behind" contemporary Sony and Microsoft systems in terms of hardware might. While that's not exactly a particularly impressive statistic, what it does mean is that as the industry has moved forward X number of steps, Nintendo has also moved forward X steps as well, thus neither catching up, nor falling further behind in a relative "one generation gap" sense. It means Nintendo has maintained and held its ground, has "kept pace" with the rest of the industry.
It's different with the Switch, which, in terms of capabilities while docked is basically what a hypothetical "WiiU Pro" would've been, or more generally, a rough equivalent to an imaginary "PS3.5" or "XBox 360 X". None of these speculative systems exist, of course. But the point is that as Sony and Microsoft moved "a half-generation" ahead with the PS4 Pro and the XBox One X over their base units, Nintendo basically moved a half generation ahead as well over the WiiU, which was itself (give or take), roughly the performance equivalent of the PS3 and XB360.
So, the Wii was basically XBox capabilities in the days of XBox 360, WiiU was basically XBox 360 capabilities in the days of XBox One, and now, the Switch is basically [hypothetical] "XBox 360 X" capabilities in the days of XBox One X. The point is that it fell back a whole power level 14yrs ago, and then has really neither meaningfully gained nor lost ground since. It has kept pace.
[edit: The Switch is different in that where Wii and WiiU had concrete "before and after" systems to compare to, as in, "an XBox in an XBox 360 age", the Switch only has the "after systems" (as in, an _____ in an XBox One X age"), so that makes a difference. Also, I realize the "Switch as 'WiiU Pro' line is problematic as we're talking completely different architectures, and no cross compatibility, where the PS4 Pro is pretty literally just a buffed PS4. From that perspective, the PS4 / PS4 Pro analogue with the Switch is simply "undocked vs docked". Then we're talking common architecture and cross compatibility. Plus "undocked vs docked" shares the same concern about not enough games being optimized to suitably take advantage of the beefier option, like the 1X and Pro. It even works fairly well in that the undocked Switch is relatively comparable to WiiU in terms of horsepower. But for the purposes of "where the Switch exists in the spectrum of game systems' hardware capabilities, calling the Switch "a WiiU Pro" is perfectly reasonable, and where I'll plant my flag.]
Therefore, my hope is that, on the eve of the advent of the XBox Series X, and the PS5, that the Switch Pro will at least achieve [while docked], performance essentially equivalent to the base PS4 and XB1. That's not a super high bar to hit in 2020 mobile tech, and not at all an impressive specs in 2020, when we're crossing our fingers that it'll achieve parity with a pair of 2013 machines.....but it would at least mean that Nintendo's streak of "keeping pace", and not falling even further behind will be upheld.
Yes, I get that to fixate on hardware capabilities with Nintendo systems is to miss the point completely - especially in a post-Wii world, and that Nintendo's magic lies elsewhere, doing so much more with so much less. And as one who owns a PS4 Pro, XBox One X, and an even more powerful [albeit slightly] gaming PC, who still likes his Switch more than all of them combined, and uses his Switch significantly more than all of them combined, and as one who favors Nintendo big picture both in the modern world and throughout gaming history in general, with the SNES and N64 being the only two Nintendo systems which I do NOT personally favor over their rivals, I say a hearty Amen and Amen. I cheerfully make "The Switch Sacrifice" on a nearly 100% basis.
HOWEVER: we would make the opposite mistake to ignore hardware altogether, as there will come a tipping point somewhere, where the hardware gap becomes so big that it will chase the devs away. Hell, even now with the Switch, even base PS4 and XB1 games are being declined to be made, just because a mere half-generation gap is too chasmic for them. I mean, we STILL don't have Call of Duty, when even the WiiU had them. Look, I would LOVE to see Nintendo begin to narrow the gap between its rivals, and become more "muscle competitive", assuming it doesn't "lose the magic" in the process, even though I know that hardware isn't the point. And yes, I will concede that if we lose another half generation that all is probably not lost. But it's really important to me that N at least maintains position against its beefier rivals, and so, base PS4 /XB1 territory would be what I would need to really be happy with the Switch Pro. 4K video support (and/or HDR?) and 4K system menus would be great, of course, and very welcomed. But I can live reasonably happily with or without them. Only, let's not fall even further than a full generation behind....oh, and how about some eShop music, for cryin' out loud!!! 😂🥂
I'm one who almost always favors the Switch version of a game. Your mileage may vary, of course, but this is how I roll!
********************
Fuller story:
I have a PS4 Pro, an XBox One X (as well as the base versions of each) and a GTX1070 / i5 Kaby Lake-equipped gaming PC, which in practical performance / visual terms just edges out the 1X. So I have several gaming options at my disposal that significantly outperform the Switch, but the freedom and flexibility of the Switch is something that I just find myself prizing so much more than the extra visuals and/or performance, such that if I can play it on Switch, I usually play it on Switch.
But it's not simply the handheld aspects of the Switch that push me this direction. If it were merely a handheld, I don't know that it would do nearly as much for me. For instance, I have no interest in the Switch Lite whatsoever. Though circumstances do see me playing my Switch in handheld mode a lot more often than it sees me playing in the dock, the latter is my much preferred way to play. And it's that I can do both, and transition seamlessly, with nary more than a blink of the screen between playing a handheld and playing a home console that makes it so special and compelling to me.
One thing I will say, though: if I like a game well enough to play through it twice, THEN I like to play it on one of the beefier systems that second time for those enhanced visuals. In the case of the Pro, 1X, and PC, it's like a generational leap, and it does a lot more for me, than if I went the other way around, where the second playthrough would feel like a downgrade.
Anyway, if you're not sympathetic with this, and this isn't how you do things, that's fine. That's the beauty of choice in the industry. Your mileage may vary. But as for me, the Switch has become so ingrained into my gamer DNA, that I can't really even envision doing things differently at this point, and while I certainly wouldn't cheerfully surrender or abandon PS, XB, or probably even PC, the fact of the matter is that I could much more easily and painlessly lift them out of my lives, probably combined than I could let go of Nintendo's little wonder!
Cheers!
[edit: S**T!! I clicked the wrong option in the poll. I read the choices in a hurry, and misread "yes, and it has bothered me" as "yes, and it HASN'T bothered me", interpreting the distinction between that and the "I don't care option" to be a case of indifference vs active pleasure. So I voted wrong. Tally me up with the "don't care" option instead, gang!] 😂
Still 100% on the series proper, although the worst box art "gaiden" did find me out of step. It was between two, and I spent forever trying to decide. When I finally pulled the lever, it was the other one that the majority had picked.....bollocks!
Oh well, still 100 on the main series.
There's a certain, I dunno, "tightness" to the NA box art, and a "bigness" as well that makes it all so much more dynamic. The JP one seems a bit more "cerebral", but a lot more "diffuse", and the EU one just seems like a zoomed-out NA with the N64 border logo not on the border, but seemingly just hanging out in space.
I've come to understand and appreciate the Switch Lite's place in the Nintendo ecosystem, and the Switch lineup, and I don't begrudge it. I am no longer fighting against it. It is admittedly a thing of physical beauty, and the smaller size will make it much easier to carry around. And, for those who don't care about the dock, but do care about the portability of the thing, it is a smart, logical choice that should serve them very well. It is truly the "2DS" of the Switch ecosystem.
However, very central to the whole Switch experience for me is the hybrid nature of the system, that it is BOTH a handheld AND a console, and that I have in one piece of hardware the portable's liberation from the couch of the console via the freedom and flexibility to play anytime / anywhere, AND the console's liberation from the small screen / tight, imprecise controls of the portable by way of the big screen / sound system of the couch or theater room. I can slip it into the dock to enjoy a fully immersive / comfortable couch console experience with the comfort and precision of the pro controller. And then, just like that, slip it out of the dock, "call shotgun" on the car ride, and pick up right where I left off without having to worry about cloud saves and other clunky hand-off measures that aren't required when it's literally the same piece of hardware in both contexts. Even the most elegant and seamless and beautiful cross-save / hand-off arrangements are going to seem so impossibly clunky and cumbersome next to the one second delay between going into and out of docked mode we have now.
There's just no comparison.
It's not perfect, no. As a console, it's underpowered - about a generation behind XB1X / PS4 Pro, and about a half-generation behind even the base units. In fact, it's probably not at all unfair to simply call it a "WiiU Pro". Or, if there had ever been a so-called XB360X, and/or PS3 Pro, they would probably occupy a nearly identical spot in hardware performance to Switch's docked mode. And on the other hand, as a portable, it's big, bulky, expensive, and battery hungry, with flimsy, damage and wear-prone controls.
But that it is BOTH a portable AND a console all in one device, in my mind, MORE THAN makes up for its deficits as either. It's the kind of magic that proposes I pay $20-$40 more for a demonstrably inferior version of a game than I would pay on another system for a demonstrably superior version, and as ludicrous a proposition as it sounds, not only do I do it gladly, and repeatedly - but that version even becomes my favorite version of all - all because when I buy the game for Switch, I am essentially getting two versions and experiences in one - a console game and a handheld game that I can switch between by simply slipping a tablet into or out of a dock.
And to get rid of either of those - even if it means by and large fixing the shortcomings of the other one in the process, so severely diminishes its total value to me so as to "not even be a Switch anymore" in my mind. And it doesn't matter one iota to me whether we're talking about some hypothetical, imaginary dedicated console that plays Switch games, and is more powerful than XB1X, but isn't portable anymore, or the very real-life near-perfection of a portable Switch experience that isn't a console anymore. Not only that, but in the process, it seriously damages the odd arithmetic of the paradoxically beneficial cost / benefit analysis of paying more for a scaled down port. It also, if the Switch were merely a portable as is the case with the Lite, undoes by flipping on its head the precedent which runs throughout all of gaming history up to this point that the portable version of the game, being the nuts and bolts inferior version relative to the console was always cheaper as a result. Well not anymore, ladies, gentlemen, and all points in-between....not anymore.
So in short? No, I have no interest in a Switch Lite whatsoever.
At first, I was actually very angry about the Lite, because I was so excited for a more portable Switch coming into things. And I was so planning on it, that I had for all intents and purposes already "pre-ordered it" in my mind. But then when I found out what kind of sacrifices it would require to have it, it became a hard pass. I could've lived reasonably happily with any and all of the other compromises the Lite made. But the dock thing was a deal-breaker. However, here's the rub: since I had already so thoroughly bought into it in my head beforehand, the termination of that plan didn't feel like a disappointment so much as it felt like an actual loss, like something good was actually taken away from me. As melodramatic and ridiculous as this will no doubt sound, it even felt like an outright betrayal to me. I was soooo mad, and soooo sad! You know, I suppose that I made the classic blunder of "counting my proverbial chickens before they hatched".
But anyway, because of this, I initially reacted VERY negatively. In fact, in the process, I have learned a very painful, but very valuable lesson of never trying to artificially create a viral hashtag on Twitter by spamming it. Some of you may or may not have encountered the #NoDockNoDeal hash that was pretty much all one guy...yeah, my apologies. That was all kinds of ugly, and I'll never do that again. It is definitely true that the dumbest in me brought out the ugliest in everybody else.
But now that I've had time to cool down, and get a little bit more perspective, I have realized that this isn't as much of a sacrilege, or a "sky is falling" situation as I initially thought, and have learned to make peace with it as a part of the greater ecosystem. Nevertheless, I still have no desire for one for myself. It's fine for others, but not for me.
I had held out some hope that we would find that the requisite hardware was still in place, and that perhaps a future firmware update would make it dockable again - at which point I would become interested again, and pick one up at my earliest convenience. However, the past few days have found that not to be the case, putting forever to rest the hope of ever adding dockability, and with it, the hope of my ever becoming interested.
The only outstanding concern I have regarding the Lite is the potential it has to undermine "docked mode" with the software developers. Part of what makes the docked mode feel like an actual different experience than undocked mode is the power and performance boost it gets. It's not just a smeary rebroadcast of the handheld mode stretched over a bigger screen, but it is actually a legitimately enhanced experience - a demonstrably "something other". But in order for that to actually matter, the software developers need to program in a second software layer to take advantage of that extra power. So, more expense and labor for the developer, without any additional financial benefit that they wouldn't already get via "the Switch tax". There are already too many Switch games that don't have a distinct docked mode, and too many developers who don't care about using it. Though it certainly differs in scale, in principle, this is akin to a developer not adding a "Pro layer" to a PS4 game or no "1X layer" to an XB1 game. Now, if we have a second Switch come along that doesn't even support docked mode, and that new Switch sells like gangbusters, and everyone uses it and leaves the old Switch behind, how many more of those developers who still support the dock despite the inherent business contra-incentive to do so will fall off in the process, and what will become of a critical aspect of the docked experience then? Now, I know that Nintendo themselves have promised to always keep supporting the dock, and there are other developers who like to push the envelope as well, who will probably continue to support it. But I feel like the dock is already undersupported, and I'm just afraid that the Lite's influence will only cause it to fall into even more extreme neglect. Again, I don't think it's panic time, and I'm not gonna go on a tirade about it. But it is a long-term concern that does nag at me a bit.
I guess we shall see. But once again, as for me and my house, I will just continue to live with carrying around a full sized-switch in my pocket that barely fits, looks terrible in there, and no doubt does all sorts of violence to the attached joycons, and still have a setup where I don't have to rely on cloud saves, but get to enjoy both a console and a handheld experience all in one small tablet. Your mileage may vary, of course. You do you, booboo. But this is the path I'm hard committed to. #NoDockNoDeal.
Lots of thoughts on this one! Lemme do the whole "short version" / "long version" construct.
Part 1 of 2:
------------------THE SHORT VERSION-----------------
It's great for the right people, and is quite a looker, no doubt. But without docked support or even the theoretical hope of future docked support, I am definitely not one of those "the right people".
Hard pass for me, thanks! And here's to hoping that it doesn't erode software developer support for docked-mode enhancements in their games going forward.
Man! Now I'm 9-0 for agreeing with the popular vote! Let's see if I can make 10!
This was actually tougher than I thought, though. I was able to rule out the JP version right away. But I struggled a bit between the more stunning and arresting EU design and the more classic, and "traditional" NA design. In the end, I just couldn't say no to that EU version! Sooooo beautiful, triple Nintendo logo thing be damned.
Holy crap! I'm 7-0 in terms of siding with the majority on these so far! I'm usually not that closely synced with "the masses".
As far as Star Fox 2 NA vs JP, they actually have all the same assets on them, just shuffled around. As such, it all comes down to positioning, and in this case, while on first blush, I initially preferred the NA version, after a second look, I would vote JP.
There are things I like better about both. But the ultimate tie-breaker for me is actually Andross in the background. He looks super imposing, particularly that non-standard eye....which is totally obscured by the Star Fox logo.
Kinda sucks for us US Central Time people, as this will be happening during the PM commute. And those of us who don't either ride mass transit, or have our own self-driving cars will either need to head home that early or that late to catch it, content ourselves with just listening on the drive....or, you know, become something of a "cruise missile" on the road by trying to drive and watch at the same time. Hopefully no one does that last one.
Okay, rant over. I am still excited to see what gets announced. I have things that I'm hoping for, but have no idea on how likely or unlikely they are, such as SNES (at least) on NSoL, a Metroid Prime 4 updates, and a Metroid Prime Trilogy HD Remaster announcement. I also hope they have at least a couple announcements that are complete surprises (at least for me).
So, thus far, I've been in the majority opinion on all three. I preferred the JP Super Metroid (or Suupaa Metoroido), the NA Contra, and the EU Resident Evil - which also means the three regions are tied so far with me at one apiece.
I'm an American, so almost without exception, the NA versions are the familiar and nostalgic versions for me, of course. But I don't tend to have a very strong bias either way as it concerns familiar vs novel. I tend to go more or less down the middle on that, favoring each in turn about evenly.
This manifests in other ways too. On my show, once a year, I'll do a "this version [of a piece of video game music] vs that version" episode (such as the Super NES version vs the Sega Genesis version, etc). In my nomenclature, these episodes are called "FaceOff Friday" episodes, and my most recent was actually just his past Friday (this one was guest hosted and curated by someone else). But my picks between familiar and novel versions in these have all been pretty even across the board.
As such, I am not surprised that I have not overwhelmingly preferred American versions just because they're what I grew up with. What does surprise me a little, though, is that I have been so in step so far with the rest of the community. I'm used to being a little less tuned into the pulse, shall we say.
Anyway, these are fun. Keep them up! Maybe Mega Man 2 or Super Mario Bros next time!
So, I get that these are just cash grabs for Nintendo and don't offer us anything beyond delight in the color options and mix and matchability, and at $80/pair.....much lighter wallets. I also get that there are more practical ways that Nintendo could be enhancing our user experience with the Switch. Not taking dock support out of the Lite would've been a huge one for the people like me who want something more pocketable, but are unwilling to surrender the system's very most signature feature to have it. I'm still only 90% over that travesty.
But you know what? I love the joycons and the color options anyway! It's fun! It's part of the charm of the system. It's the only time I've ever wanted a controller for more than just basic functional reasons. It's sooooo Nintendo! And it's so up my alley! And it makes forgetting about the Lite that much easier. Also, they're not mandatory expenses, so you can always say no to at least this arm of the Nintendo money-making machine.
So, yeah, I'm a fan!
My questions are a) how many distinct sets of joycons do you have to have to pull off the full 100 (a complete list would be great), b) can you do it without ending up with any duplicates (from my look at the chart, it looks like you might end up with an extra yellow right joycon), c) are they all still available, and d) are they all available in the US, or do I have to order overseas for some?
As it stands, I have the neon blue / neon red that came with the system, then I have the Splatoon neon pink / neon green, and finally, I have the neon red / neon blue which are opposite the stock set. That means out of 100, I can make....let's see....nine. Taking the "neon" prefix as read in each instance, I can make blue red, blue green, blue blue, pink red, pink green, pink blue, or red red, red green, and red blue. Or, assuming the rows on this chart are lettered, starting with A and the columns are numbered, starting with 1, I can make B3, B5, B2, F3, F5, F2, or C3, C5, and C2.
Now it's just a matter of figuring out which ones to buy next!
So this may seem like a REALLY dumb question, but is there a difference between the US NES on Switch and the EU version? I created a JP acct and have Famicom now. I also created a UK acct and can access the EU eShop....but is there anything unique about NES in the EU region for Switch that would justify my downloading it again? Will it even let me download it again, or will it just refer me back to the NA installed version that I downloaded way back when with my actual [US] account? I did an internet search for differences, and came up empty handed (which might be telling right there). But I still thought I would inquire. Anybody know?
I'm gonna take a wait and see approach on Amico just like I am on VCS. Stopping short on the one hand of just completely writing them off (very very short on the VCS side), while also stopping short of getting too enthused on the other hand, and definitely stopping well we'll short of offering any pre-release financial support a la Atari's kickstarter.
Also, while I certainly like EWJ to this day, and definitely did back in the day (as a matter of fact, I was just working on a music block for the podcast the other day involving some EWJ2 music), I would stop just shy of calling it an "indispensable title". So, if the Amico sells me, then I will buy it. And should I buy the Amico, well, then I'll absolutely buy EWJ. But I won't buy an Amico if I'm not sold on it just for EWJ, no.
Of course, this may be a little bit moot. If Amico is a flop, and none of us buy it, I can't imagine EWJ will go to its grave as an exclusive. I mean, I could envision a possible scenario of it never ever leaving exclusivity if Amico is a big success (though more than likely even in the success scenario it'll just be a "timed exclusive" and mass release a few years later) but I just can't see it "going down with the ship" if Amico fails when EWJ could sell a crap ton of copies on PS4/XB1/Switch and PC.
So while I definitely kinda hope Amico is worth it (and I guess I could say the same about VCS despite being very skeptical), my point is that if we're willing to just wait a few extra years, especially if the Amico bombs, it'll probably find its way elsewhere. Very very unlikely indeed is the scenario where it is just once forever for always an exclusive behind the INTV wall. We've waited 25 years for EWJ3, what's a few more years, eh?
Fascinating! In some contexts the difference is glaring, while in others, even side by side, it's hardly noticable. Of course, I was watching this on my Pixel 2 XL smartphone, and on a bigger screen, the differences would likely be even more apparent!
Here's what I suspect: as is so often the case, in side by side comparisons, the differences would leap out at you. But outside of side by side, most of the differences would disappear into the action, and even the Switch version would strike the eyes as being "very good looking". I imagine in slower action moments like victory poses or in slow mo gore fests, you might be able to notice the deficit even without a side by side. But as your mashing buttons for your [digital] life, I'll bet you pretty much only see the positives.
Anyone who actually owns the game on Switch (especially if you also own it on either a base PS4 or XB1), how do the visuals strike you? Let's factor out the PS4 Pro and XB1X or any gaming PC with anything above a GTX1060, since at that point we're looking at essentially a full hardware generation ahead of Switch (or higher), and of course those differences will be unmistakable. But the "half-generation" gulf between Switch and the base consoles could make for a much more interesting comparison. How do you feel the Switch stacks up?
I shouldn't be surprised by the fact that such an important game market as Japan accounts for such a relatively modest percentage of worldwide sales numbers, but I still find it to be almost jarring information. Something like 94 million PS4s sold worldwide and something like 33 million Switches, and yet only about 8 million a piece in their own motherland.
It also sometimes amazes me (though again, it shouldn't) just how different things can be in just one region vs in another, or in the worldwide picture. Worldwide, Switch has only sold about a third as many systems as PS4 (albeit with only about a third as much time on the shelves), and yet, in Japan, barring some kind of seismic shift, the Switch after only two years on the market is going to eclipse the PS4 after nearly six, and this event could happen maybe in as little time as a couple weeks.
It's just such a different picture, you know? In either case, Switch is my personal favorite of the current crop, and on a site like NintendoLife, I suspect would be for a higher percentage of you than the international average as well....so....we celebrate! Way to go Switch!
I already owned Cuphead on PC/XBox. But I thought it was so great that I pre-ordered it for Switch! And it's perfect!
Plus the ability to play at home or on the go big screen or small without having to mess with a clunky gaming laptop makes the Switch version, in my mind at least, the absolutely optimum version of the game! All the benefits of Switch that we're used to seeing, with none of the drawbacks that typically comes along with it. It's totally a win win!
Comments 167
Re: Poll: Will You Trade In Your Switch When Switch 2 Arrives?
So, I have an OG "launch day" Switch that I'll keep for myself even if I'll probably never actually use it again. Barring some massive emergency, it'll just be a "keepsake" of the time I waited outside a West Des Moines Best Buy for 7 or 8hrs in blustery 20 degree weather for the midnight release.
However, I also have a Switch OLED which will stay in the family, but which I plan to offer to my wife so that she has a Switch of her own once I can snag a Switch 2. She's not the gamer that I am, but has made overtures of wanting one. She had a Lite briefly, but gifted it to a nephew. So I want to give her my OLED. If it really takes off for her, then we'll see about getting her a 2 of her own the first chance we get (probably at the next tax or bonus time).
But, for the purposes of the poll, I voted "pass it on to someone else".
Re: Poll: So, How Do You Pronounce 'Live A Live'?
But hey, listen, if absolutely nothing else, a SINCERE thank you for reading that whole thing and engaging with it. Truly. Most people don't have the mental energy to deal with anything longer than a tweet, and would've simply "tl;dr'd it" and moved on. But not you. So, I do sincerely appreciate the engagement, @Kestrel.
If, after everything I've had you read, you feel like replying back, I would at least owe you the courtesy of reading it. So I'll be sure to do so. But my guess is that this is where things will probably begin to wind down. And if so, a completely genuine "all the best"!
Cheers!
Re: Poll: So, How Do You Pronounce 'Live A Live'?
@Kestrel no, no. That still misses the point. Live (liv) and Live (laiv) are two separate English words. They're closely related words, sure. They're two words which are spelled the same, like "trunk of an elephant" vs "trunk of a car"...also sure. But they're still two different words that have slightly different meanings, and, unlike our "trunk/trunk" example, noticeably different pronunciations. But most important of all, they are not interchangeable without significantly altering the meaning of a sentence.
The first mistake you're making here is this: it's not a case of "potayto" vs "potahto" or "tomayto" vs "tomahto", it's a case of "live from New York, it's Saturday night" vs "I don't want to die, I want to live". And all the Katakana does for us here - that even our own roman alphabet cannot do for us is to specify which of the two separate, similar, but technically different English words were being used / intended by the Japanese creator. And on each side of the "-a-", it just so happens to be the "live from New York" one. I suppose we could put it this way: in writing, the words are indistinguishable without the aid of context. And to be sure, "Live-A-Live" itself gives us no context. But the Katakana's specificity here gives us the missing context we need. Your second mistake is to presume this is a Japanese vs English thing here, when really, it's English vs English with the Japanese simply providing the clarity.
tl;dr: We're dealing with two different words, not two different opinions over how to pronounce one word. And it's just a weird quirk that we need to appeal to the Japanese writing system to settle the ambiguity for us.
So, as I said, you are absolutely free to be wrong, if being comfortable is more important than being right to you. But to help put the error in better perspective for you: to argue "liv-a-laiv" is an equally valid pronunciation here as "Laiv-a-laiv" is PRECISELY as valid or as invalid of an argument (not one iota more or less valid) than to argue "'liv' from New York, it's Saturday night', or "I don't want to die, I want to 'laiv'" are valid pronunciations of the previous examples - that do NOT change the original sentences' meanings in the process.
If that's something which you'd REALLY want to attempt to argue here, then your "rightness / wrongness" factor is....well.....precisely identical to what it has been this whole time, at which point I suppose I would be euphemistically polite enough to simply say "then I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree". Failing your willingness to attempt such a silly argument, then if being comfortable is more important than being correct, then by all means, please continue to enjoy "liv-a-laiv". Hell, I would even agree with you that it -IS- more comfortable! Way more comfortable! I don't really actually like "Laiv-a-laiv" very much, if we're being honest! Failing that also, though.... well, then welcome to the exact same boat I am finding myself in: learning to reprogram my "mental muscle memory" on this matter away from something I like much better to something I like much less, and start calling it "Laiv-a-laiv" instead of "liv-a-laiv". Because once again, until yesterday....until the facts forced me to do otherwise....I would've totally been on your side on this.
Re: Poll: So, How Do You Pronounce 'Live A Live'?
LONG-WINDED REPLY ALERT!
@Kestrel I mean, hey, if what's more comfortable to you as an English speaker about a Japanese game with an English title where the Japanese Katakana clears up the Japanese creator's English intent is more important to you than said Japanese creator's actual English intent, then, go nuts, I guess. "Liv-a-Laiv" it is (or "baked potato" for as much as it would matter at that point - your options are that point are as infinite as the entirety of the English language itself).
But if the Japanese creator's English intent (as merely REVEALED by the Katakana), is more important, then your choices are a) "Laiv-a-laiv", b) "Laiv-a-laiv", or c) "Laiv-a-laiv".
This one isn't a matter of Japanese language rules vs English language rules. This is ultimately a question of English. -BUT- it is a question of English -AS INFORMED BY- the Japanese syllabary for words of foreign origin (katakana, as opposed to hiragana, the syllabary for words of Japanese origin, or Kanji, the ideographic symbols carried over from Chinese Hanzí).
Perhaps it's a tad bit reductionist to do so, but you can almost think of Katakana as the opposite of Romaji. Romaji is Japanese words in our writing system, such as "tanoshii desu ne" (trans. "this is fun, right?"), where Katakana is our words (or any non-native Japanese word) in their writing system (such asコンピューター or "computer"). Only, since the Japanese language has vastly fewer unique sounds than English (something crazy, like 110 vs 8000), the more complex pronunciation of English words is reduced to the more limited sounds available in Japanese, and thus, "computer" becomes "konpyutah", "Playstation" becomes "pureisuteishon" (a la the late 90's early 00's Playstation commercials), or more relevantly, "Laiv-a-laiv" becomes "raibu-a-raibu". If it had been "liv-a-laiv" that had been intended instead, then I suspect the Katakana would've looked something more like リブ・ア・ライブ ("reebu a raibu").
So, again, this is ultimately not a question of "how Japanese works". This is simply a matter of a moment in language where there is ambiguity in our own writing system which is cleared up by cross referencing the same thing as expressed in their writing system (or more properly, ONE OF their writing systemS).
In light of this, you can call it whatever you want...and be happy...but you can only call it one thing....and be correct. If you've read my earlier comments, you'll already know that I too had been pronouncing it "Liv-a-laiv" this whole time, as I followed the Legacy Music Hour example in feeling that this was the most intuitive, linguistically comfortable, and "obvious reading as an English speaker ". But looking at the Katakana pointed out my error and set me straight. And now I'm going to try to retrain my brain to adjust accordingly, and try to start saying "Laiv-a-laiv" (even though, yes, that's awkward as hell!) 🤣
But what YOU do with this info (if you even bothered to read it in the first place) is entirely up to you, my man. I can only lead you to it.
Cheers!
Re: Poll: So, How Do You Pronounce 'Live A Live'?
@NerdNoiseRadio ライブ・ア・ライブ - (raibu a raibu)....so, that's that. I've been wrong this whole time, and Legacy Music Hour (for as fantastic as they are) "done told us all wrong"! 🤣
It is "LIE-VALIVE" /laɪv ə laɪv/ (or, "jiver jive")....and that's that! One may cling to an alternate pronunciation if they so wish...but they cannot do so CORRECTLY. And as such, I'll immediately abandon the "giver jive" I've enjoyed this whole time, and issue a correction on our next "Channel 2" episode!
I'd have been even happier had it turned out to be what I've been calling it this whole time....but at least the ambiguity is cured, and now I know for certain what the real answer is - and that by itself feels nice!
Cheers!
Re: Poll: So, How Do You Pronounce 'Live A Live'?
I've been following "Legacy Music Hour" protocol and pronouncing it ""LIV-ALIVE" /lɪv ə laɪv/" (or "giver jive" by the NL distinction). It's a game that has also been featured once on our show once as well (C2E5 "Nihon Dake De" - where my co-host Hugues brought the VERY "Ken's Theme"-like "Knock You Down") and referenced a couple other times in addition to that, where it has also been pronounced this way.
You know, if we could just see the Japanese katakana for Live-A-Live, that'd probably straighten this all right up! I'll go have a look, and reply-to-self if I find it. I'm not so married to the pronunciation that I would refuse to abandon it if we can get conclusive katakana confirmation to the contrary. But until then, it's "giver jive" in the book of NNR!
Cheers!
Re: Four Sega Genesis / Mega Drive Games Have Been Added To Switch Online's Expansion Pack
You know, since getting the Steam Deck, I've hardly touched my Switch. It went shockingly quickly from getting almost all my play time to getting very very little. Still more than the PS5....but you know, almost certainly less than my XBSX now (thanks to GamePass).
But, when I saw this headline, and saw that it included Wily Wars....I was like "that's it, I'm dusting off my Switch!!" I love Wily Wars! I mean, I already had access to it on my Genesis mini, but playing that means having to dick with hooking it up, and trying to sneak in some game time where the toddler won't run by and trip over the controller cord (and also not being able to play it out and about anywhere). This way I can play it all the ways the Switch let's you play, which is what had made the Switch become my #1 system for so long in the first place! 😊
Now, of course, I could always just set up something like Emulation Station on the Deck, download a bunch of ROMs, and then have this kinda stuff not really matter to me anymore either (have only big AAA 1st party Switch exclusives still matter anymore). And someday? I will! Mark my words!....
.....until then, though? This article has got me seriously excited to spend some time with my Switch again!! ❤️
Cheers!
[edit: Zero Wing has me excited too. I mean, how can I not be excited about getting to experience "All your Base" outside of a YouTube video?!]
Re: The Sega Genesis Is Getting A New 6-Button Controller, And It Will Work With Switch
Words cannot express how excited I am about this!!
I've always said that if one were to marry the functionality of a Genesis 6-button with the form and feel of a Genesis 3-button, it'd become my all time favorite retro game controller instantly. I know Saturn is close, and so is 3DO, actually - which, by the way, is what I had previously named as my favorite retro controller, the original 3DO controller...
.....but now....we have this....the literal fulfillment of my adolescent dreams! A 6-button in the exact form of a 3-button!! They even have three versions: hardwired 9-pin versions for actual Genesis consoles, hardwired USB for other systems and/or the mini, and then wireless with each kind of dongle for "all the above" purposes.
This is.....well...... EVERYTHING!!! ❤️❤️❤️ I will certainly be picking up a 9-pin hardwired or two for my old Genesis / Sega CD / 32X, and may even pick up a wireless or two for my other systems. 🥰
Re: YouTuber Ends Metroid Prime Music Covers After Nintendo's Lawyers Call
Here's what I'll say about this (sorry for the long-winded):
Being a Nintendo fan has long felt like being in an abusive relationship where [STRICTLY METAPHORICALLY SPEAKING] it's like getting the ***** beat out of you all the time, but you still don't leave because the sex is just too good. By that, I mean, I am simply appalled by their litigious, draconian, seemingly arbitrary blatantly anti-consumer practices and decisions. But I can't quite bring myself to do the one thing that might possibly inspire a change from them, and hit them in the pocketbook by walking away from them, and their products. Neither of the following sentiments are exaggerated even one iota: as a content and culture and experience creator....I LOVE them! Best in the entire industry in my opinion! But as a corporate business entity....I HATE them! Full stop!
In the past, with the Switch being my #1 system, I really felt even more trapped than I do now that the Steam Deck has supplanted it as my top machine, and so maybe soon I'll feel sufficiently emboldened to take some kind of action. Either way, even if (as a now secondary, or possibly even tertiary system for me, possibly also now behind the XBSX), I never completely abandon the Switch, the balance between love and hate has shifted from a bitter stalemate to one where the negative feelings and indignation and disgust finally have the liberty to begin to dominate. So, maybe I won't hard drop N. Instead, maybe I'll just let them do a slow fade. And then, when it comes time to possibly buy whatever Nintendo does next....maybe I just won't do it. That's probably a long ways down the road, though, so we'll see. But I do have a hard time envisioning my outlook towards them sweetening, rather than only continuing to sour in the time between.
Lastly, for years, I posted [as a repeater] my VGM podcast on YouTube, but stopped a few years ago as I watched my numbers migrate from there to the podcast feed (a corresponding and nearly equal lowering on the one and raising on the other). I had planned to return Nerd Noise Radio as a music-only mixtape service to YouTube starting next year to celebrate the 10yr anniversary of its existence. But with Nintendo only getting more and more brazen and draconian as time goes on, it is more and more uncertain (and maybe now even somewhat "unlikely") that I will do that. My show is big enough that I feel justified continuing to make it (sorta middle of the pack by the far more modest standards of VGM podcasts), but small enough that it should stay off most radars. However, Nintendo seems uniquely focused on YouTube in particular, and so why should I risk putting a spotlight on myself like this?
I guess we'll see. But either way, this is ***** that content creators like myself have to even be making these kinds of mental calculus just because the house of Mario are going to be such dicks! Yeah, the needle is definitely moving further from green to red on them the more time passes and with each new headline.
Here's to hoping that they don't manage to completely ruin a good thing!
Re: Review: Soundfall - A Beat-Based Shooter That Can't Hit The High Notes But Still Rocks
Yet another example of me reading a Nintendo Life review for an intriguing 3rd party game heading to Switch, and then rushing to add it to my wishlist - only not on the eShop, but on Steam (for play on the Steam Deck).
This has happened so frequently since getting the Deck that I'm starting to feel actual guilt about getting my Steam recommendations from a Switch site - like I get this is 100% silly of me, but it's actually starting to feel like I'm ripping Nintendo Life off somehow by doing this.
But I also don't see it stopping, as a) Nintendo Life is a great news and reviews source, and b) even if the Steam Deck for me has not quite become a "Switch killer" so to speak, it has ABSOLUTELY become a "Switch Tax Killer". Since purchasing the deck, I have made absolutely zero software purchases on the Switch, well, certainly no purchases that exist on both platforms anyway....
....and that seems unlikely to change anytime soon! 😂
Re: Feature: Handheld Face-Off - Nintendo Switch OLED Model Vs Steam Deck
Final comment: Link to the above-referenced blog:
https://nerdnoiseradio.blogspot.com/2022/02/nnr-blog-st-john-why-i-am-so-personally.html
Re: Feature: Handheld Face-Off - Nintendo Switch OLED Model Vs Steam Deck
@NerdNoiseRadio LONG VERSION (part 2 of 2 - character limits are bulls***!)
(continued)
-BUT- All is not perfect. If there is one unhappy reality that I've faced that my blog could not anticipate, it's that at present, the Steam Deck is still somewhat "not fully baked". And the way in which this is the most painfully evident to me personally is in the docking situation. The official Steam Dock isn't here yet, and who knows how much it'll cost? A lot of the higher end DisplayLink-based docks, like the famous Dell D6000 don't seem to work on the Steam Deck (a Linux problem in general as my laptop also doesn't really work with it either), and the little cheapy D-Links that people are being successful with are so limited on their own, that they can't even charge the device - something that the article highlights, but errs in presenting as if it were a permanent condition for the device, when really, it's more a problem with the basic docks that are working.
The biggest part of the charm of the Switch for me was that it, well, switches, right? The Switch Lite never interested me a bit because...well...it doesn't. A humongous part of the draw to the Steam Deck for me is that it might not only switch between handheld and console like the Switch, but also switch between a console-like streamlined experience, and a full-fat desktop PC OS / UI, and be able to be a console, handheld, AND desktop. And you know, it will.....but it's not yet. Not really. And so, for now, of the three ways I had hoped to use the Deck, thus far, I've only been able to do the one. Thus far, it is like an ultra-gigantic Switch Lite - just one mode.
Again, we'll eventually get the dock situation worked out, on both the "console" side, and the "desktop" side. And once that happens, and we can play in higher res due to AMD FSR, and play with ray tracing enabled (waiting on a MESA driver update), and we can charge while we're playing, and all of that stuff...then I feel like at that point there'll no stopping the Steam Deck's meteoric rise to claim quite probably a good 90% of my total playtime, just like the Switch did 5yrs ago.
But until all the major bugs are worked out, and until the docking situation is resolved, then I feel the idea of the Deck taking the throne may be "a dream deferred". Even if so much less powerful, so much less capable, and by far, so much less flexible / malleable / exploitable, the one thing we absolutely CAN say about the Switch....is that it is 100% fully baked and ready to shine at full brightness - unlike we can say about the Steam Deck....at least for now.
I'll "reply-to-self" one final time with a link to the blog post. Again, minus the caveats listed above, and with the added tweak that "Steam Deck isn't firing on all cylinders just quite yet", I would stand by everything else I say in the blog. So, standby for that! It's imminently incoming!
Cheers!
Re: Feature: Handheld Face-Off - Nintendo Switch OLED Model Vs Steam Deck
@NerdNoiseRadio LONG VERSION (part 1 of 2 - motherf***ing character limits!!):
A few days before the February 25th launch of the Steam Deck, I did something I hadn't done in the 7 years prior: I wrote a blog. And it was a blog about the Steam Deck, written from the perspective of a Linux enthusiast and Switch lover over how I predicted this thing would rather quickly [in my personal use case, anyway] kick the Switch off the throne of "my #1 most used system" and take that crown for itself.
I still believe that this will happen, and indeed, if play patterns and purchase habits since getting "the Deck" are anything to go by, then, you know, perhaps it already has taken that throne. I have done only very, very little Switch playing in the time since, and, like, ALL my third party game purchases that exist on both systems have been Steam purchases, rather than eShop purchases. In fact, I actually feel a little guilty about this, but I cannot even count the number of NintendoLife articles I've read since getting the Deck, which review, or at least announce XYZ 3rd party game that sounds interesting to me, and then immediately.....add it to my eShop wishlist? No. I go and add it to my Steam wishlist instead.
Maybe the Steam Deck isn't a "Switch Killer". But in my personal use case, at least, it seems VERY much to be a "Switch Tax Killer", as the proposition of paying $20-$30 more, a year or two later, and at very bottom graphics and performance settings that comes with Switch purchases that used to be a no-brainer, automatic yes for me have now become a nearly automatic no, when I can pay less, wait less, and have higher settings for the same game on the Steam Deck.
Plus, the part that is the most obviously missing from your article is the application of the Steam Deck as a full-fat Linux desktop PC, that with a working dock becomes a "roving secondary desktop PC". Now, granted, the audience for that is going to be pretty niche, but it certainly exists, and certainly warrants the mention. In fact, I've already promised myself that I'd plan, produce, and release at least one episode of Nerd Noise Radio from entirely on the Deck....just because I can! #SteamDeckDoesWhatNintendont.
What is more important and less niche than that I can use the thing as a full-fat Linux PC based on Arch, and using the KDE desktop environment - the perfect mix of new and exciting to me (Arch) and old favorite (KDE) - as one who uses Ubuntu Studio on his laptop (which this is being written on) and gaming PC, is the catalytic significance and self-perpetuating, exponential growth, infinite feedback loop for the advancement and acceleration of Steam Proton, and Gaming on Linux more generally by finally having a mainstream, popular, "flagship device" to coalesce around. Proton has grown at light speed already even with the audience being so disparate and niche. Imagine just how much faster and more decisively that will happen now with a "champion device" to rally behind.
(continued)
Re: Feature: Handheld Face-Off - Nintendo Switch OLED Model Vs Steam Deck
SHORT VERSION (will "reply-to-self" with a longer version later):
As one who owns both a Steam Deck (the middle-tier version), and a Switch OLED, I think this is a pretty fair comparison. There are bits I could quibble with here or there, but I think I'll largely leave those alone (or at least save them for my "long version" reply). On balance, this is a good, solid write-up.
For as similar as the two things seem from a distance, they are apples and oranges enough that it defies time-honored internet favorites like "this one is the clear winner, and only idiots and perverts disagree". I think so long as we can avoid sounding anything like that, then we really can't find ourselves going too far afield here.
I'll say more in my "reply-to-self". But for now: a pretty satisfying read! Thank you for writing it!
Re: The State Of Switch Survey Highlights NSO, Joy-Con Drift And Hopes For A Long Generation
I was so honored to have been one of the people anonymously quoted in this! I was the quote about Animal Crossing and 2020 / 2021 blending into each other!
That aside, the survey was a fun read! This was my first year participating in it, or even reading it! I'll plan to stick with it going forward, I think!
Re: Talking Point: How's Your Switch Holding Up After 5 Years?
@ivory_soul okay, yes. The battery for sure! The battery is way better than the day one. But I don't know if it's necessarily better than the 2nd gen V1. That's where the big battery change really happened as far as I understand. And there are other changes too, but things that's I'd consider pretty minor. The speakers, the storage, the stand....well, maybe that stand is a bit more substantial.
I wasn't trying to say that the OLED isn't worth the $50 over a fresh V1. In fact, I think it's totally worth the $50. Hence why I have an OLED and not a fresh V1. My point was that -in my opinion- [YMMV, we may just have to agree to disagree] what the OLED is NOT worth is the $350 to replace a perfectly solid existing unit. If my day one hadn't been beaten to hell, then I probably would've passed on the OLED. That's my point. I just wanted to retire my beat up day one BEFORE it broke.
Does that help, mate?
Re: Talking Point: How's Your Switch Holding Up After 5 Years?
@NerdNoiseRadio One more reply-to-self. Since I don't know if replies containing links get auto-banned, I'm doing a separate follow-up comment. So, if you never see this comment, then I guess we know links get banned.
I have a Google Photos photo album of 03/02/17 4pm - 03/03/17 approx 1am (aka, the getting of the Switch), a couple pics of this same unit taken on 03/03/22, and a screen capture of the text from my social media blast about it.
Here's the link (aka "here goes nothing"):
https://photos.app.goo.gl/qNw21uTpc3vreXKw8
If links work, and if you have similar picture stories from "Switch Day", then please, share away! 🥰😎🍻
Re: Talking Point: How's Your Switch Holding Up After 5 Years?
@NerdNoiseRadio THE LONG VERSION:
Here's what I'll say:
On the one hand, I -LOVE- the Switch OLED. On the other hand, the -ONLY- reason I even have an OLED to begin with is because my 03/03/17 OG launch unit had been beaten to hell, and while still 100% functional, I wanted to be able to retire it from active use and make it a permanent display piece BEFORE that changed.
So, it'll be seldom (if EVER) that I ever power it up again, but instead, it'll always have a place of honor and prestige as a display piece in my game rig, for however long as fate allows me to not be deprived of it. And, knowing that I can at least power it up should I ever want to does make me feel a lot better than if it were just a Switch-shaped decorative item.
The OG was the only system I have EVER waited in line for a midnight launch for in my entire life (and I'm in my early 40's now), and it got me through the care / support / recovery period of a loved one's major surgery / long recovery that occurred just days after. It also quickly became my #1 system, eventually commanding 95% (or more) of my total game time for most of its life. Game Pass via XBSX eventually managed to claw that back to something still majority, but much less monopolistic, and I envision Steam Deck will claw back even more, likely even replacing it as my #1 system. I paid "the Switch Tax" cheerfully on hundreds of games (which I will do a lot less of once I have "the Deck"), and I took the thing everywhere with me. So, even in a protective case inside a backpack, it still got beaten up pretty badly.
Even though, as I said, it still worked perfectly (beyond the obvious Joycon drift), I felt the crushing weight of conviction that this would not last. And this is why I replaced it with the OLED. For as much as I love the OLED, I feel there is no way I could even remotely have justified paying that much money for just a better screen when the original screen was sufficient, had my OG been more solid.
I would've replaced it even sooner, but like so many of us, I had been tantalized by the rumored "Pro", and I was waiting it out. But when it became clear that the Pro wasn't coming, and the OLED was what we were getting instead, given the choice between a $350 brand new OLED or a $300 brand new V1.5, $50 was a much easier expense to justify, so I pre-ordered on day one.
Re: Talking Point: How's Your Switch Holding Up After 5 Years?
SHORT VERSION (I'll reply-to-self with LONG VERSION):
I still have my 03/03/17 launch day OG Switch, and it's still 100% functional. But it's very beat up, and so I pre-ordered the OLED on day one, and retired the OG from active service once the OLED arrived. The plan is to keep the OG as a permanent display piece. It's nice to know that I COULD turn it on if I ever wanted to. But I struggle to envision a scenario where I ever WOULD.
That's the short version. See my reply-to-self if you'd like to know more.
Re: Review: Rampage (NES)
I grew up with the NES version and liked it plenty well. However, in my early 20's, during the early 2000's, when retro-gaming was still cheap and abundant, and I had "more dollars than sense", and was going back for all those systems and games I had known about, but never got to experience as a kid, I came into possession of the Mastersystem version of this game, and I can indeed attest that it is significantly better than the NES port. I don't really remember it being "faster" than the NES version, but the visuals were certainly better, (not surprising given the system's generally superior graphics hardware) and even the music and sounds we're better and more engaging (perhaps a bit more surprising given the system's generally inferior sound hardware). Also, a lot of the little touches of the Arcade that were scrubbed for the NES are still present.
All in all, it was just a much better presentation.
Perhaps the biggest difference between them, though, is that one allowed infinite continues, where the other did not. If you're a fan of challenge, then that makes the Mastersystem version the better one yet again. But unless you were just a master at the game, if you wanted any realistic chance at all of making it to, say, Des Moines, the NES version, limitations and deficits aside, was still your way to go.
I will say, as an aside, that that was a big deal to me as a kid, to be playing through the US and arrive eventually at Des Moines. Des Moines is a mid-sized city / metropolitan area, and so it's really neither big nor small in the grand scheme of things. More "tiny big city" mid-sized today, more "giant small town" mid-sized back when this game was being made. But even mid-sized cities are not that much more likely than properly small towns to appear in movies or games and the like, and so for my brother and I, a pair of Des Moines kids, it was sort of a double-take situation to see our own city show up on-screen. But an exciting one to be sure.
Of course, in the world of Rampage, there is no meaningful difference between Los Angeles, California or the even bigger New York City, New York on the one hand, and Des Moines, Iowa or the even smaller Bismarck, North Dakota, on the other, with none of them or any of the other cities in the game featuring anything unique to the town...but still. I was in Des Moines, playing a game taking place in Des Moines, and for mid-sized city kids, that's not something that comes along just any old day.
Cheers!
Re: Poll: Box Art Brawl #44 - Super C / Probotector II
I think that in general terms - based on the results of these polls, a lot of people here among the NL readership are doing a pretty solid job of avoiding a strong "familiarity bias" - meaning, I don't think a lot of people are just arbitrarily preferring what's familiar just because it's familiar, or what's novel just because it's novel, but letting simple tastes weigh more than that, and chosing a mix of the two. I know that in my own case as an American, I'm probably not that far removed from voting NA, EU, and JP about equally. Actually, if anything, it's JP I'm voting for the most. Based on the polls, it seems like there's a lot of people like me here, who are not being "region ruled".
However, in this case, I do think familiarity / novelty biases will be stronger, as, is your frame of reference playing these games playing as vaguely Stallone / Schwarzenegger-esque humans in Contra, or playing as sorta generic robot soldiers in Probotector (which I must admit sounds a bit too much like "Probiotic" for me). 😂
Here, I think we will all be a bit more likely to either run towards or away from the familiar because of how striking the difference is. In my case, I am a bit averse to the robots, preferring the humans, although, I didn't go full familiarity, as I favored the more opened up artwork and style of the logo on the JP version.
Also, if my theory here holds any water at all, it makes loads of sense that the presumably predominantly EU readership of this UK site would predominantly favor Probiotic....er, I mean Probotector! 😉😂
In any case, they're all three decent box arts, so it's kinda hard to go too far amiss here. Anyway, I do really enjoy these contests. Please keep them up!
Cheers!
Re: Review: Journey To The Savage Planet - No Man's Sky Meets Metroidvania
This is one I really look forward to getting and giving a try. Downgraded though they may be, those visuals still look pretty good to me - especially in docked mode.
Which brings me to a semi-related counterpoint: I can't help but notice a near 100% refrain at NintendoLife which says "looks better in handheld". Everyone is entitled to their opinions, of course, and that's the beauty of the Switch, that you can play it big screen or small (not you, Switch Lite!) But the virtually invincible persistence of this refrain from NL makes me wonder if the reviewers are sitting 18" away from a 80" TV or something. If you're sitting too close to too big of a screen, even a 4K Ultra PC game will show it's seams. Of course it's gonna look bad.
My docked playing of the Switch [50% or less of my total play time in truth, but as close to 100% as I can manage in intent] is mostly split between the three lower-middle-priced 4K TVs in my house ranging in sizes from 40"-49", in ages from 2017-2020, and in price from $250-$800. I tend to sit anywhere from 3ft to 8ft away from them when I play. And a radical majority of the time, I prefer the look docked, and often times MUCH prefer it.
Not only are the seams not so obvious on those screen sizes at that distance, but the visual perks of the higher visual settings on most games coming from the system in docked mode are often more than apparent (just one example: transparent dragonfly wings in Animal Crossing vs dithered wings in handheld).
Also, in the case of all three TVs, the colors are more vibrant, the contrast, white balance, and black levels are all better than the Switch's screen, even on the one with the softest colors and shallowest black levels.
None of these are high end sets: and yet they all offer vastly superior viewing experiences than the Switch screen in my opinion, which, rather than hiding visual compromises for me vs other platforms, it usually only highlights compromises in undocked mode vs docked mode (such as, once again, dithered dragonfly wings in Animal Crossing vs transparent).
Anyway, take that as a counterpoint on the "looks better handheld" thing. Not having had the chance to play this particular game yet, I can't speak specifically to it in this dynamic. But I wish NL would qualify these kinds of statements better - as their own subjective opinions rather than objective fact - when the only TRUE objectivity here is that docked mode is the more capable mode. And maybe reveal something of their methodology, such as "we're pointing binoculars at a 130" projector screen for our docked analysis".
Otherwise, most readers will believe it and/or agree with it simply on the grounds that it was said. I realize that never once did NL actually use the words "objectively better" when it comes to handheld visuals, but given the kind of eternally persistent, non-qualified repetition, it begins to take on that kind of implicit ring over time.
Anyway, looks like a great game, and I am glad that it has finally arrived on the platform. Now here's to hoping we'll eventually see No Man's Sky as well, eh?
Cheers!
Re: Feature: Sam Barlow On Bringing Telling Lies To Switch, His Directing Style, And His Next Project
Haha! Talk about "missing the forest for the trees" on my part, but the thing that jumped out at me most was the picture with the computer desktop / navigation area, and I was like...."(gasp!) LINUX!!!!!"
I'm sure it's just a mock-up, but it looks like a recent Gnome desktop environment! It even has terminal! As a relatively new and enthusiastic Linux user, that got me excited (even though I use a mix of KDE and DDE myself).
Beyond that, yeah, I kinda like this little FMV revival movement we're having, now that the tech has caught up to do it well, and now that our discernment as a community requires quality acting / writing. Long gone are the days where simply having moving people talking was good enough. The author said it just right that the original FMVs ranged from "'so bad it's good' to 'just plain bad'".
Re: Expect Delays If The Effects Of Coronavirus Worsen, Says Nintendo
You know, we really are feeling the effects of this here at Nerd Noise Manor.
My daughter turns 13 next month, and is wanting a Switch for her birthday. We can find Lites a number of places, but she wants the full-fat version, because, just like me, while we both prize the ability and flexibility to play handheld, her much preferred way to play is docked, on a decently sized TV, lounging on the couch, or bed, or whatever.... with just a controller in hand.
Only there is nary a full-fat Switch proper to be found anywhere within hundreds of miles of Des Moines, and no one even allowing you to get on a backorder list. For us, it's pay a hawker an obscene mark up in the second-hand market, make do, regrettably with a Lite, bide our time in the hopes of an improved availability (which is what we've been doing so far)...or just try to find something else with which to make the kiddo happy... on a major milestone birthday in which she is probably going to have to miss out on the festivities of a big party anyway due to lockdown.
Here's to hoping something will come available. Otherwise, I'm kinda tempted to just give her a choice between a brand new Lite, or my old Launch-Day Switch to tide her over til we can get her a proper one - who knows when, so she can at least play Switch on her own right away.
Fingers crossed.
p.s. oh, I'm also in "pre-order jail" on a TG16 mini. Initial ship estimate 12/31/20. Now they've actually pushed it back into January 2021. Yikes!
Re: Nintendo Switch Has Now Sold 55.77 Million Units Worldwide
Will it catch the NES? Definitely. Will it catch the Wii? Hard to say. That depends on so many circumstances and variables that we just can't see very well yet.
I mean, I kinda hope it overtakes the Wii to become #1. It would be pretty rad. But if it doesn't? No biggie! The Wii was a superlatively exquisite system - the thing to really being me back into gaming and gamerdom as a central facet of my life and identity, after I had started to drift off towards other things in my mid-late 20's.
And I mean, it's not like the Switch wouldn't still be fantastic even if it does fall short of the Wii in lifetime sales. Sales numbers only mean so much. Hell, the WiiU, a definitive last place was still an extraordinary system as far as I'm concerned! The sales crown would be a nice feather in the cap, and it would be nice to see Nintendo's "finest hour" in the present, rather than in the past. But otherwise, what is it worth other than as vindication that the system already long since stopped needing?
Cheers!
Re: Gamevice's Patent War Against Nintendo Continues, As ITC Moves Forward With Evidentiary Hearing
I realize the possibility (even probability?) that Gamevice's bid to kick Switch out of the US is not intended to actually kick Switch out of the country after all, but just to leverage the ability to do so as a playing card to get them more favorable terms at the negotiation table in allowing them to stay. So I'll just get that little caveat out of the way. The rest of what I am about to say factors out this contingency.
Now, assuming that they really are out to kick Nintendo out of the country....and they succeed? Why, I can't think of a single worse fate for Gamevice.
Right now, they are a pretty small time brand that only so many people even know about, and even fewer actually care about, who makes products that are only interesting to a niche audience. If they actually do succeed in driving out the Switch, what will they achieve for themselves but to become one the most hated companies in video gaming, earn legions of haters who boycott their products on principle, and encourage / evangelize others to do the same, and find themselves blacklisted out of existence. Should they win the battle, that very act of winning the battle in and of itself shall become the direct cause of their losing the war, as people, in addition to blacklisting Gamevice, will find workarounds to get their Switches and games, and at the very, VERY least, Nintendo will be around next generation with something big that doesn't beholden them to Gamevice.
I cannot escape the parallels here between Gamevice / Nintendo and Captain Ahab / Moby Dick, hell bent on plunging his harpoon into that great, terrible eye. He did...and it cost him everything. Best case scenario, he and his men drowned at sea. Even more disturbing - the possibility that their bodies (dead or still living) actually ended up feeding, nourishing, and CONTINUING the very beast he wasted everything to END, turning the ultimate victory into the ultimate defeat.
I realize that the odds of Gamevice actually succeeding here are relatively modest to begin with, and thank the universe for that! But should they actually succeed in plucking out the eye of the great red whale with that tiny, tiny harpoon of theirs....then gamerdom will never forget, and never forgive, and Gamevice will get their headlines, just as Mr. Ismay did on the day the Titanic sank. They will trade obscurity for infamy, and if that moment in the spotlight really is worth it to them....well, then I sure hope they have alternate sources of income lined up.
Lastly, what about me personally? Well, so far, they haven't made anything particularly interesting to me, so it's moot. But I am on "temporary boycott" with them while this all plays out. If they lose, or even better, if they simply relent, then should they ever do release anything that catches my eye, I would at least be willing to consider it. But if they win, I will never give them a penny of my money, nor a second of my time. They will be dead to me, irrevocably....as I'm sure they will be to so many others.
Let's hope level heads prevail, and no petty businesses go under, harpooning for that terrible eye.
Cheers!
Re: Hamster Adds A Slice Of Gaming History To The Switch eShop This Week
I just featured a piece of music from this game on my pod in Feb: C1E51 - my second-to-most-recent episode, and most recent non-April-Fool's! I will be buying this game for sure!
Re: Guide: Where To Pre-order PC Engine / TurboGrafx-16 Mini
I've long said that my favorite retro gaming console is actually a tie between two, the Sega Genesis / Mega Drive, and the TurboGrafx16 / PC Engine. I have both of the classic original "actual" systems. I also have both of Nintendo's miniaturized systems as well as the Genesis mini. So it's one of those "barring complete, and completely unpredictable catastrophe" situations, for me. It's pretty much a foregone conclusion that I intend to pick one up....
.....it's just a matter of deciding which region version I want. Probably US. We'll see.
I hate that it was delayed, of course, but am glad that at least it was delayed before I uploaded my TG16/PCE episodes as the month's reruns in celebration! Now to see whether there will be enough advance notice of its actual final arrival to give me time to act and still release the series...once again, we shall see!
Cheers!
Re: id Software's Marty Stratton "Stunned" By DOOM Eternal Switch Port, Thinks People Are Going To "Love It"
Whether it's worth the wait or not will come down to one's own individual views on "The Switch Tax" / "The Switch Sacrifice", and how strongly they feel the way they feel.
To someone who tends to eschew the "Tax", of course they're not gonna even consider the Switch version. And that's understandable. People who are fairly neutral, or even perhaps softly favorable to the "Tax" are probably not going to be that likely to wait either if they have another platform on hand. The "true believers" though, will very, VERY likely be just fine to wait. To them, the freedom and flexibility trumps all, and makes it well worth the wait!
So, it all comes down to that, really.
As for me, with a PS4 Pro, XB1X, and a gaming PC that can just edge out XB1X in real-world performance, and as one who just got paid today, I could totally just go out and buy it right now, and would be lying if I said I wasn't super tempted to do just that. But my plan, at least, as one who is generally very strongly favorable of the "Tax" is to wait out the Switch version, play it there first with the freedom and flexibility. Play it big screen as much as I'm able to get away with, play it small screen the rest of the time (and probably the majority of the time), and then after I've finished it, jump on the first Steam sale and play it a second time with the visuals cranked to the limits my poor i5 7600K / GTX1070 will let me get away with, and feel like I'm playing it again for the very first time....
.... that's how I roll, gang....
...but I could also see myself maybe caving just this once. Not only because, c'mon, it's DOOM, but also because I ABSOLUTELY ADORE this whole "Doomimal Crossternal" thing, and I DID buy AC! Because of the singularly wacky and heartwarming tie-in binding the two, there is a total magic to having both together on launch day that normally wouldn't be quite so compelling to me.
So, I think if I can just last out the day, then I think I could probably make it the rest of the way to Switch day without a ton of trouble..... reasonable minority chance that I don't hit the pillow before I hit the purchase button on Steam, though! 😂
I guess we'll find out!
Cheers!
Re: Poll: Animal Crossing: New Horizons Is Shipping Early, Are You One Of The Lucky Ones?
Digital Pre-order here! I'm hoping to hear those will unlock early for us too! I mean, it's just tomorrow, but still.
Re: PC Engine Mini Production And Shipment Delayed Indefinitely By Coronavirus
I'm just glad I hadn't uploaded my rerun episodes for the month on my podcast yet. They were all gonna be TG16/PCE/CGFX themed in celebration of the release. I'll think of something else, I'm sure!
Here's to hoping the delay isn't too long, though. I'm a HUGE fan of the system, and was very excited to get my hands on this!
Re: Wonderful 101 Kickstarter Campaign Raises More Than $1 Million In Just Over 12 Hours
This is one of those games that I somehow missed on the WiiU. I know it was well received at the time, but for reasons I can't even recall - let alone explain, I guess I just never pursued it. With all the talk of a possible Switch port, I got curious, so I finally read the Nintendo Life review for the original yesterday, and it sounds....in a word.... wonderful! 🥰
I still have my WiiU, though, and when I saw that it was only $30, I had planned to buy it this upcoming payday. But now that I know that it's hard-confirmed for the Switch, I think I'll probably just wait it out instead.
Do we have any loose ideas of when it will be available? If it's gonna be something crazy, like a year or more, I might be tempted to reverse, and tide myself over on the WiiU version after all. If it's less than that, though, then yeah, I think I can wait.
Re: Poll: Box Art Brawl #28 - Mario Bros.
If I could've, I would've voted for the Atari version, if we're being honest. Which sub-type? The big silver, even though the small silver (red background) is the one that's actually sentimental to me.
That said, out of 28 brawls so far, I think I've been with the majority on maybe 20? 21? 22? 19? I dunno. I haven't kept perfect track. This may be the first time I've voted for the least liked one, though. That's right, I went JP on this. I almost went EU, though. I really had to think about it.
Re: Guide: Nintendo Switch Pro: Everything We Know So Far
The "tl;dr":
All I want from the Switch Pro (and some rumors are making it sound like we may not get it), is for it to not lose further ground in a relative sense as the new Sony and MS systems are coming out.
The "blah blah blah":
What do I mean by that? This:
We could maybe quibble super nuance for either a slightly smaller or larger gap at various points, but speaking in very general, nebulous terms, since the Wii, Nintendo has maintained a position of being roughly "one generation behind" contemporary Sony and Microsoft systems in terms of hardware might. While that's not exactly a particularly impressive statistic, what it does mean is that as the industry has moved forward X number of steps, Nintendo has also moved forward X steps as well, thus neither catching up, nor falling further behind in a relative "one generation gap" sense. It means Nintendo has maintained and held its ground, has "kept pace" with the rest of the industry.
It's different with the Switch, which, in terms of capabilities while docked is basically what a hypothetical "WiiU Pro" would've been, or more generally, a rough equivalent to an imaginary "PS3.5" or "XBox 360 X". None of these speculative systems exist, of course. But the point is that as Sony and Microsoft moved "a half-generation" ahead with the PS4 Pro and the XBox One X over their base units, Nintendo basically moved a half generation ahead as well over the WiiU, which was itself (give or take), roughly the performance equivalent of the PS3 and XB360.
So, the Wii was basically XBox capabilities in the days of XBox 360, WiiU was basically XBox 360 capabilities in the days of XBox One, and now, the Switch is basically [hypothetical] "XBox 360 X" capabilities in the days of XBox One X. The point is that it fell back a whole power level 14yrs ago, and then has really neither meaningfully gained nor lost ground since. It has kept pace.
[edit: The Switch is different in that where Wii and WiiU had concrete "before and after" systems to compare to, as in, "an XBox in an XBox 360 age", the Switch only has the "after systems" (as in, an _____ in an XBox One X age"), so that makes a difference. Also, I realize the "Switch as 'WiiU Pro' line is problematic as we're talking completely different architectures, and no cross compatibility, where the PS4 Pro is pretty literally just a buffed PS4. From that perspective, the PS4 / PS4 Pro analogue with the Switch is simply "undocked vs docked". Then we're talking common architecture and cross compatibility. Plus "undocked vs docked" shares the same concern about not enough games being optimized to suitably take advantage of the beefier option, like the 1X and Pro. It even works fairly well in that the undocked Switch is relatively comparable to WiiU in terms of horsepower. But for the purposes of "where the Switch exists in the spectrum of game systems' hardware capabilities, calling the Switch "a WiiU Pro" is perfectly reasonable, and where I'll plant my flag.]
Therefore, my hope is that, on the eve of the advent of the XBox Series X, and the PS5, that the Switch Pro will at least achieve [while docked], performance essentially equivalent to the base PS4 and XB1. That's not a super high bar to hit in 2020 mobile tech, and not at all an impressive specs in 2020, when we're crossing our fingers that it'll achieve parity with a pair of 2013 machines.....but it would at least mean that Nintendo's streak of "keeping pace", and not falling even further behind will be upheld.
Yes, I get that to fixate on hardware capabilities with Nintendo systems is to miss the point completely - especially in a post-Wii world, and that Nintendo's magic lies elsewhere, doing so much more with so much less. And as one who owns a PS4 Pro, XBox One X, and an even more powerful [albeit slightly] gaming PC, who still likes his Switch more than all of them combined, and uses his Switch significantly more than all of them combined, and as one who favors Nintendo big picture both in the modern world and throughout gaming history in general, with the SNES and N64 being the only two Nintendo systems which I do NOT personally favor over their rivals, I say a hearty Amen and Amen. I cheerfully make "The Switch Sacrifice" on a nearly 100% basis.
HOWEVER: we would make the opposite mistake to ignore hardware altogether, as there will come a tipping point somewhere, where the hardware gap becomes so big that it will chase the devs away. Hell, even now with the Switch, even base PS4 and XB1 games are being declined to be made, just because a mere half-generation gap is too chasmic for them. I mean, we STILL don't have Call of Duty, when even the WiiU had them. Look, I would LOVE to see Nintendo begin to narrow the gap between its rivals, and become more "muscle competitive", assuming it doesn't "lose the magic" in the process, even though I know that hardware isn't the point. And yes, I will concede that if we lose another half generation that all is probably not lost. But it's really important to me that N at least maintains position against its beefier rivals, and so, base PS4 /XB1 territory would be what I would need to really be happy with the Switch Pro. 4K video support (and/or HDR?) and 4K system menus would be great, of course, and very welcomed. But I can live reasonably happily with or without them. Only, let's not fall even further than a full generation behind....oh, and how about some eShop music, for cryin' out loud!!! 😂🥂
Cheers!
Re: Talking Point: How Often Do You Make The 'Switch Sacrifice'?
tl;dr:
I'm one who almost always favors the Switch version of a game. Your mileage may vary, of course, but this is how I roll!
********************
Fuller story:
I have a PS4 Pro, an XBox One X (as well as the base versions of each) and a GTX1070 / i5 Kaby Lake-equipped gaming PC, which in practical performance / visual terms just edges out the 1X. So I have several gaming options at my disposal that significantly outperform the Switch, but the freedom and flexibility of the Switch is something that I just find myself prizing so much more than the extra visuals and/or performance, such that if I can play it on Switch, I usually play it on Switch.
But it's not simply the handheld aspects of the Switch that push me this direction. If it were merely a handheld, I don't know that it would do nearly as much for me. For instance, I have no interest in the Switch Lite whatsoever. Though circumstances do see me playing my Switch in handheld mode a lot more often than it sees me playing in the dock, the latter is my much preferred way to play. And it's that I can do both, and transition seamlessly, with nary more than a blink of the screen between playing a handheld and playing a home console that makes it so special and compelling to me.
One thing I will say, though: if I like a game well enough to play through it twice, THEN I like to play it on one of the beefier systems that second time for those enhanced visuals. In the case of the Pro, 1X, and PC, it's like a generational leap, and it does a lot more for me, than if I went the other way around, where the second playthrough would feel like a downgrade.
Anyway, if you're not sympathetic with this, and this isn't how you do things, that's fine. That's the beauty of choice in the industry. Your mileage may vary. But as for me, the Switch has become so ingrained into my gamer DNA, that I can't really even envision doing things differently at this point, and while I certainly wouldn't cheerfully surrender or abandon PS, XB, or probably even PC, the fact of the matter is that I could much more easily and painlessly lift them out of my lives, probably combined than I could let go of Nintendo's little wonder!
Cheers!
[edit: S**T!! I clicked the wrong option in the poll. I read the choices in a hurry, and misread "yes, and it has bothered me" as "yes, and it HASN'T bothered me", interpreting the distinction between that and the "I don't care option" to be a case of indifference vs active pleasure. So I voted wrong. Tally me up with the "don't care" option instead, gang!] 😂
Re: Feature: The Best Hidden Gems And Underrated Switch Games Of 2019
I'd be interested in every single one of these games! Many of them have been on my radar for some time now!
Re: Guide: How To Buy Nintendo Switch Games From The Japanese eShop - Region Free Accounts
@Sebatrox got it! Thanks so much for the update! Happy Holidays!
Re: Poll: Box Art Brawl #10 - GoldenEye 007
Still 100% on the series proper, although the worst box art "gaiden" did find me out of step. It was between two, and I spent forever trying to decide. When I finally pulled the lever, it was the other one that the majority had picked.....bollocks!
Oh well, still 100 on the main series.
There's a certain, I dunno, "tightness" to the NA box art, and a "bigness" as well that makes it all so much more dynamic. The JP one seems a bit more "cerebral", but a lot more "diffuse", and the EU one just seems like a zoomed-out NA with the N64 border logo not on the border, but seemingly just hanging out in space.
Re: Poll: Nintendo Switch Lite Is Out Today, Are You Getting One?
Part 2 of 2:
---------THE SUPER [DUPER] LONG VERSION---------
I've come to understand and appreciate the Switch Lite's place in the Nintendo ecosystem, and the Switch lineup, and I don't begrudge it. I am no longer fighting against it. It is admittedly a thing of physical beauty, and the smaller size will make it much easier to carry around. And, for those who don't care about the dock, but do care about the portability of the thing, it is a smart, logical choice that should serve them very well. It is truly the "2DS" of the Switch ecosystem.
However, very central to the whole Switch experience for me is the hybrid nature of the system, that it is BOTH a handheld AND a console, and that I have in one piece of hardware the portable's liberation from the couch of the console via the freedom and flexibility to play anytime / anywhere, AND the console's liberation from the small screen / tight, imprecise controls of the portable by way of the big screen / sound system of the couch or theater room. I can slip it into the dock to enjoy a fully immersive / comfortable couch console experience with the comfort and precision of the pro controller. And then, just like that, slip it out of the dock, "call shotgun" on the car ride, and pick up right where I left off without having to worry about cloud saves and other clunky hand-off measures that aren't required when it's literally the same piece of hardware in both contexts. Even the most elegant and seamless and beautiful cross-save / hand-off arrangements are going to seem so impossibly clunky and cumbersome next to the one second delay between going into and out of docked mode we have now.
There's just no comparison.
It's not perfect, no. As a console, it's underpowered - about a generation behind XB1X / PS4 Pro, and about a half-generation behind even the base units. In fact, it's probably not at all unfair to simply call it a "WiiU Pro". Or, if there had ever been a so-called XB360X, and/or PS3 Pro, they would probably occupy a nearly identical spot in hardware performance to Switch's docked mode. And on the other hand, as a portable, it's big, bulky, expensive, and battery hungry, with flimsy, damage and wear-prone controls.
But that it is BOTH a portable AND a console all in one device, in my mind, MORE THAN makes up for its deficits as either. It's the kind of magic that proposes I pay $20-$40 more for a demonstrably inferior version of a game than I would pay on another system for a demonstrably superior version, and as ludicrous a proposition as it sounds, not only do I do it gladly, and repeatedly - but that version even becomes my favorite version of all - all because when I buy the game for Switch, I am essentially getting two versions and experiences in one - a console game and a handheld game that I can switch between by simply slipping a tablet into or out of a dock.
And to get rid of either of those - even if it means by and large fixing the shortcomings of the other one in the process, so severely diminishes its total value to me so as to "not even be a Switch anymore" in my mind. And it doesn't matter one iota to me whether we're talking about some hypothetical, imaginary dedicated console that plays Switch games, and is more powerful than XB1X, but isn't portable anymore, or the very real-life near-perfection of a portable Switch experience that isn't a console anymore. Not only that, but in the process, it seriously damages the odd arithmetic of the paradoxically beneficial cost / benefit analysis of paying more for a scaled down port. It also, if the Switch were merely a portable as is the case with the Lite, undoes by flipping on its head the precedent which runs throughout all of gaming history up to this point that the portable version of the game, being the nuts and bolts inferior version relative to the console was always cheaper as a result. Well not anymore, ladies, gentlemen, and all points in-between....not anymore.
So in short? No, I have no interest in a Switch Lite whatsoever.
At first, I was actually very angry about the Lite, because I was so excited for a more portable Switch coming into things. And I was so planning on it, that I had for all intents and purposes already "pre-ordered it" in my mind. But then when I found out what kind of sacrifices it would require to have it, it became a hard pass. I could've lived reasonably happily with any and all of the other compromises the Lite made. But the dock thing was a deal-breaker. However, here's the rub: since I had already so thoroughly bought into it in my head beforehand, the termination of that plan didn't feel like a disappointment so much as it felt like an actual loss, like something good was actually taken away from me. As melodramatic and ridiculous as this will no doubt sound, it even felt like an outright betrayal to me. I was soooo mad, and soooo sad! You know, I suppose that I made the classic blunder of "counting my proverbial chickens before they hatched".
But anyway, because of this, I initially reacted VERY negatively. In fact, in the process, I have learned a very painful, but very valuable lesson of never trying to artificially create a viral hashtag on Twitter by spamming it. Some of you may or may not have encountered the #NoDockNoDeal hash that was pretty much all one guy...yeah, my apologies. That was all kinds of ugly, and I'll never do that again. It is definitely true that the dumbest in me brought out the ugliest in everybody else.
But now that I've had time to cool down, and get a little bit more perspective, I have realized that this isn't as much of a sacrilege, or a "sky is falling" situation as I initially thought, and have learned to make peace with it as a part of the greater ecosystem. Nevertheless, I still have no desire for one for myself. It's fine for others, but not for me.
I had held out some hope that we would find that the requisite hardware was still in place, and that perhaps a future firmware update would make it dockable again - at which point I would become interested again, and pick one up at my earliest convenience. However, the past few days have found that not to be the case, putting forever to rest the hope of ever adding dockability, and with it, the hope of my ever becoming interested.
The only outstanding concern I have regarding the Lite is the potential it has to undermine "docked mode" with the software developers. Part of what makes the docked mode feel like an actual different experience than undocked mode is the power and performance boost it gets. It's not just a smeary rebroadcast of the handheld mode stretched over a bigger screen, but it is actually a legitimately enhanced experience - a demonstrably "something other". But in order for that to actually matter, the software developers need to program in a second software layer to take advantage of that extra power. So, more expense and labor for the developer, without any additional financial benefit that they wouldn't already get via "the Switch tax". There are already too many Switch games that don't have a distinct docked mode, and too many developers who don't care about using it. Though it certainly differs in scale, in principle, this is akin to a developer not adding a "Pro layer" to a PS4 game or no "1X layer" to an XB1 game. Now, if we have a second Switch come along that doesn't even support docked mode, and that new Switch sells like gangbusters, and everyone uses it and leaves the old Switch behind, how many more of those developers who still support the dock despite the inherent business contra-incentive to do so will fall off in the process, and what will become of a critical aspect of the docked experience then? Now, I know that Nintendo themselves have promised to always keep supporting the dock, and there are other developers who like to push the envelope as well, who will probably continue to support it. But I feel like the dock is already undersupported, and I'm just afraid that the Lite's influence will only cause it to fall into even more extreme neglect. Again, I don't think it's panic time, and I'm not gonna go on a tirade about it. But it is a long-term concern that does nag at me a bit.
I guess we shall see. But once again, as for me and my house, I will just continue to live with carrying around a full sized-switch in my pocket that barely fits, looks terrible in there, and no doubt does all sorts of violence to the attached joycons, and still have a setup where I don't have to rely on cloud saves, but get to enjoy both a console and a handheld experience all in one small tablet. Your mileage may vary, of course. You do you, booboo. But this is the path I'm hard committed to. #NoDockNoDeal.
Cheers!
Re: Poll: Nintendo Switch Lite Is Out Today, Are You Getting One?
Lots of thoughts on this one! Lemme do the whole "short version" / "long version" construct.
Part 1 of 2:
------------------THE SHORT VERSION-----------------
It's great for the right people, and is quite a looker, no doubt. But without docked support or even the theoretical hope of future docked support, I am definitely not one of those "the right people".
Hard pass for me, thanks! And here's to hoping that it doesn't erode software developer support for docked-mode enhancements in their games going forward.
Re: Poll: Box Art Brawl #9 - The Legend Of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX
Man! Now I'm 9-0 for agreeing with the popular vote! Let's see if I can make 10!
This was actually tougher than I thought, though. I was able to rule out the JP version right away. But I struggled a bit between the more stunning and arresting EU design and the more classic, and "traditional" NA design. In the end, I just couldn't say no to that EU version! Sooooo beautiful, triple Nintendo logo thing be damned.
Re: Poll: Box Art Brawl #7 - Star Fox
Holy crap! I'm 7-0 in terms of siding with the majority on these so far! I'm usually not that closely synced with "the masses".
As far as Star Fox 2 NA vs JP, they actually have all the same assets on them, just shuffled around. As such, it all comes down to positioning, and in this case, while on first blush, I initially preferred the NA version, after a second look, I would vote JP.
There are things I like better about both. But the ultimate tie-breaker for me is actually Andross in the background. He looks super imposing, particularly that non-standard eye....which is totally obscured by the Star Fox logo.
Re: Nintendo Direct Confirmed For Tomorrow, 4th September
Kinda sucks for us US Central Time people, as this will be happening during the PM commute. And those of us who don't either ride mass transit, or have our own self-driving cars will either need to head home that early or that late to catch it, content ourselves with just listening on the drive....or, you know, become something of a "cruise missile" on the road by trying to drive and watch at the same time. Hopefully no one does that last one.
Okay, rant over. I am still excited to see what gets announced. I have things that I'm hoping for, but have no idea on how likely or unlikely they are, such as SNES (at least) on NSoL, a Metroid Prime 4 updates, and a Metroid Prime Trilogy HD Remaster announcement. I also hope they have at least a couple announcements that are complete surprises (at least for me).
Drive safe, everyone in the CDT!
Cheers!
Re: Poll: Box Art Brawl #3 - Resident Evil 4
So, thus far, I've been in the majority opinion on all three. I preferred the JP Super Metroid (or Suupaa Metoroido), the NA Contra, and the EU Resident Evil - which also means the three regions are tied so far with me at one apiece.
I'm an American, so almost without exception, the NA versions are the familiar and nostalgic versions for me, of course. But I don't tend to have a very strong bias either way as it concerns familiar vs novel. I tend to go more or less down the middle on that, favoring each in turn about evenly.
This manifests in other ways too. On my show, once a year, I'll do a "this version [of a piece of video game music] vs that version" episode (such as the Super NES version vs the Sega Genesis version, etc). In my nomenclature, these episodes are called "FaceOff Friday" episodes, and my most recent was actually just his past Friday (this one was guest hosted and curated by someone else). But my picks between familiar and novel versions in these have all been pretty even across the board.
As such, I am not surprised that I have not overwhelmingly preferred American versions just because they're what I grew up with. What does surprise me a little, though, is that I have been so in step so far with the rest of the community. I'm used to being a little less tuned into the pulse, shall we say.
Anyway, these are fun. Keep them up! Maybe Mega Man 2 or Super Mario Bros next time!
Cheers!
Re: There Are Now More Than 100 Switch Joy-Con Colour Combinations
So, I get that these are just cash grabs for Nintendo and don't offer us anything beyond delight in the color options and mix and matchability, and at $80/pair.....much lighter wallets. I also get that there are more practical ways that Nintendo could be enhancing our user experience with the Switch. Not taking dock support out of the Lite would've been a huge one for the people like me who want something more pocketable, but are unwilling to surrender the system's very most signature feature to have it. I'm still only 90% over that travesty.
But you know what? I love the joycons and the color options anyway! It's fun! It's part of the charm of the system. It's the only time I've ever wanted a controller for more than just basic functional reasons. It's sooooo Nintendo! And it's so up my alley! And it makes forgetting about the Lite that much easier. Also, they're not mandatory expenses, so you can always say no to at least this arm of the Nintendo money-making machine.
So, yeah, I'm a fan!
My questions are a) how many distinct sets of joycons do you have to have to pull off the full 100 (a complete list would be great), b) can you do it without ending up with any duplicates (from my look at the chart, it looks like you might end up with an extra yellow right joycon), c) are they all still available, and d) are they all available in the US, or do I have to order overseas for some?
As it stands, I have the neon blue / neon red that came with the system, then I have the Splatoon neon pink / neon green, and finally, I have the neon red / neon blue which are opposite the stock set. That means out of 100, I can make....let's see....nine. Taking the "neon" prefix as read in each instance, I can make blue red, blue green, blue blue, pink red, pink green, pink blue, or red red, red green, and red blue. Or, assuming the rows on this chart are lettered, starting with A and the columns are numbered, starting with 1, I can make B3, B5, B2, F3, F5, F2, or C3, C5, and C2.
Now it's just a matter of figuring out which ones to buy next!
Cheers!
Re: Guide: How To Buy Nintendo Switch Games From The Japanese eShop - Region Free Accounts
So this may seem like a REALLY dumb question, but is there a difference between the US NES on Switch and the EU version? I created a JP acct and have Famicom now. I also created a UK acct and can access the EU eShop....but is there anything unique about NES in the EU region for Switch that would justify my downloading it again? Will it even let me download it again, or will it just refer me back to the NA installed version that I downloaded way back when with my actual [US] account? I did an internet search for differences, and came up empty handed (which might be telling right there). But I still thought I would inquire. Anybody know?
Re: A New Earthworm Jim Is Coming, But There's A Rather Large Catch
I'm gonna take a wait and see approach on Amico just like I am on VCS. Stopping short on the one hand of just completely writing them off (very very short on the VCS side), while also stopping short of getting too enthused on the other hand, and definitely stopping well we'll short of offering any pre-release financial support a la Atari's kickstarter.
Also, while I certainly like EWJ to this day, and definitely did back in the day (as a matter of fact, I was just working on a music block for the podcast the other day involving some EWJ2 music), I would stop just shy of calling it an "indispensable title". So, if the Amico sells me, then I will buy it. And should I buy the Amico, well, then I'll absolutely buy EWJ. But I won't buy an Amico if I'm not sold on it just for EWJ, no.
Of course, this may be a little bit moot. If Amico is a flop, and none of us buy it, I can't imagine EWJ will go to its grave as an exclusive. I mean, I could envision a possible scenario of it never ever leaving exclusivity if Amico is a big success (though more than likely even in the success scenario it'll just be a "timed exclusive" and mass release a few years later) but I just can't see it "going down with the ship" if Amico fails when EWJ could sell a crap ton of copies on PS4/XB1/Switch and PC.
So while I definitely kinda hope Amico is worth it (and I guess I could say the same about VCS despite being very skeptical), my point is that if we're willing to just wait a few extra years, especially if the Amico bombs, it'll probably find its way elsewhere. Very very unlikely indeed is the scenario where it is just once forever for always an exclusive behind the INTV wall. We've waited 25 years for EWJ3, what's a few more years, eh?
Cheers!
Re: Video: Here's How Mortal Kombat 11 On Switch Compares To The PS4 Version
Fascinating! In some contexts the difference is glaring, while in others, even side by side, it's hardly noticable. Of course, I was watching this on my Pixel 2 XL smartphone, and on a bigger screen, the differences would likely be even more apparent!
Here's what I suspect: as is so often the case, in side by side comparisons, the differences would leap out at you. But outside of side by side, most of the differences would disappear into the action, and even the Switch version would strike the eyes as being "very good looking". I imagine in slower action moments like victory poses or in slow mo gore fests, you might be able to notice the deficit even without a side by side. But as your mashing buttons for your [digital] life, I'll bet you pretty much only see the positives.
Anyone who actually owns the game on Switch (especially if you also own it on either a base PS4 or XB1), how do the visuals strike you? Let's factor out the PS4 Pro and XB1X or any gaming PC with anything above a GTX1060, since at that point we're looking at essentially a full hardware generation ahead of Switch (or higher), and of course those differences will be unmistakable. But the "half-generation" gulf between Switch and the base consoles could make for a much more interesting comparison. How do you feel the Switch stacks up?
Re: Japanese Charts: Switch Console Sales Reach 8 Million, Will Soon Overtake PS4 Lifetime Sales
I shouldn't be surprised by the fact that such an important game market as Japan accounts for such a relatively modest percentage of worldwide sales numbers, but I still find it to be almost jarring information. Something like 94 million PS4s sold worldwide and something like 33 million Switches, and yet only about 8 million a piece in their own motherland.
It also sometimes amazes me (though again, it shouldn't) just how different things can be in just one region vs in another, or in the worldwide picture. Worldwide, Switch has only sold about a third as many systems as PS4 (albeit with only about a third as much time on the shelves), and yet, in Japan, barring some kind of seismic shift, the Switch after only two years on the market is going to eclipse the PS4 after nearly six, and this event could happen maybe in as little time as a couple weeks.
It's just such a different picture, you know? In either case, Switch is my personal favorite of the current crop, and on a site like NintendoLife, I suspect would be for a higher percentage of you than the international average as well....so....we celebrate! Way to go Switch!
Re: Video: Digital Foundry's Analysis Of Cuphead On The Nintendo Switch
I already owned Cuphead on PC/XBox. But I thought it was so great that I pre-ordered it for Switch! And it's perfect!
Plus the ability to play at home or on the go big screen or small without having to mess with a clunky gaming laptop makes the Switch version, in my mind at least, the absolutely optimum version of the game! All the benefits of Switch that we're used to seeing, with none of the drawbacks that typically comes along with it. It's totally a win win!