Nintendofan83

I'm starting to buy a bit more digitally now because of this situation. No need to go out and risk myself for Animal Crossing. I'll be happy to buy it digitally.

@Deltath I thought you couldn't transfer your Animal Crossing save data? If it's just a complete system transfer then it's ok?

So I'm in between a rock and a hard place. I have the OG Switch and I've wanted to upgrade for a while but there are no Switch stocks available in my area (South Korea) because of Covid-19. Schools have been closed here for 6 weeks so everyone bought a Switch and the Chinese factories didn't ship any here. If I start playing Animal Crossing, it will be stuck on my old Switch. I want a new Switch but I want to start playing AC. GAHHHHHH

Enjoy everyone! lol

I can't help but wonder if most of the major publishers move to a Direct style format moving forward and then have a show floor for demos and kiosks. E3 would have been in roughly 3 months so there is a lot of time to prepare a digital presentation.

I'd love to see a Square Direct! They are one of my favourite publishers

@burninmylight You are correct, the only rewards are for out of print systems lol

If he starts now it will be ready for the PS6 =) lol

I haven't played V but I often see it on sale for the Vita. I should check it out.

Congrats to the team at 4A for their hard work and accomplishment.

These games aren't for me but it's a good exclusive for the Switch to get. I wonder if it will be an independent announcement about the release date or perhaps part of a March Direct? I know....I know....I shouldn't say the 'D' word lol.

Still holding out hope for Untitled Goose Game!

I prefer physical but I have double dipped a bit this generation where I have bought indie games or premier titles digitally and then later bought them physically when they were on sale or announced from a company like SRG or LRG.

Personally, I find shopping with LRG to be extremely stressful and I'm often disappointed. I log in at the moment things go live and I miss out time and time again. The bots always win out. Shopping with SRG is a lot easier for me and less stressful. I generally get the games I want from them and so far, I am very happy with the games I purchased.

Sakurai and his team deserve a well earned break. Smash Wii U and now Smash Ultimate are amazing games. This current one in particular has a very long life in front of it with more DLC and a prominent place in the Switch's library. I'm not 100% convinced the series is finished but I don't think they need anything for 5 years or so. This game will hold it down well. Could end up a 20 million seller like Kart.

Probably a good call to have the Animal Crossing Direct before any other type of Direct. This game is gonna be huge and I know a lot of people who are excited for it. 25 minutes is a ton of time so this game should be fully explained by the end of this Direct and then it's just one month away to launch. After that, Nintendo can move on to general news if they want. I'm gonna try and play this game with my son.

It must have been awesome to attend E3 in the prime of its existence in the 2000's. Imagine being there for all those famous lines from Reggie, Iwata, and Miyamoto. Definitely a cool memory for those attendees.

I wonder what is giving this game so much second life. It did not sell well on the Wii U despite being an early release title.

It's hard to answer without sounding selfish but ....no....Nintendo....don't let it happen. Bayonetta 1 is coming to PS4 and Xbox this month. That's fine ....but Bayonetta 2 and 3 are Nintendo funded projects so keep those games exclusive to Nintendo's platforms. They had faith in the games when others didn't.

It's a fun game. It doesn't need to take itself seriously with every aspect of gameplay and strategy. It's a fun game about sucking up ghosts and banking cash lol. Not every game needs a skill tree.

I tried out the voucher program in the summer and it was a nice savings. It worked out to about $40 savings in Canada so that means I got NOA online for free and then $10 off a game. I'm not sure why they ended it the Americas.

Impressive! Congrats to Platinum and all the people backing this. What a great start indeed. Kickstarters aren't for me personally so I'm not going to back it but I'm happy for everyone who is excited about this project. Enjoy!

I have the Wii U version so I feel like I have already supported the game and company. Cheers!

This is only a personal opinion. Make up your own mind.

I'm done with kickstarters after the Bloodstained debacle. The Switch version of Ritual of the Night received the highest share of the 5 million plus raised but it received the lowest amount of attention from Igarashi and his team. He used the Switch funding to build his project and then launch an inferior product for fans. It took a long time to clean it up. I feel like this could happen again. The Switch goal is set low so you know it will cruise past that but will the Switch version be good? I'll wait and see what happens. I personally feel burned by kickstarters.

I actually did this for Splatoon 2. I took out the inserts from my OG Switch box and put them in the Splatoon 2 box to display. It seemed like a funny thing to do at the time but I'm glad I did. The box is a great display piece in my collection. Then...America got the Splatoon 2 bundle a few months later and I felt silly haha.

@johnvboy good point - I'm only a fair weather Pokemon fan so I didn't follow too closely. I'm about 8 hours into Sword and I am enjoying it.

A few of my own thoughts

1.) Mario Kart 9 is likely years away lol. 22 million for 8 Deluxe? Holy crap!

2.) So much for the Pokemon Sword and Shield backlash hurting sales. 16 million units sold in 2 months is impressive.

3.) It's crazy Super Mario Party didn't receive any DLC. Look how popular that game is!!! Nearly 10 million sold. I suppose they want SMP2 instead?

4.) Would be nice if a third party game could crack in with the big boys. The charts are impressive but certainly support a certain third party narrative people like to push.

Great to see Nintendo bounce back this generation and find that magic we know and love. Regardless of the final numbers, the Switch is a massive success and is likely to end up the second best selling console or maybe the best? Who knows...the Switch is a success and the gaming industry is all the better for it.

I got the Asia release last year and it's really good. However, a few games are tough to play. I would definitely pick up this version if it's true.

I hope this is tied to a Direct or something. It would be great to hear from Nintendo now that the holiday season is over and we are firmly into 2020.

The Switch is a Mega Man haven! I wonder if they will dip into some of the more obscure titles like the Battle Network games? It's pretty incredible how many different Mega Man games you can now play on Switch. Love it!

NVM, it's through Strictly Limited Games.

Just to double check, this is the game that was physical only in Japan upon launch, right? Is it getting an English physical release?

I thought a Direct would come in January but I doubt it now. Both Pokemon and Smash had their own mini-Directs so I bet Nintendo keeps silent for a while and tries to drum up sales for expansion passes. Both Pokemon and Smash announced DLC so they probably want people buying that for a while. I'm guessing the Direct isn't going to happen until February. There isn't much on the release schedule so I hope a lot of announcements are made.

A couple of thoughts:

4 of the 5 characters were non-Nintendo characters so I still think they did an awesome job with the Fighter pack

I think they should have announced this guy first and someone else last. I think it would have made people feel differently

It's pretty incredible the roster is still going. I can't help but wonder if this will be the last Smash game. Where could they go from here?

I actually really like Nintendo's approach to E3 because they cater to both fans at home and fans in attendance. If you are able to attend, Nintendo builds a lavish display for their games and creates an interactive environment for fans to enjoy. If you can't attend, they have a pre-recorded, high quality video presentation (Direct) that's available on YouTube so you can get all the latest announcements. They also have Treehouse Live for people to learn about games. It's a nice balance. I think E3 still has a place in the gaming community.

@JayJ I think the point of these columns is to allow each writer the chance to talk about a game that impacts them. Of course you wouldn't have chosen them, it's not your choice haha. What are some standouts for you?

I'm so happy to see this choice! I remember watching E3 2014 and being absolutely blown away by this game and concept. It didn't end up launching for almost a year later but I followed development on it a lot. I played the OG Splatoon religiously for a few years. Splatoon is proof that Nintendo can still create new IPs. It's not just the tried and true for them.

My buddy said he got it in time only to receive a cancellation notice shortly after. Simply, this item was sold as an error and your order has been cancelled. He didn't get anything other than his money back .

Walmart had this happen a few months ago. They mislabelled Fire Emblem Three Houses and the expansion pack for the price of the expansion pack. I bought it and they contacted me to say no game code would come. They refunded my money and let me keep the DLC. Was pretty nice of them.

This was my first Fire Emblem game and I absolutely loved it. I picked it up cheap on the recommendation of a friend and I was hooked within the first few hours. It's in my top 5 favourite 3DS games and in general, one of the best games I've played. Solid choice.

@nessisonett @jowe_gw I should have said hidden strings then. Of course investment comes with expectations. I understand that. I imagine you may see an exclusive game for the Chinese market. In the meantime, read up on China's silk road and other investments they have made around the world. Chinese companies are influenced by the Chinese government and hidden strings always exist.

No one receives investment from China without strings attached. Let's see what Platinum is doing in 2-3 years.

I think it's awesome that modern gamers have so much choice. I love my Switch and I buy most of my games for it but I must say, it was nice playing DQXI on the PS4 Pro or Forza on the Xbox 1X. I'm all about having that choice. I'm just thankful to have the ability to play so many great games on different platforms. I love my Switch and like my PS4/Xbox 1consoles.

I think it will be a long time before we seen any information about this game. Dragon Quest XI was in development over 4 years before a Japanese release and then 5 years for a western release. Even if they did start in late 2018 once the western release came out for PS4, I highly doubt we see the game on current hardware. It's likely gonna be a 2022/23 game for Japan.

Half-decent would be the best way to describe it. My son is almost 6 and he is somewhat new to gaming. He's run around in Odyssey a bit but this is the first game I don't really help him with. He likes it quite a bit because of the characters and easy gameplay. It's a side scrolling platformer with simple mechanics and the odd picture based matching game. Overall, he's enjoying it and I only paid $30 for it during Black Friday so that's a win. I read somewhere online it's like 10 hours of gameplay? He's played about 4 hours so far and he enjoys is. If you can get it for a half decent then it would be a good game for a kid with limited gaming experience. Your 6 year old playing Pokemon would likely be bored playing this game.

Merry Christmas to the entire Nintendo Life community. It was a great year for the Switch and I have enjoyed being a part of the forums and message boards. Santa brought our household a few games and I'm happy to see my 6 year old enjoying some games! He got Paw Patrol on a Roll and played it for as long as his mother would allow haha. Merry Christmas!

These lists are fun to use as a conversation starter. I disagree with a lot of this list personally but I do recognize there are lots of great games mentioned. It was a strong year for the Switch and I enjoyed many of the games. Here are my top 5 favourite games of the year in no particular order:

Luigi's Mansion 3
Dragon Quest Builders 2
Dragon Quest XI S
Astral Chain
Fire Emblem

@kuromantic well that sassy comment didn't work out for you hahaha.

Japan has always been a Nintendo stronghold but these numbers are impressive. I was in Tokyo for a few days in the summer and I saw the Switch around everywhere. Portability is a huge draw here in Asia.

Generally Nintendo's sales aren't that enticing for me personally (30% of Zelda which has been out forever) but the third party companies do a great job! I picked up Bomberman two weeks ago for like $12? I'm looking forward to seeing what's on offer. Happy Holidays ya'll.

I really liked the combat system and strategy in Bravely Default. It hooked me right away. The ending part gets a bit drawn out though. I hope they learned from that. Overall, I loved Bravely Default and it's one of my very favourite 3DS games. I'm pumped for this.

January 2020 has suddenly lost two games I was looking forward to. Mega Man Z collection got delayed and now Crystal Chronicles gets delayed. Booooo!!

Is there anything left for the month? I honestly don't know. What am I missing?

@Silly_G I'm here in Asia and Square Enix treats this market very differently. People don't like digital media here. People prefer physical media (especially in Korea and Japan where I am). Digital isn't as appealing and if a game had a download code, sales would suffer. It happened with the Vita a lot in the west where games got codes but those same games were all physical in Region 3. It's the same with Switch games. Capcom does it, too. They can get away with digital in the west because digital is growing in popularity there but they do a lot of physical here. I don't think it's just about 32GB cartridges. It's also about the consumers in the regions.

@Dezzy It chugs when a lot of enemies are on screen. I bought the game in Japan this summer. It's fun but you can tell it's a very early port to the system. It's fun but noticeable at times. I certainly hope there is a patch or something.

The timing of this leak is not coincidental. The producer of the series was just speaking about his fondness for the first two titles and the possibility of a third. He's drumming up media coverage of the games ahead of a western release. Dragon Quest games have been selling really well on Switch so Square Enix wants to strike while the iron is hot. I'm worried about it will be I on cart, II download code.

Two observations

1.) Ring Fit is doing a lot better than I thought. Seems to have a better future than Labo

2.) I'm a bit disappointed in Luigi's Mansion 3 sales. Ring Fit is out selling it! I have really enjoyed playing that game with my son. I hope Nintendo doesn't view those numbers as low. I want #4! haha

@panthro I think there is a difference between ignoring a post for sales that you aren't interested in and defending a website that is being criticized in a petty manner. The sales posts aren't a personal attack on you. They are just a way for the website to earn some money so you can ignore it but your comments were petty and aimed at the people running the website. What games news website doesn't have affiliate links or ads all over the site?

@cmk8 Amazon US has them for $59.99 (-$20 off original price).