RenanLK

Well, that's the reasonable guess. However, it all depends on which games Nintendo is planning for launch year.

I have Wii U vibes about this, if it's really Switch 2 design. It's too similar to Switch which makes it very easy to be ignored by a non-hardcore audience as a new Switch variation.

The controllers look cool, though.

Well, let me put it this way, Triangle Strategy is a brilliant game that I loved to play multiple times, BUT the art style was a really bad choice for a such a story-driven game. HD-2D simply couldn’t translate what was going on with the depth needed plus it got really boring to watch the long cutscenes after a while.

In other words, HD-2D is beautiful yet it IS NOT a silver bullet for old-style games, the same way the hyper-realism should not be the default for AAA games. Studios should try different art styles to figure out what works best for each game.

It’s really impressive how Nintendo manages to create so many successful games that sell throughout the entire gen without the “live service games or nothing” mindset that every major publisher seems to be into these days.

I wish Sony attempted to mimic Nintendo on this. So annoying that the follow-up to the amazing PS4 gen has been this race for the next Fortnite.

I’m very early in the game but it’s really fun so far, plus Luigi saving and reuniting with Mario in the first island was adorable.

Well, they have to test their games on computers first, right? Very unlikely that each build is actually run in the consoles to validate changes. So it could be an open-source emulator, could be a proprietary emulator and it could be the same software they use to test builds without publishing to a console.

Whatever the case may be, it’s their product, so as others said Nintendo can do what it wants to do.

This is the first Zelda localized in Brazilian Portuguese so this kind of possible reference is very hard to see. Nintendo localization team is amazing and deserves all the praise, though, they didn’t just translate text, it has local cultural references in the localization that made me laugh.

My first videogame was an SNES. I remember my father showing up at lunch time in 1999 with the SNES box and 3 games - Mario World, DKC3 and Kirby Superstar. Amazing games and such a good memory. I played DKC2 next (which is still my favorite) and only got DKC later. Honestly, DKC is a little rough, beautiful and amazing for its time yes, but Rare nailed it on DKC2.

It might be a good thing, a new director could stop the madness of spin-off titles that are required to follow the story, hehe.

Gotta give it to Nintendo in making their games as independent as possible. Didn't play the original Prime games, but reading each one's story here, there isn't much of a pre-requirement to any of the games. You could easily enjoy them in any order.

So ready to increase my backlog with yet another generation!

As a fan of horror games, I'm disappointed with this outcome. Well, good thing for those who like the narrative detective genre.

Hey, my letter has been answered! Thanks for that! =)

Adding a bit of context, as a fan I do own all the KH games on PS5, but ever since I had my son, PS5 is collecting dust. Switch's portability makes it easier to fit in my week (mostly in bed, to be honest) and Nintendo games are more diverse and interesting to me, so if I could also play my favorite 3rd party games on Switch 2 that would be amazing.

About digital stores, we really should stop talking about shutting down the servers. It's not like each system's games are kept exclusively in dedicated servers like a physical store that is eventually closed. The infraatructure cost lies in running the store apps and the storage required for the games.

What all gaming companies could do is delete data from old games that people are no longer interested in from their store databases to save money (which makes sense from business perspective) and continuosly upgrade the same store applications for each console with a unified account system. Not saying it's super easy to do, just pointing out that it's perfectly feasible from both technical and business perspectives.

It will be successful, no doubt there. Surpassing Switch might be difficult. It won't be a new idea, it won't have the pandemic effect (hopefully!) and lots of people love the Switch, so convincing them to migrate to Switch 2 will be another challenge.

But there is still hope. It all comes to games, if Nintendo manages to have popular hits and appropriate marketing there is a chance. It also wouldn't hurt if native versions of new 3rd party releases were released alongside the competitors (although this alone doesn't define anything).

Edit: Just thought that if they created a proper multi-device account system for Switch 2 they could definitely beat Switch sales. I only have 1 Switch because digital games are not shareable across a family account. If they were, I would definitely buy multiple consoles and I imagine other parents would do the same.

Could be during A Link's Awakening. What if Link never sailed off, instead being somehow "transported" to that reality when he fell into that rift?

Also, recently replayed Skyward Sword and the scene with Zelda frozen in that glass-like state is pretty similar to Skyward Sword, so who knows?

All said, it's just another legend and I'm looking forward to playing it day 1.

If Switch 2 has enough hardware to get new releases from high-profile series such as Resident Evil, Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts, I'd skip PlayStation entirely in favor of Switch 2.

High-profile 3rd party series are the only reason I still play on PS sometimes.

From Nintendo world, definitely Ocarina of Time. It was brilliant to me as a kid, but last timeI tried it I couldn't recognize it anymore - really ugly and controls feel awkward.

If someone other than Nintendo learned their music and wrote a music sheet for other fans, it should never be subject to DMCA. If it were Nintendo's music sheet that was stolen, fine, but it doesn't seem to be the case.

I'm no legal expert, they might be on their right to DMCA these sheets, but really, it's so lame to do so. What exactly are they protecting themselves against?

Probably the first ever video game film to be good on its own. My 4yo nephew loves it and he had no idea who Mario was.

Hoping the sequel is just as good!

I have zero expectations that Nintendo Switch 2 will have enough power to offer two options. If it's running good enough and the game is fun, I'm happy.

While it has the Paper Mario charm and comedy timing, it retains the repetitive nature of Super Mario RPG so that some mechanics become less interesting as you progress through the game. Never played the original, so no nostalgia here, I'd give it an 8.

Nintendo should consider hiring them. Excellent solution to remaster retro games with modern features.

I enjoyed the original N64 Paper Mario, and I didn't like to Wii Paper Mario. Ever since then I haven't tried any other entry, guess it's about time!

Interesting how current his comments are. Nintendo itself took a hit with Wii U precisely due to what he mentioned.

As others have mentioned, it remains to be seen how a Switch 2 with the same design but enhanced hardware will perform in the long term. Personally I think there's still enough interest in Switch's core ideas to expand on it and maintain a huge audience (see PS Portal's surprisingly high adoption rate).

I agree with everyone else, I would never ever buy a game with ads like YouTube or even the intrusive Google ads. It's fine if they're part of the layout, like a billboard, building, tech device and so on, otherwise no way!

All of us know that building games today, especially AAA games, cost a lot of money. The hard part to manage as a game publisher is that gaming for customers is a non-essential entertainment, sort of a toy for teens and adults. They can't raise the price without losing customers, but the cost is raising.

It's about time the industry goes back to its roots, understanding that games can be fun and enjoyable without all the high-cost elements of AAAs, such as hollywood-level storytelling with artists recording everything, ultrarealistic graphics and orchestra soundtrack. Btw, indies, the alternative IS NOT pixelated games with SNES look and feel. There is a whole array of possibilities between these two extremes that I hope Square Enix and other publishers explore in the future.

Well, I think the "& Friends" is far worse than Middle-Earth Enterprises.

Smart of them to have a line of business focused on smaller games. They cost less and if done right can bring in a good amount of profit - the industry should give it a try. But let's be honest, Embracer did this to make it easier to sell parts of their business.

Well, in their defense japanese titles in all kinds of art do often have lots of exclamation marks.

That's easy, 2D peaked at Super Mario World, but Mario games kept getting better at each 3D game, so I'll just take the latest - Odyssey - as the best one.

If I said anything else it would be out of nostalgia.

I'd like something new after Wonder.

Wonder looked great, but its level designs were not even near Super Mario World. Just try to play a level without touching the wonder flower, they feel less fun/creative than the New series. Wonder flowers should be the entire levels, IMO. Plus, Nintendo already makes Kirby games to target children that are starting to play games, there is no need to make 2D Mario games super easy! Please give us a challenge, Nintendo.

For me personally retro is not about how old the console is, but how long has it been "dead" (which effectively makes memories of games go into mostalgia territory). Sure, 3DS is old, but it had Nintendo 1st party games released as late as 2019. Not sure about you, but 2019 memories aren't far enough to reach nostalgic feelings for me (it doesn't help that pandemic hit right after that, but that's not the point). I would put DS in retro category, but not 3DS yet.

Switch is their current gen, makes sense to fight against emulators at this point. Hope someone keep a backup of the code for the future, though. Once Switch 3 or something is the current gen, the existence of a Switch emulator to play old games would be great.

I enjoyed it a lot, but for some reason I stopped playing halfway through. Will definitely play it this year, it is the most exciting Pokémon game on Switch (better than Violet/Scarlet IMO). If they added more competition to it (gyms, Elite 4, stuff like that) it would be THE Pokémon game to play.

By the way, is anyone discussing the awful Z-A name?

Backlog it is. So many great games released in previous years to play yet, so I guess that's fine.

That's insane. A rich business without debt in the gaming industry where each AAA cost bazillions to make? No wonder they are excellent talent retainers, Nintendo's execs are apparently some of the very best in this industry!

As long as there is backwards compatibility, feel free to drop Wind Waker and Twilight Princess this year, Nintendo! Just don't release Wind Waker at the end of cycle only to lock it yet again to a previous console gen.

Also, it would be a good moment to explore an Ocarina of Time Remake. Now this would be even more successful than Resident Evil 4 Remake.

@Desa That would be a cool idea! Since it'll be too soon for a new Zelda, a 3D Mario and a 3D Donkey Kong as launch titles would be great!

Streaming games is harder than other media for multiple reasons that have already been discussed a lot. Plus, the business model for sub services is yet to be proved successful for anyone without deep pockets.

I do believe streaming is an option in the distant future, but it's more likely that we'll still buy individual games instead of simply having a sub.

Gameplay is a lot of fun, controls are fluid and it seems to be a rich world to explore.

Only not sold on the graphics so far. I know they went for a cartoonish look, but character designs in particular still look odd, they wouldn't be out of place in the memories I have of PS2. I played the demo on PS5, though, no ideia if the visuals are more consistently good on Switch.

Likely to be correct, but I'm keeping my expectations in check.

The only thing I want from the next Switch apart from better hardware is a more ergonomic layout for portable sessions. Please remember you have adult fans, Nintendo!

To be honest, GTA only resonates with Nintendo gamers if said gamers enjoy realistic shooters. More often than not, this is the public that owns more than one console (or a gaming PC), so it's no big deal.

I love my Switch, but I only buy 3rd party games that have a Nintendo feeling to them. There's no point in getting downgraded ports of games that play better elsewhere.

Can they fix it, though? How many people actually watch The Game Awards for the awards, like the Oscars vs how many people watch just for reveals? Is there enough $$$ to keep The Game Awards for the awards?
I honestly believe that there is only so much you can do with the money and interests of investors...

Now I want Mario & Luigi to come to Switch or the inevitable Switch 2. Nintendo shouldn't drop such an amazing series.

I love this list. I would easily buy most of these games if I had the time to play them.

I don't like blurred SNES-like graphics, but I really enjoy when they modernize it or try new art directions (such as Hollow Knight hand-drawn art). Such a fun subgenre to play!

So is it still safe to start playing Splatoon 3? Or based on history, it's about to be replaced by Splatoon 4?

I really dislike live service games due to this practice of making games unplayable. Paid releases should never become unplayable...

One of my favorite childhood games! I preordered it, but I might need to wait a few weeks to play it since my first son could come any day now. =)

Skyward Sword has the best story in the series, IMO. No other Zelda game had the same impact as I played it on story department.

Live action is an odd choice, but it could work if done right. I'm not very fond of the idea, though.

I'm mostly concerned about the fact that most Zelda games tell a similar story with the same protagonists and antagonist. There's no single "right" story, but they're all legends around the same characters. As a side-effect, many people (particularly children) will expect the movie to tell the "real" story and then be frustrated with the games.

On the plus side, Mario movie made Nintendo translate Wonder to many languages they didn't usually translate to. Hopefully the same happens to Zelda.

Edit: Link will need to have a voice, which is also gonna be odd.

Zelda just consolidated itself as the most important IP after Mario to Nintendo this gen.

Nintendo really deserves the praise when you stop to think about how long these IPs exist and we're still enjoying each and every new game.

TOTK is a great game, but I still believe BOTW is better. BOTW is more balanced, I'm playing it for the 2nd time and now that I'm no longer expecting it to play like a linear Zelda anymore it's just brilliant at every turn. TOTK is like a restaurant that costs a lot because it serves everything, but you can only eat so much before you feel like enough - I had to step down a bit due to fatigue.

I'm curious to see how Nintendo is going to handle Zelda going forward. Clearly there is demand for both styles of Zelda.

Since we're in minor complaints mood:
Dialogues in 2D Mario should be banned, honestly, apart from key events where comedy twists are fun (think Super Mario World after beating castles). Also I don't see the point in walking around to find the next level, what was wrong with the fixed paths in World and Bros 3? If it isn't broken, don't fix it. =)