Richnj

@brunojenso It would be cool if MS and Nintendo worked out a deal where they could sell a discounted bundle that included both versions of the game for slightly cheaper than buying it twice.

Example: MS sells MCC on both for £30 each, or £50 for both, and they each get £25 cut.

Because honestly, as someone who does buy twice, the second purchase always comes when it is heavily discounted. Meaning someone got £30 and another got <£15.

@HamatoYoshi Digital is a fantastic option, and should always be an alternative.

I feel like just as there is room enough for streaming services, CDs/blurays, and cinema/concerts for movies and music, there is room enough for streaming, digital, and physical for games.

@nhSnork

"You either spend money to spend less time on game routines or spend more time on game routines to spend less/no money."

These grinds are accidental, or just a thing that exists, or what the dev found most fun. They are created to be that way to hook players and encourage spending

A company like EA has literally researched in to ways to use game mechanics to manipulate players in to spending more time and money in a game, to literally get them addicted, and have also directly marketed their Fifa microtransactions to child through Argos.

To believe that is all just innocent and accidental, is hugely naive.

At the very least, maybe you'd agree that if children aren't intended to be targeted through microtransactions, that all games featuring micros like Fortnite and Fifa, should not have a teen rating, but should be rated 18+?

@nhSnork I feel like I'm seeing some general misunderstandings or naivety in your post.

Gambling is more than just its mechanics, the mechanics are built up around the psychology of "parting a fool from their money". It's this psychology that lootboxes and gambling share, as you so point out.

"Those who have nothing better to do with their money or nothing to control their impulses with can whale themselves into poverty for all the [slightly] saner people (including sociopaths like myself) care."

And even on this level, you are wrong. At least in my opinion on morals and ethics and my own understanding of the psychology of people. I think we do have a duty to others, especially those that are vulnerable, and the people that are targeted by gambling and lootboxes are the vulnerable. This is where addiction comes in. And why only 5% of players fund over 50% of the lootbox market. They literally can't help themselves. Even if they can see, understand, and hate the damage that doing an activity has on their lives, they won't stop. The activity has triggered something in their brain and taken control. And to not see a problem or care about it, is to be callous at best.

"Minors - not mentioned in your comment here but a favourite fanbrained buzzword on the matter in general - aren't supposed to feature in this kind of discussion"

But they do, and there's a reason they do. Kids are more easily manipulated. It's why we don't allow certain ads to be played at certain times. Why us 80s kids have a ridiculous fetish with Transformers, He-man, Power Rangers, etc, and their toys. And that goes double for Nintendo, and all its IPs. It's why Fortnite is a money making powerhouse and is targeted towards teenagers. It's why Lego mario started calling out for Luigi before they announced the lego Luigi toy. Which actually takes me in to this.

"For any publisher out there, the only possible expectation from an underage audience is some occasionally effective skirt-tugging directed at a legitimate money spender"

Oh no, they know full well that all the marketing in the world would not get a parent to hand over money for some digital content, but you get a child, the little darling that you've raised and loved since the moment you saw their face to ask for something, the parent will hand it over. You love that kid, you want them to be happy at all costs, and all they want right now is to wear a dope hat on that new game all the kids are talking about, you'd feel bad for not giving up a little money. But then it's a little money every month, and you never realise it, but you end up spending a couple hundred on that game every year. You've not been a negligent parent, you've been trying to parent in a world where you and your kids are bombarded by ads.

(I take it you're not a parent?)

And you know what happens to those kids when they hit 18?, same thing that happened to us 80s kids. After an entire childhood of conditioning, you're ready to fall for all the same trappings that the other whales did.

@nhSnork Well I'm not acquainted, what's the difference?

Modern day equivalent of selling Lord/lady titles in Scotland, or a star.

It's a scam, and any company doing this is just scummy as hell and should be cancelled harder than Dr Seuss.

Mario's celebration was really disappointing.

Nintendo could not have done worst.

@ThatNyteDaez If you feel that family trips stay with a person for no longer than two hours, then I feel sorry for your childhood.

The vita versions were great, they had 4 player online co-op, where as the original releases only had like 2 player split screen.

It would be great to see these games come to the west. I'd buy them for sure.

"Up to four players, but if there are two players on one system you can only connected with one other system. When it is one player per system up to four can connect"

This is actually a joke. I could name OG xbox games that had better combi play than this.

@nessisonett Yeah, that's the assumption I was working under.

And I don't understand the resistance to these as a group either. I'm getting a "I don't want politics in my games and movies" vibe.

@Silly_G Which is why they lobby governments to enact policy changes that will affect positive change. Don't ignore that the activist organisation you are against here (if I have my suspicions correct) is fighting against stuff that was exacerbated by the previous US government and other polictical activist groups.

When money and political power were used in making the problem, you kind of expect money and power to be used to solve it.

It also doesn't help when the causes have more money and political lobbying power than the people trying to solve the issues.

@Silly_G Charities and political lobbying go hand in hand.

Trying to solve problems at their root cause is a major priority for those having to solve the immediate issues people face.

@Zanzox You're bemoaning about digital stores and online MP, stuff that has been a part of gaming for nearly 30 years.

And Bethesda never would have released the original Doom games on Switch had they only been able to do physical release. It's too expensive to release games as cheap as the older Dooms that way. At best, we may have had them bundled in with Doom 2016, the same way they were bundled with Doom 3 last gen.

Doom Eternal being the only glaring exception to the way this works.

@Zanzox The original Doom was available online and had multiplayer...

@Zanzox Which digital only games are we talking about?

Usually these games are either ones with smaller budget that would have never seen a release at all without a digital store, or games that are heavily designed around online play.

@Zanzox You could just not connect your Switch to your WiFi and use it as an old school console.

Is there a reason a console can't have features you are able to ignore?

(Obviously this isn't really applicable on the other three platforms, but it is on Switch)

@Zanzox in what sense?

@Zanzox You could argue that a basic feature of a controller is a d-pad and at least two face buttons. But somehow, I don't think that would fly with modern gamers.

Dual analogue sticks, four face buttons, four shoulder buttons and rumble are all considered basic features, and so are voice chat, party system, and a 3.5mm port.

Times are a changing.

Surprised the company name isn't 'Experience in creating video game entertainment. Mainly centered around japanese RPGs with RPG, combat and loot mechanics, with overly cutesy characters and overly long titles'.

The fact that I got even just a little bit excited by the presence of a 3.5mm jack is sad.

"We need a gimmick to get it to sell bucket loads, and if it ain't gonna sell bucket loads, we don't care to make more." - translated Nintendo

Because honestly, there's no other reason why they are happy to rehash other titles that just so happen to sell fantastically regardless, and other smaller franchises seemingly need big ideas to be worth it.

I'd love to see bigger integration of Xbox on Switch, and generally continued support.

Seeing future sequels to franchises that already exist, like Doom and Outer Worlds, and brand new franchises for the platform, like The Evil Within and MCC. Obviously including support for xbox network and Game Pass.

Oh, and patching xbox achievements to existing Titles. I'd go back and replay my entire xbox-Switch library for the cheese.

@Razer My biggest problem with that logic is that the average gamer is like 36. And being a 36 year old gamer, I can confirm that we have the capability to be parents also.

Gamers and parents aren't mutually exclusive things. You can be both, and Nintendo's online gaming service could also cater towards both.

My nearly 5 year old is constantly wanting to play Fortnite and Minecraft with me and my Partner. He also really likes to play games online with his older cousins (especially after the year we just had), and because of the lack of friendly online features on Switch, he uses our xbox more.

Nintendo are ignoring the needs of all sorts of gamers with their nonsense.

The first 3 games are better, but I'd buy it again for Switch.

@Ghost_of_Hasashi Using a headset, for online game chat, voice commands, surround sound, and now 3D audio has been part of the innovation in video games.

Audio has come a long way from TV stereo. Nintendo's audio hasn't. Audio is one of the three senses we use to play games and can enhance games in many ways.

Both single player and multiplayer gamers would benefit from Nintendo taking a wireless headset seriously.

@nhSnork "because we're the same fandom who keeps bitching about freemiums and their "predatory" gacha policies?"

Considering there was a report that came out in the last week that looked at a number of studies and concluded that loot boxes are linked to gambling, and unlike gambling, lootboxes are unregulated and available to children, I think the bitching is justified.

Probably accidentally put 3D All Stars back on sale. Maybe, also saw their games being sold for something less than your first born.

@Kidfunkadelic83 here's hoping the Switch Metroid Prime Trilogy sees the light of day and we can all enjoy all three games with proper dual stick controls.

@KillerBOB You misunderstand. I'm not saying you or anyone shouldn't be downloading ROMS because it is illegal.

I'm saying that because it is illegal to get games that way, 1) there is a certain amount of personal risk people take doing it. And 2) If a company and/or court decide to end the whole thing (and with how Nintendo are with their IPs, it's not unrealistic) they could crack down on people who host and share the ROMs.

I'm trying to get my head around how someone could make an argument that "well I can do it illegally, so why do there need to be legal avenues for it?" Not sure why people have been pushing for cannabis to be legalised, or for the minimum wage to be increased, just smoke weed illegally and steal food. Perfect system.

@KillerBOB *illegally

The simple solution would be to put older games on Steam.

but when you have people openly defending Nintendo for 3D aall stars, expect Nintendo to continue to not care about their legacy titles.

We live in a world where newer players can't experience Eternal Darkness without buying a GC/Wii, controller, game, and analogue to digital video cable, but they can play the entire Alone in the Dark series for like £10.

I get that people love Nintendo's games, but seriously, if you have the talent and resources to produce a fan game, just produce a spiritual sequel instead.

Steal the gameplay not the iconography.

Nintendo can't touch you then, and you'd be able to charge a little bit of money to support your efforts.

@Willsy is that 'moron' aimed at me?

https://www.kotaku.com.au/2017/07/i-was-homeless-and-video-games-saved-my-life/

Imagine, each day is a huge struggle. You're faced with depression and you just want it to end. Maybe you have kids whose soul and childhood is being destroyed by your financial situation. You're living day by day, and sometimes there's food on the table, and sometimes there isn't, but each meal is just for that day. What's the value of joy, happiness, and hope? What's the value of seeing your children laugh and having fun? Of having to not face your reality the way others also dodge their reality in entertainment, only, your reality is much much darker?.

Then some privileged gamer tells you that you don't need any of that. Escapism is only for the fortunate.

@Willsy "people with limited funds should not be buying video games"

because poverty is its own entertainment.

Here's hoping they do something special to celebrate, like taking RE0, 1, and 4 off the digital stores.

I'm blaming cancel culture.

The naming of the buttons doesn't bother me. It's purely the role of the buttons that bothers me.

I swap the A and B through the main menu. Now the only controller that wants to be awkward is my Wii U.

@Burning_Spear Only rich people should be able to afford entertainment. Poverty is a choice, and they are all lazy.

@BloodNinja I agree with you here.

It's manufactured scarcity. And yeah, I wouldn't be upset if the digital version stayed up. I wait for sales as well, despite being able to afford the games. I just don't think most games are worth what they charge.

But, I've bought 3D All Stars because of that limited availability, and even worse, I have to buy it again. My 4 year old really enjoys the games, and we bought him a red Mario switch (hidden away for Xmas), but because he enjoys the games so much, and because it disappears in a few weeks, and because I don't trust him with physical games, my options are limited.

@nocdaes Good thing there wasn't mass layoffs due to some special event the last year. Those guys had plenty of chance to "wash cars"...

@BloodNinja Well let me just say this.

The CEO still got his $220m performance bonus. A bonus that is tied to stock share prices etc, and the laying off of employees and angering your customer base does affect those prices.

Also, the US passed many state level employment laws at the beginning of the year, and by continually courting huge backlash (as acti have done) risks having governments regulate you. If Acti didn't start paying their ex-employees decent severance now, they'd be forced to stop their practices later on.

These guys were mass firing long before the pandemic. The pandemic is an excuse, not the cause.

Acti-Bliz do mass firings just before the end of the fiscal years to boost earnings, because they are a disgusting company run by absolute garbage people.

@Hades "I stand to be corrected but I think microsoft and playstation consoles for the past 2 gens at least have had this day one."

For the 8th and 9th gen, yes they had cloud support from day one. Paid on PS, free on xbox.

For the 7th gen (and this is where my memory gets fuzzy) neither had cloud saves at launch, but had cloud saves as part of their paid service some years after launch (xbox 360 now allows for free cloud saves).

Given how slow they are with this sort of stuff, I'm surprised they have added capture and button mapping at all this gen.

The fact that we are so desperate for something so simple and basic just shows the sad state of Nintendo's approach to delivering a better UI experience.

It's no wonder they suffer when they don't have an interesting gimmick.

Just shut it down and do it properly, or put Discord on the Switch.

I'd just much rather see the extra power used to push higher, more stable frames than a higher rez.

And with all the new high rex tech coming out, pushing that higher rez is even less important.

Use power for frames and use tech for rez.

@Timppis Hold up. You try to start off the argument by comparing two incomparable things, and now you are going to draw a line between two different things, and you are going to claim I'm the one that's conflating things, in response to a post where I say this

"Limiting an item's sale based on low or unique circumstances is one thing"

I'm acknowledging that limited releases are an entirely separate thing. So if you're wanting to flip the argument, you're going to have to do so in ways I've not already admitted, and in ways you've not already argued in a contradictory manner.

My point wasn't that these are the same, but that when placed within the context of Nintendo's very real, and very long track record of manufactured scarcity, and limited release is no longer a simple limited release.

In most limited releases, there's usually a limit of resources that allows for this, or demand is not expected to be high enough to continue the product on for a long period of time. Neither of these apply here, especially for the digital format.

There's nothing about this product that warrants such a hard and short end date beyond taking advantage of people's FOMO.

@Timppis one definition of anti-consumer is the manufactured demand and scarcity of an item. Rather then the natural supply and demand of general trade.

Limiting an item's sale based on low or unique circumstances is one thing, but Nintendo themselves have a very long and full history of limiting their games beyond what they deem profitable for them. A 6 month release window is just another bulletpoint in their long anti-consumer history.

Again, if you're OK with it, then fine, just recognise it for what it is.

Like, I'm OK buying beef, chicken and other meat products, but I know the darkside of that business. I'm not out there trying to justify it.

@Timppis People keep making this argument, but Nintendo supported the Wii U for 4-5 years. Mario 3D All Stars got 6 months. That's a pretty big difference in time and it's a difference that people seem to want to ignore in order to support their argument.

Also, there's no digital version of the Wii U. Even if Nintendo wanted to stop physical production, that's fair enough. But removing the digital version is what really shows the motives behind this.

Also also, Luigi's celebration was for a whole year (and actually lasted over 13 months). And his digital games didn't get taken down after the end date. Nintendo still directly sell the damn games and ironically, you can still buy his games on the freaking Wii U eshop.

https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/new-super-luigi-u-wii-u/

https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/Wii-U/New-Super-Mario-Bros-U-New-Super-Luigi-U-593118.html

If people want to support this, then fine, but don't try to rationalise it with weak false equivalents.

@RevDrJBDTDDPhD I'm more concerned about Mario being 38 and Peach being 16.