RupeeClock

Can't it be both?

I'd been pronouncing it like Ray-kar-zar, I feel like I got that from the anime, or something.

Kway-zaa would actually be the correct pronouncation though, because Rayquazar's name is derived from Quasar.

Arceus is another fun one, it's supposed to be pronounced Ar-Kay-Us. Type:Null and Silvally's signature ability, the RKS System, is a direct reference to that.

Hoo boy, Sakurai back at his daily updates routine? Love it.

Both of these artworks are very recognisable in their own rights.
The North American artwork is by Greg Martin who'd done so many US cover arts, but especially well known for Sonic the hedgehog.
The Japanese artwork is one of many Adventure Island covers by Famitsu cover artist Susumu Matsushita.

In this case I have to hand it to the original Japanese cover, since it's the closest to what the game's really like.
It's also just another case of the original Japanese portrait art being heavily cropped for the landscape international boxes, which was always a shame.

It'd be really cool if future Box Art Brawl articles could cite who the original artists are, when they're known.

Something that caught my eye earlier on with Drag x Drive, was Nintendo's seeming refusal to call this what it is; wheelchair basketball.
They would call it "vehicles", not wheelchairs.
However looking on the official Nintendo UK website, they've since taken to referring to them as "wheelchair-like vehicles"?

It just feels so disconnected from representation though, this could've had some real humanity put into it by embracing the players with handicaps and disabilities, but instead they went for something purely mechanical and just won't emotionally connect with anyone, or even may offend for refusing to address the subject matter.
Like, juxtaposed to Switch Sports with actual able-bodied human characters, that's not a good look. For that matter, could this not have been an added exclusive sports game to a Switch 2 Edition of Switch Sports?

@timtimtim
Good to know, in my experience the download sizes stated on Nintendo's site usually accounts for both the base title and the latest available update data.

Physical Switch 1 game cards also have to dedicate around 300MB for an image fo the Switch firmware, so the total capacity for the game data is slightly under 32GB.

It's refreshing to see printed Pokémon merch that isn't just the same Dreamworld style artwork, but merch based on the TCG specifically feels like a first, and a nice direction.

That Pikachu shirt alone is fascinating because it collages the artwork of dozens of artists spanning generations!

What's the combined size of the three titles in the GTA Trilogy?
If they exceed 32GB, it wouldn't be possible to do a physical release for Switch 1 game cards.

I checked the Nintendo UK and US sites, but they don't list download sizes, likely due to how this title is actually a bundle of three separate download titles.
Software updates also add to the download size atop of the base title, so that has to be considered when assessing games for physical releases.

@kfflscnt
It's very much a case of big brands versus the general populace.
There's a lot of people that downright refuse to publicise via Twitter now.

@Suketoudara
Haha, to be expected really, of course it happened years ago after the last anniversary.

Still, that's on Twitter / X, Nintendo currently has no presence on Bluesky as an emerging social media platform.

Quick! Someone make @supermario45th, @supermario50th, @supermario55th...

When connecting the 8bitdo Pro 3 to the Switch 2, is it detected as a Switch 1 or Switch 2 Pro Controller?
I would assume it's likely the former, the latter would be interesting because it would allow the back paddles to be individually mapped like the Switch 2 Pro Controller.

Ooh, Toree Saturn is out too? I'll be sure to grab that.

I'll be getting the UFO 50 physical for certain, but I'm waiting to hear back from Fangamer EU about whether or not the EU version will offer a Deluxe Edition like is available on their US site.

This is the sort of game where the GameChat service would basically be essential, so I find it odd that it's getting a Switch 1 release too.
Unless it has its own implementation for voice chat? That's the whole thing with this genre of multi-player games, it uses proximity voice chat so you can only hear your team mates if you're actually near them in-game.

There's a lot of puppet-animation Metroidvanias out there, and they often suffer to difficult to read environments or animations.
Well Dweller definitely does not suffer that problem, the storybook-esque visuals were delightful and I look forward to checking this one out.
There's a good chance it'll get a Super Rare Games physical release down the line, they published their previous title Islets.

I'm baffled that such a huge announcement was delegated to a mere sizzle-reel appearance at the end of the Indie World presentation.

This could literally just be a website that doesn't require a login.
Granted it's probably using the Pokémon account you likely already have, if you're playing Pokémon games and have used Pokémon Home.

UFO 50 for certain, I've held off buying the Steam version because they're games I'd love to play handheld.

There's always a ton of indie darling out there waiting to make their way to Switch, though.
We could see updates for existing indie titles such as Balatro, too.

@Synecdoche
Huh, I thought that was also Honda, but yeah looks like it was Toyota.

Huh, no mention of the Miraidon bike they made prior to this?

@Scollurio
The messaging from the publishers seems pretty clear, that they want you to purchase the game a second time if you want to play it with the full capabilities of Switch 2.

Like, Switch 1 owners of Sonic x Shadow Generations were not happy. That game only launched in October 2024, and then the Switch 2 was only announced in January then launched in June.
SEGA were content to make that a Switch 2 launch title, but not to give us an upgrade path.

This could be part of a sales strategy, where SEGA games are known to get some pretty steep discounts after time has passed.
The Switch 2 version of Sonic x Shadow Generations has already had a 30% discount sale, but I'm going to wait for that to go lower.

Okay, so last week wasn't the Silksong reveal, it's totally going to be this week. Totally.

For sure.

@Doghairdontcare
I have to wonder if there's technical issues preventing Switch 1 games developed from a certain point in time or in certain engines from getting Switch 2 upgrade packs.
However, I think it's more likely that publishers are trying to maximise title sales and would prefer that you purchase the game a second time entirely.

As a matter of fact, Toby Fox had to do something about this for the release of Deltarune. For whatever reason, they couldn't just provide a Switch 2 Upgrade Pack, and instead run a promotion where purchasing either the Switch 1 or Switch 2 title grants you the other version for free or at a very steep discount, depending on your region.
That's the indie attitude towards software sales that I prefer, but in doing so it's effectively giving the customer two separate software titles that can be run simulatenously on two separate Switch systems, something that unless I'm mistaken isn't possible when it comes to Upgrade Packs.

Game-Key releases are only part of the problem.
Publishers are demonstrating an unwillingness (or perhaps a technical inability) to provide upgrade paths for Switch 1 titles to Switch 2 versions.
Few Upgrade Packs have been made available, with Square Enix opting to instead give the Switch 1 version of Dragon Quest III HD-2D a Switch 2 update with performance/graphics options.
In doing so, they actively give Switch 2 owners conflicting purchase options: Switch 1 physicals locked at reduced performance and graphical capabilities or Switch 2 digital exclusives.

Thankfully, a few publishers are getting this right.
Bandai Namco's recent Shadow Labyrinth release provided a free Switch 2 Upgrade Pack that works with the Switch 1 physical, and Level-5 Provided an inexpensive Upgrade Pack for Fantasy Life i.

It looks like there's some bugs with the newest update, broken color palettes and stuff.
It's something that should've been caught through a cursory smoke test and annoying that a bugged update went live, but apparently they're already working on getting a fix out.

Once that's out, I'll definitely check it out again. The performance hiccups on Switch 1 were enough to pull me out of the game, but now that I've got my Switch 2 I'll give it another go.

@Metazoxan
Yeah, it's kind of a miracle that Deltarune was a Switch 2 launch title, and that happened through a combination of Nintendo having a heavily secured process of letting the Game Maker developers work with a dev kit, and Toby Fox getting special treatment from Nintendo in particular. Dude's had the privilege of getting Undertale in Smash Bros, and composing for the Pokémon games.

The benefits of the Game Maker updates for Switch 2 haven't quite trickled down yet, but they will.
Other games made in Game Maker such as Antonblast could benefit from a dedicated Switch 2 build and upgrade, or a major update to the Switch 1 title for further improvements not possible from simply running Switch 1 software on Switch 2.

@YunoboCo
On the contrary, there's been a distinct shortage of third party stuff for Switch 2.
I want to see brand new Switch 2 software, or at least news of upgrades and updates.

The local user update compatibility notice is interesting, since we keep seeing occasional issues with Switch 1 and Switch connectivity and interoperability.

That said, the "match update with local users" feature is really useful for such a situation, if for some reason the other Switch system can't connect online.
You can also use it to install updates that are on a physical game card, such as if you've disabled auto-updates of a digital title and want to match it to a physical copy.

It seems like the Switch 2 floodgates are slowly opening now, with actual new digital games like that Air Hockey game, and updates targeting Switch 2 performance improvements.
I'm looking forward to more.

At this stage of development and releasing Switch software, if they know they're only releasing a Switch 1 title without an upgrade or edition or whatever, why not just put an option in there to target 30 or target 60?
Give that control to the user, seriously.

I hope this comes for all of the NSO games services, particularly Game Boy and Advance.
I always remap B/A to use Y/B where possible, it's more ergonomic and Nintendo figured this out as early as Super Mario All-Stars on the SNES!

Oof, those screenshots, the game failing to render except for one section in the corner is the sort of problem I expect from emulator accuracy bugs or GPU drivers for assorted PC builds, not a console release.

So, Nintendo Direct announcement this week? Silksong confirmed?

This is why instruction manuals used to include precautions that you shouldn't tamper with the game cartridge.
From the instruction manual for Super Mario Bros. (NES), page 3.

1) This is a high precision game. It should not be stored in places that are very hot or cold. Never hit or drop it. Do not take it apart.
2) Avoid touching the connectors, do not get them wet or dirty. Doing so may damage the game.
3) Do not clean with benzene, paint thinner, alcohol, or other such solvents.

I haven't tried it yet, but I wonder if my Genki ShadowCast 2 is Switch 2 ready.
It supports 4k60 and uses USB 3.2 with USB-C for highest bandwidth (anything lower can't do 4k60, you would get 4k30 instead), but I don't know if it supports 1080p120 for example.

Issues with Mega Dragonite aside, I'm still looking forward to Legends Z-A and the new details they gave us were pretty nice.

Although I'm not a TCG player, I've really got to appreciate how nice the art and visuals for the cards are these days.
By comparison, the trailers for Pokémon Go and Masters EX looked pretty cheap.
Oh, and the mini fake-out on the Lapras with the pirate ship for Pokémon Café Remix was very cute, it got a laugh out of me.

So uh, this actually seems like a bad idea to pre-order?
This just makes sure that you have to wait until October to get your Switch 2, it's not like this is a special edition or anything.
It makes sense if you're getting the Switch 2 closer to or after Legends Z-A's launch date, and will be a hot holiday item, but pre-ordering it now seems daft.

@Fizza
The PokéPark Wii games were actually based on the pop-up PokéParks in Japan.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pok%C3%A9Park
That's why they specified that PokéPark Kanto was a new permanent park.

@Duboiss
The announcement of side missions and research tasks, like were featured in Legends Arceus, greatly increased my interest in Legends Z-A. Aside from the free roaming gameplay, it was the research that really helped to set Arceus apart and make your Pokédex completion feel so much more meaningful and rewarding.

It's nice that although Kanto is the focus, they've got some non-Kantonian Pokémon in there.
The focus seems to be comparisons between regions, like different water type starter Pokémon, or how both the Diglett and Drilbur families are Mole Pokémon.

I'm not sold on it, turning Dragonite's antenna into wings isn't a good look considering Dragonair's wings are on the sides of its head.

It took this long for Dragonite to get something though, after Tyranitar, Metagross, Salamence, Garchomp, Hydreigon, and Goodra each got their own unique takes with mega evolutions, regional variants, or paradox Pokémon. In the cases of Tyranitar and Salamence, two even.

This looked like a pretty generic puzzle game package.
Like, there's nothing distinctly Pokémon about it other then the use of Pokémon assets.

The article seems to lack an actual source, but I'm curious if the Switch 2 improvements are just in the form of a title update, rather than any specific Switch 2 update.

No sort of motion sickness, just the occasional camera annoyance when inside tight spaces.

The frame rate dropping to 30 during photo mode isn't so surprising, many games featuring such modes crank the graphics to maximum settings during those isolated moments.

Otherwise, it sounds like they're comparing the software's operating conditions to the maximum specs the system can support, and this is probably what Nintendo meant about "prioritising fun".

@Maulbert
Eventually, you'll get used to remembering the directions of the face buttons rather than the labels.
There's also that since PC games typically use the Xbox Layout, and X-Input controllers observe that layout, A is the South button and X is the west button.
It becomes easy enough to remember that Nintendo and Xbox swap their positions for A/B and X/Y, as the East/South and North/West buttons specifically.

I appreciate it when game developers map inputs based on positions rather than labels, but yeah there's the ongoing problem that Accept and Cancel has to be on A and B, and the Nintendo standard of Accept on East, Cancel on South, is ingrained on me. Frustratingly I've seen some software refer to this button swap as "retro", when really it's more like Eastern and Western.

@Raffles
Oh, the lack of Bluetooth support for Windows is a deal breaker for me. I regular use my Pro 2 as either a Windows X-Input controller, or as a Switch 1 controller for Switch 1 / 2.

I'm not really sure what the need for the magnetic face buttons is, the placement of the buttons and the software mapping is far more important than the printed labels.
This seems like a side-grade to the Pro 2 with an added gimmick and I'm not sure of the value here. Like, does it really need a charging dock? USB-C cables have been prolific and you're very likely to have a few ready for charging your phones or other devices.

Oh, if it has true Switch 2 connectivity, rather than a Switch 1 mode, that would mean it would be recognised as a Switch 2 Pro Controller, and therefore allow you to map the back paddle buttons. That would be truly worthwhile.

This has been Nintendo's strategy for the entirety of the Switch's run; give major releases their time to shine, schedule their releases a couple months apart to pace them out.
Heck, it's exactly what they did with Super Mario Odyssey, they didn't have it directly compete with Breath of the Wild as a launch title.

@LastFootnote
In truth, it was a growing frustration with the aging Switch 1 hardware in general, knowing that the games when emulated could probably perform far better with little or no compromise.
Though that was atop a growing backlog of games, so it was an added reason to not prioritise the game whilst I could wait for an official way for the game to be improved.