Sakura

I suppose the inclusion of the 2D platforming sections alone could render this not a direct sequel. It's looking promising to me.

I enjoyed the first game as much as I enjoyed Odyssey; That is to say, for me personally, compared to general opinion, Yooka-Laylee felt underrated and Odyssey felt overrated. Will definitely give The Impossible Lair a go.

I enjoyed Yooka-Laylee and never played any B-K, so for me at least, nostalgia wasn't part of the equation. Looking forward to the reveal.

I'm going to go with the Mario Maker 2 stuff being digital because it's a digital download for you to print out, rather than physical, but not inspiring much jealousy in any case.

I'll take the gold coins for buying games as a little perk, but the heady days of exclusive physical items on Club Nintendo seem like they are well and truly behind us and for Nintendo, there's no looking back. Well, except to legacy consoles for the discounts, obviously.

@Nicolai Technically, that's not a quote, but paraphrasing. What makes that clear is the use of italics and context given in the content of the article and, as you point out, the sarcasm.

The quotation marks only define that first question, and although used mostly as indicative of a direct quote, in this case are acceptable, as the question is hypothetical, as if the reader is asking it - "you ask". As that is hypothetical, it follows that the rest of that paragraph is a summary of the response to that question. It's not an official response, but it is Nintendo's response as understood in discussions on social media, so there is no misrepresentation.

Could it be clearer? Yes, but that would be to diminish the potency of the paraphrasing as a literary device that sets the tone. It's a stylistic choice and as such, difficult to argue against in an opinion piece.

Not a bad price for Syberia 1+2 if you like the genre.

Drat. Bought this on PS4 a little while ago. Still in the shrink wrap. Maybe I'll sell it and buy it on Switch. I much prefer portable because I can see it more clearly.

Currently, the UK free market allows me to buy games day one in physical form for much cheaper than Nintendo charges for its digital (and physical) versions. I can also trade in the physical games at the end of the console's life to make buying a new console cheaper.

It's okay if you're digital only; you will get some discounts. However, I'd be wary of buying vouchers for games that only might be added to the line-up. What if games get delayed and your vouchers run out? Best to wait until they are redeemable before you buy. A bit unfair on US customers who have to buy them before July, although the US free market is less free than the UK market, so it's more likely that the vouchers will still save you money against future retail games.

The last time I remember Nintendo doing achievements was with the StreetPass games and a few of those were pretty unachievable. 1 million StreetPass hits? It would take decades. So, I don't see much point if they were like that.

Generally, though, I'm not fussed either way.

Homo Machina for me.

Finished Hellblade yesterday, so back to a more relaxing genre in My Time at Portia this weekend.

Hellblade was really interesting and I understand what the devs were aiming at, but I'm not sure they fully got there. Still a decent effort at a portrayal of psychosis and the shame that can often surround it.

Syberia 1+2 for 11.99 is not bad either.

Well, now I have to get it!

Just finished Crafted World, so I might go for Hellblade as a change of pace. Would like to know how well it runs, though. Also have my eye on Hob from last week and Phoenix Wright again. Choices...

Homo Machina is a definite at that price. Fritz Kahn is probably the only person to have survived an earthquake by hiding in a sarcophagus. He was an interesting bloke.

A shout out to the StreetPass games. I know they could be a pain to play, but I really enjoyed them anyway.

Picked up 2012 when the 3DS card app was out and I had to pass by Greggs to get a streetpass. Enjoyed the game quite a bit, though didn't complete it until last year because of that level 10 medley medal. Essentially a selection of minigames. Not deep, but can be fun. I expect to be picking up 2020.

@Anti-Matter Yep, that was my first thought. Great for storing cats too.

@kyleforrester87 Yes, absolutely. Some people just like to have stuff because of what the stuff, whatever that is, means to them. Others, though, do use possessions (and other things) to confirm a sense of their identity. Sometimes, it is "I have this rare/beautiful thing and that makes me acceptable (to themselves and then others)".

Actually, it's less often possessions than it is constructs like wealth, perfect body, "nice girl/boy", intelligence, "character"... It often comes from infancy when for whatever reason, they find validation as a "good" child only when they behave in a particular way. It then becomes, "I'm only acceptable if... I have lots of things/lots of money/a fit body/continually profess my intelligence/am ruthless/don't show emotion/whatever. But, it's only one way of looking at things and people are often combinations of constructs.

I was just trying to give an indication of what it might be, why silly money can be spent sometimes. Certainly not saying that's how it always is. I work in trauma and so am probably over-sensitive to seeing things from an attachment theory and trauma perspective. Just one perspective, though, and I attach no judgements to it.

@BionicDodo For some, their validation as a person comes from what they own. Or what they wear, how they look, what school they went to, etc. In basic terms, it makes some people feel better about themselves.

Looking forward to this.

Definitely interested in The Journey Down Trilogy, but I'm only really buying things on sale because there's so much I already have to play and not enough time to play it all. Goes on the list.

I'm looking forward to this, so hoping it runs well enough, though expecting some graphical/performance compromise compared to other versions.

Syberia 3 physical is currently for purchase for just under £25 at a couple of retailers (incl. Amazon), so £31 for digital is still a bit much, especially as it's about £12 physical on PS4. I bought Switch physical before it becomes hard to find (and too expensive).

I thought it was a much better presentation than was done for E3, simply because they showed lots of games, instead of focusing on one for too long. That's an objectively better way to please more people. Of those saying "nothing for me", they are also adding an "except....", so not truly nothing. There were a lot of RPGs, true, but also many other games that are not RPGs.

Starlink looks great, always felt like half a game but enjoyed what it was and that the toys are optional. Would love to know what Ubisoft will report on earnings for that one.

Really enjoyed Star Link and delighted it's getting an update. Would love to see how the different versions have sold and plans going forward.

Still no Spyro, though. Not that I'm desperate, but just seems weird that we've seen listings and it's been heavily rumoured.

I do hope AC plays well on Switch. It's possible to get games running well, but it doesn't always happen.

@PipeGuy64Bit Sadly, the levels of self-confidence exuded by certain elements of certain cultures have not been subject to any level of moderation, even when individuals prove they have little talent on which to base their baseless grandiosity. There really is an optimum dosage for self-confidence, but if it's acceptable for our leaders,...

I'd love a review of this. Steam reviews mention a lot of glitches and I'm wondering whether this version is any better.

Whichever is cheaper, and that's usually physical in our market economy. Also, physical holds some value for resale, digital does not. Recently, though, there have been digital sales that represent good value, so digital is fine in that case.

I think I'll wait for Spyro to come to Switch.

On an unrelated note, Starlink starter packs are available for £40.99 at Very, all formats. That should give an indication on how well/poorly that title is selling. Glad I got the US digital bundle. I really like the game, but it feels only half done, with more content being hinted at. It feels massively overpriced for what you get, especially if you go down the physical route.

Haven't played Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy, so eyes on that. Unwritten Tales on the WiiU was buggy, though, so I don't feel like paying again. Not until I know it will actually run properly, anyway. At least with the Switch there are plenty of other games to choose from.

"...the time it will take to do so will be measured in years."

Ouch. So, don't hold your breath? It is deliberately designed to launch as a bare-bones service with an appropriate(ish) price point. Even then, the main purpose is to enable online play, but there are zero changes to the way it is implemented. It is simply a charge for matchmaking that was free before. Nothing has changed. It was always going to be a hard sell and all the bells and whistles in the world cannot detract from that main fault. Improved net code would be a step in the right direction.

That's not much of a discount on Syberia 3. I'd like it on Switch, but I already have it on PS4 because I picked it up at a quarter of the price. A trilogy at that price would be different. I think they might make more profit that way too. I'm a little disappointed it didn't review well, but I am still keen to play it.

When games like this are so lucrative, I can understand investors getting behind the idea. It's great fun for many players too.

However, I've been really pleased to see the success of recent single-player games, even if they are on other systems. If ever we were to end up with only online shooters, that would be a sad day indeed.

RDR2 doesn't look like my thing, but Spider-Man and Tomb Raider are on my list to buy eventually.

My purchase of Starlink will count on the US sales charts. US deluxe digital edition about the same price as standard UK digital edition and it has all the content.

I like the game, but I wouldn't have wanted to pay any more and it is the case that the further I progress, the more I have need of different weapons. In many ways Starlink is an experiment for Ubisoft to test whether this model is as profitable as "traditional" microtransactions for certain demographics. Personally, a version with all the content is the only way I really want to go. They have to fix the pricing, though. £90 UK versus the equivalent of just over £60 (US) is ridiculous.

Finished up with L.A. Noire. I enjoyed the game, but some of the themes are disturbing; reference to child sexual exploitation, for example. Heavy themes and it's quite violent. My biggest issue, though, is the rather bleak outlook of the game where corruption is covered up and the some of the guilty go free. Far too realistic. I want my baddies punished and people to be striving for something better rather than just what they can get away with to service their greed, depravities and quest for power.

"Don't let go." In other words, don't actually throw it.

@Nukuleardawg No and yes. The physical starter pack doesn't include all the content in the game. All the extra content is behind a paywall - you don't have to get the toys because it is available for purchase digitally too. Still have to pay for it, though. There is no unlocking of ships, pilots, weapons in game. You can level them all up for free in game, but purchase is required to get the items in the first place.

Last night I got to a place in the game where a stasis weapon was needed to progress more easily. You could beat the enemy with other types of weapon, but not as easily. The stasis weapon is the only type of weapon not included in any form in the starter pack. And, of course, it only comes in a ship pack and is not available as a stand-alone item. What I'm trying to say is that most people will probably need to buy at least this extra pack in order to enjoy the game.

Edit: I think there's another weapon type you don't get in the starter pack, but that one is available in a cheaper weapon pack.

@Zyph Yes, everything in the physical starter pack is unlocked digitally permanently.

@Madman1333 Unfortunately, I don't have any idea on Japanese addresses. Perhaps someone in the forums might be able to help?

My expectations for improvements are low. If there are improvements, then that will be great. But looking at how they've handled MyNintendo, I can't say that I'm all that confident at this point.

@Mossii I followed this guide.

https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2017/03/guide_how_to_access_the_nintendo_switch_eshop_for_multiple_regions

It's pretty easy. Set up an account for that region and access it on your Switch. Use a ZIP code for a state with no sales tax like Montana. You can then add funds easily using eShop cards which can be bought online. I went with mmoga. It cost £62.85 for $80 of eShop credit.

Once you've made the purchase, you can use your normal account to play the game and then cloud saves still work even though you purchased a different region game.

It worked out a little more expensive than I really would have wanted to pay, but that's only because I usually shop around and buy mostly physical, which can be found much cheaper.

I'm pretty sure there will be more DLC and that will have to be bought from the same region, but the whole game so far at 2/3 the price of my home region is the only way I would bother with all the content. £90 is too much and I was always concerned about the content locked out of the base version.

Starlink (US version because it's £30 less than the EU version), Syberia 3 and Luigi's Mansion on 3DS for me this week. That's enough for a while.

@Tendoboy Liberal in the UK does not equate to Liberal in the US. In fact, the Conservatives are very much in favour of Neo-liberalism, which is in itself not very Liberal. However, it is true that America is way further to the Right than the UK.

I've now played about 3 hours and I really like it, so I feel like my £62.85 was well spent.

Well, I have 30 gold points expiring at the end of the month and I haven't played Legend of the Seven Stars. Would mean plugging in the Wii U again and I still probably won't play it. Hmm.

@FX102A I have mixed feelings about it all. I had the physical starter pre-ordered for £52, but have cancelled that and gone for the US Deluxe Edition that cost me £63 for everything. UK equivalent bundle would be £90. The conversion is poor. I do like how there are loads of options, though. I guess Ubisoft will be looking at which versions do best to get an idea of where to go with any future plans. £63 is still at the top end of what I generally pay for games because they can be had for less than RRP most of the time if you go mostly physically. So, I suppose it feels like a deal, but actually has made me pay more than I would normally and really there isn't any reason at all why all the extra content couldn't just be unlocked in game through natural progression. Definitely a way to get us to pay more, but had I not been able to get the US version, I would have stuck with the standard edition and not bought any of the extra content.

@FX102A You don't have to stick with all physical or all digital. You can mix and match. There is a digital Wave 1 bundle available with all extra ships not in the starter pack that is about $60. That seems a bit expensive to me just for content locked out of the standard edition.

You can buy the extra content piecemeal too, something like $12.99 for digital ships, $4.99 for weapon packs and $3.99 for pilots.

https://starlink.ubisoft.com/game/en-us/faq

I just bought the US Deluxe version for $80 worth of eshop cards that cost me £62.85. So that's the entire thing with all content digitally for less than the cost of the standard UK bundle either physically or digitally.

That is reasonable enough for me as long as it's a half-way decent game. £90 was way too much and I never wanted the plastic anyway. Ubisoft is taking a real punt on this. Will be interesting to see how it works out.

@adh56 Thanks!