SteamedSquid

Four or five seconds longer to load Breath of the Wild isn't a big deal, but I do wonder whether the future holds some games with more frequent load times that could wind up adding up to make some significant difference. Monster Hunter, if it still uses those silly zones?

So is this silver thingy why everyone keeps talking about their subscribe button like people would actually bother to subscribe just because they mention it's there and not, say, because they actually like the creator or the content enough to want to subscribe?

Nice, but haven't really felt like trying to actually 1cc any of these in years. Probably because I get easily bored when basically all a shmup does these days is fill the screen with bullets arranged in pretty patterns.

I'd love to see the old computer versions of Turrican brought back into the light, especially as someone who'd only known of the console Turricans back in the day but saw the glory of Amiga thanks to the internet. Another day another try, right?

Now I'm wondering how often these people get nostalgic over the paint chips they'd eaten back in their childhood days, and whether they still indulge every so often.

Looks like the D-pad is the only reason to use this on PC over a Steam Controller, but most games where I'd want a D-pad may be better suited for the Switch anyway. I'd be interested in seeing whether the Steam Controller software will eventually support it the way it does the DualShock 4 though.

The Steam Controller has analogue triggers (soft press) that mix with digital (full press). While I almost never make use of this feature outside Rocket League (and even then I never use the analog portions below 100%), their presence hasn't hindered my ability to use the digital parts for any other game. Also includes grip buttons and gyro control, two clickable track pads that can fully replace analog sticks or mice, and insane remapping options, and it supports games that were never considered for controller support. All that for like $50 (not counting sale prices); the only thing missing is a proper D-pad.

This is looking more like a Mega Man 9 than a Mighty No 9. Do want.

@electrolite77 "We're in Uncharted territory here."

No, that's Playsta*shot*

@Thomasbw84 How much of Link's combat ability is tied to Z/L/ZL Targeting? Is it possible to do everything without that system? Has it caused any trouble while using it?

That art up there gives me an idea: Culdcept Tetris!

I remember playing a game of Fortune Street with friends and wanting to play Culdcept instead after drawing the parallel, but of course they had no idea what that was and it certainly wasn't accessible to them.

@FantasiaWHT Because nobody even knew it existed. Even as an early XBox 360 title...yeah. I guess nobody that gave a damn about Japanese games had 360s back then despite Microsoft's push for them? I know I didn't.

This looks bad. Guess I'll have to wait a few more years to see something that could possibly fill that Battletanx-shaped hole in my heart.

Quite a surprise that the early adopters will be getting the splats so soon.

I'm very excited to see the potential this would have at big nerd gatherings, but even more so for the potential outside Splatoon. Other games could benefit from such a setup, even not-esportsy ones.

I do wonder though whether this spectator mode could be usable online, or if some less-than-8 group of players could LAN up and still go online, like a group of 5 doing Turf War with three randos that may come and go, or a squad of 4 going against another squad.

I get the feeling that Konami had only just recently noticed that this sort of thing probably sells.

@JaxonH I'm quite comfortable with the idea of those games not being needed on the Switch (especially since it could be getting a unique library of its own like the 3DS did), though I guess the Ninty-only and portability-needing gamers should be the ones who decide that, if there are even enough of those to make big publishers notice. How many millions will that need to be?

So the IR sensor can identify rock, paper, scissors. Big deal. Can it tell lizard and Spock?

That 60fps gameplay sure looks sweet, until a battle occurs and down it goes! It makes that janky 30fps look better if only for being more consistent and having less-jarring drops.

@JaxonH It isn't only up to the fans to buy the games for Nintendo platforms. It's also up to the devs and pubs to make their games worth buying on Nintendo platforms, or even worth buying at all. Why buy X third-party title when Y Nintendo first-party game exists on said platform? Why buy X third-party title when that same game is available on PC or PS4? (Or perhaps, why buy it on the PC when it could be taken on the go with the Switch?) Why buy X third-party title when Z PC exclusive destroys it? Why buy X third-party title when its predecessor was simply not enticing enough to warrant another go?

Got to play this a few times. A good bit more fun than I'd expected, but it wasn't playing in the best environment, and it felt like the Wii U itself was also a limiting factor somewhat. Control is kinda bad (on some third-party dual analog controllers, at least), but understandable due to the lack of gyro on the hardware. Thankfully, the lack of precision wasn't too off-putting (this sure wasn't Quake or even Splatoon). Getting points by swapping players into certain areas, or killing them with risky jump-into-the-abyss-then-swap moves was interesting. S(w)occer got surprisingly intense, what with the swapping around really screwing up everyone's control of the ball. I'm curious as to whether the gameplay could hold up on the Switch, if it had online play and gyro control (or at least good-enough side-Joycon for local).

@StephenYap3 Here here, hear hear, hear here, etc. Then again, I also cringe at the thought of entertainment being "content" to be "consumed".

"Lack of content" complaining in multiplayer-focused games seems to miss the point of a fun multiplayer game, though Puyo Puyo Tetris in particular seems a really inappropriate target for such. While racers can have numerous tracks and shooters can allow for fragging with so many weapons on varied battlegrounds, a block-droppin' puzzler is pretty much...a box for dumping blocks. What, is that supposed to have a bunch of different maps too or something?

What's important is the core gameplay's fun factor, and of course being able to play it. Just taking advantage of the system's multiplayer capabilities, it should be a hit anywhere there is local multiplayer to be done, and online is still possible otherwise. A good time to be had anywhere, anytime, regardless of how much "content" it has.

When I see the retail version, I can't help but wonder whether the box contains a game card or just a download code like with Sonic Mania. That does look like a game card box, but still...

As soon as I saw that dude's ****-eating grin about 0:01 in I just couldn't continue.

Informative article. So, it's not a soft launch. it's just a questionable one in the eyes of many. Not me though. I'm happy with soon-to-be last-gen Leftovers of Zelda and a future full of squid.

If I'm going to be playing Switch games and drinking at a party, Mario Kart seems like a much better fit what with the drunk driving and the fact that more than two players can have at it at a shot. This reminds me: I need a drink.

And for "not a video game"? There are physical tabletop games better suited than, or just as yawn-inducing, as 1-2-Switch. Really, if I need booze to enjoy it, chances are I sure as crap wouldn't enjoy it sober, and the games I enjoy while sober are games to still enjoy while drunk. So why bother?

I would have loved to have given this a shot, if only to have SOMETHING even vaguely resembling Robot Alchemic Drive.

I see screen protectors aren't an option.

Gonna need a playable demo for this one.

eShop interface: I just hope I won't need to use the search engine just to find something (just have it as an option for those who like it). Can't I just browse by alphabetical or browse the entire store? Also, do away with those pointless categories like "family fun" or "games with this character". I can also do without auto-playing videos. If I want to see a vid, I can click the damn thing myself and start it.

Touch screen: Though I highly doubt this would happen, I'd really like to see those screens used for starship bridge simulators, though it'd be best done with like five or six Switches linked together. It'd be a hit at parties if enough people bring their own systems.

Ooh, maybe this could be the first fully enjoyable Sonic game since Knu---uhh Freedom Planet.

This is like calling Optimus Prime a truck or a robot. Or like calling an inkling a squid or a kid.

@BLP_Software Humans? I think that blue one could use a little help.

The long-overdue Zelda will be enough for me for launch, but I'm really looking forward to being able to bring Mario Kart Yet Again and Puyo Puyo Tetris wherever, and multiplayer far easier than it ever was with 3DS. Tempted to get Bomberman but that Treehouse presentation was rather unflattering. Gonna need a playable demo of that I guess.

I just hope it doesn't need to be a phone. I'd rather keep a tablet or even a laptop/notebook handy (OS compatibility willing so probably nothing Windows).

The idea of S/NES games reworked to play online sounds really appealing, especially if it gets stuff like Contra.

Not sure on paying for online play without knowing the price or the quality of the service.

Jump with the bottom button instead of the top one? I hope it allows remapping then. Even if it's easy to adapt to it, it's one of those things that really shouldn't be necessary, and it may have an impact on more than just Splatoon for those of us who use Steam Controllers.

Loved the 3D when I first got the system, though the ghosting in dark areas put a damper on it. Despite that, always had the 3D on for a few years, though as time went on I'd only keep it at minimum just for that bit of extra crispness (or off if the frame rate would drop). I'll miss the 3D, but I do think it's time for it to rest a while. I'd like to see it return, but I'm not sure what it's gonna take---will it only be possible on tiny screens or with doofy headsets? (And if only with doofy headsets, can it at least look 80s-futuristic and not weigh down the face all the time?)

Just curious: Does this dude's presence in the article's title count as spoiler?

While I'm optimistic about the Switch('s games), I hope that Nintendo doesn't do anything severely boneheaded like exclude gyro controls or revert to that N64-era Lakitu Cam shenanigans in Mario and Zelda.

As for third party? Hopefully those good Japanese companies that helped the 3DS will get on board (looking at you Capcom!), and hopefully the good indies will see the Switch as an opportunity to promote local multiplayer. Towerfall, anyone?

@TheLZdragon I'm sure they taste different after being cooked. ...right?

Splatoon alone was worth owning a Wii U for. Single-player was useless though, especially after learning the controls during the Testfire.

Spla2n on a "portable" system, especially if capable of doing a LAN party sort of thing, would be an instant system seller. It'd perhaps be even better if an actual good single-player campaign were present, but I could settle for multi only just this once.

A drought in one year helps with some other year's backlog accumulation. I guess.

To celebrate, Universal Studios Adventure for GC virtual console!

Just remembered that I haven't seen any composite-out on the Switch. That might hinder my interest in Virtual Console unless they have something truly unique going for it or can somehow make me forget that I'm not playing on a CRT...

Improved virtual console would be nice, but for GameCube I'm not so sure it should be VC as much as it should be HD remaster. Especially in the case of the Metroid Prime games, those could use some sprucing up on the controls like they had on the Wii. (Remote pointing was fine on Wii, but the GamePad's gyro is just so much better!) Wind Waker HD was (almost) a joy on the Wii U, and I'd bet that similar improvements could be had on, say, Mario Sunshine. It'd also help to show off the use of analog triggers (if the Switch controllers have them).

@SharkAttackU The "current year fallacy" I'm bandying about here is merely an attempt to illustrate that some compromises are becoming harder to swallow over the passage of time. Back in the 16-bit golden age, many games were silky smooth and only had slowdown when it was understood that there was just too much crap in the screen. When the PS(X, ugh) and N64 came out, we gave up that smoothness for a wide variety of fresh gameplay styles that came with the popularization of full 3D gameplay---a few steps back in exchange for many leaps forward and experiments. Since then, many games have been able to run at least 30 (and there was even a time when 60fps was commonplace: see Dreamcast, early PS2 (which was SO not cutting edge by the way), GameCube), and it's becoming more difficult and unnecessary to re-adjust to the rough motion of the late 90s, at least without good reason.

That said, the physics in Breath of the Wild does provide an interesting point: Could this, and other advanced things like the lighting and weather actually add enough to the gameplay to be worth the possibility of regressing to 1997 levels of choppiness, after we already know and accept that we aren't going to have 1993 levels of smoothness? What other limitations (such as draw distance) could end up being detrimental to the game as a whole? Could this serve as a wake-up call of sorts to Nintendo that they may actually need to make stronger hardware?

As a gamer who also remembers the old days of low frame rates...well, I certainly remember barely noticing the frame rate issues in games like Goldeneye (except when doing crazy stuff like causing explosions all over the place) and being undeterred by whatever I do notice. Likewise I appreciated that the PS2 was even capable of handling a game like Robot Alchemic Drive with two giant, hulking, clumsy robots duking it out in a fully (?) destructible city, accepting the low frame rate as a price to pay for all the craziness that such gameplay entails. The same could be said of the stupid fun to be had from the Earth Defense Force shooting up hordes of giant insects in a similarly destructible city. And that was in the same console generation that allowed me to appreciate the smoothness of the gameplay in Timesplitters, even before I'd know what "60 fps" meant.

But nowadays? Tech has advanced significantly since then, and gamers' standards have been raised by this post-PS2 era where it's actually possible to keep 60FPS in more of the games that need it most, with most other games being able to settle for 30.

My point? A 2017 Zelda game shouldn't be running like a 1997 Zelda (or whenever it was that Ocarina came out), and that does detract from whatever non-technical beauty the game has.

"Hey! Listen!"
NOPE

...but seriously, pushing blocks and shooting conveniently-placed targets was already pretty tedious in actual Zelda games. Will this being essentially a real-life tri-Triforce Heroes really set this apart enough from the usual fare?

Even back in the PS2 days, I would notice the difference between the smoothness of Timesplitters or Armored Core 2/3 vs the roughness of, say, GTA 3 or Monster Hunter. It always felt like a step back, even when it was necessary. So yeah, frame rate it is for me. Splatoon at sub-60 would be unacceptable.

Though in the case of, say, Breath of the Wild, I'd imagine I'd have to accept 30fps. Not so much for the visual splendor, but for the ability to actually see things at a reasonable distance.

@Arehexes Arcade games back then rewarded good play with...well, more time being not dead. There were exceptions like sports games (insert coin to play next period), but for the most part you had to earn your way to the top of the score table with skill and determination, with "microtransactions" in that case just being the cost of admission and re-trying. No buying your way to the top of the table with "extra 3 Super Zappers for 25cents" or "fly over all the craters easily for an extra 50 cents". Or the dreaded "wait a few hours to play again, or just insert another coin to play NOW!", for that matter.

So how much of this deadzone, if any, is actually built into the sticks? Is it at all possible to recalibrate the analog sensitivity, or at least check it?

@shani D-pads are digital input. Unless the pads themselves are pressure-sensitive like the buttons on some Playstation controllers, it'll just be ON or OFF, making a lousy substitute for an analog control.

Gnarly, like maybe rough and twisted, knotted even? Sounds like a righteous description for cords then! And gnarly being considered positive? Of course, just look at how many knots get posited on them cords! That's why we're like totally on board with having that radical cordless technology, right dudes?

On the hardware preservation side, I'm a bit worried about unused units sitting around in closets. Wouldn't their batteries eventually die, rendering even a "still factory sealed" system inoperable anyway?