@Mince Would not matter in this case. Wii U version was 60fps, same with the Switch. Nintendo has gone back and manually increased the speed of characters and tweaked the jumping.
@Leo2Kirby Those are options yes but the Switch still has less than half the memory bandwidth of the Xbox One S. There's limitations to what it can do but we all know that. It's not necessarily a bad thing but it depends on how you view the Switch.
I used to look at it as a successor to the Wii U as a home console and felt disappointed by its inability to play modern games at at least 720p resolution but when I looked at it as a successor to the 3DS - a handheld that connects to a TV, I began to appreciate it more.
If Nintendo can release a 'New Nintendo Switch' like they did with the 3DS that improves the memory bandwidth and helps it get more consistent performance from third party titles, then it will be the perfect hybrid to me. But I don't speak for everyone, that's for sure!
@Blac-Link Games may look 'easy to run' but if they're running advanced effects, pushing higher LOD's and more behind the scenes, it will still be more taxing on the console.
What EA decides to put out is up to them but if it requires significant investment like Battlefield or Frostbite Engine games, they will probably not do it. Games like Madden also use Frostbite so it would probably need to be made into a 'Legacy' version like Fifa is on the Switch and use a different/older game engine. To reiterate, Fifa on Switch is using a completely different game engine that originates on the PS3/360 version of FIFA 18, which is a very old engine. It lacks the enhancements of the Frostbite engine.
The point I was making is some ports that aren't feasible is purely down to bandwidth limitations on the Switch. Thanks to overclocking via mods, we've been able to pretty much confirm that to be the main bottleneck (the biggest cause of lower performance on the Switch ports in some titles e.g. Wolfenstein).
@Leo2Kirby Limited RAM is definitely one issue but memory bandwidth is probably the biggest one. It’s way too slow and causes far too much of a bottleneck that makes some ports very difficult.
Remember, hardware is only as fast as its slowest moving part.
@sixrings Unfortunately the Wii U’s CPU was trash, it was using much older architecture (based on the GC/Wii CPU) and was slower than the PS3/360 CPU. Gamepad makes very little difference sadly
@Blizzia They wouldn't 'put a new Mariko chip' in since its soldered to the motherboard. They'd effectively have to replace the whole board, which is basically the same as giving someone a new console so I doubt they would.
Though you are correct, even if they could replace the chip, they wouldn't anyway.
@StarmanSSP I think the issue (at least back in the day) is that it wasn't easy to see that auto-renewal would be automatically turned on. If you've disabled it before and then renew your contract, it would also re-enable auto-renewal.
There was also the issue back in the day at least on Xbox, where you could not disable auto-renewal on the console itself and had to go to Microsoft's website, where the Xbox Live Gold membership was a chore to find.
I don't know what it's like now since I no longer pay for online membership on any of the 3 platforms so the situation may have improved since then. Admittedly, PS4's is relatively straight forward and can be done on the console itself but I think they need to make it clearer that auto-renewal is turned on the moment you sign up to the service.
@Aneira FFXI is extremely dated compared to the modern ones. I've never played an MMO until FFXIV and it is much better. The OG FFXIV was terrible too but the one that is out atm is a very good MMO. Worth a try if it comes to Switch, is free until you reach level 30 i believe.
@Lionyone There is far, far more to it than the assumption that Japan are prejudice to outside products. Xbox One's sales performance is the culmination of a number of cultural screw ups by Microsoft dating back to the original Xbox.
1) 'Xbox' as a brand name is a bad choice for Japan. The letter 'X' is usually associated with bad. In fact, on the Playstation, 'O' is used to accept or approve whilst 'X' is used to cancel or say 'no' to something. Hence, the name 'Xbox' having an 'X' or 'Cross' in it is a poor choice and can be associated with as something bad.
2) Lack of respect. Microsoft made a number of large screw ups with Japanese developers. For example, did you know that Resident Evil was going to be exclusive to Xbox and not the Gamecube? Well, thanks to this screw up below, Capcom chose to go with Nintendo instead:
For Mikami, Nintendo said games were toys, created by the brilliant Shigeru Miyamoto. Sony said games are entertainment, powered by the Emotion Engine. And Microsoft had no answer.
The only real devs in Japan Microsoft got onboard have been SEGA, Capcom and Square Enix (Final Fantasy). To my knowledge, the rest of the major players focus on Nintendo and Sony, possibly a result of the bad job they did back in the day.
3) Western Style marketing. A lot of the speeches and presentations for the Xbox in the past came across as "a PR driven plug" and rather than talking about the industry, Microsoft just spoke about their product.
It's likely the reason the Xbox doesn't sell well is a culmination of the things I mentioned above and more, as well as the brand having a bad history at this point, at least to the Japanese market.
As for outsider products not selling, the iPhone is one of the most popular smart phones in Japan so it's not like outsider products cannot do well in Japan.
To me, the Xbox is a classic case of 'know your market' and culture clash and the impact a poor brand image can have on a market.
@eSocrates Sounds like you've played the leaked build too. I have a disc copy of it, it makes for an interesting comparison to the officially released PS2 version.
I wish they'd have released Half-Life officially for the DC anyway. I doubt the game would run any better than the leaked build, if the reports are anything to go by but it's still playable. Also, you could use the DC M+K with it too, which is nice.
@Supadav03 Mini-games that could often serve to benefit the core game on the DC itself. Examples include Chao Adventure for Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure 2, you could send your Chao over, level up when not at your DC and then send it back, stronger to help earn more emblems. Nintendo would incorporate this idea in the GC with the GC and GBA connectivity, though often it requires you to connect two separate games together.
It also had some neat additions like being able to view your health on RE:CV but you get the point.
@CurryPowderKeg79 It was comparable to the PS2 in some areas but the PS2 beat it in others.
The DC could output 480p, had VGA support and decent mipmaps, which meant image quality would often be sharper, especially through VGA but the PS2 had more RAM, a more powerful CPU/GPU, better colour depth, DVD for storage (granted some games could still release on 2 discs like Gamecube, others like San Andreas would be impossible).
The DC was still a great console, I still play mine but the PS2 was technically better. The PS2 was however, definitely NOT "100x more powerful" like the media and Sony tried to have us believe back before the console released. Even the amount of Polygons Sony announced that the PS2 could do was misleading - DC was said to do around 3 million if memory serves but these were actual realworld scenarios for games. Sony announced 50 or 70 million but that was only if they were flat, untextured polygons. Technically not lying but misleading and you know what the media's like.
Looks to be low resolution and serious framepacing issues and FPS drops. This may even run worse than the Wii U version. I certainly hope that's not the case.
Still, it's not the worst offender. That honour goes to Dead by Daylight for its sub 720p resolution with framerate issues galore.
I feel like this was a rushed review and it didn't really explain what you do in the games different modes or even highlight how 'Conquest' is the traditional 5v5 MOBA experience or at least, SMITE's take on it. It briefly mentions how being a 'MOBA' it boils down to the "same set of rules" but then goes on to detail the Arena Deathmatch mode and not the actual Conquest mode.
It briefly touched upon how a class does this and some of the bare basics but it doesn't explain how item and gold management come into play, the map control, counter picks for gods etc.
The rest of the review is good but i'm a little disappointed.
I'm sorry but this is almost too late for me. Psyonix have been planning this and saying it would be 'soon' since 2017, maybe even earlier if memory serves. It's great that they're finally implementing cross-platform parties but they've said this for years.
All of my friends have moved on from Rocket League now. I had it on PC, Xbox One and Switch but I didn't play it too much because of the lack of cross-platform parties and being unable to do matchmaking together so I waited for the update that was coming 'soon'.
Well soon came and went and now my friends play other games. It's a shame, this is one game I would have loved to have gotten into with them whilst using the Switch version but its too little too late for me.
Those that still play and have friends on other platforms, I'm glad the update is finally arriving for you. Cross-play is the future and it benefits everyone.
Fortnite's the biggest third party game around at the moment and has a reach on almost every platform available. Cross-play with all platforms also helps as well so it's unsurprising to see it there on the list.
A shame that the Switch version is abysmal in terms of performance. It's the one thing letting the game down to me. I would be fine with a locked 30fps but the drops with framepacing issues make it very difficult to enjoy though other peoples mileage may vary.
Fornite’s not my go-to Battle Royale, I just don’t like the idea of building saving a player who’s been caught out of position. That said, I accept that is part of the mechanics and skill in the game - being able to build a defense.
I have however put a bit more time into Fortnite because it’s been on the Switch but unfortunately the Switch version has let me down. I don’t mind 30fps on a console but when there are severe FPS drops and frame pacing issues that directly impact the fluidity of gameplay and detract from the players ability to aim properly, it makes a frustrating version of the game to play for lengthy periods of time to me. Another flaw is the analogue stick movement with joycons but it’s possible this isn’t an issue on the Pro Controller or gyro controls.
Basically, if they can get a locked 30fps with no or minimal drops with near perfect frame pacing, i’ll invest more time into Fortnite. It’s nice that it made it to the Switch but until performance improves, my go to Battle Royale will remain PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds on PC.
@SwitchForce “This is a fanboy” - by a user called SwitchForce.
Like it or not, there will be people who are interested in a Switch who are also interested in PC, ‘PS5/NextBox’. It is foolish to say that the other manufacturers will not have an impact on the Switch in some way, shape or form. I’ve already mentioned in previous posts how Nintendo possibly could maintain momentum, so stop with the childish accusations and discuss instead.
@BlueOcean A revision even without a spec boost could still help to generate interest in the Switch’s hardware, which will be important so as to prevent the Switch from being overshadowed by Sony and Microsoft’s announcements.
However, even with a spec boost to try and ‘close the gap’ a little, developers will still have to develop for the lowest common denominator like they do with Xbox One and the X, as well as the PS4 and the Pro. This in itself presents an issue, do Nintendo start to do ‘new’ Nintendo Switch games only as they have done with some 3DS titles? That’s assuming as you imply, that 3rd party titles can even run on base Switch hardware to begin with.
They could increase the clock speeds of current Switch hardware if they implement an improved cooling solution but then this will affect battery life and can’t help the 20+ million Switch owners already.
It’s certainly going to be interesting to see what the big N does going forward.
@nukatha Sure, but the rest of 2019? There’s still a lot of unknowns, such as MP4’s release date. That said, I also don’t think MP4 and Yoshi are console sellers like Mario, Zelda and Pokemon.
That’s not a dig at Nintendo, the games will sell well as Kirby Star Allies did but it’s not going to generate Smash, Pokemon, BOTW or Odyssey levels of Switch hardware momentum.
However, if they can get the games released over the course of 2019 rather than leaving everything till the holidays, it could help maintain momentum until the holidays, where Pokemon will round the year off nicely.
Regardless of this, Sony and Microsoft’s new hardware will also cause some consumers to hold off on purchasing hardware in order to get more information about the new units, which may have an impact on Switch sales. To compensate, Nintendo should discuss a Switch revision of some sort, not necessarily a ‘new’ Nintendo Switch, but something to generate interest in the hardware whilst Sony and Microsoft are announcing theirs.
@BlueOcean Nintendo would need to have some serious back to back hits in order to maintain momentum, as well as work with developers to ensure more third party titles arrive AND on time.
With Sony and Microsoft expected to announce new consoles soon, it will be interesting to see what impact it will have on Switch sales.
Frankly, a DF video is there for the technical analysis. Sure they've made mistakes like stating HAL Laboratory made the game but it doesn't affect the technical analysis in any way.
At the end of the day, we watch the videos because we're curious to see how the game performs on Switch hardware, either to compare it to older versions in the series or to other games on the platform.
@scully1888 Scully, frame-pacing does NOT mean only part of the screen is refreshing at the correct time. It's not like that at all.
Frame pacing is simple to understand - most modern TV's use a 60hz refresh rate, which is why most games target either 60fps or 30fps as both can divide evenly into the 60hz refresh rate. For 30fps, a new frame must be delivered every 33.3ms to ensure a smooth image and gameplay. 60fps does the same at 16.6ms.
Now, frame-pacing is when the frames are NOT delivered correctly at the 16.6ms or 33.3ms interval, creating visible stutter that can be seen/felt during gameplay. If a single frame is delivered faster or slower than 33.3ms, then it creates visible stutter and that is frame-pacing issues. Some games like Dark Souls and Bloodborne are notoriously bad for their frame-pacing issues.
The entire image will have issues. It won't be a single part of screen. This can even happen to games that can consistently maintain 30 or 60fps.
To anyone else reading, imagine a smooth road that you drive down at a constant speed. Now imagine hitting a pothole or bump in the road. That is effectively what a game with bad frame-pacing would look/feel like.
@NoxAeturnus Yeah, it's frustratingly not consistent. You're supposed to flick your arm to the right or left to throw it that way and not do a 'throwing' motion but yet the game sometimes thinks it best to throw it forward for some inexplicable reason. Same with throwing forward, sometimes it just throws it off to the left and right.
Never been a fan of gyro or motion controls. Conceptually it's a solid idea but I've had issues every time i've played the game. Granted it's only maybe 1 out of every 5 Pokeballs thrown but it's enough to irritate.
Pretty much what I expected. You could see immediately from the shimmering when panning around that the game was using an adaptive resolution, with the blurrier presentation indicating sub 720p at times. The actual gameplay was clearly 30fps with great framepacing and the ‘hub’ area fps drops were obvious too.
That said, I am impressed they got all the effects in the port to a degree (water having some missing). It seems that more difficult ports will perform similarly to DOOM, Wolfenstein 2 and Warface.
@aaronsullivan Yeah, i’ve heard (and read the comments here) that the motion controls weren’t the best so perhaps they can do something about that with the joycons. Failing that, if there is full Pro controller support, i’d probably get the Switch version.
I don’t tend to buy remasters unless there are exceptional circumstances like if it is an enhanced remaster like Wind Waker or Halo MCC.
I’ve still yet to play Skyward Sword so i’ll probably get it for the Wii since I prefer to play games in their original form, unless the original game is a technical mess.
A more realistic experience designed for the ground up for the Nintendo Switch could fill a gap that no other game does on the platform. If Gear Club Unlimited 2 fits the bill, it should perform well and i’ll give it a go.
I did not bother with Gear Club Unlimited 1 because it was a mobile game at its heart. Wasn’t interested.
@OberonPrime Ah that’s disappointing. Cross-platform support probably would have pushed me to convince my friends to try it and invest time in it. Ah well.
This is some great news. It’s rare in situations like these for games to be finished, with most being cancelled, sold and then rebooted. To be able to finish the original story with the original team despite all that’s happened is a rarity and great news indeed.
I still need to catch up on Seasons 2 and 3 when I get the time but I’m glad the episodes are coming nonetheless
Pretty pathetic to be honest. In some cases it is justified but from the onset it was made clear that this was a re-imagining and not the 9th Gen main game instalment, which was already confirmed.
Disappointed that people feel the need to trash the game before even trying it.
It's still not worth it to me. There aren't any Switch games I really play online and NES games are not as incentivising as modern titles like you get on competitor platforms. Smash Bros might convince me to do a month or so but previous Smash games online performance has been atrocious.
That said, I don't believe in paying for the ability to play online. This goes for Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft.
@HammerKirby3 Yeah Generations is a good game but I still think Sonic controls clunky in the platforming sections. The actual boost mechanics and sense of speed controls great though
@paihia Yeah that’s pretty much it. I think they can make a solid 3D Sonic game out of the Adventure Action stages but ignore all the rest (Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Gamma, Big etc).
Agreed. I struggle to play through the games but I am happy to return and play just the Sonic levels or Sonic and Shadow levels in SA2. The rest of the games are incredibly dated and should be left out.
@justin233 In all honesty, I think that’s where modern Sonic games go wrong to be honest. They forget that the game is supposed to be a platformer too.
Take the 2D games - they reward players who learn the game with momentum, opening up shortcuts and other paths. If you’re a casual gamer, the earlier levels still have small sections where you can easily just press down on the D-pad to feel the speed.
On the 3D side, most of the games neglect the platforming aspect and just force speed with the boost formula. Whilst the sense of speed is nice, there’s nothing really to break up the gameplay and the 2D sections feel clunky.
Personally, I feel the Adventure games while flawed, featured a good balance between speed and platforming in 3D. SA1 even had momentum (try spin dashing down Windy Valley) whilst the controls felt more refined in SA2. Unfortunatelty, the Adventure games themselves are flawed and products of their time and whilst I wouldn’t want to see an Adventure 3, I would like to see a refinement of Sonic’s gameplay from SA1 and SA2 alone.
@Spoony_Tech As someone who ocassionally joins a massive, active ‘raid’ group to play the game, I can tell you.
Alot of the ‘casual die hards’ for PoGO spend money on items depending on the situation. Often, it’s for PokeCoins if, due to work commitments, they’ve not had time to go out, claim a gym and hold it long enough. This is because the coins are used to purchase a variety of ‘useful’ items:
Bag upgrades (hold more items)
Storage upgrades (hold more pokemon)
Raid Passess (mainly during events)
Egg Incubators (halve the egg incubation time)
Of the above, PoGO events due have an influence on the purchases such as Bag and Storage upgrades basically being essential to catch them all, which if you’re not prepared in time during the events, buying coins can be a quick way to prepare yourself on the day.
Another example is that during ‘raid’ events, alot of people will buy raid passes during the hour to get as many raid pokemon as possible to increase the chances of a shiny as often, raid pokemon will not show up for months/years again. This was the case when I joined a group who were hunting Moltres and whilst I didn’t spend money on the game, a large portion of the 20+ players did.
The same can be said for event pokemon, where shiny chances increase. Depending on the location, there may not be poke stops nearby so some may just take the quick route and purchase additional poke coins. This has been the case for my friend who lives in a village half an hour away.
I think it depends really on a variety of factors but whilst I will not spend money on mobile games, I can’t blame people who do, especially if it means they can continue to enjoy the game, as the group I ocassionally join do.
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Re: How Much Faster Is Super Mario 3D World On Switch Compared To The Wii U Original? This Much
@Mince Would not matter in this case. Wii U version was 60fps, same with the Switch. Nintendo has gone back and manually increased the speed of characters and tweaked the jumping.
Re: Talking Point: Is EA's Switch Strategy Lazy, Or Simply Common Sense?
@Leo2Kirby Those are options yes but the Switch still has less than half the memory bandwidth of the Xbox One S. There's limitations to what it can do but we all know that. It's not necessarily a bad thing but it depends on how you view the Switch.
I used to look at it as a successor to the Wii U as a home console and felt disappointed by its inability to play modern games at at least 720p resolution but when I looked at it as a successor to the 3DS - a handheld that connects to a TV, I began to appreciate it more.
If Nintendo can release a 'New Nintendo Switch' like they did with the 3DS that improves the memory bandwidth and helps it get more consistent performance from third party titles, then it will be the perfect hybrid to me. But I don't speak for everyone, that's for sure!
Re: Talking Point: Is EA's Switch Strategy Lazy, Or Simply Common Sense?
@Blac-Link Games may look 'easy to run' but if they're running advanced effects, pushing higher LOD's and more behind the scenes, it will still be more taxing on the console.
What EA decides to put out is up to them but if it requires significant investment like Battlefield or Frostbite Engine games, they will probably not do it. Games like Madden also use Frostbite so it would probably need to be made into a 'Legacy' version like Fifa is on the Switch and use a different/older game engine. To reiterate, Fifa on Switch is using a completely different game engine that originates on the PS3/360 version of FIFA 18, which is a very old engine. It lacks the enhancements of the Frostbite engine.
The point I was making is some ports that aren't feasible is purely down to bandwidth limitations on the Switch. Thanks to overclocking via mods, we've been able to pretty much confirm that to be the main bottleneck (the biggest cause of lower performance on the Switch ports in some titles e.g. Wolfenstein).
Re: Talking Point: Is EA's Switch Strategy Lazy, Or Simply Common Sense?
@Leo2Kirby Limited RAM is definitely one issue but memory bandwidth is probably the biggest one. It’s way too slow and causes far too much of a bottleneck that makes some ports very difficult.
Remember, hardware is only as fast as its slowest moving part.
Re: Get Two Classic Mario Game Boy Games For Less Than £5 With My Nintendo (Europe)
Picked up the Super Mario Land 2: Six Golden Coins offer. Nice to have as i'm getting some more VC games for the 3DS. Wish the Switch had a VC though.
Also still hoping that the Pokemon VC games go on sale but I doubt it. £8.99 compared to the £3.50 average is a bitter pill to swallow.
Re: Nintendo Announces 'Up To 80% Off' Switch Sale, More Than 300 Games To Be Discounted (Europe)
No 3DS sales? Was hoping to pickup some Virtual Console titles!
Re: The Wonderful 101: Remastered Targeting 1080p/60fps On Switch
@sixrings Unfortunately the Wii U’s CPU was trash, it was using much older architecture (based on the GC/Wii CPU) and was slower than the PS3/360 CPU. Gamepad makes very little difference sadly
Re: New Standard Nintendo Switch Revision Offers Significantly Improved Battery Life
@Blizzia They wouldn't 'put a new Mariko chip' in since its soldered to the motherboard. They'd effectively have to replace the whole board, which is basically the same as giving someone a new console so I doubt they would.
Though you are correct, even if they could replace the chip, they wouldn't anyway.
Re: Nintendo, Sony And Microsoft All Under Investigation Over Online Gaming Services
@StarmanSSP I think the issue (at least back in the day) is that it wasn't easy to see that auto-renewal would be automatically turned on. If you've disabled it before and then renew your contract, it would also re-enable auto-renewal.
There was also the issue back in the day at least on Xbox, where you could not disable auto-renewal on the console itself and had to go to Microsoft's website, where the Xbox Live Gold membership was a chore to find.
I don't know what it's like now since I no longer pay for online membership on any of the 3 platforms so the situation may have improved since then. Admittedly, PS4's is relatively straight forward and can be done on the console itself but I think they need to make it clearer that auto-renewal is turned on the moment you sign up to the service.
Re: Final Fantasy XIV Director Still Wants The Game On Switch, Talks With Nintendo Are Ongoing
@Aneira FFXI is extremely dated compared to the modern ones. I've never played an MMO until FFXIV and it is much better. The OG FFXIV was terrible too but the one that is out atm is a very good MMO. Worth a try if it comes to Switch, is free until you reach level 30 i believe.
Re: Epic Doesn't Plan To Improve The Frame Rate In The Switch Version Of Fortnite
They NEED to get this game running at a locked 30fps with proper frame pacing.
As it stands, this is one of the worst running games i’ve played on the Switch to the point the performance directly impacts gameplay.
It’s a decent game but Epic really need to do what they can to get a locked 30fps. Switch Fortnite fans at least deserve that much.
Re: Trials Rising On Switch Doesn't Rise Up To The Challenge Of Its Rivals
@dystome This close to release? Absolutely no chance. It's a demo, no matter how Ubisoft tries to market it.
Re: Trials Rising On Switch Doesn't Rise Up To The Challenge Of Its Rivals
Far too many compromises. Trials needs low latency controller input and 60fps provides that.
Not to mention the major cutbacks to the presentation and sub-720p resolution. This strikes me as a poor effort by Ubisoft for this type of game.
Re: Famitsu Report Reveals Japan's Highest-Selling Games And Top-Selling Hardware In 2018
@Lionyone There is far, far more to it than the assumption that Japan are prejudice to outside products. Xbox One's sales performance is the culmination of a number of cultural screw ups by Microsoft dating back to the original Xbox.
1) 'Xbox' as a brand name is a bad choice for Japan. The letter 'X' is usually associated with bad. In fact, on the Playstation, 'O' is used to accept or approve whilst 'X' is used to cancel or say 'no' to something. Hence, the name 'Xbox' having an 'X' or 'Cross' in it is a poor choice and can be associated with as something bad.
2) Lack of respect. Microsoft made a number of large screw ups with Japanese developers. For example, did you know that Resident Evil was going to be exclusive to Xbox and not the Gamecube? Well, thanks to this screw up below, Capcom chose to go with Nintendo instead:
For Mikami, Nintendo said games were toys, created by the brilliant Shigeru Miyamoto. Sony said games are entertainment, powered by the Emotion Engine. And Microsoft had no answer.
The only real devs in Japan Microsoft got onboard have been SEGA, Capcom and Square Enix (Final Fantasy). To my knowledge, the rest of the major players focus on Nintendo and Sony, possibly a result of the bad job they did back in the day.
3) Western Style marketing. A lot of the speeches and presentations for the Xbox in the past came across as "a PR driven plug" and rather than talking about the industry, Microsoft just spoke about their product.
It's likely the reason the Xbox doesn't sell well is a culmination of the things I mentioned above and more, as well as the brand having a bad history at this point, at least to the Japanese market.
As for outsider products not selling, the iPhone is one of the most popular smart phones in Japan so it's not like outsider products cannot do well in Japan.
To me, the Xbox is a classic case of 'know your market' and culture clash and the impact a poor brand image can have on a market.
Re: Brand New Sega Dreamcast Controller Hits Kickstarter And Smashes Target
@eSocrates Sounds like you've played the leaked build too. I have a disc copy of it, it makes for an interesting comparison to the officially released PS2 version.
I wish they'd have released Half-Life officially for the DC anyway. I doubt the game would run any better than the leaked build, if the reports are anything to go by but it's still playable. Also, you could use the DC M+K with it too, which is nice.
Re: Brand New Sega Dreamcast Controller Hits Kickstarter And Smashes Target
@Supadav03 Mini-games that could often serve to benefit the core game on the DC itself. Examples include Chao Adventure for Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure 2, you could send your Chao over, level up when not at your DC and then send it back, stronger to help earn more emblems. Nintendo would incorporate this idea in the GC with the GC and GBA connectivity, though often it requires you to connect two separate games together.
It also had some neat additions like being able to view your health on RE:CV but you get the point.
Re: Brand New Sega Dreamcast Controller Hits Kickstarter And Smashes Target
@CurryPowderKeg79 It was comparable to the PS2 in some areas but the PS2 beat it in others.
The DC could output 480p, had VGA support and decent mipmaps, which meant image quality would often be sharper, especially through VGA but the PS2 had more RAM, a more powerful CPU/GPU, better colour depth, DVD for storage (granted some games could still release on 2 discs like Gamecube, others like San Andreas would be impossible).
The DC was still a great console, I still play mine but the PS2 was technically better. The PS2 was however, definitely NOT "100x more powerful" like the media and Sony tried to have us believe back before the console released. Even the amount of Polygons Sony announced that the PS2 could do was misleading - DC was said to do around 3 million if memory serves but these were actual realworld scenarios for games. Sony announced 50 or 70 million but that was only if they were flat, untextured polygons. Technically not lying but misleading and you know what the media's like.
Re: Oh Look, Assassin's Creed III Remastered Has Finally Been Confirmed For Switch
Looks to be low resolution and serious framepacing issues and FPS drops. This may even run worse than the Wii U version. I certainly hope that's not the case.
Still, it's not the worst offender. That honour goes to Dead by Daylight for its sub 720p resolution with framerate issues galore.
Re: Smartphone First-Person Shooter Modern Combat Blackout Is Firing Onto Nintendo Switch
This looks like it could be an interesting game. I'll keep an eye on it and see how the Switch version fairs.
Re: Review: Smite - A Godly MOBA That Gives League Of Legends A Run For Its Money
I feel like this was a rushed review and it didn't really explain what you do in the games different modes or even highlight how 'Conquest' is the traditional 5v5 MOBA experience or at least, SMITE's take on it. It briefly mentions how being a 'MOBA' it boils down to the "same set of rules" but then goes on to detail the Arena Deathmatch mode and not the actual Conquest mode.
It briefly touched upon how a class does this and some of the bare basics but it doesn't explain how item and gold management come into play, the map control, counter picks for gods etc.
The rest of the review is good but i'm a little disappointed.
Re: Rocket League Introduces Cross-Platform Friends List And Party System Next Month
I'm sorry but this is almost too late for me. Psyonix have been planning this and saying it would be 'soon' since 2017, maybe even earlier if memory serves. It's great that they're finally implementing cross-platform parties but they've said this for years.
All of my friends have moved on from Rocket League now. I had it on PC, Xbox One and Switch but I didn't play it too much because of the lack of cross-platform parties and being unable to do matchmaking together so I waited for the update that was coming 'soon'.
Well soon came and went and now my friends play other games. It's a shame, this is one game I would have loved to have gotten into with them whilst using the Switch version but its too little too late for me.
Those that still play and have friends on other platforms, I'm glad the update is finally arriving for you. Cross-play is the future and it benefits everyone.
Re: Leaked Magazine Scan Confirms Jiren Is Joining The Battle In Dragon Ball FighterZ
Jiren once punched a horse in the chin. Its descendants are now known as giraffes.
Re: Nintendo Reveals That Fortnite Was The Most-Played Switch Game Of 2018 In Europe
Fortnite's the biggest third party game around at the moment and has a reach on almost every platform available. Cross-play with all platforms also helps as well so it's unsurprising to see it there on the list.
A shame that the Switch version is abysmal in terms of performance. It's the one thing letting the game down to me. I would be fine with a locked 30fps but the drops with framepacing issues make it very difficult to enjoy though other peoples mileage may vary.
Re: Fortnite Finally Gets A Career Tab On Switch, But It Doesn't Do Anything
Fornite’s not my go-to Battle Royale, I just don’t like the idea of building saving a player who’s been caught out of position. That said, I accept that is part of the mechanics and skill in the game - being able to build a defense.
I have however put a bit more time into Fortnite because it’s been on the Switch but unfortunately the Switch version has let me down. I don’t mind 30fps on a console but when there are severe FPS drops and frame pacing issues that directly impact the fluidity of gameplay and detract from the players ability to aim properly, it makes a frustrating version of the game to play for lengthy periods of time to me. Another flaw is the analogue stick movement with joycons but it’s possible this isn’t an issue on the Pro Controller or gyro controls.
Basically, if they can get a locked 30fps with no or minimal drops with near perfect frame pacing, i’ll invest more time into Fortnite. It’s nice that it made it to the Switch but until performance improves, my go to Battle Royale will remain PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds on PC.
Re: Nintendo Still Expects To Hit 100 Million Switch Software Sales This Financial Year
@SwitchForce “This is a fanboy” - by a user called SwitchForce.
Like it or not, there will be people who are interested in a Switch who are also interested in PC, ‘PS5/NextBox’. It is foolish to say that the other manufacturers will not have an impact on the Switch in some way, shape or form. I’ve already mentioned in previous posts how Nintendo possibly could maintain momentum, so stop with the childish accusations and discuss instead.
Re: Nintendo Still Expects To Hit 100 Million Switch Software Sales This Financial Year
@BlueOcean A revision even without a spec boost could still help to generate interest in the Switch’s hardware, which will be important so as to prevent the Switch from being overshadowed by Sony and Microsoft’s announcements.
However, even with a spec boost to try and ‘close the gap’ a little, developers will still have to develop for the lowest common denominator like they do with Xbox One and the X, as well as the PS4 and the Pro. This in itself presents an issue, do Nintendo start to do ‘new’ Nintendo Switch games only as they have done with some 3DS titles? That’s assuming as you imply, that 3rd party titles can even run on base Switch hardware to begin with.
They could increase the clock speeds of current Switch hardware if they implement an improved cooling solution but then this will affect battery life and can’t help the 20+ million Switch owners already.
It’s certainly going to be interesting to see what the big N does going forward.
Re: Nintendo Still Expects To Hit 100 Million Switch Software Sales This Financial Year
@nukatha Sure, but the rest of 2019? There’s still a lot of unknowns, such as MP4’s release date. That said, I also don’t think MP4 and Yoshi are console sellers like Mario, Zelda and Pokemon.
That’s not a dig at Nintendo, the games will sell well as Kirby Star Allies did but it’s not going to generate Smash, Pokemon, BOTW or Odyssey levels of Switch hardware momentum.
However, if they can get the games released over the course of 2019 rather than leaving everything till the holidays, it could help maintain momentum until the holidays, where Pokemon will round the year off nicely.
Regardless of this, Sony and Microsoft’s new hardware will also cause some consumers to hold off on purchasing hardware in order to get more information about the new units, which may have an impact on Switch sales. To compensate, Nintendo should discuss a Switch revision of some sort, not necessarily a ‘new’ Nintendo Switch, but something to generate interest in the hardware whilst Sony and Microsoft are announcing theirs.
Re: Nintendo Still Expects To Hit 100 Million Switch Software Sales This Financial Year
@BlueOcean Nintendo would need to have some serious back to back hits in order to maintain momentum, as well as work with developers to ensure more third party titles arrive AND on time.
With Sony and Microsoft expected to announce new consoles soon, it will be interesting to see what impact it will have on Switch sales.
Re: Video: Here's The Only Technical Analysis Of Smash Bros. Ultimate You'll Need
Frankly, a DF video is there for the technical analysis. Sure they've made mistakes like stating HAL Laboratory made the game but it doesn't affect the technical analysis in any way.
At the end of the day, we watch the videos because we're curious to see how the game performs on Switch hardware, either to compare it to older versions in the series or to other games on the platform.
Re: Review: Gear.Club Unlimited 2 - Sluggish Controls Force This Real-World Racer Off The Track
@scully1888 Scully, frame-pacing does NOT mean only part of the screen is refreshing at the correct time. It's not like that at all.
Frame pacing is simple to understand - most modern TV's use a 60hz refresh rate, which is why most games target either 60fps or 30fps as both can divide evenly into the 60hz refresh rate. For 30fps, a new frame must be delivered every 33.3ms to ensure a smooth image and gameplay. 60fps does the same at 16.6ms.
Now, frame-pacing is when the frames are NOT delivered correctly at the 16.6ms or 33.3ms interval, creating visible stutter that can be seen/felt during gameplay. If a single frame is delivered faster or slower than 33.3ms, then it creates visible stutter and that is frame-pacing issues. Some games like Dark Souls and Bloodborne are notoriously bad for their frame-pacing issues.
The entire image will have issues. It won't be a single part of screen. This can even happen to games that can consistently maintain 30 or 60fps.
To anyone else reading, imagine a smooth road that you drive down at a constant speed. Now imagine hitting a pothole or bump in the road. That is effectively what a game with bad frame-pacing would look/feel like.
Re: Japanese Charts: Pokémon: Let's Go Still Number One For Third Week, Switch Sales Rise Again
@NoxAeturnus Yeah, it's frustratingly not consistent. You're supposed to flick your arm to the right or left to throw it that way and not do a 'throwing' motion but yet the game sometimes thinks it best to throw it forward for some inexplicable reason. Same with throwing forward, sometimes it just throws it off to the left and right.
Never been a fan of gyro or motion controls. Conceptually it's a solid idea but I've had issues every time i've played the game. Granted it's only maybe 1 out of every 5 Pokeballs thrown but it's enough to irritate.
Re: Lots Of Legendary Pokémon Are Coming Back To Pokémon GO Throughout December
Well, I need Articuno and Zapdos but given my luck with the egg regional event, where I got Mr. Mime 5 times, I don’t have any faith in my luck.
Re: Sakurai Reveals Why Kirby Was The Only One Who Survived The Smash Ultimate Apocalypse
Seems like a fair reason to me.
Re: Video: Digital Foundry Analyses Panic Button's Porting Efforts With Warframe On Switch
Pretty much what I expected. You could see immediately from the shimmering when panning around that the game was using an adaptive resolution, with the blurrier presentation indicating sub 720p at times. The actual gameplay was clearly 30fps with great framepacing and the ‘hub’ area fps drops were obvious too.
That said, I am impressed they got all the effects in the port to a degree (water having some missing). It seems that more difficult ports will perform similarly to DOOM, Wolfenstein 2 and Warface.
Re: Rumour: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword Is Taking To The Skies On Switch
@aaronsullivan Yeah, i’ve heard (and read the comments here) that the motion controls weren’t the best so perhaps they can do something about that with the joycons. Failing that, if there is full Pro controller support, i’d probably get the Switch version.
Re: Rumour: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword Is Taking To The Skies On Switch
I don’t tend to buy remasters unless there are exceptional circumstances like if it is an enhanced remaster like Wind Waker or Halo MCC.
I’ve still yet to play Skyward Sword so i’ll probably get it for the Wii since I prefer to play games in their original form, unless the original game is a technical mess.
Re: Gear.Club Unlimited Developer Striving To Make Sequel A "Far More Realistic Game" On Switch
A more realistic experience designed for the ground up for the Nintendo Switch could fill a gap that no other game does on the platform. If Gear Club Unlimited 2 fits the bill, it should perform well and i’ll give it a go.
I did not bother with Gear Club Unlimited 1 because it was a mobile game at its heart. Wasn’t interested.
Re: Reminder: Free-To-Play Sci-Fi Shooter Warframe Is Now Available On The Switch eShop
@OberonPrime Ah that’s disappointing. Cross-platform support probably would have pushed me to convince my friends to try it and invest time in it. Ah well.
Re: Reminder: Free-To-Play Sci-Fi Shooter Warframe Is Now Available On The Switch eShop
I can’t remember if it was stated but can anyone confirm if Warfram has cross-platform support?
Re: Development On The Walking Dead: The Final Season Is Underway
This is some great news. It’s rare in situations like these for games to be finished, with most being cancelled, sold and then rebooted. To be able to finish the original story with the original team despite all that’s happened is a rarity and great news indeed.
I still need to catch up on Seasons 2 and 3 when I get the time but I’m glad the episodes are coming nonetheless
Re: People Are Review-Bombing Pokémon: Let's Go Across Major Sites, Amazon Japan Blocks User Scores
Pretty pathetic to be honest. In some cases it is justified but from the onset it was made clear that this was a re-imagining and not the 9th Gen main game instalment, which was already confirmed.
Disappointed that people feel the need to trash the game before even trying it.
Re: Nintendo Switch Online Service Had A "Good" Launch, Focus Will Now Shift To Boosting Its Appeal
It's still not worth it to me. There aren't any Switch games I really play online and NES games are not as incentivising as modern titles like you get on competitor platforms. Smash Bros might convince me to do a month or so but previous Smash games online performance has been atrocious.
That said, I don't believe in paying for the ability to play online. This goes for Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft.
Re: Video: Digital Foundry Takes A Look At Diablo III: Eternal Collection On Nintendo Switch
Why would you buy this? Don’t you all have phones?
Re: Competition: Take Part In The Pokémon Let's Go Victory Road Quiz To Win Amazing Prizes
Really threw me off with the 2nd question but luckily I remembered. 6/6 here.
Re: Sonic Double Pack For Nintendo Switch Listed On Amazon Italy
@HammerKirby3 Yeah Generations is a good game but I still think Sonic controls clunky in the platforming sections. The actual boost mechanics and sense of speed controls great though
Re: Sonic Double Pack For Nintendo Switch Listed On Amazon Italy
@paihia Yeah that’s pretty much it. I think they can make a solid 3D Sonic game out of the Adventure Action stages but ignore all the rest (Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Gamma, Big etc).
Agreed. I struggle to play through the games but I am happy to return and play just the Sonic levels or Sonic and Shadow levels in SA2. The rest of the games are incredibly dated and should be left out.
Re: Sonic Double Pack For Nintendo Switch Listed On Amazon Italy
@justin233 In all honesty, I think that’s where modern Sonic games go wrong to be honest. They forget that the game is supposed to be a platformer too.
Take the 2D games - they reward players who learn the game with momentum, opening up shortcuts and other paths. If you’re a casual gamer, the earlier levels still have small sections where you can easily just press down on the D-pad to feel the speed.
On the 3D side, most of the games neglect the platforming aspect and just force speed with the boost formula. Whilst the sense of speed is nice, there’s nothing really to break up the gameplay and the 2D sections feel clunky.
Personally, I feel the Adventure games while flawed, featured a good balance between speed and platforming in 3D. SA1 even had momentum (try spin dashing down Windy Valley) whilst the controls felt more refined in SA2. Unfortunatelty, the Adventure games themselves are flawed and products of their time and whilst I wouldn’t want to see an Adventure 3, I would like to see a refinement of Sonic’s gameplay from SA1 and SA2 alone.
Just my 2 cents.
Re: Smash Bros. Ultimate Is Second Most Anticipated Holiday Release, According To US Survey
Yeah for me the main games this Christmas period are Smash Bros, FH4, Super Mario Party and Kirby.
The only other major title i want is REmake 2 but that’s next year.
Re: Niantic's Pokémon GO Catches A Cool $84.8 Million In The Month Of September
@Spoony_Tech As someone who ocassionally joins a massive, active ‘raid’ group to play the game, I can tell you.
Alot of the ‘casual die hards’ for PoGO spend money on items depending on the situation. Often, it’s for PokeCoins if, due to work commitments, they’ve not had time to go out, claim a gym and hold it long enough. This is because the coins are used to purchase a variety of ‘useful’ items:
Of the above, PoGO events due have an influence on the purchases such as Bag and Storage upgrades basically being essential to catch them all, which if you’re not prepared in time during the events, buying coins can be a quick way to prepare yourself on the day.
Another example is that during ‘raid’ events, alot of people will buy raid passes during the hour to get as many raid pokemon as possible to increase the chances of a shiny as often, raid pokemon will not show up for months/years again. This was the case when I joined a group who were hunting Moltres and whilst I didn’t spend money on the game, a large portion of the 20+ players did.
The same can be said for event pokemon, where shiny chances increase. Depending on the location, there may not be poke stops nearby so some may just take the quick route and purchase additional poke coins. This has been the case for my friend who lives in a village half an hour away.
I think it depends really on a variety of factors but whilst I will not spend money on mobile games, I can’t blame people who do, especially if it means they can continue to enjoy the game, as the group I ocassionally join do.
Re: Reggie Says Nintendo Competes For Consumer Time, Not Concerned About Direct Competition
@Tasuki Nintendo of Japan has the ultimate say. NoA has to follow their rules, sort of like the situation with Sega back in the Saturn/Dreamcast days.