TheMisterManGuy

@Nicolai Directs are more Worldwide now, so there's little reason for region specific ones anymore unless its a game that's currently region exclusive (which will be rare). So there's very likely a Direct following in the next couple weeks. Plus, the Mini Direct to Direct transitions aren't even the biggest indicator, the Japanese Nintendo Direct page currently has another blank spot. That's usually one of the first signals a new Direct is in production.

@IceClimbers The problem is, why would Nintendo tease us with essentially an appetizer, only to go radio silent for the next 2 months. They as others have mentioned, they usually follow up a mini Direct with a full sized one a few weeks later, so we're getting a lot sooner than you think. Plus, the Japanese Direct page also has another blank spot. That's usually the first sign a new one is in production.

I expect this to be a Switch only Direct, so no 3DS or mobile news here. I also think Smash 4 DX doesn't exist at all, so we'll have to wait for a new Smash Bros. game.

@waluigifan1 Except they don't. ARMS especially, requires very specific, very precise gestures with the Joy-Con. It's not just flailing around while the game goes on auto-pilot, it's actually an involved experience. If you actually played the game, you would know this.

@waluigifan1 "No more gimmicky motion control games"

Too bad, Nintendo's not going to not use a feature of the Switch just because you don't like it.

Meh, this is just the typical kind of last minnute filler Nintendo usually fills it's consoles with at the end of their life. I'm not sure why anyone expected something great from this game.

One of the very first things Nintendo brought up when they unveiled My Nintendo and their new Nintendo Account system, was cloud saves. So we know the feature is coming. It's just a matter of when. An update that lets us back up save data to a microSD card would also be handy.

@DarkKirby The whole "Share the Joy" concept is for people with friends without a Switch, friends who don't have a Switch on them at the moment, or people who for some reason feel like asking complete strangers to play video games with them. What Nintendo is talking about is families. They want multiple family members to own their own Switch. It's different from the Joy-Con sharing feature.

@Crono1973 An update recently added the ability to copy/transfer save data to another console. But an easy way to share the games across multiple consoles would be welcome.

Well, it was never officially supposed to be accessed anyway. It's an omamori, it's meant to be sealed and kept beside a shrine (in this case, the Switch) to bring good luck. Nintendo embedded NES Golf into every Switch as a sign of respect. The Switch IS Iwata's baby, and keeping some part of him nearby to protect it (theoretically) is possibly the nicest and most thoughtful thing a company could ever do.

@Mando44646 Wii Sports wasn't shovelware.

@justin233 While I don't think we'll be seeing non-games like that per-se. Nintendo will absolutely make plenty of casual games for the Switch. Casual gamers are a core target audience of the system. Nintendo is also going to make games with mandatory motion controls if the game calls for it. So don't expect a WarioWare with them as an option.

@justin233 What's wrong with Brain Age?

@Phin68 Plus, it's a spin-off as well. Whatever new Animal Crossing game that comes to the Switch will be a full fledged console title.

@Mando44646 At least they're adding stuff. God, this fanbase can be very impatient.

While it's good to see the Switch get more features. I really admire it's minimalist approach to UI and OS design. It gives the Switch an almost retro console feel, and it's refreshing to see a video game product embrace the fact that it's a video game product rather than try to be some bloated, all-purpose entertainment hub filled with garbage nobody really wants or uses.

Hopefully the Switch can evolve with more functionality, while still keeping it's minimalism.

@HalBailman You think Nintendo's not going to make games that have mandatory motion controls? Common son! Also, motion controls aren't a gimmick, they're used in everything gaming related these days.

@SLIGEACH_EIRE Maybe you just have big hands. They felt just fine to me. Be it detached, sideways, or in the Grip. The Grip was actually a pleasant surprise especially, to the point where I'd go as far as to say I wouldn't need a Pro Controller for most games.

@SLIGEACH_EIRE Aw, come on. I used the Joy-Con myself recently and they feel just fine. I'm used to playing DS/3DS alot, so that's probably why I had no problems with them, even holding them sideways feels perfectly fine, if a bit small.

This is the kind of game I want to see more developers making for the Switch. Unique, innovative games that utilize the unique hardware available, with small teams on low-mid level budgets. Ports and conventional AAA games are nice too, but the Switch being a platform like the DS where developers can create all kinds of weird stuff without going bankrupt is what will really make the console special IMO.

Eh, it's a start. But it still needs a lot more.

@chriiiiiiiiiis Even if Nintendo does all the right moves, people will still complain. There are valid criticisms to be had with them currently, but many of the complaints lobbied against them are often irrational and stupid.

I think 3rd parties should concentrate on porting/making games that perfectly fit the Switch hardware. IE, games that can be enjoyed even in 30 minute chunks and can be picked up and put down with ease. The Switch doesn't need every third party game out on PS4 or Xbox One. Not just because it may not handle it, but often in those case, those are demanding games that require much more time from the player that a simple 30 minute play session is impossible to do.

Keep in mind, Nintendo isn't actually doing these Arcade Archives releases. Hamster, the guys who do the Neo Geo series, are publishing these versions. So I wouldn't rule out Virtual Console just yet.

@dubsmachine Except Switch game cards are a proprietary format, while SD Cards are open source. Memory made for proprietary use is typically more expensive to make than all purpose memory, which is part of the reason why micro SD is so cheap. Again, there's not much Nintendo can do about it unless 32 GB Switch cards come down in manufacturing costs.

@DarkKirby You have to understand the risk of bundling a system with a lot of on board storage. NAND Flash isn't particularly cheap in large quantities. While I think Nintendo should've done 64 GB, anything higher than that will likely jack the price of the system up. And Micro SD isn't the most expensive form of portable storage, Vita Memory Cards are .

The Switch isn't an a la carte system, because you don't actually need any of the stuff you're suggesting. You don't need a power bank to play it un-docked since not every game will drain the battery in 3 hours. It also depends on settings as well. Not to mention, some people use the Switch un-docked at home, so they don't really need power banks either.

Yes, you need a micro SD card if you want to download a lot of games, but as I said, micro SD is cheap, so you can get a decent size card for a good price. You don't need a pro controller either since there are people who are just fine with the Joy-Con. The lack of a D-Pad is only a problem if you play a lot of fighters or shmups (which require complex, precise movements), other wise, the D-buttons work fine for most other 2D games which don't require as complex of movements. The Switch gives you most of what you'll need out of the box, the only thing you'll really need is a game, and maybe a micro SD card if you want to go primarily digital.

The cartridge problem is just an inherent flaw with proprietary physical media like it, and isn't something Nintendo can do much to alleviate. They can't wave a magic wand and make 32 GB Switch cards cost less, and not all publishers want to eat the cost either, so the $10 price hike is a necessary evil until Switch cards of this capacity climb down in manufacturing costs.

@Menchi187 How is it Nintendo's fault? That they went with a practical media format for their mobile device, rather than going with optical media which is usually a no-no for portable gadgets? This isn't like the N64 where they chose to go with Cartridges due for an absurd reason, using game cards on the Switch is a necessity, because again, it's a mobile device.

Plus, people don't seem to be bothered by the Switch tax since those that were struck with it have all done very well in sales.

@DarkKirby Micro SD is dirt cheap these days. You can get a 200 GB card for $80. Plus, Nintendo is using a standardized memory format. Be happy this isn't the Vita with overpriced, proprietary memory cards.

@daveh30 Switch cards can only go up to 32 GB at the moment, and even then there's not many games that come on that big of a card. Keep in mind also that bigger card sizes also means more expensive card sizes, so it's likely that 2k wants cost parity with the other versions, so they use what's avalible at the moment, and have a workaround to get the same content as the other versions on the Switch.

It's not a great solution, but it's the only one available at the moment, and it's not anti-consumer since all you need is a commonly used, easy to obtain storage medium available for reasonable prices.

@cleveland124 Maybe it's just the games you played, but Early Access implies the games is still in pre-alpha at most, and the developers are simply letting people try it early to gauge first impressions.

With ARMS and Splatoon 2, the core fundamentals of the game, including gameplay, content, look, feel, and graphics are all completed. The developers are simply improving upon and adding to them with regular updates. With ARMS, physics changes are expected because it's a fighting game, character re-balancing is mandatory for a modern fighter like this, and the main way to do that is tweaking the physics to make it more fair.

@cleveland124 They're not the same thing. Early access means playing the game before the core experience is finished, which means the game is much more susceptible to bugs and glitches in this state. With Splatoon and ARMS, the base game and mechanics are already fully complete. What Nintendo is doing is simply building upon and refining them with continuous content updates.

@Darthroseman Day One patches are usually when there's a bug or glitch that was noticed at the last minnute I would think (unless there are other things too). Yes, with things like DLC and continuous game updates, developers do continue to work on games up to and even well after their release. But the core game is usually completed before the game hits stores.

@Darthroseman The specifics of when DLC exactly begins development probably varies between publisher. But I do know that a game typically is finished development well before it's actually released.

Do gamers not know how game development works? Your average major game typically finishes development way before it actually hits store shelves. And considering the release dates for the two big pieces of content, it's natural to assume that the DLC just recently started development AFTER the base game was complete.

Gamers, well specifically Nintendrones and the anti-Nintendo fools need to learn that DLC and Season passes are not automatically bad things, nor is announcing such DLC literally a week before its release enough reason to assume that it's cut content from the full game sold to you later because again, that's not how game development works. Now if this season pass was announced, and all the content was releasing day one, then yes, that would sound very suspicious. But considering we haven't even seen footage of the main meat of this season pass yet, there's little evidence to suggest cut content.

The same crap happened with BotW DLC and how everyone flipped their poo about how they may not be getting a complete game, then the game comes out and lo and behold it is the complete game they promised. It's a mystery why common sense gets thrown out the window with this kind of stuff.

A left Joy-Con with a D-Pad would be neat as a novel side option for Virtual Console. But it's never going to replace the stock Joy-Con configuration that comes with every Switch. One of Nintendo's Mission statements with this console is the ability to play with anyone locally, anytime, anywhere. The ability to split a controller or 2 for local multiplayer games on one system is a key part in achieving that goal.

Take that away, and you defeat the entire point of the Joy-Con design, and one of the main selling points of the console.

I like it. It's a quirky upbeat jazz song that fits Mario pretty well. This is one of the games I'll be getting when I get a Switch.

Min Min's my Main Main.

In a way. The Switch seems to follow a similar story. An under-powered and unconventional system with equally weird controller gimmicks that was initially met with skepticism and worry from the gaming community. Only to shatter all expectations and prove it's hardware with great software. The only difference is that the Switch is an instant hit, while the DS didn't become a sales monster until the DS Lite.

@LinkSword They've been sponsoring Smash tournaments for a couple years now. At this point, it's naive to think they're not taking eSports seriously.

@CheezIt These reactions are hilarious. "Oh noes, Nintendo making Free to play games, that means they're evil and greedy". Seriously, F2P isn't inherently bad alright.

On Topic though, I'm gonna miss it a little. Badge Arcade wasn't perfect (some of the later cranes are poorly designed IMO), but I liked the idea of home menu decorations released under the guise of a game. And the Free-to-Play aspect actually goes towards a substantial element to the entire system.

@Yasume I don't really see any "droughts". The Switch is getting at least one major release a month. You can spin these games and say they don't count for whatever reason all you want. As far as Nintendo is concerned, they count.

This mode clearly feels tacked on. When will developers learn that motion controls will only work if the game is designed with them in mind. Simply slapping a motion mode or waggle into a game with no effort is Motion Control Sin #1.

To a complaining about them showing motion controls and casuals, just stop. This is Nintendo, the philosophy of getting people who never really played games into games has always been a part of the company. Nothing wrong with showing how this thing can be used for parties too. So you might want to give up this pie in the sky dream of one day seeing a return of this imaginary "hardcore gamer" Nintendo that never really existed to begin with.

Notice how he says, at launch. Thus, this leaves the door open for the Switch to have a web browser in the future. People seem to forget that neither the Wii or 3DS had a web browser at launch. The 3DS also lacked an eShop and video apps at launch too. These things can come later, presumably around the holidays.

@NintySnesMan Nintendo's mobile strategy is to entice smartphone players to their game systems, not drive them away. We saw it work wonders with Pokemon Go!, so it's proven to be an effective strategy.

@Jazzer94 That's actually from the 3DS.

Not entirely surprised. Steam is a platform full of low-effort games like this. As much as I love Steam, it's quality control is almost non-existent.

As smart of a move as this is for Nintendo, I doubt it's for the Switch. It's most likely for the 3DS, which Nintendo is keeping around as a cheaper option for kids. The Switch seems like it's marketed to 18-34 year old casual gamers.

It's good to see the 3DS still showing some life even this late into it's life cycle. However, anyone with common sense can tell you that it's just a repeat of the GBA to DS transition. Nintendo claimed the DS was this 3rd pillar that wasn't going to replace the GBA, but in the end, it eventually did, as they were only saying that in case the DS failed miserably.

It's the same scenario with the Switch. The only reason Nintendo is calling it a home console, is because they don't want the 3DS to die just yet. That way, they have something to fall back on if the Switch was to fail. Look, the Switch is a mobile device first and foremost. It's based on mobile hardware, people who went hands-on with it said it feels more like a handheld than a console. And Nintendo is banking on it being their only platform to support in the future, they just don't want to admit it yet.

@JLPick Meanwhile, our lord and savior Sony is a perfect Jesus company who can do no wrong. Look, I'm not defending Nintendo on some of their pricing decisions. But let's not act like they only care about money. Same with Microsoft. Even Sony is guilty of Shady things. It's business, they do annoying things, but it's necessary to keep the company afloat. As long as the consumer gains something in return, then it's a necessary evil.

When I first heard of this, it seemed like a throwaway tech demo showing what the Switch can do rather than a legit game. But after watching some gameplay, it actually looks like much more than that.