It's so crazy some people here are actually silly enough to think Digital Foundry has an agenda against Nintendo. They have consistently praised Nintendo's rare attention to detail and polish. Their dev interviews of Luigi Mansion Dark Moon on the 3DS way back in the day got me to first really appreciate all the engineering and hard work that goes into Nintendo games and consoles.
@Jester676 Honestly I don't know how you got any of those interpretations off those answers. Are you just joking being sarcastic and I am missing it? If you don't know much about tech, you should have someone let you know the Switch 2 won't be as powerful as the PS5 even though it has a more modern architecture with more modern architecture features. That's for various valid reasons involving it being a portable system, but that's okay! It will still be an amazing system and a big upgrade.
The mid-gen refresh OLED thing is a seperate point they made from battery life. They were just essentially saying they are really excited for this one and it'd be cool if down the line an even nicer variant came out with an upgraded screen and more battery life in several years. Like what Nintendo did for the New 3DS and the Switch OLED. That's perfectly reasonable, node size of available CPU die will shrink in the future years so it's likely they can get a smaller processor with the same performance and get more battery life. Screens will almost always get cheaper normally meaning a nicer one could hypothetically come down in price enough eventually to be included in a new console variant at a reason price.
The whole "key-card" thing is overblown, they were on the Switch 1 too. Only difference being they were download codes in empty boxes. These new key cards are purely an upgrade over the old download code in box option because you can sell them or buy them used. I don't think a developer not being sure if they will do a physical release of their game or physical only means key cards guaranteed anymore than Switch 1 and download codes only in physical release. Physical releases and getting cards is expensive to pay for comparitively for smaller publishers from what I understand.
Lastly I think it's fair to say the Switch 2 is safer play by Nintendo. Yes there are a lot new stuff, but it's not a complete reinvention like the Wii U to the Switch.
All of the mainline games and Pokemon Conquest are deserving of ports or rereleased, remasters, remakes, sequels or something; but I think none of them would get one of those to the quality they deserve.
I will say it. There's a alternate universe timeline where I think it could be possible for an awesome Pokemon HGSS or BW etc. Remaster to come out WHILE sticking to the franchise conventions and be the best game to release from the franchise history in a decade and a half but we aren't in that timeline, unfortunately. I wish I could direct one of those projects.
I don't expect the eShop to be even a tenth the quality of Steam in terms of features but they could at least match the Wii U and 3DS quality which had basic ratings systems, user tags, user difficultly rating even if incredibly rudimentary. The Switch eShop is so slow and a step down. If they could get to the level of something like Better eShop for Switch 2 that'd be amazing. I don't even mind the slop just give me tools to filter it and avoid it if I want. Throw in a music toggle too sure for people that like it
This on top of the recent reports of them not allowing translators, localization and some other workers to put their work on Nintendo games in their resumes with required NDAs is super gross.
It almost sounds like they are slowly reverting back to the times of anticompetitive control of trying to make it harder for employees to get jobs anywhere else that the entire video game industry used to be infamous for. Especially in the 70s and 80s the video game industry was infamous for not properly crediting people. That's where the first Easter eggs came from.
They put their idea of "the brand image" over the well-being and future livelihood of their employees. Believing the brand deserves recognition over individuals or crediting people. Whoever is pushing this at Nintendo recently, please stop.
Past leadership President Reggie and Satoru Iwata directly led against this. They believed in celebrating work of the people who made the games and holding them up. They would do constant developer interviews with designers and developers with "Iwata Asks" and videos, and even in Nintendo Directs. All those developer interviews have become massively less common in recent years outside of large releases and are more subtle when they do happen.
Hmm so what's left for stuff I still like better with the Wii U or want brought forward...?
A non rental actually good virtual console? We desperately need a Nintendo Land sequel. More Zelda Wii U ports. Splatoon 1 port (that's sadly probably not going to happen). Heavy backwards compatibility catalogue support. Wii U gamepad was massively better in some games like Mario Maker, Nintendo Land, and Splatoon, as it was dual screen and had higher quality gyro sensors (apparently). Nintendo software ui charm still missing. But besides a few games, some prequels and virtual console I feel like we have gotten most of the great games playable on Wii U brought forward in some capacity thankfully. Xenoblade Chronicles X is another big one if it goes through to Switch
I can still think of the original's iconic title theme whenever someone mentions this game. Will replay some of the remastered version at least on my phone. I don't know if I should get the PC or Switch version of this but it is definitely up there as a game to keep an eye on.
@YunoboCo Ghost of Tsushima is very well liked game. Everyone seems to love that game and the studio. The devs even got appointed ambassador's of the island in real life and they won some super hard to get cultural awards or something too
@RumblePak the single player and instant action has plenty of issues just the same as multiplayer. But will everyone notice them? I feel like this releases is both over and under hated at the same time. Many major issues people don't realize but also plenty that are way overstated.
It's just a shame they didn't reach out to the vast expertise of the og bf2 modding community. Most savy developers would in a similar case for their game. Instead they stole some guys work, got caught, then didn't credit him when it was in the game's early launch version. I am loving the game on my Switch too even if the port is not good, it's one of my all time favorite games regardless.
Glad they are fixing up the game now but they still should reach out to modders for consulting. There are saying plenty of low hanging fruit, easy fix things that would make a big difference if changed from what I understand.
Yes would love this! Especially considering the Switch 2 will probably have a 90-120hz screen since we are in 2024 and the console has to last awhile. For games that are easier to run or benefit more from it the option to run on performance would be amazing!
Say you have a 120hz TV and Splatoon 4 comes around. I would absolutely play that at a lower resolution for the more responsive/fun experience!
That said I disagree with the people who said 60fps is always better. I am fine with 30fps too for some games if it makes sense. (This is coming from someone that's a strong advocate of 240hz-480hz QD-OLED/W-OLED displays. Not everyone needs or can see that speed. Even if it is incredible for PC games like Overwatch and will be game changing for VR one day. In my opinion high motion clarity OLED 480fps/hz is around the point screens stop looking like screens and start looking like windows in real life.)
It depends. Generally I think it's too much for the re-releases, but it's not a hill I am going to die on. Metroid Prime Remastered is a gem and feels like a gift where they are underselling it to get people in to buy the newer games later. I would much rather they get rid of the paid online subscription when Valve/Steam has something unexaggerated x100 better that is also free while Nintendo charges money for an online service that is worse in some ways than what they offered for the original Nintendo DS/Wii/3DS/Wii U or much worse than ancient service competitors like the PS3/Xbox 360. That $1 billion USD they invested in online infrastructure hopefully will be better felt when the Switch 2 comes around. I really want them to get rid of them software locking online behind a subscription it's a scam
@Mando44646 You know what I would really want is a Nintendo Land sequel. That game was an underrated gem on the Wii U. If done properly on whatever their next system I honestly think I'd play it more than Mario kart in the rare occasions I meet up and play games in person with friends. Was such a fun game especially the Luigi's Mansion, Metroid, Zelda stuff
Wonder why they didn't use Luigi instead of toads. Also I prefer the DS ones with the minis and level creator stuff. On the surface this seems way too simple, but idk I haven't actually tried it.
My guess is February or March and it will be a little on the lighter side of new first party stuff. Mostly third party, already announced (like Luigi's Mansion Dark Moon, Princess Peach game, etc.), and a fun couple ports thrown in. Unrelated but I'd love a Nintendo Land sequel someday or Tomodachi Life.
If I were Nintendo I'd want to save up stuff for the new console to make it's launch the best it could be.
We need a Nintendo Land sequel. That game is so fun with other people. Even just little parts of it like the Luigi's Mansion or Mario tag game or Metroid and Zelda we're great and criminally underrated.
I wonder what would've happened if Nintendo went the hyper expensive route and made the console way more expensive but with same specs as Xbox One and PS4. I am sure it still wouldn't have been a success but it might've gotten more third party support like EA Star Wars Battlefront
It'll probably be at one of those Microsoft Xbox "directs" again right? I thought Microsoft was already paying them to put include it on game pass sometime. Probably come out in a year or two or something like that. Idk I'll enjoy it when it arrives but I'm not stressing about it, hope the people on the development team are doing well themselves
@Moistnado I don't think Nintendo bases their whole console design around trying to reduce piracy. They aren't Microsoft with the Xbox 360.
Besides it's super ineffective if that's what they are trying. It's extremely easy to emulate dual screen games, both on PC and phones. Imo some games like Pokemon Heart Gold/White or Pokemon Conquest are actually better experiences on phones versus their DS counterparts. (After putting hundreds of hours into and deeply loving both then replaying them on Drastic with my phone's significantly better screen, stylus and audio versus DS/3DS)
I believe Nintendo goes with dual monitor/screen gaming because they genuinely believe in the fun and unique experiences it provides. Splatoon 1 is the absolute perfect example, as well as Pokemon games and simple stuff like Mario 64 DS or Wind Waker HD. Sure that stuff works fine without dual screens, but dual screens make it better especially in Splatoon 1's case.
Normal USB usually is pretty awful standard for video streaming unfortunately but Switch is an exception it's not normal plain old USB-C. I just wonder if the motherboard/system is wired to handle outputting to two screens at once. Nintendo doesn't even bother allowing support for 4K output on YouTube even though the Switch should technically be able to do it like the Nvidia Shield that came before it. I would love an attachment like you suggest. I just hope games would support it.
I want backwards compatibility so we don't have to start over from scratch with ports of old games. I think it would be good to leverage the continued brand/money already spent on developing software for Switch and move it forward to use to the next consoles advantage.
While I don't think backwards compatibility is strictly necessary to have a successful console, I think having it would be very good for us consumers and Nintendo long term. They might see not being able to re-sell copies of old Switch games as "upgraded/up-ressed ports" as a lost revenue, but I believe that is very short sighted and Nintendo is smarter than that.
If Nintendo doesn't include backwards compatibility on there next console it will be due to hardware limitations and making the console affordable rather than that imo. I think it is most likely that the next console is backwards compatible though, at least through backwards compatibility patches similar to PS4→PS5, where 98% of the games work, big first party games get free up-ressed next gen versions (just like PS5 and Xbox Series did), and some 3rd party developers might charge fees for you to unlock the next gen version but you can still play the old one
My eyes aren't as good as when I was a kid for 3D vs now. But when I was a kid I used 3D 100% of the time at max percent. The effect worked incredibly well on my eyes
For me I think a lot of people bought the first game after hearing how amazing it was but haven't gotten around to finishing it yet or it's in their backlog. So they haven't run out to buy the second game yet. At least that's the case for me. The dev who directed this was super wholesome though, I wish him the best and hope they are able to make a third one when it's ready
@Moistnado Well this is assuming it'd be a whole new console not just a Switch Pro. You'd need some kind of radio receiver in the dock. That said I don't think it'd be too hard to emulate select Wii U games on a next gen console if a proper layer is set up. I mean plenty of my friends play Switch games emulated on their phones now! I mean those are $900 phones with much more powerful processors but the fact they can easily do it now is still crazy to me.
That said the Meta Quest 3 VR headset is launching with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Processor and equivalent flagship mobile GPU this year for only $499. That thing is more than capable of emulating Switch games it's crazy. Makes me more excited for whatever Nintendo's future console will be seeing stuff like that, Valve's Steam Deck, Asus ROG Ally, etc. Competition is heating up and tech has gone so far since the Switch launched. I hope Nintendo's next console is a little more premium priced maybe with the normal model being $499 like the PS5, then have it include a 90hz display. More budget model at $399 then that has cut down features
New Mario Kart ★★★★★ (most obvious pick) More open world Bowser's Fury style 3D Mario Mario Odyssey 2 More linear 3D Mario (I may slightly want a more sandboxy Mario 64/64DS/Sunshine/Odyssey one but this is okay and I would still absolutely love it) Backwards compatibility patches for old big first party games (starting with a few big ones like old Pokemon, BOTW, Smash, etc.) Eventually Metroid Prime 4 Something miscellaneous but loved classic like Nintendo Land 2 Maybe a new 2D Zelda in first year OoT port Miscellaneous new pick about consoles upgraded controls/features Revival of Wii classic franchises (Wii Tanks/Fit/Sports anyone? New console will have more personality loveable charm like DS-Wii [and to a lesser extent 3DS-Wii U too] and somewhat more speed like Switch) Some desired 3rd party titles Pokemon spin-off something PS4/Xbox One game Miscellanious Mario Sports game that actually looks good
We will NOT be getting a new Smash, Twilight Princess, Wind Waker, new 3d Zelda, Fzero A highly desired by me new Splatoon 1 style Splatoon 4 will take a couple years after launch
Switch has already started to support AMD's FSR in recent titles like TOTK but the successor console will bring native DLSS 3.0 support through new cores and more modern architecture features. I am hoping for analog haptic dual sense 5 style triggers (for racing fans)[they probably won't be nearly as good but still], hall-effect joysticks as Nintendo's final destruction to joystick drift, an actually good WiFi/Bluetooth chip, 1080p 90hz display pretty please, a microphone (Nintendo DS had free online voice chat in 2006 with Pokemon Diamond and Pearl, no reason a 2024 console shouldn't or a paid online ransom scam subscription when Steam exists!), return of virtual console and non-rentable legacy games for fair price (1/50 chance this happens I desperately want it though), an Internet browser, massively upgraded basically different from the original Joycon 2s without the camera (taking some of innovations from VR industry controllers and Dual Sense 5), low quality but low latency reverse Wii U radio custom miracast streaming purely for legacy games such as some Nintendo DS and Wii U titles
@luckyseven Cool! I hope you enjoy it!! I just bought myself some storage for my Wii U myself, I've been meaning to get around to homebrewing it but I haven't yet. Want to make sure I do everything right
I want Four Swords and Triforce Heroes most personally. Think they'd be perfect fits on the Switch and you could easily do tv split screen and local multiplayer modes with cheap copies.
Most of the other games I can already easily play on other stuff
Speaking from personal experience big Japanese companies may pay a lot less in mid to high positions than their international counterparts but they are usually a lot more stable with better insurance benefits. You don't have to worry about getting laid off and they're usually a nicer place to grow into staying long term if you want. It's all trade offs in what's a good place for you though. And I am sure different companies are different. Bet Konami employees are treated differently in some ways than Nintendo for example. Just my experience
I just hope they do a couple more of the old style too. Same with Mario. I love Odyssey and BOTW as much as their prior games but I want a Mario 64 DS type sequel and a OoT/Majora's Mask style new game eventually.
I love BOTW and Tears of the Kingdom, but I want both kinds of sequels and new things occasionally. It's okay if they mostly focus on the larger scale stuff if they want just hope they throw us a bone occasionally for the older 3D style games as I still think there's cool things they can do I want to see
While I doubt it's as time sensitive and planned as most people think... and I wouldn't be let down if it doesn't happen yet I feel like we are about time for a new Mario game soon. Like a 2D or 3D one. Although I think they would save a new style 2D one to sell a new console
@Baler I get where your coming from but I instantly had fun when I started playing the game. I guess maybe it just isn't the kind of game for everyone but I think most people will really enjoy it like normal
@Baler Yeah, easily, it's a ton of fun from what I've heard/experienced. I think Nintendo Life even had it as GOTY from a couple of their lead editors.
From what I have seen a large portion people even prefer it to 2016. But regardless it's still a very amazing game from everything I have seen/played.
It's kind of like BOTW though in a way that BOTW has a system, the more controversial durability system and you kind of have to give in to what the developers want you to do (losing your weapons and living off the land for BOTW's case), with doom eternal you have to give into learning how to fight the enemies weaknesses. But apparently once you do that it's a ton of fun; and the game is straight up better than Doom 2016 in most ways anyways. Take this all with a grain of salt though. I own both games but haven't gotten very far into them I am going things I have heard and what siblings and my research/experience has told me
Original launch ambassador program 3ds then a new 3ds xl I picked up at the very end when I realized it was my last chance to get something at a reasonable price
@gergelyv sorry for the late reply! Glad you enjoyed it 😊.
Top-down balance is when you prioritize balancing for the "upper/higher" ranks/elo and/or sometimes organized pro play.
How much you bias towards a certain skill rating target of the the playerbase or if you bias at all is an important question to consider. It depends on a TON of things.
Some PvP games do "top-down" balance because in their game the meta doesn't really matter outside of the "higher" ranks. Maybe in their game getting your footing and learning is more important and what makes the meta meta is near impossible to execute properly in the lower ranks.
But other games can have multiple different metas develop across different ranks/platforms too which make things all the more complicated. Certain weapons might actually be disproportionately stronger in the lower ranks rather than the higher ranks. "How do you help everyone across all the ranks balancing in game design?" could be a college textbook in itself. Many hardcore players even struggle to come up with solutions for problems that involve multiple ranks and some question whether certain things should remain a little weaker at certain ranks or if it's even possible to fix them. Although, I believe you can successfully balance for both a lot of the time even if balance is usually a little more important/meangingful in the upper ranks.
As for fun that's the million dollar question... I don't know, I think it might be you know it when you see it 😄. Some developers go off of they know something must be fun when they can't stop playing it themselves even in their off-time. Maybe you want to reward players for helping team members or working together for example which you think might make the game more fun for everyone.
Let me know if you have anymore questions, I am paying attention to my replies now. I have enjoyed answering these Although it takes a little longer to write out my thoughts versuses conversation where it comes more naturally.
They are all really good. This is a hard choice. Milk chocolate is what I am in the mood for and tastes the best most of the time. But dark chocolate is also pretty fun often. And white chocolate also tastes good as long as it's in a good cookie.
@Vyacheslav333 This is a wack take to me. Good localization can often be better than just translation for some cases like Splatoon's Octo Expansion where I much prefer the NA English versions writing most of the time even though I can read Japanese. The NA version's end is more nuanced and dark I like the writing better for most situations.
Sure I can get behind arguing against censorship vast majority of cases and you don't want to water down the original versions character or the author's/maker's intentions. But localization is essential for many situations so the game is more entertaining (many things simply can't be translated due to language structural limitations) and you don't have bad situations where you say that one word that is an extreme slur in UK but is no more offensive than the "goofy" everywhere else in the world in Mario Party, or that one gesture in Mariokart. Yeah you don't want anything dumb changed though like food in Pokèmon tv show, why not share culture and show both instead of changing it?
@gergelyv You would be correct in saying it's all of this. As well as possibly tournaments a little sometimes. They have a ton of data available to them from the game though mostly. There's a lot of advanced data analysis and interpretation that goes into making good game balance. The direction the developers want to take the game is also important, as their are a lot of potential solutions to problems and you can be very creative. Public perception can also mean a lot in balance, but at the same time raw data can be misleading you have to account for survivorship bias and other statistical traps. Raw data is useless on it's own, it requires proper analysis; so you could say there's a skill gap on how good a person is at interpreting it. There's also a large philosophy aspect to game balance. How much do you balance for "fun?" Variety? Bias top-down? All ranks? How do you want your game to be? What do you want it to play like? How do you want to keep your players most happy? How do you weigh all of this and your own bias? How does map design come into play? Etc.
I don't work for Nintendo or a AAA game studio balancing but I have a lot of experience in competitive gaming and would imagine a lot of their balancing comes from looking at/interpreting data, experimenting with dev builds, their own experience testing, player feedback, and in house testing. Although, I would pretty confidently imagine they really don't have massive size in house testing usually, I could be wrong.
There's another famous example of a Bungie developer changing the sound of a weapon that players reported felt weak and the players funnily thought it was stronger after, so there's that too. Some developers think around the approach of how do we make something as fun to play and as fun to play against as possible, but I would imagine every developer has a slightly different approach in game balance/design.
Lot of good changes and some bad one's.
I really like the angleshooter + tacticooler buff and the fixes + brella fixes and most of the weapon changes are good.
For the bad:
Even as a Splashomatic player I was rooting for that weapon to get nerfed it's insane they didn't touch it some teams are running 3 of them.
As much as the crab is one of my favorite specials it needed heavier nerfs. Crab should still be good but 3/4 teammates having them being meta is too much
I wanted Machine nerfs at launch now I would argue we don't need them and they are going overboard on nerfing it.
As much as I love it the 52 Gal it was in a good spot and did not need to be buffed. (This is concerning sign)
No Undercover Brella buff 😥 sorry undercover fans we'll stand by you until it gets buffed
Splatershot pro probably could've used a minor buff too
Worried the Tristrike damage buff might hard counter booyah bomb too much, as much as Tristrike is my favorite special in the game I don't want it to ruin another special in the pursuit of countering crab
Will wait and see how the patch turns out in practice though
I don't understand why they are shutting down the service entirely from a financial perspective. Even if we had to sit in a long waiting queue and there was only a tiny part of the server running with a max of 50 people on the eShop at the same time with Nintendo saying they will shut the service down if the cost of the server outpaces sales generated in a month, people would still love that, and take it over just ending. Sure there is support, rating systems, electricity, and payment processing, but it's not like that really can take a lot and Nintendo never does refunds or anything anyways. Maintenance on the servers/security must really be a burden I guess
Maybe there's some dumb idea that the old systems HAVE to stop being supported though and fully be moved on from rather than downscaled. I would argue that Nintendo Switch Online massive fat profits should partially go to legacy console support though. People would be a lot more supportive of the subscription if they did that even as a PR move. The same way as Microsoft remastering and trying to get every single Xbox game emulated/running on newer consoles at higher frame rates/resolution for no additional costs with two dedicated dev teams, and was able to accomplish it for every game besides the games where the publishers were jerks and didn't want their game to work on new consoles
@blindsquarel ah I see what you mean actually. Don't worry though this is a really cool official program they run where fans can submit their sets and vote on them and then work with the actual Lego team to get it made into a real set when they reach a certain amount of votes. Tons and tons of them get made into Lego sets under the Lego Ideas Brand I think.
Comments 81
Re: Video: Digital Foundry Delivers Its Cyberpunk 2077 Tech Review On Switch 2
It's so crazy some people here are actually silly enough to think Digital Foundry has an agenda against Nintendo. They have consistently praised Nintendo's rare attention to detail and polish. Their dev interviews of Luigi Mansion Dark Moon on the 3DS way back in the day got me to first really appreciate all the engineering and hard work that goes into Nintendo games and consoles.
Re: Feature: "It's Huge For Us" - Devs Talk Switch 2 Reactions, Dev-Kit Disparity, Future Plans
@Jester676 Honestly I don't know how you got any of those interpretations off those answers. Are you just joking being sarcastic and I am missing it? If you don't know much about tech, you should have someone let you know the Switch 2 won't be as powerful as the PS5 even though it has a more modern architecture with more modern architecture features. That's for various valid reasons involving it being a portable system, but that's okay! It will still be an amazing system and a big upgrade.
The mid-gen refresh OLED thing is a seperate point they made from battery life. They were just essentially saying they are really excited for this one and it'd be cool if down the line an even nicer variant came out with an upgraded screen and more battery life in several years. Like what Nintendo did for the New 3DS and the Switch OLED. That's perfectly reasonable, node size of available CPU die will shrink in the future years so it's likely they can get a smaller processor with the same performance and get more battery life. Screens will almost always get cheaper normally meaning a nicer one could hypothetically come down in price enough eventually to be included in a new console variant at a reason price.
The whole "key-card" thing is overblown, they were on the Switch 1 too. Only difference being they were download codes in empty boxes. These new key cards are purely an upgrade over the old download code in box option because you can sell them or buy them used. I don't think a developer not being sure if they will do a physical release of their game or physical only means key cards guaranteed anymore than Switch 1 and download codes only in physical release. Physical releases and getting cards is expensive to pay for comparitively for smaller publishers from what I understand.
Lastly I think it's fair to say the Switch 2 is safer play by Nintendo. Yes there are a lot new stuff, but it's not a complete reinvention like the Wii U to the Switch.
Re: Poll: Which Pokémon Game Really Deserves A Remake Next?
All of the mainline games and Pokemon Conquest are deserving of ports or rereleased, remasters, remakes, sequels or something; but I think none of them would get one of those to the quality they deserve.
I will say it. There's a alternate universe timeline where I think it could be possible for an awesome Pokemon HGSS or BW etc. Remaster to come out WHILE sticking to the franchise conventions and be the best game to release from the franchise history in a decade and a half but we aren't in that timeline, unfortunately. I wish I could direct one of those projects.
Re: "Nintendo Is Probably The Easiest To Scam" - Devs Discuss The Current State Of The eShop
I don't expect the eShop to be even a tenth the quality of Steam in terms of features but they could at least match the Wii U and 3DS quality which had basic ratings systems, user tags, user difficultly rating even if incredibly rudimentary. The Switch eShop is so slow and a step down. If they could get to the level of something like Better eShop for Switch 2 that'd be amazing. I don't even mind the slop just give me tools to filter it and avoid it if I want. Throw in a music toggle too sure for people that like it
Re: Nintendo Believes In "Giving Proper Credit" After Backlash Over Donkey Kong Country Returns HD
This on top of the recent reports of them not allowing translators, localization and some other workers to put their work on Nintendo games in their resumes with required NDAs is super gross.
It almost sounds like they are slowly reverting back to the times of anticompetitive control of trying to make it harder for employees to get jobs anywhere else that the entire video game industry used to be infamous for. Especially in the 70s and 80s the video game industry was infamous for not properly crediting people. That's where the first Easter eggs came from.
They put their idea of "the brand image" over the well-being and future livelihood of their employees. Believing the brand deserves recognition over individuals or crediting people. Whoever is pushing this at Nintendo recently, please stop.
Past leadership President Reggie and Satoru Iwata directly led against this. They believed in celebrating work of the people who made the games and holding them up. They would do constant developer interviews with designers and developers with "Iwata Asks" and videos, and even in Nintendo Directs. All those developer interviews have become massively less common in recent years outside of large releases and are more subtle when they do happen.
Re: Reaction: With Xenoblade Chronicles X On Switch, The Wii U's Demise Is Complete
Hmm so what's left for stuff I still like better with the Wii U or want brought forward...?
A non rental actually good virtual console? We desperately need a Nintendo Land sequel. More Zelda Wii U ports. Splatoon 1 port (that's sadly probably not going to happen). Heavy backwards compatibility catalogue support. Wii U gamepad was massively better in some games like Mario Maker, Nintendo Land, and Splatoon, as it was dual screen and had higher quality gyro sensors (apparently). Nintendo software ui charm still missing. But besides a few games, some prequels and virtual console I feel like we have gotten most of the great games playable on Wii U brought forward in some capacity thankfully. Xenoblade Chronicles X is another big one if it goes through to Switch
Re: Random: Kit And Krysta Pull Back The Curtain On Nintendo's "Controversial" Switch Teaser Photo
I didn't mind the photo. It was just a silly announcement saying it was almost time
Re: Splatoon 3's 'Grand Festival' Splatfest Kicks Off Tomorrow, Which Team Gets Your Vote?
Honestly I'd be happy with any of them winning. Splatoon 1 was the best/most fun game to me, but I love them all so much.
Re: Poll: Box Art Brawl: Pokémon Colosseum
For me I like the Japan cover best, then NA, then EU. But I do like the EU cover having desert you don't normally see that.
In terms of disks it's the opposite. I like EU disk best, then NA, then Japan.
Re: Review: World Of Goo 2 (Switch) - A Superb Sequel With A Few Sticking Points
I can still think of the original's iconic title theme whenever someone mentions this game. Will replay some of the remastered version at least on my phone. I don't know if I should get the PC or Switch version of this but it is definitely up there as a game to keep an eye on.
Re: Metroid Prime 4: Beyond Lead UI Artist Details Work On Samus' Visor And HUD
The HUD remind me of Star Wars Republic Commando in the best ways possible
Re: Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door Was Nintendo's "Best-Selling" Switch Game In May 2024 (US)
@YunoboCo Ghost of Tsushima is very well liked game. Everyone seems to love that game and the studio. The devs even got appointed ambassador's of the island in real life and they won some super hard to get cultural awards or something too
Re: Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection Update 3 Out Now On Switch, Here Are The Full Patch Notes
@RumblePak the single player and instant action has plenty of issues just the same as multiplayer. But will everyone notice them? I feel like this releases is both over and under hated at the same time. Many major issues people don't realize but also plenty that are way overstated.
It's just a shame they didn't reach out to the vast expertise of the og bf2 modding community. Most savy developers would in a similar case for their game. Instead they stole some guys work, got caught, then didn't credit him when it was in the game's early launch version. I am loving the game on my Switch too even if the port is not good, it's one of my all time favorite games regardless.
Glad they are fixing up the game now but they still should reach out to modders for consulting. There are saying plenty of low hanging fruit, easy fix things that would make a big difference if changed from what I understand.
Re: Talking Point: Would You Want Quality And Performance Options For Nintendo's 'Switch 2' Games?
Yes would love this! Especially considering the Switch 2 will probably have a 90-120hz screen since we are in 2024 and the console has to last awhile. For games that are easier to run or benefit more from it the option to run on performance would be amazing!
Say you have a 120hz TV and Splatoon 4 comes around. I would absolutely play that at a lower resolution for the more responsive/fun experience!
That said I disagree with the people who said 60fps is always better. I am fine with 30fps too for some games if it makes sense. (This is coming from someone that's a strong advocate of 240hz-480hz QD-OLED/W-OLED displays. Not everyone needs or can see that speed. Even if it is incredible for PC games like Overwatch and will be game changing for VR one day. In my opinion high motion clarity OLED 480fps/hz is around the point screens stop looking like screens and start looking like windows in real life.)
Re: Poll: Is $60 Too Much For Nintendo's Switch Re-Releases?
It depends. Generally I think it's too much for the re-releases, but it's not a hill I am going to die on. Metroid Prime Remastered is a gem and feels like a gift where they are underselling it to get people in to buy the newer games later. I would much rather they get rid of the paid online subscription when Valve/Steam has something unexaggerated x100 better that is also free while Nintendo charges money for an online service that is worse in some ways than what they offered for the original Nintendo DS/Wii/3DS/Wii U or much worse than ancient service competitors like the PS3/Xbox 360. That $1 billion USD they invested in online infrastructure hopefully will be better felt when the Switch 2 comes around. I really want them to get rid of them software locking online behind a subscription it's a scam
Re: The Countdown Begins! Splatoon 3's Apocalypse-Themed Splatfest Kicks Off This Weekend
So you're telling me there's a chance...
I would go save the day then
Re: Round Up: The Reviews Are In For Mario vs. Donkey Kong
@Clyde_Radcliffe That is a good point, maybe
Re: Round Up: The Reviews Are In For Mario vs. Donkey Kong
@Mando44646 You know what I would really want is a Nintendo Land sequel. That game was an underrated gem on the Wii U. If done properly on whatever their next system I honestly think I'd play it more than Mario kart in the rare occasions I meet up and play games in person with friends. Was such a fun game especially the Luigi's Mansion, Metroid, Zelda stuff
Re: Round Up: The Reviews Are In For Mario vs. Donkey Kong
Wonder why they didn't use Luigi instead of toads. Also I prefer the DS ones with the minis and level creator stuff. On the surface this seems way too simple, but idk I haven't actually tried it.
Re: When Will The First Nintendo Direct Of The Year Be? Let's Look To The Past
My guess is February or March and it will be a little on the lighter side of new first party stuff. Mostly third party, already announced (like Luigi's Mansion Dark Moon, Princess Peach game, etc.), and a fun couple ports thrown in. Unrelated but I'd love a Nintendo Land sequel someday or Tomodachi Life.
If I were Nintendo I'd want to save up stuff for the new console to make it's launch the best it could be.
Re: Feature: Why I Still Love My Wii U
We need a Nintendo Land sequel. That game is so fun with other people. Even just little parts of it like the Luigi's Mansion or Mario tag game or Metroid and Zelda we're great and criminally underrated.
Re: Feature: Why I Still Love My Wii U
I wonder what would've happened if Nintendo went the hyper expensive route and made the console way more expensive but with same specs as Xbox One and PS4. I am sure it still wouldn't have been a success but it might've gotten more third party support like EA Star Wars Battlefront
Re: Poll: Do You Think We'll See Hollow Knight: Silksong This Year?
It'll probably be at one of those Microsoft Xbox "directs" again right? I thought Microsoft was already paying them to put include it on game pass sometime. Probably come out in a year or two or something like that. Idk I'll enjoy it when it arrives but I'm not stressing about it, hope the people on the development team are doing well themselves
Re: Talking Point: Which Nintendo IP Should 'Switch 2' Launch With?
@Moistnado I don't think Nintendo bases their whole console design around trying to reduce piracy. They aren't Microsoft with the Xbox 360.
Besides it's super ineffective if that's what they are trying. It's extremely easy to emulate dual screen games, both on PC and phones. Imo some games like Pokemon Heart Gold/White or Pokemon Conquest are actually better experiences on phones versus their DS counterparts. (After putting hundreds of hours into and deeply loving both then replaying them on Drastic with my phone's significantly better screen, stylus and audio versus DS/3DS)
I believe Nintendo goes with dual monitor/screen gaming because they genuinely believe in the fun and unique experiences it provides. Splatoon 1 is the absolute perfect example, as well as Pokemon games and simple stuff like Mario 64 DS or Wind Waker HD. Sure that stuff works fine without dual screens, but dual screens make it better especially in Splatoon 1's case.
Normal USB usually is pretty awful standard for video streaming unfortunately but Switch is an exception it's not normal plain old USB-C. I just wonder if the motherboard/system is wired to handle outputting to two screens at once. Nintendo doesn't even bother allowing support for 4K output on YouTube even though the Switch should technically be able to do it like the Nvidia Shield that came before it. I would love an attachment like you suggest. I just hope games would support it.
Re: Soapbox: 'Switch 2' Doesn't Really Need Backwards Compatibility
I want backwards compatibility so we don't have to start over from scratch with ports of old games. I think it would be good to leverage the continued brand/money already spent on developing software for Switch and move it forward to use to the next consoles advantage.
While I don't think backwards compatibility is strictly necessary to have a successful console, I think having it would be very good for us consumers and Nintendo long term. They might see not being able to re-sell copies of old Switch games as "upgraded/up-ressed ports" as a lost revenue, but I believe that is very short sighted and Nintendo is smarter than that.
If Nintendo doesn't include backwards compatibility on there next console it will be due to hardware limitations and making the console affordable rather than that imo. I think it is most likely that the next console is backwards compatible though, at least through backwards compatibility patches similar to PS4→PS5, where 98% of the games work, big first party games get free up-ressed next gen versions (just like PS5 and Xbox Series did), and some 3rd party developers might charge fees for you to unlock the next gen version but you can still play the old one
Re: Random: AMOLED 3DS Concept Shown Off At Tokyo Game Show 2023
My eyes aren't as good as when I was a kid for 3D vs now. But when I was a kid I used 3D 100% of the time at max percent. The effect worked incredibly well on my eyes
Re: Random: AMOLED 3DS Concept Shown Off At Tokyo Game Show 2023
Been wondering what one of these with more modern tech would look like nowadays. Is super cool to see!
Re: Mario + Rabbids Sparks Of Hope Dev Is "Not Worried" About Game's Initial Sales
For me I think a lot of people bought the first game after hearing how amazing it was but haven't gotten around to finishing it yet or it's in their backlog. So they haven't run out to buy the second game yet. At least that's the case for me. The dev who directed this was super wholesome though, I wish him the best and hope they are able to make a third one when it's ready
Re: Talking Point: Which Nintendo IP Should 'Switch 2' Launch With?
@Moistnado Well this is assuming it'd be a whole new console not just a Switch Pro. You'd need some kind of radio receiver in the dock. That said I don't think it'd be too hard to emulate select Wii U games on a next gen console if a proper layer is set up. I mean plenty of my friends play Switch games emulated on their phones now! I mean those are $900 phones with much more powerful processors but the fact they can easily do it now is still crazy to me.
That said the Meta Quest 3 VR headset is launching with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Processor and equivalent flagship mobile GPU this year for only $499. That thing is more than capable of emulating Switch games it's crazy. Makes me more excited for whatever Nintendo's future console will be seeing stuff like that, Valve's Steam Deck, Asus ROG Ally, etc. Competition is heating up and tech has gone so far since the Switch launched. I hope Nintendo's next console is a little more premium priced maybe with the normal model being $499 like the PS5, then have it include a 90hz display. More budget model at $399 then that has cut down features
Re: Talking Point: Which Nintendo IP Should 'Switch 2' Launch With?
Maybe a few things from this list:
New Mario Kart ★★★★★ (most obvious pick)
More open world Bowser's Fury style 3D Mario
Mario Odyssey 2
More linear 3D Mario (I may slightly want a more sandboxy Mario 64/64DS/Sunshine/Odyssey one but this is okay and I would still absolutely love it)
Backwards compatibility patches for old big first party games (starting with a few big ones like old Pokemon, BOTW, Smash, etc.)
Eventually Metroid Prime 4
Something miscellaneous but loved classic like Nintendo Land 2
Maybe a new 2D Zelda in first year
OoT port
Miscellaneous new pick about consoles upgraded controls/features
Revival of Wii classic franchises (Wii Tanks/Fit/Sports anyone? New console will have more personality loveable charm like DS-Wii [and to a lesser extent 3DS-Wii U too] and somewhat more speed like Switch)
Some desired 3rd party titles
Pokemon spin-off something
PS4/Xbox One game
Miscellanious Mario Sports game that actually looks good
We will NOT be getting a new Smash, Twilight Princess, Wind Waker, new 3d Zelda, Fzero
A highly desired by me new Splatoon 1 style Splatoon 4 will take a couple years after launch
Switch has already started to support AMD's FSR in recent titles like TOTK but the successor console will bring native DLSS 3.0 support through new cores and more modern architecture features. I am hoping for analog haptic dual sense 5 style triggers (for racing fans)[they probably won't be nearly as good but still], hall-effect joysticks as Nintendo's final destruction to joystick drift, an actually good WiFi/Bluetooth chip, 1080p 90hz display pretty please, a microphone (Nintendo DS had free online voice chat in 2006 with Pokemon Diamond and Pearl, no reason a 2024 console shouldn't or a paid online ransom scam subscription when Steam exists!), return of virtual console and non-rentable legacy games for fair price (1/50 chance this happens I desperately want it though), an Internet browser, massively upgraded basically different from the original Joycon 2s without the camera (taking some of innovations from VR industry controllers and Dual Sense 5), low quality but low latency reverse Wii U radio custom miracast streaming purely for legacy games such as some Nintendo DS and Wii U titles
Re: After 5 Months, Mario Kart 8 And Splatoon Are Finally Going Back Online For Wii U
@luckyseven Cool! I hope you enjoy it!! I just bought myself some storage for my Wii U myself, I've been meaning to get around to homebrewing it but I haven't yet. Want to make sure I do everything right
Re: After 5 Months, Mario Kart 8 And Splatoon Are Finally Going Back Online For Wii U
@luckyseven buy a cheap hard drive to get more storage. It's worth it for Splatoon trust me
Re: After 5 Months, Mario Kart 8 And Splatoon Are Finally Going Back Online For Wii U
Yesssssss! I'm so happy about this. Splatoon 1 is still my favorite game of the series. Gonna play it when I get home from vacation
Re: Feature: So, Which Zelda Games Aren't On Switch Yet?
I want Four Swords and Triforce Heroes most personally. Think they'd be perfect fits on the Switch and you could easily do tv split screen and local multiplayer modes with cheap copies.
Most of the other games I can already easily play on other stuff
Re: Nintendo 2023 Annual Report Reveals Director Salaries Are Still Modest For The Industry
Speaking from personal experience big Japanese companies may pay a lot less in mid to high positions than their international counterparts but they are usually a lot more stable with better insurance benefits. You don't have to worry about getting laid off and they're usually a nicer place to grow into staying long term if you want. It's all trade offs in what's a good place for you though. And I am sure different companies are different. Bet Konami employees are treated differently in some ways than Nintendo for example. Just my experience
Re: Expect More Open-World Zelda Games Going Forwards, Suggests Eiji Aonuma
I just hope they do a couple more of the old style too. Same with Mario. I love Odyssey and BOTW as much as their prior games but I want a Mario 64 DS type sequel and a OoT/Majora's Mask style new game eventually.
I love BOTW and Tears of the Kingdom, but I want both kinds of sequels and new things occasionally. It's okay if they mostly focus on the larger scale stuff if they want just hope they throw us a bone occasionally for the older 3D style games as I still think there's cool things they can do I want to see
Re: Creatures Inc. Undertakes A Significant Change In Leadership
Huh, interesting. Now time to go to the comments where people will read into it too much
Re: Miyamoto On New Mario Game: "Please Stay Tuned For Future Nintendo Directs"
While I doubt it's as time sensitive and planned as most people think... and I wouldn't be let down if it doesn't happen yet I feel like we are about time for a new Mario game soon. Like a 2D or 3D one. Although I think they would save a new style 2D one to sell a new console
Re: Switch eShop's Massive Bethesda Sale Includes Skyrim For "Lowest Price Ever" (US)
@Baler I get where your coming from but I instantly had fun when I started playing the game. I guess maybe it just isn't the kind of game for everyone but I think most people will really enjoy it like normal
Re: Switch eShop's Massive Bethesda Sale Includes Skyrim For "Lowest Price Ever" (US)
@Baler Yeah, easily, it's a ton of fun from what I've heard/experienced. I think Nintendo Life even had it as GOTY from a couple of their lead editors.
From what I have seen a large portion people even prefer it to 2016. But regardless it's still a very amazing game from everything I have seen/played.
It's kind of like BOTW though in a way that BOTW has a system, the more controversial durability system and you kind of have to give in to what the developers want you to do (losing your weapons and living off the land for BOTW's case), with doom eternal you have to give into learning how to fight the enemies weaknesses. But apparently once you do that it's a ton of fun; and the game is straight up better than Doom 2016 in most ways anyways. Take this all with a grain of salt though. I own both games but haven't gotten very far into them I am going things I have heard and what siblings and my research/experience has told me
Re: Poll: How Many 3DS Consoles Have You Owned?
Original launch ambassador program 3ds then a new 3ds xl I picked up at the very end when I realized it was my last chance to get something at a reasonable price
Re: Splatoon 3 Version 2.1.0 Is Now Live, Here Are The Full Patch Notes
@gergelyv sorry for the late reply! Glad you enjoyed it 😊.
Top-down balance is when you prioritize balancing for the "upper/higher" ranks/elo and/or sometimes organized pro play.
How much you bias towards a certain skill rating target of the the playerbase or if you bias at all is an important question to consider. It depends on a TON of things.
Some PvP games do "top-down" balance because in their game the meta doesn't really matter outside of the "higher" ranks. Maybe in their game getting your footing and learning is more important and what makes the meta meta is near impossible to execute properly in the lower ranks.
But other games can have multiple different metas develop across different ranks/platforms too which make things all the more complicated. Certain weapons might actually be disproportionately stronger in the lower ranks rather than the higher ranks. "How do you help everyone across all the ranks balancing in game design?" could be a college textbook in itself. Many hardcore players even struggle to come up with solutions for problems that involve multiple ranks and some question whether certain things should remain a little weaker at certain ranks or if it's even possible to fix them. Although, I believe you can successfully balance for both a lot of the time even if balance is usually a little more important/meangingful in the upper ranks.
As for fun that's the million dollar question... I don't know, I think it might be you know it when you see it 😄. Some developers go off of they know something must be fun when they can't stop playing it themselves even in their off-time. Maybe you want to reward players for helping team members or working together for example which you think might make the game more fun for everyone.
Let me know if you have anymore questions, I am paying attention to my replies now. I have enjoyed answering these Although it takes a little longer to write out my thoughts versuses conversation where it comes more naturally.
Re: Splatoon 3's Next Splatfest Is On The Way, Which Team Will You Pick?
They are all really good. This is a hard choice. Milk chocolate is what I am in the mood for and tastes the best most of the time. But dark chocolate is also pretty fun often. And white chocolate also tastes good as long as it's in a good cookie.
Re: Best Fire Emblem Games Of All Time
@Vyacheslav333 This is a wack take to me. Good localization can often be better than just translation for some cases like Splatoon's Octo Expansion where I much prefer the NA English versions writing most of the time even though I can read Japanese. The NA version's end is more nuanced and dark I like the writing better for most situations.
Sure I can get behind arguing against censorship vast majority of cases and you don't want to water down the original versions character or the author's/maker's intentions. But localization is essential for many situations so the game is more entertaining (many things simply can't be translated due to language structural limitations) and you don't have bad situations where you say that one word that is an extreme slur in UK but is no more offensive than the "goofy" everywhere else in the world in Mario Party, or that one gesture in Mariokart. Yeah you don't want anything dumb changed though like food in Pokèmon tv show, why not share culture and show both instead of changing it?
Re: Splatoon 3 Version 2.1.0 Is Now Live, Here Are The Full Patch Notes
@gergelyv You would be correct in saying it's all of this. As well as possibly tournaments a little sometimes. They have a ton of data available to them from the game though mostly. There's a lot of advanced data analysis and interpretation that goes into making good game balance. The direction the developers want to take the game is also important, as their are a lot of potential solutions to problems and you can be very creative. Public perception can also mean a lot in balance, but at the same time raw data can be misleading you have to account for survivorship bias and other statistical traps. Raw data is useless on it's own, it requires proper analysis; so you could say there's a skill gap on how good a person is at interpreting it. There's also a large philosophy aspect to game balance. How much do you balance for "fun?" Variety? Bias top-down? All ranks? How do you want your game to be? What do you want it to play like? How do you want to keep your players most happy? How do you weigh all of this and your own bias? How does map design come into play? Etc.
I don't work for Nintendo or a AAA game studio balancing but I have a lot of experience in competitive gaming and would imagine a lot of their balancing comes from looking at/interpreting data, experimenting with dev builds, their own experience testing, player feedback, and in house testing. Although, I would pretty confidently imagine they really don't have massive size in house testing usually, I could be wrong.
There's another famous example of a Bungie developer changing the sound of a weapon that players reported felt weak and the players funnily thought it was stronger after, so there's that too. Some developers think around the approach of how do we make something as fun to play and as fun to play against as possible, but I would imagine every developer has a slightly different approach in game balance/design.
Re: Splatoon 3 Version 2.1.0 Is Now Live, Here Are The Full Patch Notes
Lot of good changes and some bad one's.
I really like the angleshooter + tacticooler buff and the fixes + brella fixes and most of the weapon changes are good.
For the bad:
Even as a Splashomatic player I was rooting for that weapon to get nerfed it's insane they didn't touch it some teams are running 3 of them.
As much as the crab is one of my favorite specials it needed heavier nerfs. Crab should still be good but 3/4 teammates having them being meta is too much
I wanted Machine nerfs at launch now I would argue we don't need them and they are going overboard on nerfing it.
As much as I love it the 52 Gal it was in a good spot and did not need to be buffed. (This is concerning sign)
No Undercover Brella buff 😥 sorry undercover fans we'll stand by you until it gets buffed
Splatershot pro probably could've used a minor buff too
Worried the Tristrike damage buff might hard counter booyah bomb too much, as much as Tristrike is my favorite special in the game I don't want it to ruin another special in the pursuit of countering crab
Will wait and see how the patch turns out in practice though
Re: Quiz: Which Of These Games Is On Switch?
I love this idea for fun quizzes! They should do more these
Re: Quiz: Which Of These Games Is On Switch?
18/24 LET'S GO
Re: Random: Indie Dev Giving Away Free Game Codes Until Nintendo Closes Wii U & 3DS eShops
I don't understand why they are shutting down the service entirely from a financial perspective. Even if we had to sit in a long waiting queue and there was only a tiny part of the server running with a max of 50 people on the eShop at the same time with Nintendo saying they will shut the service down if the cost of the server outpaces sales generated in a month, people would still love that, and take it over just ending. Sure there is support, rating systems, electricity, and payment processing, but it's not like that really can take a lot and Nintendo never does refunds or anything anyways. Maintenance on the servers/security must really be a burden I guess
Maybe there's some dumb idea that the old systems HAVE to stop being supported though and fully be moved on from rather than downscaled. I would argue that Nintendo Switch Online massive fat profits should partially go to legacy console support though. People would be a lot more supportive of the subscription if they did that even as a PR move. The same way as Microsoft remastering and trying to get every single Xbox game emulated/running on newer consoles at higher frame rates/resolution for no additional costs with two dedicated dev teams, and was able to accomplish it for every game besides the games where the publishers were jerks and didn't want their game to work on new consoles
Re: Random: Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Lego Ideas Set Qualifies For Official Review
@blindsquarel ah I see what you mean actually. Don't worry though this is a really cool official program they run where fans can submit their sets and vote on them and then work with the actual Lego team to get it made into a real set when they reach a certain amount of votes. Tons and tons of them get made into Lego sets under the Lego Ideas Brand I think.