ZonaiResearcher

@Res462 The impact of budget was overstated by people on forums, comments, and Reddit. Stop it. Switch 2 had the biggest console launch in the history of gaming. People are buying it and they're not fazed by their "budgets."

@hegelka Nintendo bringing back support for a game they ended service for last year is a strong indication that a Splatoon 4 is far away, at least 1 year at minimum, possibly 2.

Not a surprise really, he has moved on to theme parks and movies and doesn't work on development at all anymore. He admitted he is still involved with character designs but that's about it.

I liked Genki's Covert Dock, but I can't support them anymore after what they did to Nintendo earlier this year. This review reads like a paid sponsorship.

@Hwatt Except, Bloomberg found 11 developers in 2021 who were working on 4K games for Nintendo Switch, including Zynga which was named on the record. You have to ask if it's possible for 11 different developers to be lying in separate conversations with Bloomberg. Or, perhaps Nintendo originally planned to have a PS5/PS5 Pro style split with the T239 chip before deciding to make Switch 2 a completely separate generation.

This article is missing needed context from the Geekerwan video, which is that they compared the 2021 tapeout of Switch 2 to an Nvidia RTX 3050, which was taped out in 2020 and released in 2021. PS5 was taped out in 2018, 2 years before launch. So a 1-2 year gap between tape out and release is standard. Switch 2's custom CPU was taped out 4 years before release, which is very unusual.

When Switch 1 released with Nvidia Maxwell, it was 1 generation behind Pascal, their latest. Now Switch 2 is Ampere, 2 generations behind the latest Blackwell GPU. This may not be an issue now, but when PS6 and the next Xbox launch in 2-3 years, Switch 2 will struggle more as a result of the generation gap.

I liked Wind Waker HD but I'm not interested in the original version with the even longer Triforce Quest and the other QoL flaws which Nintendo patched out in 2013. It's fine to keep the original version for historical reasons but we should get WWHD in 4K for Switch 2.

When they made WWHD, they admitted to some faults in the original like sailing taking too long, needing to use The Wind Waker every time you wanted to change direction, and the Triforce Quest getting padded out because they couldn't finish developing dungeons and had to drop some. Going back to OG WW as the only option is a step backwards. Plus, in Nintendo's eyes, Wii U never existed, so WWHD and TPHD also don't exist unless they port them to Switch/Switch 2.

Now we've seen the real Switch 2 footage. I hope IGN learned something, some members of NVC kept insisting Nintendo wouldn't make a separate Switch 2 version.

I'm disappointed we didn't get a new 3D Mario or a look at a new Splatoon game. Splatoon 4 with better netcode and 120Hz support would be amazing. For everyone complaining about the C button, the point is to use it mainly in online play games for which you already need Nintendo Switch Online. It's not like you're paying money just for the online chat feature. Plus it's going to be free for almost a year after launch.

C for Communication? I think NVC said they could be bringing StreetPass to Switch 2 using the Joy-Con and the C button could be what turns on that functionality. Maybe you press the C button and fist bump someone to exchange information about their profile and Miis, things like that.

I think this is a no-brainer that Nintendo would only show Switch 1 footage in a Direct where they said they would share no Switch 2 news. We already saw Metroid Prime Remastered running at ~1080p in 60fps and that is a port of a GameCube game running the original code with models and new assets made by 3rd-party studios. A from-scratch game from Retro in the same engine will of course look better, but that doesn't mean it's next-gen.

I've been saying for months that Nintendo needed to announce Switch 2 around the time mass production started or they would risk deflating the hype if the system was leaked. And that's exactly what's happening now, a lot of people are commenting "it just looks like a bigger Switch," when we don't know the capabilities of the system and what DLSS and other new technologies in it will bring. A lot of people react negatively to Apple events nowadays because all the big reveals are spoiled ahead of time, so people have baked-in reactions to them.

I don't believe Genki was actually visited in person by Nintendo's lawyers. Nintendo wasn't even attending CES. Most likely, they got an email from Nintendo's legal team asking them why they're claiming to have seen Switch 2 when they haven't signed an NDA. And they would've wanted to know what Genki's source was for the accessories. Possession of stolen hardware is a crime even if they weren't the ones who stole it.

@-wc- It totally is. But later Nvidia GPU architectures aren't backwards compatible with Maxwell used in Switch 1. So it's fair to call it 'Switch 2' and a new generation. Nintendo would have had to write a translation layer to get backwards compatibility to work.

It's also available for preorder on Amazon UK for ￡190/￡126 depending on if you get the Limited Edition or Standard Edition.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Legend-Zelda-Kingdom-Original-Soundtrack/dp/B0D2RZGSTS/

@AlanaHagues The PS5 total unit sales are wrong.. the weekly sales are just listed twice.

One of the greatest Directs I’ve ever seen! Full of all-new first-party announcements, lots of surprises, and the Metroid Prime 4 showstopper at the end! If they had put this Direct out a year ago, no one would even be talking about Switch 2.

YES! Let's goooooooo!

Nintendo shattered my expectations, and then set them on fire! WHAT. A. DIRECT! One of the greatest Directs I've seen in years

@Arawn93 This is good news for the Direct, it means we can exclude "Mario movie based filler" from the Direct and look forward to 40 minutes of actual game content.

This is Miyamoto.

I think Threads has already taken over the market as far as Twitter/X alternatives are concerned. Threads had open access while BlueSky was still invite-only, so it squandered its first-mover advantage. And the ActivityPub work being done means that Threads/Mastodon will be able to see each other's posts.

Luigi's Mansion 2 needs to have its own category because it's a lower effort title being a remaster. Paper Mario was remade from the ground up. Even the eShop doesn't try to pretend Luigi's Mansion 2 is anything other than a remaster.

@wiiware Metroid Prime uses the original GameCube code, so it was VERY low budget compared to something like Super Mario RPG or Paper Mario TTYD where everything had to be recreated from scratch.

@Keman People say it's not a delay, but Nintendo told third-party developers to expect a 2024 launch, then communicated to them later that the launch was pushed to 2025. So it is a delay in that sense. The third parties have to be given information on when the system launches so they can coordinate their releases.

@Total_Weirdo The codenames can help when discussing upcoming games online, like instead of "The next Mario party game" if you can say "Banquet" makes things easier and more focused.

I think get ready for The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD and Twilight Princess HD dual pack, and the Metroid Prime 2 and Metroid Prime 3 HD releases, to gear up for Metroid Prime 4, which could be the big holiday release, if it's not shifted to 2025.

@Andy_Witmyer It's similar to "Folks, it's President Biden." but more formal.
"Shachō no Furukawadesu" means President Furukawa, this is in literal translation, but the way it is translated correctly would be "This is President Furukawa." I think it's their way of saying the message comes from the top and not a social media employee like the infamous Atlus West intern.

These comments are hilarious. Y’all completely forgot about MagSafe? Apple and third parties have been making magnetic cases, magnetic battery packs, magnetic PopSockets, and magnetic car phone holders for YEARS. Joy-Cons are much lighter than an iPhone. It’s completely possible for Nintendo to make magnetically secured Joy-Cons.

The Joy-Cons need to continue to be detachable for ease of repair. Imagine if they were fixed and drifting, would be much more expensive and inconvenient to get fixed. On those lines, Pro Controller should have easily replaceable sticks as well. T239 is locked because Nvidia is definitely making the chip for Switch 2 and their own commits and the need for a custom chip means there’s nothing else to fill that need. 8” screen is also basically locked at this point because of multiple sources with good track records confirming. LCD over OLED makes sense for pricing the entry level version as well. Even now we have an LCD and OLED Switch. We know CPU/GPU/RAM/SSD will all be improved with Switch 2 so price going from $300 to $400 is inevitable. Since Nintendo profits on console sales they won’t eat the margins to make OLED happen.

@westman98 Exactly! last year's survey had a 0% rate of Switch 2 mentions

@rotekps_aniger Switch 2 confirmed huh 😉

Switch 2 is not a creative name but it makes it clear it's "the next one" and frankly much better than the whole Xbox One -> Xbox Series S/Xbox Series X names.

Dr. Toto advises investors and works with game developers. So he's well-placed to know information like this. By "iterative," I believe he's indicating the new console will be like the PS4->PS5 leap where we get a boost in power and graphics capability but not with a new "gimmick" like we had with Wii or Wii U. So this bodes well for backwards compatibility.

"Super Mario Bors. Wonder"

It's Super Mario Bros. Wonder

I am expecting Switch 2 to launch in Spring 2024 with a new 3D Mario game and an enhanced port of ToTK. That could be why they aren't doing DLC for ToTK, instead they will release a Switch 2 version that shows off some of the Switch 2's new capabilities like 60fps and 4K. Metroid Prime 4 will also be moved to Switch 2, that much is clear. January unveil is also pretty likely. However, it's worth noting that Sony announced the PS5 in April 2019 and Microsoft announced Xbox Series X/S in December 2019, before Christmas. The announcement doesn't seem to have affected PS4 sales at the time that much.

@vyseofhr It will be comparable to a PS5 when docked, using DLSS to upscale from lower resolutions to 1440p or 4K. When in handheld mode it will be probably similar to Steam Deck power.

@Keman Sounds like you don't understand the buzzwords you're name-dropping. From Eurogamer: "Control possesses one of the most fully featured ray tracing implementations seen in any game and even on the lowest RTX preset, achieving consistent 1080p60 gaming with native resolution is impossible. It is no problem whatsoever for the game running upscaled from 540p via DLSS - and it looks pretty much the same in general play." Switch 2 is going to use similar technology to run games at low resolutions internally and DLSS will enable scaling to 4K or 1440p resolution where it will be almost indistinguishable from PS5 graphics, except for small artifacts that most players won't notice.

This means Master Mode will be FREEEEEEEEE

Reminder that Fujibayashi is the most qualified person in the world to answer this question, as the director and writer of Skyward Sword, and director of BoTW and ToTK.

For developers, the Nintendo Switch is heavily limited and that lack of power restricts their ability to innovate and deliver new experiences. We’ve seen this with Splatoon 3 and ToTK where more ambitious visuals were shown in initial trailers only for them to be scaled down in the final version. And Pokémon games are terribly optimized and run atrociously on Switch. Steam Deck is attacking the core audience and Apple is attacking the casual market with frequent Apple TV updates and a big gaming push with their updates this year. The Apple TV has been significantly more powerful than the Switch for years now and it’s much cheaper, plus it supports controllers from different consoles. Nintendo has to move now before Sony releases a PS5 Pro and cements its lead for this generation even more than it already has.

KIT AND KRYSTA WERE WRONG! THE RUMORMONGERS WERE RIGHT!

@Bobb Only the package is discounted, getting DLC standalone doesn't have a discount on Nintendo's page.

My Switch had the game open and was in sleep mode when it downloaded the update, so now it keeps telling me the update has been downloaded but gives me the option to keep playing or to install the update. I was actually avoiding duplicating anything but wanted to try it out since I was seeing so many posts about it. Rupees seem to be much harder to get in this game and the Hebra area was super annoying to clear without enough money to buy armors. I’m thinking of stockpiling some diamonds and then updating.

@JoeyTS Actually he’s not a developer anymore, he’s a game producer. So it’s his job to make sure the game “feels” correct. Therefore I’m not surprised he’s played it so many times! Ultimately he needs to have a vision of what the game should be and convey that to the director for the day-to-day management of development.

My copy is already pre-loaded as of yesterday, I can't believe it seeing the game icon on my home screen 😆

A while back Costco was giving $50 eShop cards for $50. I bought a few at the time and got vouchers. So I was able to get $130 of games for only $80 and get $50 in savings, as opposed to the $30 of savings Nintendo advertises in the eShop. ToTK Digital is only costing me $40, and we all know the lowest price Nintendo likes for first-party games is $41.99. Score!

@SilverM Yes, but it's the biggest contributor to cost. Just look at animated movies, Lightyear cost $200 million to make and Pinocchio (stop-motion) cost $35 million. Both have the same needs for things like music, voice acting, storyboarding, etc.

@SilverM Metroid Prime Remastered was $40 and that's a 15-ish hour adventure. While they didn't rewrite the game's code, they did generate all models and assets from scratch which surely cost more than making a 2D game like this...

I'm shocked at the 7/10 rating though, I was expecting at least an 8 or higher given the positive impressions before.

"Although fairies exist in Breath of the Wild, Link does not need a bottle to contain them, preferring to keep them loose in his bag and then pulp them into potion instead." Not correct, Link doesn't cook fairies in BoTW, they fly around the dish and help you then fly away at the end.

They're only in the know while they're working at Nintendo, once they're out of the company they won't be able to share any inside info even if they still have contacts inside the company willing to share it.

@Bobb Can't say you missed the Iwata era without taking the failures into account along with the successes. I.E. the flop of the GameCube, initial failure of the 3DS, disaster of the Wii U. He did redeem himself with the Switch though

I was reading a BBC article recently and a professor had this to say about medieval weapons: ""The sheer cost meant that you didn't just have a weapon and say, 'Well, I'll just go out there and stick them at the pointy end'," he says. "You didn't want to damage it."" Sounds like this is pretty accurate in BoTW, a game that takes place in a Dark Age where most of the Hylian society's technological advancements were 10,000 years ago and long forgotten. Also, each society does have its own repairable weapon, one for the Zora, one for the Gorons, one for the Gerudo, one for the Rito, and the Master Sword for the Hylians.

@HolyGeez03 That's true, but I suspect that most people would prefer "free" over paying for a solution. In my experience, the Nintendo repair has been pretty smooth and relatively fast turnaround, takes about 2 days to reach the repair center, 1-5 days for the repair to be done, and 2 days for the Joy-Con to arrive back home.
@prismt I suspect they will continue repairing them while the lawsuits are pending and if the Switch sells long enough, they might come out with a redesign at some point. Looking at Apple and their Butterfly keyboard as a reference.

I preordered months ago but Target is taking its sweet time and Amazon is yet to ship. I thought you were supposed to get the game earlier with pre-ordering but the last few have been a long wait. Same thing happened with Bayonetta 3.