aaronsullivan

The way people are going to push and break this one is going to be insane. I really like how they leaned into what the community began to do on their own.

BotW had the "climb" anywhere lack of boundaries. Instead of reining in players, now you can pass through ceilings. Should be a great time.

I do regret not discovering this on my own during play, though. I have mixed feelings about watching any other promotions.

I'll just leave my little dream scenario here, again: A Nintendo hosted "safe harbor" web site, service, and store.

There, Nintendo could control the messaging, and have redirects to their current offerings, while hosting and celebrating the incredible work of fans. It wouldn't just have artwork, but fan games, ROM hacks, and other works of passion.

So imagine you go to this harbor site and search for the latest Pokemon hack. Right next to it is a list of Nintendo sanctioned emulators for the GameBoy AND pristine original Pokémon ROMs that you can buy for a reasonable price.

Crazy, I know, but Nintendo would have far more control of the messaging this way, less legal battles, and positive support for their most dedicated hard-working fans. It would be like hosting little secular "shrines" for their best games... with a gift store for all the official stuff and swag and ads for their latest games on their latest hardware.

I can dream.

Finished Metroid Prime Remastered last weekend. (What a great satisfying surprise that it was so well done — controls are better than ever because of gyro, and everything else played exactly the same)

If I had enough time to jump into something new, I'd probably do Vernal Blade as I've seen a few very positive reviews on it.

So, probably playing a little Minecraft in off times. I do some game development for my class content so I work on those and play student games, too.

Next big games will probably be Jedi: Survivor and Tears of the Kingdom.

Daughter has been playing Splatoon 3 consistently, having a great time. Son is mostly on PC/Steam, doing Kerbal Space Program (original version, while waiting for KSP2 to fix its performance and other issues) but he also plays tons of stuff - checked out the Bulwark demo this afternoon. When my wife kicks back for a break, it is usually for Slay the Spire (she moved from Switch to iPad mini for that, now, as its a much better game device for card games when playing alone).

@rjejr 70 as a retirement age might be considered shameful... Japan wearing its work culture on its sleeve, I guess. Or maybe its just bragging about life expectancy? 84.6 years! Meanwhile the US has fallen below China's to 77 years. (2020 stats and something that happened in 2020 might shift these...)

@PinderSchloss It's going to be VERY unpopular with anyone that uses Switch on the go... which is a HUGE percentage. Even Steam Deck is gaining popularity with the PC gaming crowd.

Here's an opinion story idea:
Can Switch 2 succeed with NO backwards compatibility with Switch? Just none.

I don't want that, but you can't deny that the original Switch did it.

@Dev9417 I agree. I think Nintendo needs to maintain hybrid gaming.

I am open to a 100% compatible pair of systems, however. Hybrid and TV only. Probably less people would by the TV only version... but a sizable number would by both?

As for backwards compatibility, I would enjoy more than just playing old Switch games.

I'd love for the original Switch to work as a controller and screen when playing a Switch 2 game. (Kind of like Wii U, but you have a CPU/GPU not just a controller with video streamed to it).

One simple use would be to let the Switch 2 game handle a spectator mode while everyone plays locally on individual Switches (or some combination of on the TV and local devices)

@Anachronism That's the spirit of the article and video, and I think they really missed all the points. You have a nice summary. haha.

Like most, I really just want to think about what it could and will be for fun. But Nintendo already admitted this transition was going to be tough, right? Many easy missteps ahead.

@Giancarlothomaz I enjoy VR, my son loves it. I don't think the time is right for Nintendo to do this yet. My main reason is how local multiplayer continues to be a big draw for Nintendo games and that's really not a thing that works with AR/VR because each player needs an expensive cutting edge display and hardware to push visuals to two eyes (not one low Rez screen)

I think Nintendo could do amazing things when the technology is more mature and lightweight, but I think we need at least one more console generation to get to a point where it makes sense for Nintendo.

That said, I'm sure it's in a Nintendo lab somewhere.

Even though I want Nintendo do push forward with some very new things, I have to admit I would be mostly happy with the "Switch Pro" people above seem to be asking for. That's because my main problem with the Switch in its old age is how my favorite game IPs are held back to some degree by its performance.

However, I do feel like it would age very badly over the next 7 years and it would also likely cause a very gradual transition from the current Switch over the years.

There is SO much room for improvement in areas besides performance that Nintendo really can't afford to overlook if the new system is going to last. I wouldn't want to limit what Nintendo should try and surprise us with. At the very least, I feel that Nintendo needs to address how much better PS5 controllers are than Nintendo's.

Wow and ugh. The majority of comments above are basically my nightmare scenario of what could go wrong, yet they seem to be hoping for it!

"Same thing but with more power only" would likely be the beginning of the end for Nintendo as a hardware company (unless they could reinvent in another 5 years like they did with the radical change from Wii U to Switch, remember that?).

begin sarcasm-> Let's have joy con drift in the next one! That will be great! Let's have $80 base stations that do almost nothing! Let's have no backwards compatibility like the Switch also did not have. All possible uses for hardware have already been explored by Nintendo and it landed on perfect.<-end sarcasm.

Let Nintendo be Nintendo! That's how you got the Switch in the first place.

@Allspice @Breeze23
Was happy to see Wizardry as a nominee, this year. I played that when I was a kid. It was released in 1981. My dad played through all the Apple ][ games. That box looks just like the one we had with the foil inlay - it was impressive at the time!

From wikipedia: "The game was one of the first Dungeons & Dragons-style role-playing games to be written for computer play, and the first such game to offer color graphics. It was also the first true party-based role-playing video game."

One absolutely had to map the dungeons square by square to succeed (no Internet back then!) Etrian Oddysey carries on its tradition, nowadays.

@Xiovanni Halo is already inducted. So is Dance Dance Revolution as someone mentioned. It's a great list, they have done very well, so far. Check that first link in the article. I've been there and it's a fun visit (great for kids, too, as @rjejr mentioned)

Great game. I remember not being quite sure about this and not being happy playing it on the tiny GBA with the dull unlit screen, I ended up getting the GBA Player attachment for Gamecube mostly so I could play this game.

It felt a bit linear, but I really enjoyed the drama. Then, I played it again later, going for 100% and was completely won over at all the elaborate secrets I had missed.

Nintendo's actions are hard to predict.

Is the movie going to get Miyamoto and the director of the next big Mario game feeling more cinematic or wanting to play around with more personality in the game characters?

Or is the movie (and the Nintendo movie studio) enough to help scratch that itch, and the games will be free to be make big, bold changes, and be differentiated from the movies.

I prefer the latter, but Nintendo's actions are hard to predict.

@Vexx234 I did manage to have a lot of fun with it, playing with my son. It's very flawed, probably a victim of the transition to Switch, development cut short, but ended up as a kind of experimental control-a-vehicle-in-every-way-possible simulator.

Never liked the promotional art for this game. Love the game, though.

This looks better than I expected!

Apple TV+ is $7 a month US, so when it comes out, someone could just pay that, watch Tetris, check out what else is there and then cancel. (As others have said, you can stream it almost anywhere like web, Roku, etc.).

The shows Severance, Foundation, For All Mankind, Ted Lasso, and Shrinking are all worth checking out, in my opinion, as are the movies Greyhound, Coda, and The Greatest Beer Run Ever.

(Greyhound is teen friendly, but all the others skew toward adult fare.)

Movie changes are probably as careful and safe as they need to be judging from how often the stale, plastic, mostly blank game design examples were voted for, here. Is it just the clarity of the image due to the white background people are voting for, or something? I mean... yikes.

Voted movie for just about everything, didn't vote for the ones that were too tiny or unclear to make out.

Very much looking forward to a different take on these characters in the movie, but I personally would have preferred something even more brave — maybe Nintendo will give us that in a new game?

What happens to Tetra is cool in Wind Waker, until it immediately is not, and ruins the character for the rest of the game when it should have made things more interesting.
Otherwise, I like that one.

BOTW is pretty good, too, for me. Skyward Sword was my favorite, though.

(With Ocarina, it just gets so weird that the charming early friendship and reveal keeps everything distant)

Twilight is all about Midna, who is one of the best characters in the whole series as far as I'm concerned.

Been playing Uncharted 4 on PS5. Obviously, side by side, there's no technical comparison to be made... except I'd never played Uncharted 4 before, and the mix of already knowing Metroid Prime so well, and noticing the huge improvements and new details has made me just as awestruck as some of the great moments playing Uncharted.

Prime has been even sweeter, in many ways, really. The remaster is totally doing the trick for me.

Of course, I wouldn't object to a remaster made for PS5-level hardware... ... but, at least for me, not having that is not keeping me from enjoying it, at all.

Not surprising? Too simple a challenge to be labeled as impressive?

Emulation is not simple. It is, like many things, built on generational hard work, each new step building on steps others took in the past.

For emulators, since they were originally frowned upon by the original hardware makers, it's generally a passionate work of enthusiasts that never pays off in a substantive way. Ask them if it was "easy" or "simple" or if "anyone can do that".

Even though this stands on the work of previous developers and it is paid work, this emulator stands up with the best, as it passes more compatibility tests than than other emulators.

That is not how the story of official emulation has gone in the past.

It's also far more convenient from a player's point of view to get to that point of nostalgic fun than keeping up with most other options.

In my opinion, it's not remotely a stretch to say it's "impressive".

@solarwolf07 Just a nudge. If you thought the first hour was very good, you will probably be one of the fans of this game. I was starting to have doubts around that time into the game and now it’s one of my all time favorites.

@smoreon I agree. The fast forwarding and rewinding is a great feature that should be copied.

I once made the mistake of thinking that credits at the end of movies were kind of a waste with the advent of the internet and "great" sites like imdb.com (it was a looong time ago!).

But, I know people who work on movies and they and their friends and family wait to see their names roll up. I do it to show my kids my friend's vfx credits to this day. For them, having it follow the movie everywhere is different than looking it up on the internet.

Like movie visual effects work, a lot of the game industry work is underpaid and undervalued, but that credit is a nice reward. Keeping the original staff credited is a small effort.

@Vexx234 Hahah

@Discostew He absolutely should bring it up. I don't know if he has said more positive things, but he did praise the remaster teams in this very tweet while rightly standing up for his team members. Credits are a big deal, even more so for those who had a smaller part in the game. It's hard work and it should be acknowledged.

Staying silent to worry about his image of a whiner or something would be disrespectful to the other people on his team.

As for the door, why can't the guy who worked on them have a visceral reaction to it, even if he is wrong in many people's eyes? He's probably one of a few who should be allowed some space for that. Hot takes from inexperienced onlookers are fine, but this guy is reacting to his work being painted over.

We can have disagreements on how it was handled and still enjoy the game — I'm LOVING this remaster, even though the little scan rectangles look off to me, for instance.

Also, Nintendo should absolutely force a fix in a patch. This is not only embarrassingly bad taste, but a discouragement to current staff (both at Nintendo studios and Retro). Not a great feeling that your hard work and decisions will be happily overwritten by people doing derivative work (mostly asset artists) and your name will be forever removed from the versions most people play in the future (especially when other studios have not shown this disdain for their employees).

@sixrings That would be pretty great! 3DS has some great games trapped on it ("trapped" because I could never get comfortable with the tiny controls). I played Federation Force to the end with my son and it was a great little game with an unfortunate chibi style that seemed to alienate many Metroid fans.

Super impressed so far. ~Can't quite get the controls exactly the way I'd like, but there are good options.~ EDIT: Actually, my son just showed me how to get it the way I want! So dual stick with gyro + stick aiming is better for me than the other options (thought that was what hybrid was going for, but it is more like GameCube plus gyro)

This is not just texture upgrades, but new models. The detail added in some areas just makes me stop and examine things, just like it did when it released on GameCube (even though I've played through the game many times, now)

Well, shadow drop of Metroid Prime remaster was my long shot hope, and it happened, so I'm giddy. And got to play a bit already and it's better than I'd hoped (I would have been happy with texture and resolution upgrade).

@MS7000 We can agree to disagree, personal preferences and all.

I'll just add that other reasons to have separate headlines is that the first report was wide-reaching and some people might be only interested in Mario Kart, or Splatoon but see a long article and just skip it and go on with their lives.

Not to mention, NintendoLife is supported by ads, clicks, etc. Glad to support them and the community by scrolling a little further over a few articles I don't care about. I guess completionists would find it infuriating?

I remember how insane I thought the interim president at Nintendo was for the forecasts on the sales of the Switch. I mean, it seemed so optimistic! Well, it beat the sales expectations, if I recall correctly.

I won't bet against their forecasts.

That said, seeing them lower the forecasts a little, does give me hope for new hardware next year.

There's nothing more effective than a growth curve flattening or falling to motivate them. Especially since, besides mobile, Switch is all there is. It's not like they can fall back on 3DS like when the Wii U did so poorly.

Though, that does bring some clarity as to why Nintendo dove into mobile so hard.

Originally invented for the Wii U. This is why I don't mind seeing Nintendo get pressured, it has done well under pressure... except the transition to Switch where it polished up a few unfinished, short on content games to get them out the door and move forward.

This tracks with the anecdotal experience I've seen with younger people I know — namely, people I wouldn't expect to even know about Splatoon, are playing it very often.

@Ralizah The standard Switch price has effectively lowered by about $63 since its launch. The actual price has remained the same, while inflation raised everything else. In other words, if it followed inflation, it would $362 today. (All in US dollars)

You could even argue that the OLED Switch exists, partly, to keep the price/margin closer to what $300 got them back in 2017.

As someone pointed out last time I talked about Switch prices, the Switch Lite also exists at the $100 discount, which helps, too.

I only bring it up because inflation recently spiked (due to pandemic, supply chain, and the threatening invasion into Ukraine) in a way that may not compare well to what previous generations had.

@Bunkerneath Got an easy fix for you: don't watch the segment on TotK.

@teo_o Haha. Wouldn't that be fun to have a modern Nausicaa open world game? The airships, the kingdoms, venturing into the Sea of Decay (Toxic Jungle). Seems like somebody should get on that, but I'm betting Miyazaki-san would not want other stories to be told there that would almost inevitably focus on continual violence... decades of inspiration for Japanese video games will have to be enough.

I've gotten really patient now that there is about a zero percent chance of new hardware this year or even early next year. So my anticipation isn't too high for this. Will be fun to see more of TotK but it's not like I need to see more to know if I'll buy it. Seeing a bit more of Pikmin 4 would be great.

I'm nervous about Prime 4, though. I thought they would just push it to the next hardware. If they don't, I'll have a weird FOMO about what could have been. (I'm sure Retro and Nintendo found a way to make it work with the Switch, but I've been playing a lot of PS5 on big 4k, so I'm getting accustomed.) Then again, the Prime games always had way more to offer than cutting edge graphics.

I'd almost prefer a surprise of some kind, like the next big Mario game.

What would probably get me the most hyped, maybe ironically?, is the old Metroid Prime games finally announced for the Switch in some way. Bring on the old!

I really wanted to go all digital, but wanted it tied to my account, not hardware. Also, physical was usually the least expensive way to get the big games. Then, we had two Switches and I didn't want to have to manage the digital copies... I have so many physical games I didn't really want, but they do have resale value... but I also never sell my games.

@rjejr Which might be fine as the budget is likely a tenth of Bayonetta 3.

@DarkTron Yay! Would suck to have only the one for commenting, in my opinion.

@MS7000 Besides you, apparently, who does it hurt? Most people skim headlines, or at best, skim paragraphs.

For people who comment, we are going to read more of the article, most of us, but I also appreciate being able to discuss things in a more focused comment section.

@WolfyTn You are an exception that proves the rule: Mario Kart does not need a new release on Switch from Nintendo's point of view.

They will probably wait until they can use MK9 to push new hardware.

As a player, I'd like to wait less time, and for Nintendo to take some big risks with the format: give us adventure mode, bosses, different goals on tracks, different kinds of vehicles (like Diddy Kong Racing, Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed).

Celeste has a beautiful in-game art style that supports the tiny pixel art perfectly and that cover is not using it in any way. That’s a shame as far as I’m concerned. Oh well.

So, I'm making my peace with Nintendo stretching this out at least another year. I'll just mix it up with non-Nintendo stuff.

I can live with that if Nintendo gets that Metroid Prime remaster out this year. Nintendo could especially make it up to me (haha) by launching in 2024 with some crazy console+handheld things instead of just an upgraded hybrid. ( I threw it into the ring of ideas in that other article: https://www.nintendolife.com/features/talking-point-does-nintendos-next-console-have-to-be-another-switch#comment7393681 )

So, I was talking to my daughter earlier today, and we hit on what I would personally enjoy from Nintendo.

Nintendo could go back to a separate home console and handheld, but with a twist. (No dock). So, yes, there is the expected Switch 2 handheld, but then there is this compatible console, call it Switch Core or Switch Hub.

Yes, it plays switch 2 games with more capability, aiming at Ultra 4K version of what the Switch 2 handheld can do at 1080p or whatever, but...

Here is the twist: The Hub/Core console can be synched up with any Switch (original/lite/oled/2) as a controller/screen hybrid. Could be streamed or game content pre-loaded (so many logistics...)

This could mean local multiplayer without internet lag but also every person has their own screen and a centralized TV for shared play of different kinds, optionally. Certainly, old asynchronous Wii U stuff could come over, but also many new possibilities.

Anyway, it might not be successful, but at least it's not just upgraded internals, and I know I'd enjoy it.

@Arawn93 You know, I do forget about the Lite sometimes. As far as price goes this device has a bigger, better screen, is faster, etc. But, don't get me wrong, I was only defending the standpoint of the article (and it was specific about comparing to other devices), this thing is really, really unappealing to me, and I can't think of anyone to recommend it to.

If you love gaming on the go, get a Switch. If you like the latest stuff and/or PC gaming, and want convenience, go for the Steam Deck. If someone just really loves the selection of games on their smartphone, just augment that - but also look into Switch, haha.

Yeah sounds like 2024 at the earliest for more capable hardware from Nintendo. Oh well.

I still love Nintendo games but I don’t love waiting for the ones that could benefit most from new hardware. Pikmin, for instance is really heightened by hyper realistic environments and fine detail.

@PinderSchloss If someone is new to VR moving with control stick will do someone in even faster.

Tried some Metroid Prime in VR a way back and when still and look around it was so great. I couldn't do the moving around, unfortunately. It's like moving the earth out from under yourself. With time, I've seen, people overcome this, however. My son has played a ton of VR now and it doesn't bother him (and he had the same reactions I did at first)

Voted for announce and launch in 2024, but want it to be announced in the next few months and launch this year.

I think they will want to eek out one more Holiday without an announcement this time. They were pretty desperate last time.

@Joe-b
As far as $400 being affordable, when it comes to game systems in this category... it's at least comparable. Switch has never lowered its price over almost 6 years (only offered pack-ins) and it's at $299 ($350 for OLED). Compared to Steam Deck? Price is the same. PS5? Xbox?

On how the US is doing: The US has done decently in handling inflation compared to the rest of the world from 2020 until 2022, landing near the middle near the 4x area where some are in double digit multipliers over the two years. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2022/06/15/in-the-u-s-and-around-the-world-inflation-is-high-and-getting-higher/ft_22-06-08_globalinflation_2/

Most economists were blindsided by just how bad the supply chain disruptions were and how much the draconian lockdowns in China during the Omicron variant wave would hurt it even more.

The population was taken care of, ready to spend, with the ability to buy — yes, capitalism will save us! — but then, no supply! High demand, low supply means prices go up. Learned that in my high school economics class.

And no one really expected the level of Ukraine war insanity, which inflated oil prices worldwide, almost immediately.

It's a good time to not buy game consoles and just cruise along with games, or even just whittle away at the backlog. As an enthusiast, though, I do keep spending more than I should.