bloodycelt

1. Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
2. Tetris
3. Salamander
4. Chronotrigger
5. Secret of Mana

Why not make a standalone VR headset that someone can play while relaxing on a couch or their bed?

I think there is a big enough market for publishers to just release full physical games AFTER the game has been released digitally and patched, etc.

My view is, just don't buy games that are either missing or incomplete on disc/cart.

Companies that have released the source code to their older titles, especially the server components have not lost anything. Sometimes it ensures an IP stays relevant like how DOOM is ported to everything because id released the source code.

Nor does it have to be open source, it can still be copyrighted, and that would still allow private servers, community patches, etc.

I think allowing owners access to the source code when a service is shut down is a reasonable requirement. If they go in making a live service game knowing this, they can take steps to keep a clear API distinction between say their user account services and the server code needed to run the game.

As a software engineer, I can be confident that such a requirement would not increase costs to develop a game.

Honestly, to me an ideal approach is, you preorder the game, they give you a store code to download it digitally at launch. This key and license only works until the physical version is released. Have the physical version release AFTER the patches are applied, then release the physical. If there's cost involved, have the preorders with the physical cost a little more, but also make a manual to go with it.

Something to test/verify:

Can you get a gamekey card, download the title onto an sd card. Then take the sd card and gamekey card to another switch 2 that's not connected to the internet and be able to play it?

I doubt this will be possible, but if it were, that might make gamekey cards not so bad.

Digital only games have a huge issue in the US because many people lack an internet speed good enough to download the game.

@jorel262 At least in the US it could be the tariff situation. Especially if they don't have sources outside China. Also probably the reason they didn't have preorders.

The scalpers themselves might not make much margin at least for US sales.

Not that I'd want it to happen, but I wouldn't blame Nintendo if they just didn't release it in the US, and just released down-ports of Switch 2 games for that market. Kind of like Brazil.

There are two ways to fight scalpers efficiently, but I doubt Nintendo will use either of these methods:

1. You have a preorder period, and queue up the people who preorder, they might not get the initial shipment, but are guaranteed to get one.

2. Or they jack up the price high enough that scalpers cannot jack it up further. Then as more units arrive at retailers, the price lowers.

Mario doesn't need a timeline, Mario 3 and SMB made it pretty clear that the Mario games are performances by the Mario Troupe.

@nessisonett Not sure which side of the pond you are on, but where I am (New England), the 'c' word is severely offensive. Calling someone a d--k is mild... it's essentially the same as 'jerk'. But c--t is meant to offend, you're telling the person they are not a person but just a vagina (or anus). Not because you think they are, but because you want them to be angry, you want to escalate the situation.

I don't think its visuals/gameplay was put in the "Con" because of any expectation of modern visuals.

It's because this is an unapologetic port of a game whose style is no longer extant in modern games, and it might not be for everyone.

If you go back to Super Mario Bros. it will be familiar,

Clock Tower is a point and click survival horror, the only game I can think of that is similar is D. It has more in common with Monkey Island and Myst than Resident Evil. Nor does it have the colorful sprite visual style one thinks of with older titles, it's much more in line with DOS games of that era.

This game is for people whom appreciate that; and that's a good thing IMHO, but might not be for the majority audience of this site, hence I agree with the reviewer.

I could see Echoes of Wisdom spawning a Princess Zelda series much like Super Mario World 2 begat the Yoshi Island series.

1. I think the Ocarina formula will return, or some blending of it. The "traditional" Zelda has sort of evolved, the original Legend of Zelda was non-linear. You have three sort of mainline branches:
A.) Traditional 2D: A Link to the Past > Link's Awakening > Oracles > Minish Cap > Phantom Hourglass > Spirit Tracks > A Link Between Worlds
B.) Ocarina > Windwaker > Twilight Princess
C.) Breath of the Wild > Tears of the Kingdom

We then have the odd balls:
Zelda 2, Majora's Mask, Skyward Sword.

If they were correctly licensed, then we’ll find out; music is very strange when it comes to copyright - the composition, arraignment and performance are separate. Though I think the RIAA has standard contracts which is why cover bands and sheet music books are common, as is music samples and what-not.

Something to also consider:

Dreamcast is the last Sega Console.
Gamecube is the last Nintendo console that Sony/MS considered a competitor.
Xbox is the first Microsoft console.

I think "Retro" to me usually means NES to Dreamcast. But I think of retro as a specific time period in console gaming.

I also think "modern" started with the Xbox, and fully became so with the Xbox 360/PS3/Wii era. Console games merged with PC gaming, the genres solidified, and we lost AA games for the most part.

The PS2 and Gamecube straddle the line, PS2 had a decent amount of arcade ports and turn based JRPGs were still a relevant genre (PS2 was the last console Final Fantasy was a flagship bearer, and the console when Persona became what it is now).

But, the other reason is... visually and gameplay wise games have largely remained similar since the PS2, outside of resolution leaps, the same with controllers for the most part.

@Tim_Rattray I have to disagree. Your example of Persona did move away from the SMT formula towards more character driven narrative and the social links system, but the dungeons remain a core part of the game, people play Persona for character driven narrative and challenging turn based combat in interesting dungeons.

Three Houses sold well because it had a good compelling narrative, and very good characters, as well as some of the best visuals the game had for some time.

Engage had better combat, but its narrative was meh and I generally did not care about the characters.

I actually think they should keep the combat system, and perm-death options; but have a narrative focused game; and yes that means some branching stories based on who is still alive... but TBH the Gamecube entries did that.

Accessibility does not always mean "easy". I actually think the "undo" ability Engage has is more accessible than having to redo from an older save to make sure you get the maximum relationship points with a character.

Above all the next game should respect our time.

I actually think the cool items are part of what I miss. Being able to methodically go through a dungeon, discover secrets and unlock shortcuts was part of the fun.

TBH you could do non linear dungeons.... just make it so, the items are not required, but are helpful.

Examples include: Hookshot, Scarab Beetle, Musical Instrument, Hawkeye/Lens of Truth...

We don't know the details.

How many hours would she have been expected to show up for, and over what time period?

The value is not just in how much lines are in the game, its also opportunity cost, while she is at their sound booth, she can't be working elsewhere.

If what some are saying is she isn't doing VA work anywhere else, she might be working a normal 9-5 job, so doing Bayonetta might cost her the normal salary she is currently getting.

The only way this nonsense gets stopped is if both customers and the media just boycott the industry.

They could've just had a normal preorder window, and then made enough for those that preordered.

And of course a full complete Shining Force 3

Sonic Unleashed and Generations run fairly well on Xbox series X

I think projects like Origins where they port thier classics; hopefully in a manner that lets them stay available.

It’s really just ensuring most of thier IP can be played on a current machine.

I’d love to see a SMT Collection, or Sakura Wars brought over.

@Rika_Yoshitake So... technically the PS Vita you can download all your games to a computer and then sync it over, Sony lets you backup and archive your library. PS3, less so.

But... Nintendo actively fights game preservation, not just rom sites, but organizations that try to archive and preserve older titles.

Sony is real nasty when it comes to home brewing their systems, but I haven't heard of them lobbying to make it even more difficult to even say talk about old games. Nintendo once tried preventing YouTubers from reviewing games, they go after strategy guides that don't even include copyrighted material.

Nintendo doesn't want people playing old games, or remembering them, except when its the small collection on their virtual console.

@Tourtus The problem is the software on the 3ds itself. In order to allow purchase from the system, the server has to allow an older and easier-to-exploit client to connect to their servers.

The technology could be used in theory to allow decentralized DRM. Right now if you buy something digital if it has DRM, it means you only have access to it until the store is shuttered.

But what if you could verify with the blockchain/NFT similar to how bitcoin and etherium have decentralized verification? Then in theory you buy a game from steam, but could download it from gog, etc.

The main benefit to Publishers would be:
1. Good PR (So not a huge benefit, but it would say.... allow Sony to shutter a store if in theory people could still archive and play the old games)
2. Avoid governments stepping in when enough 'inheritance' issues stem from people wanting to transfer accounts/games.

Granted, removing DRM can also solve that too. Nor are NFTs the only way to accomplish this. HTTPS for example already allows multiple parties to verify site authenticity, the same could be done for digital goods.

It exists because the perceived value of the item is higher than what it’s selling for. If Nintendo sold a limited edition for $400, then it’s doubtful scalpers could sell it for much more.

It would be nice if their Saturn and Sega CD titles got rereleased and translated .

Problem is, people say they want something, but then don’t end up getting it.

At least on steam, many will buy it, but won’t ever play it (as we do with steam games).

If all that was needed was 4K support, they could just release a 4K dock. The connection Nintendo uses is USB3 which IIRC could support sending data to a GPU inside the dock.

I think its a bit late for a minor-upgrade Switch Pro, I think what they would need is a Switch 2, backwards compatible, but to compete with XSX and PS5, the I/O throughput of the internals needs to be updated, as well as larger capacity game cards.

They only announced games for H1. There's still the possibility that WW OR Twilight Princess will release in H2. And as for being sold individually, I don't see why not. Unlike the Mario set, those games were remastered, and even modified (some quests were simplified IIRC). It all depends on if they have something to be released in H2.

I think they will release something for 4K. If anything because it will be cheaper to make new models with a current Tegra Processor than continue to make them with a eventually discontinued chip. You also have to balance making games multi-platform that still have to target the switch. They are going to have to up its power to keep up if Nintendo wants 3rd party support.

Some missing gems:

Der Langrisser which is the basis for the langrisser 2 remake released recently.

Dragon Quest V seems also missing, which is one of the best plots in the series.

It might just be because some of the characters are considered minors, and some countries might have laws against it.

But most of it felt hacked on, and rushed. If they really want to sell this game they need to fix that.

The third dungeon especially needs fixing. If they had the courage, they'd redo it completely with a stronger arc for Tsubasa, since either versions are bad.

I do hope considering its legacy, NL updates the score should Gungho patch the game.

(Why didn't they wait a few weeks more, or just delay til after Dragon Quest)

@emanresu it would be impossible to actually use Saturn textures.... the Saturn rendered everything completely different than what modern graphics uses. The Saturn used two GPUs to render 2D sprites essentially on the Y and Z planes. Modern graphics use 3d triangles to form polygons (which the PSX sort of did)

What they said (and seemed reasonable) was in their remaster, they used the Saturn as a reference when modifying the textures, and graphical effects.

To be fair, I would have preferred a remake done graphically similar to Octopath in terms of looks.

It won’t look exactly like the Saturn version. Modern graphics can sort of emulate it, however your still underneath using real 3d triangles and shaders as opposed to two VDP chips.

But it shouldn’t be a problem.

@Ayye-ant I think people are misinterpreting things. He emphasized play style, no set of play styles are perfectly balanced. I think he meant that they would balance the game but not to the extent that it blocks the varying play styles of the characters. Tekken 7 follows that and seems balanced enough that there aren’t any established tiers so to speak.

If they were gonna do anything for the power gap it would be best to do it the Christmas season for the PS5. But only if either a.) They release provide it as an upgrade (new dock) that existing users can leverage. Or a Pro version that is decently powered compared to the PS5, that existing owners find it worth buying vs getting a PS5.

If the USB-C connector allows for it, a Pro Dock could be like an external video card, it could boost the graphics capabilities (allowing 4K, higher frame rate, better textures) without making it feel like the current switch is obsolete, and also without hampering battery life in portable mode.

Nintendo will have to do something so that all those 3rd party devs will port their PS5/XB2 games. Performance optimization is hard, and costs a lot of money. So even with a dock boost, they may still have to consider an update to a newer Tegra.

Its also clear, they're not picking the right bits of the 90s for this.

It would have made more sense, and been better commentary if they had Robotnik more as a Steve Jobs like "visionary" that sells robots to a public that knows full well he uses animals for them. And Sonic as fighting back, against Robtonik AND the US Government.

I’ve never seen two candidates with similar enough skill. It’s again more often a factor of not even interviewing women and minority’s in the first place.

(Clarification: Not always due to discrimination outright; again, focusing on your networks for example... often will exclude people you otherwise would have wanted to interview)

... usually when diversity is brought up; it’s less about quotas and more about examining where we get our candidate pool.

We whiteboard everyone anyhow; but what often is found needful are more innocuous things like mostly hiring from your network.

This is at least my experience as a male at three companies in tech.

Diversity doesn’t just mean gender or race; it can be as simple as having a good mix of Sonic and Mario fans.

And it should be a consideration, since we want a decent pool of experiences and outlooks so our culture doesn’t stagnate.

.... all Nintendo was saying is they foster an environment that men and women want to work. Which sadly in Japan includes not looking down on a mother that works.

Nobody is gonna last in game development if they lack the skill; so everyone in that industry deserves a modicum of respect regardless of thier identity.

It would make sense for a 3ds sized switch mini. Even for adults the current switch is a bit large for pocket storage or subway use.

It would also make sense for a tech upgrade - mostly because at some point using a Tegra 2 will be cheaper than thier current chip.

And would provide the benefit of improved portable performance. And maybe allow some games to have improved performance docked (less slowdown, faster loading times)

I would say Career Soft, Intelligent Systems, Camelot Software Planning, Red Entertainment and Quest were all rivals in the 90s.

It’s more that Doom was already built to scale, AND the novelty of having it portable; for portable it’s technically impressive.

But tomb raider may not be:
a) Designed for scaling; meaning the port would require rewriting or optimizing code; which is not always easy.
b.) Even optimized, it won’t be as impressive as doom.
c.) Is it even fun portable? Can it pick up and play?
d.) would people buy it when they can get it on thier pc or laptop?

If they used BoTW engine, it could be less time, it would be nice if they added real dungeons to the mix, but kept them optional, however provided items that would be useful/fun.

@MetaRyan unfortunately if the game did bomb in NA b/c fans disliked the character designs so much they didn't buy it, Monolith (and Nintendo) would just "learn" that Americans "don't like RPGs" or "don't like open world games". And decide the next XC game is Japan only.

Intellectually many might understand the real reasons, but socially they're not allowed to come to that conclusion, since that would result in a loss of face, and face is more important than money.

@TheGameSquid I think i'd be more like the new 3DS in terms of library fragmentation. Most modern software can be told to scale based on hardware, they've done it for decades on the PC, have to do it for Xbone X and PS4 Pro, so an upgraded switch, they could do the same.

The upgrade could also just add better features such as extended battery life, better performance undocked, or even allow voice chat w/o that phone app.

I also think at some point they will release a kid-friendly budget variant that is portable only, fixed controls, and a smaller screen. Mostly to replace the 2DS.

The dock architecture would also allow conceivably an upgraded dock with its own GPU, again not so much for games to require such a thing, but to be able to have a higher threshold when scaling up, or to support 4K televisions if they ever become the norm.

Nintendo chose mobile architecture, which if you follow Android and iOS allows for hardware upgrades and minimal software fragmentation, and allows them to refactor the switch both for lower manufacturing costs, and to stay current in support for the tech people use with it. (Even something as overlooked as wifi support.)

I think Nintendo chose Nvidia's architecture specifically because its easily upgradeable. I also don't think 3rd party games will be affected too often by the specs, most of them now are on PC which as you know has a wide variety of hardware power. Unlike the Wii, the Switch is portable as well, which provides a new way to play the game without requiring too much additional coding to support.

I do envision in a year or so, we'll start seeing upgrades to the Switch, like a new Tegra chip. However, i also think Nintendo is going to eventually replace their 3DS with a budget portable-only configuration of the switch.

@GC-161 Or they could have just used a stock image of SMT or Atlus on the front page, and put the Mara pic in the article.

I suppose its just differing expectations on what to expect on the front page, vs the articles. I don't expect Mara on a front page, but at the same time I would not click on any link discussing SMT unless I knew the environment could handle SMT.

@GC-161 At least for me, its more that.... a news site such as Nintendolife, there is usually a reasonable expectation that the front page itself is generally safe for consumption outside our home (and that the articles are descriptive enough or have warnings so we may choose not to read certain articles, like an SMT article, in certain environments.)