charliecarrot

@Stormcloudlive The main reason I'd prefer to have physical at this point is that I really like having physical representations of media on my shelf that I can pick up and hold. It's not necessarily a preservationist thing - I just like holding game cases and looking at pretty boxart.

Because of that, I've ended up double dipping a lot and buying physical copies of games after I already own the digital copy. It's kinda like how even though I have an ebook reader, if I really like a book, I pick up a physical copy so I can see it on my shelf and make it part of my physical environment. I'm more likely to remember something and think about it if I see it around my space as opposed to having to open up some device and scroll through a list.

I went mostly digital on switch for the exact reason you say - I wanted the convenience of having everything on the system ready to go instead of having to swap out cartridges. However, I found that as I amassed my library, going through the list of games became sort of overwhelming for me. With physical cases, I can organize them how I like, keep a section visible near my entertainment stand for games I want to have in active rotation, etc, but with digital games, if they fall outside the main switch menu I often end up forgetting about them. I wish you could choose to "keep games in home" like you can on PS5. That works well for me since I'm easily distracted and have a not-so-great memory haha. May not be as much a factor for people who can actually stick with one game all the way through and then move to the next.

There's also something about owning the physical media that makes it feel more "real" in a way that's hard to describe. For example, it's very easy for me to play loads of retro games on my tablet or PC, but I'm more likely to form a connection with a retro game that I obtain a physical copy of and play on original hardware, and I'm more likely to stick with the game all the way through when I do that.

I used vouchers to buy so many games! And now I wish I had physical copies instead haha

Pretty confident these aren't fully AI generated images. Whether a photo "contains AI imagery" is hard to pin down because any photo editor may integrate some type of AI in its editing tools.

That being said, while I'm more than tired of the discourse surrounding "is it AI???" under every photo lately, that's exactly what's so scary to me. If we're getting to a point where most of us can't distinguish between a real photo and a false photo generated by AI, how do we know what's real? Photoshop could always fool people, but now any random average joe can type a couple words and spit out an image in seconds that would fool most people.

@Orbphan I totally agree with you. Color does not make things childish. Even if it did, why should that be a problem anyway? The Switch 1 was a massive sales success and it was colorful. PS5 is a big success for Sony and they have all kinds of colorful controllers and console covers. Not sure where people are getting this idea that Nintendo suddenly desperately needs to appeal to adults and they must do so by removing all color.

@Max_the_German Totally not on topic, but I found your comment extremely odd. Ethical vegans do indeed avoid leather. I've never met anyone who is delusional about the source of leather. Your comment sounds really pointed like you had a bad experience with someone in particular... Or maybe I'm missing some joke lol

Yeah I mean personally, I was thinking about getting either a Switch 2 or another PS5 for my household on Christmas, and I ended up picking up a PS5 since they were on sale for $399 and there's just a much larger library of games to play there. And my Switch 1 backlog is still so large!

It's funny that PlayStation is the one going bold with their colors now while Nintendo is sticking to dark grey/black with small accents. What's happened?

@Pillowpants No worries. Tone is hard to convey over text. When I see things like "what the hell" and "?!", I assume it's a more aggressive tone, but clearly ymmv!

@Pillowpants There's a first time for everything! Be glad you learned something - you're one of today's lucky 10,000!

If all it takes is a quick google, did you really lose much by being slightly confused the first time you encountered an unknown abbreviation? Do you get similarly upset when you come across a new word that's not in your lexicon, or is does the vitriol stem from the fact that it's an abbreviation chiefly used on the internet?

FWIW (for what it's worth), the term originates from US (United States) car advertisements in the 70s, indicating the mileage on your vehicle may differ from the recently implemented EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) ratings.

Anyway, it's truly a sad state of affairs when an online video game news and review website uses a term that was in common usage before the website itself was created (according to Google trends). Hate to see it.

Microsoft Flight Simulator! Just got my commercial pilot license so I can start making money 🤑 once I realized you can control the yoke with gyro on PS5, everything opened up for me

@Strawblaze makes sense - I last played on PS4 and it took me way longer to load into areas than my friends

I wonder if this means support for PS4 will continue for a while longer since it has a similar performance level.

I love ConcernedApe. Never ceases to provide us with free updates.

We'll miss you Felix! Best of luck

Do they have the ability to optimize it for Switch 2? It barely runs well on the base PS5 and the PC version is horribly optimized.

Final Fantasy 7 Remake was such a triumph in gameplay and combat mechanics, and it's a shame FFXVI couldn't build from it (since it was a separate development team I believe).

Having an actual party with banter is essential - it's the ONLY reason FFXV did as well as it did, yet for the very next game in the series, they made it a one-man show. I don't care if it's open world, linear, turn-based, or a fusion. Give us characters to journey alongside.

The PS5 is also fully backwards compatible with the PS4, but the PS4 lives on even to today. In fact, it's the backwards compatibility that helps keep the previous console alive.

I wouldn't be so quick to say goodbye to the Switch 1 just yet.

Obviously a controversial topic. In a perfect world, it's just another tool that makes our lives easier and potentially more interesting. Sadly, we live in a world that values profit over people. I don't see things going in a positive direction with this technology.

You had me at gliding! Already interested.

I played Harvest Moon SNES on the Wii virtual console, and no subsequent games in the series ever gave me the same feeling as that original one. Only Stardew recaptured the sense of discovery and comfort for me. The two remakes on Switch were overall bland and uninteresting to me. Curious if this remake will change that.

It's quite a long list - I wish it would at least fit on one page. Either way, happy to see The Hundred Line mentioned!

Sad to see lazy ports with no effort put into optimization for the target system. It just makes your game/company look bad when you offer a subpar experience.

Overlooked, but also ported to every platform ever (including as a launch title for the 3DS!)

Also I remember the N64 version having a fancy green cartridge - maybe that was a US only thing though

My partner has been having a blast with this game on PS5! Glad it's coming to Switch 2!

It's almost like watching an interactive superhero cartoon (reminiscent of Invincible) interspersed with the "dispatch" sections that comprise deciding which supes to send to handle different emergencies on a map view. In other words, very much not my cup of tea, but if you find the characters and dialog enjoyable then it should be a fun ride.

I'm so excited for both a new Rhythm Heaven and Tomodachi Life!!

Luigi here to save the day again

Agree with everyone else. Why would we ignore things in December? I hate how other year wrap ups exclude the last month of the year.

Oh, that's what Mega Swampert looks like? 😳

Cute article!

Growing up, I never got a console the year it released. I got a hand-me-down SNES after the N64 had released. I don't really agree with the other commenters that it's a necessary good to get your child the newest video game console just because they really want it. Sometimes you gotta learn to wait - and for consoles, you're almost always better off waiting a year or two after launch anyway.

Super happy that these are available on Nintendo consoles now. Yakuza 0 got me into the series. Definitely recommend everyone giving it a go.

Yep, I used vouchers on Z-A and a Prime 4 preorder.

Mario Golf: World Tour on 3DS is a quality game. Personally I'd place it right behind Toadstool Tour on GCN.

I know it's only because the 3DS peaked during a portion of my life where time moved fast and I had little time for gaming, but I wish the 3DS lasted longer than it did. I've revisited the console and its library this year and it's been a joy to play many of these games for the first time, but I regret not being around for the hype and excitement of the handheld's heyday.

This is the one game of all the Animal Crossing releases that I played the most and remember the fondest. I don't really have a strong desire to play it again - if anything, I'd go back to New Leaf - but I'm glad this game existed.

Silly to see people arguing over review scores. It's just a contextless number thrown on the end of a subjective review so your publication is included on aggregation sites. Numbers don't matter and no experience is for everyone.

I absolutely love Picross. I've been spoiled by the releases on Switch because I think the control scheme is perfect (better than touch imo) and now I can't play any other versions.

I have a 1TB SD card in my Switch 1 and it's mostly used up.

My PS5 has a 2TB m.2 SSD, and I regularly have to delete games to make space.

If Switch 2 is gonna have huge AAA 4K games, we're gonna need a lot more storage available.

Shout out to these two IPs for both being represented in Balatro

I always spent all my platinum points on avatars because I didn't realize you could get physical products with them... Sad

Gyro aiming seems like a more natural fit for controllers when it comes to the sorts of minute adjustments you get from a mouse, so I'm not mad.

I can see the joycon mouse being great for certain genres like strategy and city builders that are annoying with controllers. Not sold on it as a control scheme for more action-packed games, but willing to be shown a good example!

I'm surprised they ported this to Switch. Seems like the wrong choice.

I can't tell much from still images. They look fine, but I'm more interested in characterization!

I thought the Japan cover was an obvious winner, and I was shocked to see the results.

Interesting question about the verb release. I tend to go to Wiktionary as they have entries that reflect actual usage, and it gives this as the TENTH definition for "release" as a verb:

> (intransitive) To launch; to come out; to become available.
> when the game releases
> the new model will release on

This usage has never even crossed my radar as something strange or abnormal, but maybe that's because I've been hanging out in gaming news communities for decades now.

I understand why people rate Phantom Hourglass lower, but I think it's one of the top 10 entries. The puzzles are some of the best in the series, and the various tools take great advantage of the touch screen controls.

I think it was so cool to have a massive seafaring adventure on a handheld like that, and I personally enjoy it more than any of the top-down Zeldas that released on 3DS and Switch.

This is that Digital Foundry does - they discuss the technical aspects of performance and graphics. It says nothing about how much YOU should value these things as an individual.

Pointing out technical flaws and shortcomings doesn't make the game any less fun. If you put a lot of weight on those aspects, you might enjoy the game less. I personally really enjoyed the game on Switch 1 (there were only one or two instances of pop in that were really egregious for me). But some people might be turned off by flat balconies and static NPCs, and that's fine.

Yeah I see no reason why Nintendo wouldn't be up front if they specifically didn't want people using 3rd party docs. They could just come out and say it - not like they're shy about that sort of thing.

Still, I wouldn't get one myself.

I didn't contribute to those numbers because I bought it digitally... (the box art is beautiful though)

I'm surprised people have been getting 3rd party docks this early into the Switch 2's lifetime, considering what happened the first time around.

I don't really see GameCube... Without the iconic lunchbox handle on the back, it just reads as a box.

If anything, it evokes a short xbox.

Reggie ❤️ Cool to see him promoting that