Games don't neccesary have to have the same physics to be fun. That said, it's a weird choice to change physics that were fun on a remake for seemingly no beneficial reason. The review specifically says the physics are worse than the original.
"(And if the biggest critisism is walking off the ramp in Monkey Target then I don't know what to say. I mean, I've probably done that once to see if you could lol.)"
It's the entire physics of Monkey Target. If you watch a video, it's pretty evident that it's not similar to the originals. That may not be a deal breaker to some, but it is to me. Multiplayer, particularly Monkey Target is where I always got the majority of my playtime from this series. If that's gone, it's just not worth it to me to revisit the story levels.
@JasmineDragon "Also, my Gamecube is in the attic storage and is not compatible with my currently connected TV, so "just play the originals" is technically still an option, but not an easy one."
Contrast is infinite whether the brightness is high or low.
I have an Oled tv and a relatively decent led tv. The benefit of Oled really shows in a dark room. If there is light then the differences shrink. This is why Oled Tvs typically dominate movie rooms with controlled light. In a bright room, dark grey will look black. Also, you won't typically won't see blooming or other inherent disadvantages of lcd technology. I'd say if you primarily play in the dark then this will be a nice update. If you don't, the difference will be pretty minimal.
Higher brightness always looks better in pictures. But I don't play my current switch at max brightness so the benefit of brightness will likely be lost on me.
Wonder how long until someone figures out how to connect to a real 64. Or I'd love it to work on my Wii U with my VC games. Didn't realize these games would be an additional membership so I'm out on playing on the Switch.
I think the thing indies have done is really bring alot of content to middle or low pricing. Companies like EA, Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft, Ubisoft are always going to ask $60 for a game day 1. It doesn't matter if it's not a big budget game for them or if it has many features. Their model is to ask $60 and then drop over-time. Indies can bring out low budget (not bad) games that hit the $10-30 range. To me I think it's great because there are more options and it's cheaper and I do think it causes the big boys to drop their prices quicker than if the indie games didn't exist.
"Not gonna lie, I want big screens but that looks massive. And is the same size screen as switch OLED. Why not just stream games on an even bigger tablet screen that, ironically, doesn't take as much storage volume when stored with a controller?"
I'd love to see it next to a Switch with split pad pros on it. They have much better grips and are way more comfortable than joycons to me. I'm guessing the Steam Deck is still wider but it'd be much closer. I think the Switch is already a portable that you need to take in a backpack, so this won't be any different. The Deck won't sell as much as the Switch for sure, but I'm glad it's an option. The big surprise to me with the Switch is how much I'd play it at night in bed while the wife watches TV. I may be able to figure out a way to setup a tablet and stream but there are no great ways I could think to do it right now. Similarly my kids use the Switch in the car all the time. A streaming device wouldn't work well over our hotspot (due to unreliability) and we'd end up with the same issue as my bed where a tablet setup wouldn't be ideal. The Steam Deck won't be for everyone, but I'm excited in using it in similar way that I do with my Switch and that now I won't have to double dip on games that I want both the best quality desktop experience and a portable experience.
Most playtests said the layout is great due to the grips and the extra thickness of the device. While on the surface, the buttons don't seem too dissimilar to the Switch, the grips should allow your thumbs to reach the buttons and sticks rather comfortably compared to the claw grip I need to use the Switch which limits my game play.
@jojobar
Almost all emulators have a version that runs on Linux.
@vanYth
"The Steam Deck is a really heavy one. I had the first iPad, and the weight could be a real problem for longer game sessions."
If you are using with the touchscreen and holding with one hand, then I could see the weight being an issue. But the ergonomics for holding this thing are so much better than the Ipadif you are playing controller games. I bought the split pad pros because I couldn't play long sessions portable with the joycons because they were so uncomfortable. From my best estimates, the Switch with split pad pro controllers would come to about 540 grams. Still lighter than the Steam Deck, but a big improvement for me just do to how much more comfortable it is to hold.
I'm not familiar with Twitter, but all social things seem to have this issue. I had to ban my young kids from youtube. They had watched alot of Nintendo type content, but the amount of adults dressing in Nintendo cosplay and behaving badly that got recommended was terrible. The straw that broke our back was we were on vacation with my inlaws and they were watching a Mario video where the commentator said the F word about 15 times in the 20 seconds it took me to get the device and turn it off. I don't know what it takes to get flagged for adults on youtube, but it's clearly not enough.
I agree both sounds are fine. Though I think they should have changed the animation. The animation looks like she is saying whatever and making a who cares hand gesture. A boo should have had an animation of disappointment.
There are different numbers being thrown out there. Usually when you see 1 ms for LCD it's in relation to grey to grey pixel response time. OLEDs are definitely faster with pixel transitions than LCD. The whole panel for OLED usually refreshes in 2 ms versus LCD which will usually take at least 4-5 ms with all colors. This is different than display lag which is the time for a display to take the image. A gaming LCD should be comparable to OLED in display lag and this is usually around 10 ms for good monitors.
"I read a bit, up to the point where you suggested companies never run at a loss due to burn rate because they cook the books. Then I laughed my ass off and stopped."
I never said anything remotely like that. I said if you run at a cash deficit then you need investors to continually pump cash into the business. Works for a while, but eventually investors get tired of pumping money into a company without a return. Here is the definition of burn rate for you:
"The burn rate is typically used to describe the rate at which a new company is spending its venture capital to finance overhead before generating positive cash flow from operations."
Notice the strong emphasis on start up and before generating a positive cash flows from operation. Those parts are important because you can't burn money forever. But you take care as it's obvious you aren't interested in a goodwill conversation but just want to twist my words to earn those elusive internet points.
"given how 4 of the top 10 rated games of all time are Nintendo exclusives (including a switch exclusive) and exactly zero of the top 35 are from EA ... I think Nintendo is fine with the current situation."
Yeah, that's not my favorite games list but if it's yours good for you.
"If the only thing Nintendo sold last year was the game Animal Crossing and nothing else; no other games, no systems, no other revenue from any other sources ... they would have covered operating costs with about $50 million in profit."
Yeah that's not right at all. The SG&A expenses (fixed Nintendo costs) were $2.7 billion last year. Even if you assume the game was free to develop/ship and Nintendo got $60 for every copy they sold (they don't), they would have had to sell 46 million units to break even. It's a fair bit under that.
"So the idea that Nintendo feels ANY pressure to ensure they have a new hit system or appease 3rd parties is extremely hard to support with evidence."
If you ignore the Wii U, Gamecube, N64, and just focus on the Switch then I guess yes.
"There is no "winner" to a console generation, other then in the opinions of fanboys."
There is a market leader which is what I was saying. I like how you try to classify me as a fanboy though I own a PS, Xbox, Switch, and gaming PC.
"For example, the Wii U WAS a profitable system"
It was not. Nintendo lost money all 4 years with the Wii U. It was the only unprofitable time period in Nintendo's history.
"The reason Nintendo didn't make money for 3 years in the Wii U era is that they absolutely refused to lower R&D and development budgets set in the Wii era."
That's kind of a fundamental misunderstanding with the way companies handle accounting. Accounting has a concept called the matching concept. This means that companies try to allocate expenses over the time that they sell their products. The R&D expense on Nintendo's books during that time is related to money they already spent on the Wii U. Switch R&D costs would be deferred until the time they began selling the Switch. As such, Switch R&D didn't cause the loss in those years.
"And again, always remember TPC, that little thing Nintendo owns that it worth more then Nintendo."
Nintendo is a minority owner of TPC. Nintendo owns 32% of TPC. In 2020 TPC made a record $170 million. In 2021 Nintendo made a record $6.2 billion. I think it's safe to assume the impact of TPC is minimal on Nintendo.
"At no point in time was Nintendo in any danger, they just LOOKED like they were losing money because they had a high burn rate (which is the market word for how fast you spend money you don't have to, ie, that isn't part of operating costs)."
Cash flow and profitibility for a company are different and I assume you know that. Nintendo was using less cash than they were losing in profit during the time period so it's opposite of what you are saying above. They weren't in danger because they do sit on a pile of cash. But significant changes would have been coming if the Switch bombed because their goal is to distribute money to their investors, not to tread water and just continue existing.
"This is the same reasons companies like BOSE and UBER have never really recorded a profit but are still super successful."
You are just making some of this up. BOSE is a private company and they don't disclose profit. And UBER needs to become profitable at some point. The only reason they still are around is in 2020 they received $1.25 billion in cash inflows from financing activities. I guess they can continue with losses if they convince people to give them a billion dollars a year.
Still many games don't come to the Switch. EA doesn't put any of their big games on it. Many people like me have multiple systems to game on so I know Nintendo loses sales because I can't buy some of those games on the Switch. Things are fine and dandy when your product is selling as the Switch is but a console manufacturer hasn't won back to back generations since PS1/PS2. If the Switch 2 doesn't generate the same success the lack of games is going to speed Nintendo's fall. Much like the Wii U following the Wii.
Many companies have said the Switch isn't powerful enough to run their games. They don't say specifically that it needs 4K, but that kind of power would open up the Switch to several games.
Nice story but it's not backed by fact. Women make up 18% of computer science majors. So in this case it would seem that based on qualifications that Nintendo has overhired women.
The issue with these analysis is their are a million ways to slice the pie. For instance, does your company hire of this sex? Does your business hire enough of this race? Does your business hire enough of this sexual orientation? Then it gets real fun with the intersections of those items. Then every region is different right? So the Seattle office has different demographics from the New York office and every other office so those demographics should be represented in the office. Then it gets even more complicated because my company has like 400 different positions. And I'm sure you aren't going to be happy with a company hiring a bunch of women janitors. So the company needs to make sure that the various manager/director/executive positions are filled with enough representation.
At it's core your argument is somewhat insulting. Iwata and Miyamoto were the top two at Nintendo for a long time and are responsible for what Nintendo is today. What you are saying is the only way a company could have their top two executives male is due to sexism because females should be 50%. And I happen to think that those two are some of the greatest minds in video games and both extremely deserving of their positions. I guess I just don't see how the solution to historic sexism against females is sexism against males.
That's awesome. I thought I was the only one who went C64 -> SNES. My parents refused to get me an NES because we had a C64. They later upgraded me to the SNES. Given my age and free time, the SNES is still my favorite console. I had tons of time with Super Mario All Stars so I am very familiar with those games. There are a few games like Tecmo Super Bowl that I played at friends houses. But I'm largely not nastolgic for the NES library.
Bummer. This game wasn't on my radar but it's something I'd be interested in. Unfortunately the review score means I'm not likely to dip in. Hopefully they clean up things and I can pick it up later.
No gameplay shown so no hype. How many games are launched over 5 years? I could see hyping a new IP early, but this is crazy early for an established IP. They've killed my hype on it. I'm fairly sure it's not coming out in 2022 either so they probably announced 6 years early. That is a mistake. I can't think of one Nintendo game they have announced 6 years in advance.
In this case it's Nintendo's fault. They announced Metroid Prime 4 over 4 years ago and we know it's at least gone through one complete reboot. Perfect way to kill any hype for a game. Usually Nintendo is pretty good about not announcing a game until it's very far into development.
No 4k or higher videogame looks as good as a 1080p bluray. I feel like games could maximize existing resolutions before trying to push more pixels. Things like ray tracing are still really taxing on gpus. Too many games have low quality textures and clipping and things that make you realize you are playing a game.
With 120 fps and above, you get lower than CRT lag. I use a 144 hz as well and it is great. Not sure I'm sold on 240 or 360 yet but maybe I'll get there. As you said even powerhouse cards can't push that on most games right now.
I normally like playing original hardware but the N64 graphics have aged pretty poorly being early 3d rendering. I'm curious how much this improves the visuals.
You are on a Nintendo site. You should have all those items already.
@Handsomistic15
They are selling the product rigth? It seems like Nintendolife is consistent here. They review games and don't update the game review after software patches have dropped. Retron is selling a non fully functional piece of equipment and they should be rated as such. Retron does not have the best track record for software so buyer beware if they are buying for features not fully implemented.
There is more content than ever being released and much of it is great. So I understand the thinking that this could be the golden age and wouldn't bash someone's opinion on that. But I don't it's fair lumping in some game collections and rereleases as encompassing the best of prior generations.
The SNES had >700 games, the GBA had >1,000 games, and the DS had >2,000 games. Many of those games have never been rereleased and never will.
Many of the re-releases have to deal with technical limitations of the modern world. This can be removed content that that the copyright holder no longer has access to such as music, real life people, or real life locations. Modern technology often has lag that can make retro games that relied on precise timing feel off and inaccurate. Modern technology also requires adjustments to work with retro games that often had specifications that don't always translate well. I.E., the SNES was faster than the current standard of 60 fps. So most current emulation/rereleases slow down the games so they can be displayed on a modern display. SNES also didn't have square pixels. Modern displays typically show square pixels and the aspect ratio is incorrect, or they attempt to rectangular pixels and create a shimmering effect on scrolling games.
I'm glad there are options and those options are typically getting better over time. But I don't think the current scope of rereleases and remakes are a replacement for original systems.
"To answer the "play anywhere internet" dilemma, you can just Hotspot your phone."
Maybe if you only drive around the city. I live in the country and as soon as I'm 5 miles outside of the city my internet connection significantly slows and has random connection issues. Game streaming takes alot of bandwidth.
When they say we can't think of ways to innovate the franchise, what they really mean is we can't think of what to add to this series so that it's a good seller.
The original SNES F-Zero sold well but it's been downhill since then with the others having forgettable sales. Nintendo has no problem turning out countless Mario Parties and otherwise bland Mario games that are big sellers.
My guess is Switch 2 will be a more powerful backward compatible version of the Switch 1. If this happens, original Switch sales could fall off a cliff after the Switch 2 is released preventing it from reaching PS2 heights.
A little friendly advice. I don't think it's healthy to go through life being upset at what others can afford that you can't. I hope you can focus on the things that you have in life and that are obtainable and those can bring you happiness.
Alot of people use the diagonal to calculate size. So a 42" screen is about 650% or 6.5 times bigger. So that's likely where they came up with the calculation.
A more accurate way to calculate size difference would be screen area. The screen area of a 42" would be about 752 sq inches versus the Switch's about 16 sq inches. This would lead to the built screen being about 46 times larger or 4600% larger. A screen with 650 times more area would have to be about 160". It's clearly not that big as the screen would be taller than the individual posing.
It can play games from other systems. It officially supports GBA, Game Gear, Lynx, and Neo Geo Pocket. Much like the other analogue products, I fully expect it to get a jailbreak to play all those systems off of SD card.
It is the first Analogue product that allows open source to an FPGA core allowing for users to create their own cores. It's too early to speculate what cores could be available or their quality. That said, it should have enough power for someone to create an NES core. That'd be a draw for me as I was super excited about the AVP (RetroUSB), but it seems as if that's been cancelled as I can't find any update on that within the last 3 years.
I don't. I'm just a fan of FPGA. I just bought my first Mister so I'm excited to see how that compares to the Analogue products. I bought it at Analogue's expense as I was going to buy the Analogue Duo this year but now expect to pass on it because Mister has Turbo cores on it.
I just think alot of this slinging towards Analogue is unfair. The Nintendo Switch still goes OOS after 4 years and Analogue is a company of 12 employees. There are legitimate reasons to criticize Analogue with high price and the lack of customizable cores as the two primary reasons. I just don't think supply issues should be one of them.
Nobody on here has any first hand knowledge of the contracts Analogue has. That said there are many articles on the electronic shortages and many articles on how the Suez Canal blockage will amplify those issues. If you want to ignore those and claim Analogue shouldn't be affected than that's cool. Analogue has released several great products and as far as I know they never delayed a product until last year with the pandemic when many companies starting delaying things. This isn't a Polymega that has never shipped a product. So they have enough cred that they get a pass from me. I don't feel like I'm owed an Analogue pocket by a certain date. I'm just happy that there are companies creating these great products to help preserve gaming history. FPGA gaming is great and I'll grab a pocket when I get a chance. I missed the first round of pre-orders but I'm not concerned about getting one.
You might be able to attribute a 6 month delay if you are a small company to this. Manufucturers may have shut down because they don't have the storage for their inventory and they don't have the boats to put their inventory on. If they shut down they could have lost at least a week of production this year.
If you are a manufacturer, you are likely to prioritize your larger more consistent partners and potentially cancel small manufacturing runs and tell them they have to reschedule at the first available window instead of moving the whole production schedule a week back. That first available window to get signed up for Analogue very well could be 6 months down the road.
The pocket won't be a limited release like the NT mini. Every Analogue product I've purchased, I've been able to buy within 6 months of it's release date. This will be no exception. If you want to give them your money for over a year that's on you and your FOMO.
My theory is that it's not really a pro version. That's why it's 720p in handheld mode. There won't be significantly more power than the base version. I think the 4K docked is going to use hardware in the dock to upscale the video. My guess is this could replace the base Switch unit as a way to keep the price at $300 for a while longer. I get the Switch is selling great and price is a function or supply/demand. But have there been any other consoles that have gone 4+ years without a price drop?
At no point did I say I wanted to play multiple copies of digital games at the same time. Just that I want to access them seamlessly on many systems as I could with a physical disc. The issue is only my profile can play on other systems. With a physical disc, any profile can play. It makes it difficult for other users to have their own save file. If Nintendo wants to run a check to see if the game is playing then fine. But their restrictions discourage me from purchasing more systems.
I have two switches. I have three children so I've considered getting another. What stops me is Nintendo's method of game sharing for downloads. Maybe I'm just doing it wrong, or maybe you guys are okay with just swapping physical carts all the time. But I thought I'd ask if I'm missing something.
My setup is the children's primary Switch is my account's primary Switch. This allows all profiles on the children's Switch to play all of my download games. All my children are too young to have a Nintendo Switch account and they don't have money either so it wouldn't make sense from that standpoint.
My 2nd Switch is essentially my personal Switch which I occasionally let them use for multiplayer like Mario Kart Live. This Switch connects online before loading any digital game. Minor inconvenience since I'm not traveling with it. But the bigger issue is that only my profile can play my digital games with this. Other profiles are blocked.
Is there a way for all profiles to access the digital games on multiple Switches? Something with Nintendo Online setup?
To be clear, I'm talking about ways to use a scaler with original hardware or FPGA on HDTVs. They cost microseconds of lag. Not emulation. I've given up on emulation.
This is a review of a gaming monitor. This is from the review:
Measured input lag:
Top: 3.0ms
Middle: 10.2ms
Bottom: 17.7ms
The average input lag of the BenQ RL2755HM is approximately 10ms.
So we need to compare apples to apples. When you hear microseconds or 0 ms response time for an SD CRT, what that means is that is when the top of the screen starts to draw. It draws the full frame over 16.67ms. So if you were to test it you would get:
Top: 0ms
Middle: 8.33ms
Bottom: 16.67ms
Average 8.33ms.
So the difference between a gaming monitor and an SD CRT is less than 2 ms. Your OLED difference would be less than 6 ms because 14 ms is the average lag for that (60hz content).
There is no perfect monitor. Every CRT I've seen has geometry/color issues, doesn't come in large sizes, weighs alot, takes up alot of space, isn't bright, and is very reflective.
LCDs do use sample and hold which tends to create the impression of blurring. Have you tried black frame insertion? That would try to mimic CRT motion as the phosphors go to black inbetween frames which to your eyes looks like smooth motion.
Like I said, I use CRTs as well in my various setups. So if you're happy with that great, keep doing what you are doing. Modern TVs aren't perfect and it doesn't look like they'll be there anytime soon. But I do think they keep closing the gaps on motions which is good because they aren't making CRTs anymore.
I'm surprised you had time to read and respond on a gaming site with that busy life you have that you described. If you do have other hobbies, like many of us on here do, I'm sure you'd realize that gaming is the cheap hobby. I enjoy hockey, snowmobiling, and travel. Those all cost more than the thousand dollars a year I spend on gaming. But if you collected for the 15 years or so that I have you are bound to acquire a decent collection of games. Everyone makes choices with their money. We cut cable years ago and don't drink. Some people spend more on each of those than I spend on games. Those are probably the people judging me for what I spend on games. But my wife allows it and my kids love it, so I'll get over it.
HDTVs have gotten much better in terms of lag. Typically the lag numbers that get published are lag in the middle of the screen. Screens still draw from the top like a CRT. If a CRT was measured for the lag in the middle of the screen is would be 1/2 a frame or 8.33 ms. I have a 10 ms gaming monitor. So the difference would be less than 2 ms which no one would ever be able to tell. It feels silky smooth. You are right about emulation adding lag. The best seem to add at least a frame and the worst much more. I do have a CRT that I game on some, but I also like to play either the original systems with an OSSC (microsecond lag device) attached to a low lag display or an analogue system (no lag).
The Switch is going to be 4 years old in a month. I'd rather they spend time looking at how to improve the ergonomics, screen, and power on a Switch 2. I am biased though. I bought a 2nd Switch during the pandemic last year and I don't really want a third Switch.
The Wii was super popular for 5 years before falling off a cliff for the next two years and they didn't have a replacement. I feel like the Switch 2 should be announced before sales of the first Switch fall off a cliff.
I guess I don't see the purpose. Banjo saved to cart and there were alternative controller memory cards. Couldn't they have enabled saving some data to a memory card and back again on another cartridge and accomplish the same thing?
Comments 1,281
Re: Review: Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania - Feature-Packed, But Far From Top Banana
@GrailUK
Games don't neccesary have to have the same physics to be fun. That said, it's a weird choice to change physics that were fun on a remake for seemingly no beneficial reason. The review specifically says the physics are worse than the original.
Re: Review: Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania - Feature-Packed, But Far From Top Banana
@GrailUK
"(And if the biggest critisism is walking off the ramp in Monkey Target then I don't know what to say. I mean, I've probably done that once to see if you could lol.)"
It's the entire physics of Monkey Target. If you watch a video, it's pretty evident that it's not similar to the originals. That may not be a deal breaker to some, but it is to me. Multiplayer, particularly Monkey Target is where I always got the majority of my playtime from this series. If that's gone, it's just not worth it to me to revisit the story levels.
@JasmineDragon
"Also, my Gamecube is in the attic storage and is not compatible with my currently connected TV, so "just play the originals" is technically still an option, but not an easy one."
Easy solution, just plug it into your Wii.
Re: The First Switch OLED Comparison Video Has Surfaced
@Hwatt
Contrast is infinite whether the brightness is high or low.
I have an Oled tv and a relatively decent led tv. The benefit of Oled really shows in a dark room. If there is light then the differences shrink. This is why Oled Tvs typically dominate movie rooms with controlled light. In a bright room, dark grey will look black. Also, you won't typically won't see blooming or other inherent disadvantages of lcd technology. I'd say if you primarily play in the dark then this will be a nice update. If you don't, the difference will be pretty minimal.
Re: The First Switch OLED Comparison Video Has Surfaced
Higher brightness always looks better in pictures. But I don't play my current switch at max brightness so the benefit of brightness will likely be lost on me.
Re: Switch's N64 Controller Is Hiding Some Extra Buttons
Wonder how long until someone figures out how to connect to a real 64. Or I'd love it to work on my Wii U with my VC games. Didn't realize these games would be an additional membership so I'm out on playing on the Switch.
Re: Soapbox: The Term 'Indie' Is Losing Meaning, But Maybe That's A Positive Sign
I think the thing indies have done is really bring alot of content to middle or low pricing. Companies like EA, Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft, Ubisoft are always going to ask $60 for a game day 1. It doesn't matter if it's not a big budget game for them or if it has many features. Their model is to ask $60 and then drop over-time. Indies can bring out low budget (not bad) games that hit the $10-30 range. To me I think it's great because there are more options and it's cheaper and I do think it causes the big boys to drop their prices quicker than if the indie games didn't exist.
Re: Random: Here's What The Nintendo Switch Looks Like Next To Valve's Steam Deck
@NEStalgia
"Not gonna lie, I want big screens but that looks massive. And is the same size screen as switch OLED. Why not just stream games on an even bigger tablet screen that, ironically, doesn't take as much storage volume when stored with a controller?"
I'd love to see it next to a Switch with split pad pros on it. They have much better grips and are way more comfortable than joycons to me. I'm guessing the Steam Deck is still wider but it'd be much closer. I think the Switch is already a portable that you need to take in a backpack, so this won't be any different. The Deck won't sell as much as the Switch for sure, but I'm glad it's an option. The big surprise to me with the Switch is how much I'd play it at night in bed while the wife watches TV. I may be able to figure out a way to setup a tablet and stream but there are no great ways I could think to do it right now. Similarly my kids use the Switch in the car all the time. A streaming device wouldn't work well over our hotspot (due to unreliability) and we'd end up with the same issue as my bed where a tablet setup wouldn't be ideal. The Steam Deck won't be for everyone, but I'm excited in using it in similar way that I do with my Switch and that now I won't have to double dip on games that I want both the best quality desktop experience and a portable experience.
Re: Random: Here's What The Nintendo Switch Looks Like Next To Valve's Steam Deck
@BenAV
Most playtests said the layout is great due to the grips and the extra thickness of the device. While on the surface, the buttons don't seem too dissimilar to the Switch, the grips should allow your thumbs to reach the buttons and sticks rather comfortably compared to the claw grip I need to use the Switch which limits my game play.
@jojobar
Almost all emulators have a version that runs on Linux.
@vanYth
"The Steam Deck is a really heavy one. I had the first iPad, and the weight could be a real problem for longer game sessions."
If you are using with the touchscreen and holding with one hand, then I could see the weight being an issue. But the ergonomics for holding this thing are so much better than the Ipadif you are playing controller games. I bought the split pad pros because I couldn't play long sessions portable with the joycons because they were so uncomfortable. From my best estimates, the Switch with split pad pro controllers would come to about 540 grams. Still lighter than the Steam Deck, but a big improvement for me just do to how much more comfortable it is to hold.
Re: Daisy Fans Aren't Happy With The New Mario Golf: Super Rush Update
@Clyde_Radcliffe
I'm not familiar with Twitter, but all social things seem to have this issue. I had to ban my young kids from youtube. They had watched alot of Nintendo type content, but the amount of adults dressing in Nintendo cosplay and behaving badly that got recommended was terrible. The straw that broke our back was we were on vacation with my inlaws and they were watching a Mario video where the commentator said the F word about 15 times in the 20 seconds it took me to get the device and turn it off. I don't know what it takes to get flagged for adults on youtube, but it's clearly not enough.
Re: Daisy Fans Aren't Happy With The New Mario Golf: Super Rush Update
@JaxonH
I agree both sounds are fine. Though I think they should have changed the animation. The animation looks like she is saying whatever and making a who cares hand gesture. A boo should have had an animation of disappointment.
Re: Collection Of Mint Condition NES Games Fetches $30,000 For Goodwill
I'm glad I stopped collecting old games. I had fun grabbing them, but they are way too expensive now.
Re: Should I Buy A Switch OLED? Which Nintendo Switch Is Best For Me?
@Mips
There are different numbers being thrown out there. Usually when you see 1 ms for LCD it's in relation to grey to grey pixel response time. OLEDs are definitely faster with pixel transitions than LCD. The whole panel for OLED usually refreshes in 2 ms versus LCD which will usually take at least 4-5 ms with all colors. This is different than display lag which is the time for a display to take the image. A gaming LCD should be comparable to OLED in display lag and this is usually around 10 ms for good monitors.
Re: Nintendo President Quizzed By Shareholders On Switch 'Pro' And Classic Mini Consoles
@HeadPirate
"I read a bit, up to the point where you suggested companies never run at a loss due to burn rate because they cook the books. Then I laughed my ass off and stopped."
I never said anything remotely like that. I said if you run at a cash deficit then you need investors to continually pump cash into the business. Works for a while, but eventually investors get tired of pumping money into a company without a return. Here is the definition of burn rate for you:
"The burn rate is typically used to describe the rate at which a new company is spending its venture capital to finance overhead before generating positive cash flow from operations."
Notice the strong emphasis on start up and before generating a positive cash flows from operation. Those parts are important because you can't burn money forever. But you take care as it's obvious you aren't interested in a goodwill conversation but just want to twist my words to earn those elusive internet points.
Re: Nintendo President Quizzed By Shareholders On Switch 'Pro' And Classic Mini Consoles
@HeadPirate
"given how 4 of the top 10 rated games of all time are Nintendo exclusives (including a switch exclusive) and exactly zero of the top 35 are from EA ... I think Nintendo is fine with the current situation."
Yeah, that's not my favorite games list but if it's yours good for you.
"If the only thing Nintendo sold last year was the game Animal Crossing and nothing else; no other games, no systems, no other revenue from any other sources ... they would have covered operating costs with about $50 million in profit."
Yeah that's not right at all. The SG&A expenses (fixed Nintendo costs) were $2.7 billion last year. Even if you assume the game was free to develop/ship and Nintendo got $60 for every copy they sold (they don't), they would have had to sell 46 million units to break even. It's a fair bit under that.
"So the idea that Nintendo feels ANY pressure to ensure they have a new hit system or appease 3rd parties is extremely hard to support with evidence."
If you ignore the Wii U, Gamecube, N64, and just focus on the Switch then I guess yes.
Re: Nintendo President Quizzed By Shareholders On Switch 'Pro' And Classic Mini Consoles
@HeadPirate
"There is no "winner" to a console generation, other then in the opinions of fanboys."
There is a market leader which is what I was saying. I like how you try to classify me as a fanboy though I own a PS, Xbox, Switch, and gaming PC.
"For example, the Wii U WAS a profitable system"
It was not. Nintendo lost money all 4 years with the Wii U. It was the only unprofitable time period in Nintendo's history.
"The reason Nintendo didn't make money for 3 years in the Wii U era is that they absolutely refused to lower R&D and development budgets set in the Wii era."
That's kind of a fundamental misunderstanding with the way companies handle accounting. Accounting has a concept called the matching concept. This means that companies try to allocate expenses over the time that they sell their products.
The R&D expense on Nintendo's books during that time is related to money they already spent on the Wii U. Switch R&D costs would be deferred until the time they began selling the Switch. As such, Switch R&D didn't cause the loss in those years.
Take it directly from Nintendo during that time period https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2014/05/nintendo_reports_financial_losses_as_expected_along_with_modest_wii_u_sales_targets
"And again, always remember TPC, that little thing Nintendo owns that it worth more then Nintendo."
Nintendo is a minority owner of TPC. Nintendo owns 32% of TPC. In 2020 TPC made a record $170 million. In 2021 Nintendo made a record $6.2 billion. I think it's safe to assume the impact of TPC is minimal on Nintendo.
"At no point in time was Nintendo in any danger, they just LOOKED like they were losing money because they had a high burn rate (which is the market word for how fast you spend money you don't have to, ie, that isn't part of operating costs)."
Cash flow and profitibility for a company are different and I assume you know that. Nintendo was using less cash than they were losing in profit during the time period so it's opposite of what you are saying above. They weren't in danger because they do sit on a pile of cash. But significant changes would have been coming if the Switch bombed because their goal is to distribute money to their investors, not to tread water and just continue existing.
"This is the same reasons companies like BOSE and UBER have never really recorded a profit but are still super successful."
You are just making some of this up. BOSE is a private company and they don't disclose profit. And UBER needs to become profitable at some point. The only reason they still are around is in 2020 they received $1.25 billion in cash inflows from financing activities. I guess they can continue with losses if they convince people to give them a billion dollars a year.
Re: Nintendo President Quizzed By Shareholders On Switch 'Pro' And Classic Mini Consoles
@HeadPirate
Still many games don't come to the Switch. EA doesn't put any of their big games on it. Many people like me have multiple systems to game on so I know Nintendo loses sales because I can't buy some of those games on the Switch. Things are fine and dandy when your product is selling as the Switch is but a console manufacturer hasn't won back to back generations since PS1/PS2. If the Switch 2 doesn't generate the same success the lack of games is going to speed Nintendo's fall. Much like the Wii U following the Wii.
Re: Nintendo President Quizzed By Shareholders On Switch 'Pro' And Classic Mini Consoles
@HeadPirate
Many companies have said the Switch isn't powerful enough to run their games. They don't say specifically that it needs 4K, but that kind of power would open up the Switch to several games.
Re: Nintendo Offers A Snapshot Of Its Global Employee Numbers In New Report
@Kamalen
Nice story but it's not backed by fact. Women make up 18% of computer science majors. So in this case it would seem that based on qualifications that Nintendo has overhired women.
The issue with these analysis is their are a million ways to slice the pie. For instance, does your company hire of this sex? Does your business hire enough of this race? Does your business hire enough of this sexual orientation? Then it gets real fun with the intersections of those items. Then every region is different right? So the Seattle office has different demographics from the New York office and every other office so those demographics should be represented in the office. Then it gets even more complicated because my company has like 400 different positions. And I'm sure you aren't going to be happy with a company hiring a bunch of women janitors. So the company needs to make sure that the various manager/director/executive positions are filled with enough representation.
At it's core your argument is somewhat insulting. Iwata and Miyamoto were the top two at Nintendo for a long time and are responsible for what Nintendo is today. What you are saying is the only way a company could have their top two executives male is due to sexism because females should be 50%. And I happen to think that those two are some of the greatest minds in video games and both extremely deserving of their positions. I guess I just don't see how the solution to historic sexism against females is sexism against males.
Re: Video: The 21 Best NES Games Of All Time, As Rated By The Nintendo Life Community
@Clyde_Radcliffe
That's awesome. I thought I was the only one who went C64 -> SNES. My parents refused to get me an NES because we had a C64. They later upgraded me to the SNES. Given my age and free time, the SNES is still my favorite console. I had tons of time with Super Mario All Stars so I am very familiar with those games. There are a few games like Tecmo Super Bowl that I played at friends houses. But I'm largely not nastolgic for the NES library.
Re: Review: Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection - Ryu Hayabusa Deserves Better Than This
Bummer. This game wasn't on my radar but it's something I'd be interested in. Unfortunately the review score means I'm not likely to dip in. Hopefully they clean up things and I can pick it up later.
Re: Soapbox: Without A Dedicated Handheld Division, Is Nintendo Less Weird?
@westman98
No gameplay shown so no hype. How many games are launched over 5 years? I could see hyping a new IP early, but this is crazy early for an established IP. They've killed my hype on it. I'm fairly sure it's not coming out in 2022 either so they probably announced 6 years early. That is a mistake. I can't think of one Nintendo game they have announced 6 years in advance.
Re: Soapbox: Without A Dedicated Handheld Division, Is Nintendo Less Weird?
@westman98
In this case it's Nintendo's fault. They announced Metroid Prime 4 over 4 years ago and we know it's at least gone through one complete reboot. Perfect way to kill any hype for a game. Usually Nintendo is pretty good about not announcing a game until it's very far into development.
Re: Soapbox: Without A Dedicated Handheld Division, Is Nintendo Less Weird?
@NEStalgia
No 4k or higher videogame looks as good as a 1080p bluray. I feel like games could maximize existing resolutions before trying to push more pixels. Things like ray tracing are still really taxing on gpus. Too many games have low quality textures and clipping and things that make you realize you are playing a game.
Re: Soapbox: Without A Dedicated Handheld Division, Is Nintendo Less Weird?
@Yorumi
With 120 fps and above, you get lower than CRT lag. I use a 144 hz as well and it is great. Not sure I'm sold on 240 or 360 yet but maybe I'll get there. As you said even powerhouse cards can't push that on most games right now.
Re: Soapbox: Without A Dedicated Handheld Division, Is Nintendo Less Weird?
What's weird is having a handheld system that is home to a bunch of retro games without a dpad.
Re: Nintendo Wants To Know If You Would Fork Out $50 For A New WarioWare Game
I loved the original and twisted. Smooth moves was kinda of meh so I hope they don't focus on just motion controls.
Re: Project64 Celebrates Its 20th Anniversary With A 3.0 Update
I normally like playing original hardware but the N64 graphics have aged pretty poorly being early 3d rendering. I'm curious how much this improves the visuals.
Re: Hardware Review: RetroN Sq - An Affordable Way To Play The Entire Game Boy Library On Your Big Screen TV
@rushiosan
You are on a Nintendo site. You should have all those items already.
@Handsomistic15
They are selling the product rigth? It seems like Nintendolife is consistent here. They review games and don't update the game review after software patches have dropped. Retron is selling a non fully functional piece of equipment and they should be rated as such. Retron does not have the best track record for software so buyer beware if they are buying for features not fully implemented.
Re: Soapbox: Be Happy, This Is The True Golden Age Of Gaming
There is more content than ever being released and much of it is great. So I understand the thinking that this could be the golden age and wouldn't bash someone's opinion on that. But I don't it's fair lumping in some game collections and rereleases as encompassing the best of prior generations.
The SNES had >700 games, the GBA had >1,000 games, and the DS had >2,000 games. Many of those games have never been rereleased and never will.
Many of the re-releases have to deal with technical limitations of the modern world. This can be removed content that that the copyright holder no longer has access to such as music, real life people, or real life locations. Modern technology often has lag that can make retro games that relied on precise timing feel off and inaccurate. Modern technology also requires adjustments to work with retro games that often had specifications that don't always translate well. I.E., the SNES was faster than the current standard of 60 fps. So most current emulation/rereleases slow down the games so they can be displayed on a modern display. SNES also didn't have square pixels. Modern displays typically show square pixels and the aspect ratio is incorrect, or they attempt to rectangular pixels and create a shimmering effect on scrolling games.
I'm glad there are options and those options are typically getting better over time. But I don't think the current scope of rereleases and remakes are a replacement for original systems.
Re: Hitman 3 - Cloud Version Now Includes 60FPS Performance Mode On Switch
@Chowdaire
"To answer the "play anywhere internet" dilemma, you can just Hotspot your phone."
Maybe if you only drive around the city. I live in the country and as soon as I'm 5 miles outside of the city my internet connection significantly slows and has random connection issues. Game streaming takes alot of bandwidth.
Re: EA Has Acquired The Super Mega Baseball Developer Metalhead Software
This and Codemasters. Buying up the good games and turning them into crap.
Re: What SteamWorld Game Deserves A Sequel? Image & Form Would Like To Know
I'd vote Heist. I spent the most time with that game and it doesn't already have a direct sequel.
Re: F-Zero Isn't Dead - It's Just Sleeping, Says Nintendo Legend Takaya Imamura
@Yosher
When they say we can't think of ways to innovate the franchise, what they really mean is we can't think of what to add to this series so that it's a good seller.
The original SNES F-Zero sold well but it's been downhill since then with the others having forgettable sales. Nintendo has no problem turning out countless Mario Parties and otherwise bland Mario games that are big sellers.
Re: Every Single Bethesda Game On Switch Is Currently On Sale
@NGNYS
My guess is Switch 2 will be a more powerful backward compatible version of the Switch 1. If this happens, original Switch sales could fall off a cliff after the Switch 2 is released preventing it from reaching PS2 heights.
A little friendly advice. I don't think it's healthy to go through life being upset at what others can afford that you can't. I hope you can focus on the things that you have in life and that are obtainable and those can bring you happiness.
Re: Random: Someone Made The "World's Largest" Nintendo Switch, And It Actually Works
@Assassinated
Alot of people use the diagonal to calculate size. So a 42" screen is about 650% or 6.5 times bigger. So that's likely where they came up with the calculation.
A more accurate way to calculate size difference would be screen area. The screen area of a 42" would be about 752 sq inches versus the Switch's about 16 sq inches. This would lead to the built screen being about 46 times larger or 4600% larger. A screen with 650 times more area would have to be about 160". It's clearly not that big as the screen would be taller than the individual posing.
Re: The Analogue Pocket Has Been Delayed Again
@cdog555
It can play games from other systems. It officially supports GBA, Game Gear, Lynx, and Neo Geo Pocket. Much like the other analogue products, I fully expect it to get a jailbreak to play all those systems off of SD card.
It is the first Analogue product that allows open source to an FPGA core allowing for users to create their own cores. It's too early to speculate what cores could be available or their quality. That said, it should have enough power for someone to create an NES core. That'd be a draw for me as I was super excited about the AVP (RetroUSB), but it seems as if that's been cancelled as I can't find any update on that within the last 3 years.
Re: The Analogue Pocket Has Been Delayed Again
@HamatoYoshi
I don't. I'm just a fan of FPGA. I just bought my first Mister so I'm excited to see how that compares to the Analogue products. I bought it at Analogue's expense as I was going to buy the Analogue Duo this year but now expect to pass on it because Mister has Turbo cores on it.
I just think alot of this slinging towards Analogue is unfair. The Nintendo Switch still goes OOS after 4 years and Analogue is a company of 12 employees. There are legitimate reasons to criticize Analogue with high price and the lack of customizable cores as the two primary reasons. I just don't think supply issues should be one of them.
Re: The Analogue Pocket Has Been Delayed Again
@abdias
Nobody on here has any first hand knowledge of the contracts Analogue has. That said there are many articles on the electronic shortages and many articles on how the Suez Canal blockage will amplify those issues. If you want to ignore those and claim Analogue shouldn't be affected than that's cool. Analogue has released several great products and as far as I know they never delayed a product until last year with the pandemic when many companies starting delaying things. This isn't a Polymega that has never shipped a product. So they have enough cred that they get a pass from me. I don't feel like I'm owed an Analogue pocket by a certain date. I'm just happy that there are companies creating these great products to help preserve gaming history. FPGA gaming is great and I'll grab a pocket when I get a chance. I missed the first round of pre-orders but I'm not concerned about getting one.
Re: The Analogue Pocket Has Been Delayed Again
@HamatoYoshi
You might be able to attribute a 6 month delay if you are a small company to this. Manufucturers may have shut down because they don't have the storage for their inventory and they don't have the boats to put their inventory on. If they shut down they could have lost at least a week of production this year.
If you are a manufacturer, you are likely to prioritize your larger more consistent partners and potentially cancel small manufacturing runs and tell them they have to reschedule at the first available window instead of moving the whole production schedule a week back. That first available window to get signed up for Analogue very well could be 6 months down the road.
Re: The Analogue Pocket Has Been Delayed Again
@HamatoYoshi
The pocket won't be a limited release like the NT mini. Every Analogue product I've purchased, I've been able to buy within 6 months of it's release date. This will be no exception. If you want to give them your money for over a year that's on you and your FOMO.
Re: Talking Point: Here's Why You Shouldn't Be Worried About The Rumoured Switch Pro's 720p Screen
My theory is that it's not really a pro version. That's why it's 720p in handheld mode. There won't be significantly more power than the base version. I think the 4K docked is going to use hardware in the dock to upscale the video. My guess is this could replace the base Switch unit as a way to keep the price at $300 for a while longer. I get the Switch is selling great and price is a function or supply/demand. But have there been any other consoles that have gone 4+ years without a price drop?
Re: Nintendo Celebrates MAR10 Day 2021 With Themed Switch Sale (North America)
Wish they'd expand the discounts to more of their catalog. Seems like these are always the games that get "minor" discounts.
Re: Nintendo Is "Rigorously Responding" To Demand For Multiple Switch Consoles Per Household
@jamesthemagi
At no point did I say I wanted to play multiple copies of digital games at the same time. Just that I want to access them seamlessly on many systems as I could with a physical disc. The issue is only my profile can play on other systems. With a physical disc, any profile can play. It makes it difficult for other users to have their own save file. If Nintendo wants to run a check to see if the game is playing then fine. But their restrictions discourage me from purchasing more systems.
Re: Nintendo Is "Rigorously Responding" To Demand For Multiple Switch Consoles Per Household
@IronMan30 @Jacoby
I have two switches. I have three children so I've considered getting another. What stops me is Nintendo's method of game sharing for downloads. Maybe I'm just doing it wrong, or maybe you guys are okay with just swapping physical carts all the time. But I thought I'd ask if I'm missing something.
My setup is the children's primary Switch is my account's primary Switch. This allows all profiles on the children's Switch to play all of my download games. All my children are too young to have a Nintendo Switch account and they don't have money either so it wouldn't make sense from that standpoint.
My 2nd Switch is essentially my personal Switch which I occasionally let them use for multiplayer like Mario Kart Live. This Switch connects online before loading any digital game. Minor inconvenience since I'm not traveling with it. But the bigger issue is that only my profile can play my digital games with this. Other profiles are blocked.
Is there a way for all profiles to access the digital games on multiple Switches? Something with Nintendo Online setup?
Re: Soapbox: Retro Nintendo Games Cost Too Much, But Nostalgia Is Expensive
@Wavey84
To be clear, I'm talking about ways to use a scaler with original hardware or FPGA on HDTVs. They cost microseconds of lag. Not emulation. I've given up on emulation.
https://displaylag.com/benq-rl2755hm-gaming-monitor-review/
This is a review of a gaming monitor. This is from the review:
Measured input lag:
Top: 3.0ms
Middle: 10.2ms
Bottom: 17.7ms
The average input lag of the BenQ RL2755HM is approximately 10ms.
So we need to compare apples to apples. When you hear microseconds or 0 ms response time for an SD CRT, what that means is that is when the top of the screen starts to draw. It draws the full frame over 16.67ms. So if you were to test it you would get:
Top: 0ms
Middle: 8.33ms
Bottom: 16.67ms
Average 8.33ms.
So the difference between a gaming monitor and an SD CRT is less than 2 ms. Your OLED difference would be less than 6 ms because 14 ms is the average lag for that (60hz content).
There is no perfect monitor. Every CRT I've seen has geometry/color issues, doesn't come in large sizes, weighs alot, takes up alot of space, isn't bright, and is very reflective.
LCDs do use sample and hold which tends to create the impression of blurring. Have you tried black frame insertion? That would try to mimic CRT motion as the phosphors go to black inbetween frames which to your eyes looks like smooth motion.
Like I said, I use CRTs as well in my various setups. So if you're happy with that great, keep doing what you are doing. Modern TVs aren't perfect and it doesn't look like they'll be there anytime soon. But I do think they keep closing the gaps on motions which is good because they aren't making CRTs anymore.
Re: Soapbox: Retro Nintendo Games Cost Too Much, But Nostalgia Is Expensive
@kingbk
I'm surprised you had time to read and respond on a gaming site with that busy life you have that you described. If you do have other hobbies, like many of us on here do, I'm sure you'd realize that gaming is the cheap hobby. I enjoy hockey, snowmobiling, and travel. Those all cost more than the thousand dollars a year I spend on gaming. But if you collected for the 15 years or so that I have you are bound to acquire a decent collection of games. Everyone makes choices with their money. We cut cable years ago and don't drink. Some people spend more on each of those than I spend on games. Those are probably the people judging me for what I spend on games. But my wife allows it and my kids love it, so I'll get over it.
Re: Soapbox: Retro Nintendo Games Cost Too Much, But Nostalgia Is Expensive
@Wavey84
HDTVs have gotten much better in terms of lag. Typically the lag numbers that get published are lag in the middle of the screen. Screens still draw from the top like a CRT. If a CRT was measured for the lag in the middle of the screen is would be 1/2 a frame or 8.33 ms. I have a 10 ms gaming monitor. So the difference would be less than 2 ms which no one would ever be able to tell. It feels silky smooth. You are right about emulation adding lag. The best seem to add at least a frame and the worst much more. I do have a CRT that I game on some, but I also like to play either the original systems with an OSSC (microsecond lag device) attached to a low lag display or an analogue system (no lag).
Re: Talking Point: So, What Are The Chances We'll See A 'New' Nintendo Switch In 2021?
The Switch is going to be 4 years old in a month. I'd rather they spend time looking at how to improve the ergonomics, screen, and power on a Switch 2. I am biased though. I bought a 2nd Switch during the pandemic last year and I don't really want a third Switch.
The Wii was super popular for 5 years before falling off a cliff for the next two years and they didn't have a replacement. I feel like the Switch 2 should be announced before sales of the first Switch fall off a cliff.
Re: Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury Frame Rate And Resolution Detailed
@Facelord
I think there is a 70% chance they call it new switch based on the new 3ds.
Re: New Letter Details Why Donkey Kong 64's Innovative "Stop 'N' Swop" Feature Was Removed
I guess I don't see the purpose. Banjo saved to cart and there were alternative controller memory cards. Couldn't they have enabled saving some data to a memory card and back again on another cartridge and accomplish the same thing?